Common American Phrases in Everyday Contexts (247 page)

You can take it to the bank
.
AND
You can bank on it
.
You are able to depend on the truthfulness of my statement: it is not counterfeit or bogus. (Also in other persons.)
Believe me. What I am telling you is the truth. You can take it to the bank
.
This information is as good as gold. Your client can bank on it.

(You) can't
!
AND
(You) cannot
!
You are wrong, you cannot!; Don't say you can, because you cannot. (The second form is the typical response to (I) can too.)
B
ILL
: Don't tell me I can't, because I can! B
OB
: Cannot! B
ILL
: Can too! B
OB
: Cannot! B
ILL
: Can too!
T
OM
: I want to go to the rock concert. Bill can go and so can I, can't I? M
OTHER
: No, you can't!

(You) can't beat that
.
AND
(You) can't top that
.
No one can do better than that. (The
you
represents both personal and impersonal antecedents. That is, it means second person singular or plural, and
anyone
.)
M
ARY
: Wow! Look at the size of that lobster! It looks yummy! B
ILL
: Yeah. You can't beat that. I wonder what it's going to cost
.
“What a view! Nothing like it anywhere! You can't top that!” said Jeff, admiring the view he was paying two hundred dollars a night for.

You can't expect me to believe that
.
AND
You don't expect me to believe that
.
That is so outrageous that no one could believe it.
B
ILL
: My father is running for president. B
OB
: You can't expect me to believe that
.
J
ANE
: Everyone in our family has one extra toe. M
ARY
: You don't expect me to believe that!

(You) can't fight city hall
.
There is no way to win in a battle against a bureaucracy.
B
ILL
: I guess I'll go ahead and pay the tax bill. B
OB
: Might as well. You can't fight city hall
.
M
ARY
: How did things go at your meeting with the zoning board? S
ALLY
: I gave up. Can't fight city hall. Better things to do.

(You) can't get there from here
.
a catchphrase said jokingly when someone asks directions to get to a place that can be reached only by a circuitous route.
B
ILL
: How far is it to Adamsville? T
OM
: Adamsville? Oh, that's too bad. You can't get there from here
.
“Galesburg? Galesburg, you say?” said the farmer. “By golly, you can't get there from here!
”