Lesson 29

Work out... back up… have one’s heart set on… buy up… buy out… sell out… catch on… be cut out for…. throw out…. throw up…. clear up…
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To work out: to exercise, to develop, to devise (a plan) (S)
Ø Jane works out at the fitness center every other morning before going to school.
Ø The advertising department worked out a plan to increase company sales.
Ø We couldn’t come up with a good plan for solving the problem, but we agreed to work it out at a later date.
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To back up: to drive or go backwards (S), to defend, to support (S), to return to a previous thought
Ø I couldn’t back my car up because there was a bicycle in the driveway behind me.
Ø Ursula asked her friends to back her up when she went to court to fight a ticket for an illegal lane change on the highway.
Ø Wait a minute. Could you back up and say that again?
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To have one’s heart set on: to desire greatly, to be determined to
Ø She has her heart set on taking a trip abroad. She’s been thinking about it for months.
Ø Todd has his heart set on going to medical school and becoming a doctor.
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To buy up: to buy the complete stock of (S)
Ø Before the hurricane struck, residents bought up all the food and water in local stores.
Ø The government plans to buy up all surplus grain in order to stabilize the price.
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To buy out: to purchase a business or company (S), to purchase all of a person’s shares or stock (S)
This idiom is similar in meaning to to take over in Lesson 23.
Ø Larger companies often buy out smaller companies that are having financial difficulties.
Ø Mr. Lee has been trying for some time to buy his partner out so that he can control the company by himself.
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To sell out: to sell all items (S), to arrange for the sale of a company or business (S)
Ø That store is closing its doors for good and is selling out everything this weekend.
Ø If my new business enterprise is successful, I’ll sell it out for a few million dollars.
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To catch on: to become popular or widespread, to understand, to appreciate a joke
This idiom is often used with the preposition to for the second definition.
Ø Fashions of the past often catch on again among young people.
Ø When the teacher speaks quickly like that, can you catch on easily?
Ø His joke was very funny at the time, but when I told it to others later, nobody seemed to catch on. I had to tell the joke again before anyone could catch on to it.
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To be cut out for: to have the necessary skills or talent for.
This idiom is most often used in the negative or in questions.
Ø John is certainly not cut out for the work of a trial lawyer.
Ø Are you certain that you are cut out for that kind of job?
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To throw out: to discard (S), to remove by force (S), to refuse, to consider, to reject (S)
Ø Instead of throwing out our paper waste in the office, we should recycle it.
Ø When a fight broke out between two people on the dance floor, the management threw them out.
Ø The judge threw the case out because there was insufficient evidence to try the defendant successfully.
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To throw up: to erect or construct quickly (S), to vomit (S)
Ø The Red Cross threw up temporary shelters for the homeless victims of the earthquake.
Ø The ill patient is unable to digest her food properly, so she is throwing all of it up.
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To clear up: to make understandable (also: to straighten out) (S), to become sunny.
Ø The teacher tried to clear up our confusion about the meaning of the difficult paragraph in the reading.
Ø It’s rather cloudy this morning. Do you think that it will clear up later?
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E X E R C I S E S
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Substitute an idiomatic expression for the word or words in italics, making any necessary grammatical changes as well. Then complete each sentence appropriately with your own idea. Also try to use idioms from previous lessons.
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After Jane exercised for an hour at the gym, she….
Larry defended his friend who was accused of….
The company withdrew support for the joint venture when…
This weekend I really am determined to…
That company will have to sell all its items if….
When a new product becomes popular, stores should….
I don’t think that Felix doesn’t have the necessary talent for parenthood because he…
Instead of discarding newspaper and plastics, people should…
The teacher tried to make understandable the problem in class, but the students…
If the weather becomes sunny this afternoon, we’ll…
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Answer these questions orally by making use of the idiomatic expressions studied in this lesson.
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Do you enjoy working out? If so, where do you do it? What are some important reasons for working out?
When you are telling a complicated story to someone, when might you have to back up?
When you back out of a driveway, what do you have to be careful of?
Is there anything at the moment that you have your heart set on? What is it?
If you can’t catch on to a joke, but everyone else does, what do you do?
Do you think that you would be cut out for the job of politician? Why or why not?
Do you throw out items of clothing when they are worn out, or do you find ways to reuse them? Give examples of how some items might be reused.
For what reasons might a person be thrown out of a private affair?
What are some possible causes of a person having to throw up?
Suppose that you have a serious misunderstanding with a friend. When would you want to clear up the misunderstanding right away, and when would you let some time pass by before straightening it out?