Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook (65 page)
Read Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook Online
Authors: Gail Brenner
Generally,
fix
and
make
aren’t used when there’s no preparation at all, for example when food is eaten raw or eaten right out of the package. For example, you don’t say “
make
an apple” or “
fix
chips.”
When referring to food that’s prepared for others, here are two possible sentence structures:
- Mom made a birthday cake
for me. - Mom made
me
a birthday cake.
In American English, the verb
have
(not take) is often substituted for
eat
or
drink,
as in these examples:
- We usually
have
dinner at 6:00 p.m. - What did you
have
for lunch? - I’m not hungry. I
had
a snack a while ago. - Do you want to
have
some coffee?
Time Off Idioms with
Have
and
Take
Some idioms with
have
and
take
mean to stop working or doing other activities. They can mean to take a short break or to rest for a longer period of time.
Note:
In most cases you can use
have
or
take
, but native speakers generally use
have
when talking about a standard vacation from work that others also have. For example
- We
have two weeks off
for the holidays.
People use
take
when talking about a break from work that one chooses or has gotten special permission to take.
- I’m going to
take some time off
next week so that I can visit my parents.
In the following idioms,
take
is used more often than
have,
but
have
is frequently used for the past tense, as in, “I’ve already
had
my break.”
break
(a short stop from work) ♦
What time should I
take my break?
time off
(days or more away from work) ♦
I’ll
take some time off
when my wife has the baby.
day off
or
a week off
♦
We only
have one day off
after New Year’s.
vacation
♦
Cindy: Do you have much vacation time this year? Joan: I
have two week’s vacation,
but I’m
taking
three.
Take
is used in the following idioms, all of which mean a short rest or break. Occasionally, people use the verb
have
with these expressions, as in “I had a long nap today” or “I need to have a breather” but
have
cannot be used with the idioms
take five
or, in this context, with
take a few minutes.
take a nap
♦
If I
take a
20-minute
nap,
I’ll feel refreshed.
take a breather
(a short break from hard or strenuous work) ♦
Let’s
take a breather.
We’ve been working hard all morning.
take five
(short for “five-minute break”) ♦
Okay everyone.
Take five.
We’ll start again at 11.
take a few minutes
♦
Don’t feel rushed.
Take a few minutes
to decide which service plan you want.
A related idiom,
take it easy,
can mean to relax or stop work for awhile. The following examples show this idiom in context:
- I like to
take it easy
on the weekend. - You guys have been working hard all morning. You can
take it easy
for a while and have a cup of coffee.
The expression
take a time out
has a number of meanings, all of which refer to taking a break in order to think or calm down.
take a time out
1.
take a break from a difficult situation to think or calm oneself ♦
You two have been arguing all morning.
Take a time out
and get away from each other for awhile. You might see things more clearly after that.
2.
a short official stop during a game for the team to discuss strategy ♦
That team has already
taken
three
time outs.
3.
a form of punishment that requires a child to sit alone, isolated from others for a period of time ♦
If you don’t stop that, you’ll be
taking a time out. ♦
When I was a kid I often had to
take a time out
on the back porch, but I usually snuck away to play.
[See also
take time
later in this chapter.]
Illness Idioms with
Have
and
Take
Idioms that refer to feeling sick, having a disease, and receiving treatment often use
have
and
take.
Having Health Problems
The verb
have
means “to be experiencing” when referring to certain pains such as a headache, a toothache, a backache, or sore throat. Here are a few examples:
- I’ve
had a headache
all day. - I didn’t go to work today because I
have a sore throat.
Have
is also used in referring to common ailments and some serious health problems, such as a cold, the flu, a heart attack, cancer, AIDS, and others. Here are some examples:
- I always just stay in bed when I
have the flu. - My uncle
had a heart attack,
but he survived.
Taking Someone’s Vital Signs
In the following idioms,
take
means to check, monitor, and record:
take one’s vital signs:
check one’s pulse, heart rate and so on
take one’s pulse:
check one’s pulse
take a deep breath:
breathe deeply
take one’s temperature:
check one’s body temperature
Here are some examples of these idioms:
- The nurse will
take your vital signs
before you see the doctor. - Take a deep breath.
I want to listen to your lungs. - You feel very hot! Let me
take your temperature.
Take
can also mean to swallow or ingest medicine, as in these examples:
- I hate
taking medicine,
so I try to stay well. - Take two of these pills
four times a day.
