In the days of rationing, what we didn’t have, we just had to _______________. (not have)
do without
If you don’t mind, I’ve got an early start in the morning so I’ll _______________ now. (go to bed)
turn in
His mother ______________ him _____________ for ripping his new shirt. (reprimanded)
told off
When she found out she was pregnant, she was absolutely ________________. (extremely happy)
made up
I won’t take the job if it involves ____________________ because I want to be with my family. (to work in another city)
working away
The private detective made his living _____________________. (to look nosily or secretly)
snooping around
I’m ________________ with my job. (weary, bored,unhappy)
fed up
I’m driving to the coast tomorrow so I need to ______________ the car with petrol. (fill to the limit)
fill up
He said he would come but he never _________________. (appear, arrive)
turned up
Don’t be shy, just __________her _________. (invite on a date)
ask out
I don’t believe a word you’re saying; I think you are ______________ it ______. (inventing a story)
making up
The cat was accidentally __________________ the garage. (trapped, imprisoned)
locked in
Everybody’s got flu so the party’s been ___________________. (cancelled)
called off
The crazy cheese-rolling contestants ____________________ the hill. (to roll and fall at the same time)
tumbled down
I need to ________________ a parcel from the post office. (collect)
pick up
Do you think Johnny Depp will _______________ at the award ceremony? (appear)
show up
He didn’t pay the phone bill and now he’s been __________________. (had the supply removed)
cut off
The varnish on this table is starting to ____________________. (become worn and disappear over time)
wear off
We __________________ back where we ________________! (ended, commenced)
ended up started off
She’s _______________ going to the doctor three times now. (postpone)
put off
The rock star __________________ from the stage to get closer to the fans. (descend by jumping)
jumped down
That’s a nice surprise, fancy _________________ you! (meet unexpectedly)
bumping into/ running into
It’s a difficult problem but we’ll ____________ something __________. (find a solution)
work out/ sort out/ figure out (USA)
The evening is getting cool; I think I’ll ______________ my sweater. (start wearing)
put on
Who _________ this guy _________ to the party? I don’t know him. (gave entry to sb.)
let in
I get bored stopping at home in the evenings so I prefer to_______________. (leave the house for some form of entertainment)
go out
I always ________________ at the sight of blood. (faint)
pass out
If you __________________ all your dinner, I’ll give you some cake. (consume all)
eat up
Learn to relax and ____________________ a little. (get into a relaxed state)
chill out
I was stuck on a side road and none of the other cars would _____________ me _______. (allow to exit)
let out
Hippies had the idea of ____________________ of university.(leave before completing studies)
dropping out
They ___________________ the tent. (brought to the ground)
pulled down
Please ______________ it ___________ at the next meeting. (raise an issue)
bring up
If you want to lose weight, you’ll have to _______________ on the number of cakes you eat. (reduce)
cut down/ cut back
She ________________ his name in the dark. (to call, usually a name, loudly)
called out
I’m a bit _________________ at the moment; could you come back later? (busy)
tied up
Here, you can ___________________ me on the chair to my left. (be seated at the side of someone)
sit next to
His luck changed and he had a complete ________________ in his fortunes. (change)
turn around
You’ve lost me my job! You’ll _________________ this! (be punished)
pay for
Teenagers often __________________ bus shelters. (wait, often without purpose)
hang around/ about
I was isolated in my view because nobody would __________me ______. (support)
back up
The guy’s an idiot, just _________ it ________. (release, do not hold onto a thought or emotion)
let go
He said, ‘please take a seat,’so I __________________. (went into a seating position)
sat down
The trainer ________________ us ___________ to work in twos. (be placed with another person)
paired up
If you are closing the account, you have to ___________________ what you owe. (conclude payment, pay what is owed)
settle up
It’s not easy to ____________________ a wet suit. (to dress by pulling)
pull on
I had to _________________ the entire fence to find an entrance. (circumnavigate, explore an area)
walk around
Albert Camus died when he was __________________ by a tram. (hit or squashed by a car or vehicle)
run over
After taking a lot of time of work, it can be difficult to _____________________ old routines. (to return to regular habits and activities)
settle back into
When can you ___________ me __________? I need the money. (return a debt)
pay back
Will you wash the dishes while I __________________? (make things tidy)
tidy up
It’s difficult at first but if you __________________ practising, you’ll master it. (continue)
keep on
They say, ‘____________________ that without moving,’ but of course, it’s impossible. (to remove oneself from a situation)
