informal conversational expressions

8/2/2019 Informal Conversational Expressions

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A great deal of scientific and technical communication is carried out by means of

ordinary conversation- in the office, in the classroom, in the laboratory, in hallways, at

lunch, over the telephone, at conferences, etc. In fact, it is probably safe to say that

most scientific and technical communication takes place in this way. And this doesnt

even take into consideration the amount of ordinary social communication that occurs

through conversation- social communication that helps establish good relationsbetween coworkers and thus help make technical communication easier. For these

reasons, its well worth anyones time to develop effective conversational skills.

One prominent feature of informal conversational language is the use of idiomatic

expressions. Sometimes the meaning of such expressions cannot be determined by

putting together the meanings of their component parts. To kick the bucket, for

example, does not have anything to do with kicking or buckets (at least not in the

idiomatic sense); rather, it means to die. Because conversational expressions often

have such restricted and unpredictable meanings, they have to be learned one by

one, which makes it difficult to learn a large number of them. Nonetheless, you

should try to learn as many as you can.

The following list is designed to help you get started. It contains 230 of the most

commonly used conversational expressions in technical and scientific settings in the

United States (though they are characteristic of American English, most are also used

in British English). Each entry contains (1) the expression itself, (2) one or more

synonyms for that expression, and (3) an example of how the expression is used.

No Expression Synonym (s) Example1 About-face reversal After first rejecting our offer, she did

an about-face and accepted it

2 About to Ready to, all set to We were about to start the meetingwhen Jack called to say hes be late

3 Above all Especially, mostimportantly

Above all, be sure, to test all thesamples using the same procedure.

4 Account for explain We are unable to account for the extrachlorine in the water supply

5 All along The whole time, from thebeginning

I felt all along that we were on thewrong track

6 All in all All things considered, ingeneral

All in all, despite problems with theweather, we had a successful trip

7 All set ready Everything is all set for thevisitorsarrival

8 Allow for Take into consideration Unfortunately, our calculations failedto allow for possible errors

9 Amount for Total, add up tp Our expenses will probably amount tomore than $100,000

10 Appeal to Be attractive to This new model should appeal topotential buyers

11 Arrive at Reach, make The committee expects to arrive at adecision sometime next week


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12 Ask about inquire I asked the project manager abouthiring a new technician, but she saidthere were no funds for it in thebudget.

13 Ask for request Well have to ask the manager formore supplies

14 (not) at all Of any kind, in any way They dont have any solfwarespecialists at all

15 (be) at fault Wrong, deserving of blame I am afraid Im at fault: I forgot toreset the stack switch

16 (be) aware Know about Are you aware of Davids medicalproblems?

17 Back tosquare one

At the starting point again Were not making any progress withthis approach. Lets go back to squareone and try again

18 Back andforth

First in one direction, thenin opposite direction

A pendulum swings back and forth

19 Back up (1) Move backward(2) Support, reinforce Back the truck up to the loading dockBe sure to back up yourrecommendations with goodarguments

20 Beat aroundthe bush

Avoid stating the mainpoint

He didnt want to embarrass them, soinstead of saying what was on hismind he kept beating around the bush

21 Blow up Detonate, explode If too much pressure builds up in thesterilizer, it might blow up

22 Bottom line Main point The bottom line is that theyre notgoing to support us after our currentgrant expires

23 (be) bound to Certain to If we send out enough grant proposalsto other agencies, were bound to getsome support somewhere

24 Brand-new Absolutely new Barbara traded in her old car for abrand-new one

25 Break down (1) Stop functioning(2) Analyze, take

apart

The new machine has already brokendownWe shall begin by breaking theprocess down into 15 steps.

26 breakthrough A major development oradvance

IBM is about to make a new break-through in computer technology

27 Bring up Introduce a topic of

discussion

I hate to bring up this topic at this

time, but I think we really need to talkabout it

28 Brush up on Renew ones knowledge of Ill have to brush up on my Frenchbefore going to Paris next year

29 Build on/upon To use as a foundation Id like to get a job where I can buildon my university training

30 Burn themidnight oil

Work late at night, workovertime

To get my report finished on time, Illhave to burn the midnight oil.