One more health-related expression using the verb
take
is the following:
take to one’s bed
(to be so sick that one must go to bed) ♦
The old man
took to his bed
and never got up again.
[See other health-related idioms in Chapter 4.]
Hair Idioms with
Do
and
Fix
Do
and
fix
can refer to styling or arranging one’s hair using spray, gel, or other hair products. These idioms generally are used to describe what women do, but they can also apply to men who spend a lot of time styling their hair. Here are some examples:
- I’ll be ready as soon as I
do my hair. - My friends sat and
did my hair
into 100 little braids. - It takes him 10 minutes to
fix his spiked hair
in the morning.
Do
can also mean to dye or color one’s hair. Here are some examples:
- She
did her hair
in a dark burgundy color. - What color are you going to
do your hair
this time?
The idiom to
do up
one’s hair means to arrange one’s hair on top of one’s head or up off one’s neck. Here are a few examples:
- Let’s
do your hair up
for the party. - She usually
did her hair up
in a bun.
Talking about Time
Do, have, make,
and
take
are used in idioms that refer to time. You can
have time
(have enough time to do something), and
make time
(create or find the time in your schedule), but you never want to
do time
(go to prison)!
Here or some examples of each of these idioms:
have time
♦
Dave: Do you
have time
to help me with this project? Tina: Not today. But I’ll
have
some
time
tomorrow.
make time
♦
If I don’t
make time
in my schedule to go to the gym, I never go.
♦
I’m really busy right now, but I’ll try to
make time
next week to see you.
do time
♦
He
did time
for robbery.
♦
If you’re arrested again, you’ll
do time!
Another, more complicated, time idiom follows:
take time
1.
stop one’s routine to do something else ♦ Take time
to talk to your teenagers. It’s important.
♦
I need to answer some letters, but I just haven’t
taken the time.
2.
require a lot of time to complete or accomplish something ♦
It
takes time
to build a good relationship.
♦
Recovering from surgery
takes time.
You can’t rush it.
♦
Make-up
takes
too much
time
to put on. So, I never wear it.
Using the Phone
Have, make
and
take
are used with the noun
call
in the following idioms:
have a call
receive a call from someone ♦
Ms. Allen, you
have a call
on line three.
♦
Hey Don, you
have a call.
Pick up the phone.
make a call
call someone on the phone ♦
Excuse me for a minute. I have to
make a call. ♦
I’ve
made three calls
to that company, but they haven’t called me back!
take a call
to accept a call, to answer the phone in the workplace ♦
Please ask them to hold; I’ll
take the call
in my office.
♦
John, there’s a call for you. Do you want to
take it
or call them back?
[See
make the call
(make the decision) later in this chapter.]
Performing
Idioms with
make, do,
and
take
are commonly used to talk about performance and entertainment. The following idioms can use
make
or
do:
make (
or
do) a presentation
♦
The fire chief
made a presentation
at school on fire safety.
♦
Your assignment is
to do a short presentation
on your hobby.
make (
or
do) a speech
♦
Do you feel nervous about
making a speech
in front of so many people?
♦
I
did my speech
on the pros and cons of school uniforms.
The following idioms use
do:
do a performance
♦
We’re
doing
eight
performances
of the play this week.
do a number
(perform a dance, singing, or musical number) ♦
I’ll
do one solo
dance number during the show.
♦
At the end of the concert, she came back on stage and
did
four more
numbers!
Here are performance-related idioms with
take:
take the stage
(go onto the stage) ♦
When Nelson Mandela
took the stage
the crowd cheered and applauded wildly.
take a bow
(bow to the audience) ♦
Performers, come out and
take a bow.
[See more performance related idioms in Chapter 7.]
More Idioms with
Do
Following are some additional idioms with the verb
do:
do a good deed
do something nice for someone; do something charitable ♦
My mother tried to
do a good deed
every day by visiting sick neighbors and helping friends.
♦
Thank you for returning my lost wallet. You’ve
done a good deed.
Note:
The traditional belief is that one should do a good deed every day. So, sometimes people ask, “Have you done your
good deed
for the day?”
do one’s best
make one’s best effort; make a serious effort ♦
His parents said, “Just
do your
very
best
in everything, and you’ll succeed in life.”
♦
I
did my best
to convince her not to buy that old car, but she didn’t listen.
do well
to be adequately successful, financially and in other areas of life ♦
They both have good-paying jobs, so they’re
doing well. ♦
Thank you for asking about my grandfather. He’s
doing well
after his recent illness.