get out of
I couldn’t help hitting the cyclist; he just came _______________ in front of me. (appear from somewhere very suddenly)
flying out
It’s dangerous to try and _______________ a train when it’s moving. (to board)
get on
She’s forgotten to take her phone: _________________ her! (follow hurriedly)
go after
I’ll come and watch you in the marathon to _____________ you __________. (support noisily)
cheer on
If there’s anything you want to say, feel free to _________________. (contribute)
chip in
The tension between them had been ________________ for some time. (accumulating)
building up
The application form took ages to __________________. (complete)
fill in
The referee told the players to ___________________. (become calmer)
calm down
If you’re ever in the area, feel free to ________________ and visit us. (visit casually)
drop in/ drop by/ pop in
I’ve had three late nights and I need to _______________ my sleep. (recover)
catch up on
He asked her to marry him but she _______________him ___________. (refused, rejected)
turned down
Failing his exams was a bit of a ____________________. (a blow, a retrograde step)
set back
If you don’t like it here, perhaps you should ________________ for another job. (search elsewhere, investigate an area)
look around
With so many students, it’s sometimes difficult to ___________________ lesson reports. (remain up to date, be in control)
keep on top of
Will you _________________ my dog while I’m away? (take care of)
look after
Luckily, it wasn’t long before he ___________________. (regained consciousness)
came round
She had an awful childhood and ______________ from home. (leave quickly to escape)
ran away
I can’t ________________ the drilling noise any more; it’s driving me crazy! (tolerate)
put up with
Go to the public records office and see what you can _______________. (discover)
find out
They’re great mates, they _______________ like a house on fire. (enjoy each other’s company)
get on
He was _________________ to the Headmaster’s office. (told to attend)
called in
What time did you ________________ last night? (return)
get back
. I _________________ Mrs Jones today. (met unexpectedly)
bumped into/ ran into
The tram was so crowded that my face was ________ up _________ the door. (to comeinto contact with pressure)
pressed against
Which role models do you ______________________? (admire, respect)
look up to
He spent so much time travelling abroad that he and his wife, __________________. (became more distant)
grew apart
He keeps ________________ all these crazy ideas. (creating, suggesting)
coming up with
We’ve invited Daniel’s friends for a __________________ tonight. (stay at a friend’s house overnight)
sleep over
It says it __________________ easily but it’s stuck in the box. (to come out by sliding)
slides out
I hate guessing games; I don’t know, I _______________. (admit defeat)
give up/ give in
He was _________________ by the negative attitude of his parents. (restrained, limited)
held back
There was a prowler but the dog must have______________ him ____________. (made to go away through fear)
scared off
I won’t be a minute but I’ve just got to _________________ to the post office. (leave temporarily)
nip/ pop out
I had to take the stairs because the lift had _________________. (stopped working)
broken down
I’m worried about you; you seem to be ________________ far too much. (accept responsibility, accept work)
taking on
. Don’t ever speak to me like that in front of people again; you really __________ me ____. (embarrassed me)
showed up
I’m not talking to Claire; I’ve _________________ her. (not be friends anymore)
fallen out with
You never _________________ that old chat up line? (be deceived)
fell for
I’ve lost my key and now I’m _____________________ of my apartment. (unable to enter due to a lock)
locked out
Somebody tried to ________________ to the house next door last night. (forcibly enter)
break in
Three days left of the holiday and I’ve already _________________! (used all my money)
spent up
We’ve come the wrong way, we’d better ___________________. (return to a previous position, reverse)
turn back
I woke up in the chair at 2.00am; I must have ________________. (fallen asleep)
nodded off
I hate ___________________! (leaving the bed in the morning)
getting up
I promise to ________________ forgetting your birthday. (compensate)
make up for
I’m not sure I’ve understood; would you _______________ it one more time? (repeat,explain)
go over
He was ____________________ suddenly. (needed somewhere else)
called away
. The goods arrived damaged, I’ll have to ____________ them ___________. (return)
take back
The neighbour’s car alarm keeps ________________; it’s really annoying. (making a noise)
going off
Some of the things he says are outrageous; I don’t know how he ________________ it. (goes unpunished)
gets away with
We _________________ to the meeting room. (entered)
went in
The fight ended when the boxer was ___________________. (hit unconscious)
knocked out
Thanks for visiting, you’ve really _____________ me ______. (make happier)
cheered up