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31 Burn up Destroy by fire or heat Unfortunately those files were allburned up in that fire we had lastmonth

32 By and large For the most part, ingeneral

Weve had some problems on thisproject, but by and large its beenquite a successful

33 By the way Incidentally, while wereon the subject

By the way, since youve raised thesubject, why did u decided to use the9200?

34 By word of mouth

By unofficialcommunication

Many job openings are advertised byword of mouth, not by postedadvertisements.

35 Call on visit May I call on you in your office sometime next week?

36 Call (up) telephone Ill call you (up) as soon as I arrive37 (be) capable

ofAble to Ms grays latest report shows that she

is capable of handling tough assignments

38 (be) carefulto

Take measures to, be sureto

You must be careful to protect ourtrade secrets from our competitors

39 Carry out Accomplish, complete You will be expected to carry out yourduties without extra help

40 Carry the ball Be in charge, haveprimary responsibility

Weve done our share, lets let jonescarry the ball from now on

41 Catch up on Do what was postponedearlier

I hope to catch up on my readingduring my vacation

42 Catch up with Overtake, draw even witha competitor after being

behind

Although our competitors have beenworking on this process for a long

time, I think we can catch up withthem soon

43 Change onesmind

Revise ones opinion aboutsomething

At first I thought their plan was good,but now Ive changed my mind

44 Change overto

Convert to We shall change all our operationsover to the SI system in January

45 Check over Inspect, examine Check the equipment over one moretime before you start

46 Check up on investigate Wes better check up on thatcompanys credit rating before signingany contract with them

47 Check with Ask for advice or approval It sounds like a good idea to me, but

you should check with Dr. Lee beforeyou go ahead with it.

48 Come across Discover, find I thought I had gotten all the bugs outof the program, but then I cameacross some new ones.

49 Come along Progress, develop How are your hydroponic tomatoescoming along?

50 Come in Be useful This new tool should come in handy


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handy51 Come out Be published, be

issuedThe new OSHA regulations shouldcome out sometime next week

52 Come toterms

Reach anagreement

After three days of negotiations, thecompany and the union finally cameto terms.

53 Come to thepoint

State the mainpoint

I wish youd come to the point insteadof beating around the bush so much

54 Come up with Develop, find We should be able to come up with asolution to this problem by tomorrow

55 Consist of Be composed of Brass consists of copper and zinc56 Count on Depend on, rely on You can count on that company to

deliver the software on time57 Cut down on reduce We can make a profit only if we cut

down on expenses58 Cut off Stop, terminate Our supplier has threatened to cut off

further shipments unless we pay our

bill59 Cut out remove The administration intends to cut allunnecessary items out of the budget.

60 Day in andday out

regularly Sue comes to work day in and dayout, even when shes not feeling well

61 Day off holiday Id like to take a day off next week sothat I can visit my sick aunt

62 Deal with Confront, face Im too tired to deal with the problemright now, lets take it up tomorrow

63 A dime adozen

Plentiful,commonplace

Skilled carpenters used to be a dime adozen, now it is hard to find oneanywhere.

64 (be) devotedto

Be concerned with Most of the staff meeting will bedevoted to discussing the annualreport

65 Do over Do again, redo Your homework has too manymistakes in it, youll just have to do itover

66 Down-to-earth

Practical, realistic Were spending too much timephilosophizing about this, lets be alittle bit more down-to-earth, ok?

67 Drop off Fall off, decline We except their production of 360s todrop off as soon as they startmanufacturing the 420x

68 Dwell on Be overlyconcerned with

Why dwell on the problems of thepast? Weve got enough things toworry about right now!