It’s time you got married and _____________________. (behaved sensibly, become calmer)
settled down
No wonder the car’s stopped, we’ve _________________ petrol! (have no more)
run out of
If you _____________________ this box, you’ll see a tarantula! (look into a small space, area or object)
look inside
Once the baby starts crying, it’s difficult to ____________ him __________. (stop making a noise)
shut up
You’d better _________________ that cut before it becomes infected. (make clean)
clean up
When I told her I’d crashed the car, she _____________________. (acted crazily)
freaked out
I don’t like noisy, busy pubs so I prefer to _________________. (not leave the house)
stay in
My son had a tantrum in the shop and totally ___________ me ________. (embarrass, look foolish in public)
showed up
I have to go but I’ll ____________________ tomorrow. (return)
come back
___________________ your arms as far as possible; it’s really good exercise. (extend by stretching)
stretch out
He _________________ a heavy situation with the mafia. (to become involved, to enter something)
got into
I’ m not going to decide tonight; I’ll ____________________ it and let you know in the morning. (sleep before making a decision)
sleep on
My cat _____________________ me when he wants feeding. (to move and rub)
rubbed up against
It’s not acceptable to __________________ a friend. (get into trouble)
dob in
I’d like to __________________ tonight; which restaurant shall we go to? (Dine somewhere not at home)
eat out
She’s gone to England to ________________ her sick mother. (take care of)
look after
He keeps __________________ sick but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him. (to telephone work)
ringing/ calling/ phoning in
I never heard my alarm _________________ this morning.
go off
He’s visiting on Sunday and will be ____________________ at our house for three days. (remain somewhere)
staying over
__________________ the money, or I’ll shoot you! (give to me)
hand over
My socks are soaked and I can’t ___________ them ___________. (remove by pulling)
pull off
For more information, look at the ________________ I’ve given you. (distributed information)
hand out
The credit agency want to ____________him _________ before offering him a loan. (investigate, gather information about sb.)
look into
He said he would dive off the high board but he __________________. (Didn’t do something for loss of courage)
chickened out
We’ve got so much stuff to take on holiday, I don’t think we’ll get it all to _____________ the car. (get into a space)
fit in
She was completely ______________________ by his charm. (extremely pleased and overwhelmed)
bowled over
The washing machine has overflowed; I need to ______________ the water from the floor. (to remove and absorb liquid - using a stick with material on the end)
mop up
She left her husband and ____________________ the postman! (elope, leave in a relationship)
ran off with/ ran away with
Amanda said, she needed time to __________________ Alan’s proposal. (take time to consider)
think over
The man was going to kill himself but the counsellor persuaded him to ______________ from the bridge. (descend by climbing)
climb down
I really like you; will you ___________________me? (go on a date)
go out with
Will you ______________ on the TV? I want to watch the news. (make work)
switch on/ turn on
I’m sick of having to _______________ all the time. (pay)
fork out
There was a __________________ at the airport and our flight left two hours late. (delay)
hold up
If it’s broken, you might as well _________ it ____________. (dispose of)
throw away
He couldn’t afford any more beer so he made his last pint _____________ for an hour. (make last as long as possible)
spin out/ drag out
I was rather _________________ by what he said. (surprised, shocked)
taken aback
When you retire, you have time to ___________________ your life. (reflect, go over the past)
look back on/ over
It’s no good getting all emotional; just try to ___________ yourself ____________. (collect, regain composure)
pull together
He __________________ like I’d known him for years but we’d only just met. (give the impression)
made out
If you _________________ the chance to go to Brazil, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. (not take an opportunity)
pass up
I’ll do all I can to _________ it __________ you. (compensate sb.)
make up
It’s considered rude to ______________________ with your parents. (contradict, challenge)
argue back
I’m innocent! Somebody’s _____________me ___________. (constructed a situation to make me look guilty)
set up
The auditors want to __________________ some suspicious transactions. (investigate)
look into
The knives, forks and spoons are all ________________; can’t you keep them separately? (confused, disorganised)
mixed up
At weekends, I always have a ________________. (stay longer in bed)
lie in
Don’t buy the first car you see, __________________ for the best price. (to look at a number of suppliers for the best deal)
shop around
Life’s too short; it’s not worth __________________. (becoming enemies about something)
falling out (over)
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