69 End up with Have as a result If you hire that technician, youll endup with serious trouble in the lab

70 Enlarge upon Explain in more detail I see that this idea is new to you, solet me enlarge upon it for a minute

71 Faced with Confronted with If this product doesnt sell, our firm


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will soon be faced with bankruptcy72 Fall behind Proceed too slowly,

lag behindProduction will fall behind if thesupplies dont arrive soon

73 Fall off Decrease, drop off The present rate of inflation should falloff by several percentage points in thenext year

74 Feed into Flow into The paper feeds into the machine,where it is printed on both sides.

75 Few and farbetween

rare Skilled carpenters used to be found allover the place, now theyre few andfar between

76 Figure on Plan on, except on Sam knew that going into business forhimself would be difficult, but hedidnt figure on going bankrupt.

77 Figure out Solve, understand No matter how hard I try, I cantseem to figure out this homeworkproblem.

78 Fill in Insert material in To complete this report form, all youhave to do is fill in the blanks

79 Fill out complete Please fill out this application formbefore you leave

80 Find out discover We shall find out the truth one way oranother

81 Finish up complete We cant finish up this job withoutmore concrete

82 Focus (onesattentions)on

Concentrate on In this report I shall focus on the stepswe took to improve our analyticalprocedure

83 Follow up on Pursue, develop Perez has good ideas, but he seldom

follows up on them84 For good Forever,

permanentlyI think Shirley has left the academicworld for good, shes got everythinggoing for her in industry

85 For the timebeing

For the present The lab routine seems to be workingfine for the time being. If problemscome up later, we can always changeit

86 From A to Z Completely, fromstart to finish

Just to make sure everybody knowsthe procedure, lets go through it fromA to Z

87 From time totime

Occasionally, oncein a while

From time to time my husband has togo to the clinic for therapy

88 Get down tobusiness

Talk business afterpolite formalities

They spent 10 minutes talking aboutmutual acquaintances before gettingdown to business

89 Get going start Im tired of sitting around waiting foreverybody to show up, I wish we couldget going

90 Get in touch Contact by phone or Is there any way we can get in touch


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with by mail with you while youre on your trip?91 Get off mail Ill ask my secretary to get this

material off to you as soon as possible92 Get rid of Dispose of We dont need this stuff anymore. Will

you please get rid of it.93 Give

someone abuzz/ring

telephone Ill give you a buzz at home tonight,ok?

94 Gloss over Discuss superficiallyand thus hidecertain weaknesses

Your report would be okay, Johnson,except that it glosses over somepotentially very serious problems.

95 Go ahead Proceed (start,continue)

When I heard it was on sale for 25%off, I decided to go ahead and buy it

96 Go by Be called by, use asa name

Your last name is hard for me topronounce. Is there anything else yougo by?

97 Go getter An energetic,

ambitious person

Johns a real go-getter, isnt he? Thats

his third promotion in less than a yea!98 Go halves/50-50

Split the costs I know you invited me out, Tim, butlets go halves on the bill, okay? Itwouldnt be fair for you to pay it allyourself.

99 Go dutch Share equally, payfor what you order,pay your way

100 Go over Review, re-examine Lets go over this procedure one moretime to be sure that everyoneunderstands it.

101 Go over

someoneshead

Bring a complaint or

proposal directly toyour bossssupervisor withoutfirst getting yourbosss permission

Sometimes the best way to get

something done is by going over yourbosss head. In some companies,though, its the fastest way to getfired!.

102 Hand in Turn in, submit Do you think you can hand in yourreport by 5:00?

103 Hands-onexperience

Direct, personalexperience

Kay should be just the person weneed: she has a lot of hands-onexperience with x-ray machines.

104 Hang up (thephone)

Put the receiverback on the hook

Excuse me, Sue, but Ive got to hangup, my supervisor wants to talk to me.

105 Have a lot onthe ball

Have many goodqualities

Carol has a lot on the ball, I thinkshell go far in her career

106 Have a wordwith

Talk with Max, could I have a word with youwhen you get a minute?

107 Hinge on Depend on The success of this new surgicaltechnique hinges on how skilled thesurgeon is.

108 Hit the Become angry Mr Diaz will really hit the ceiling when


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ceiling hears about this!109 Hold off (on) Postpone (wait

before you act)Mr Davis says he wants to hold off onthe decision until the monthly reviewis completed

110 Hold up delay These repairs shouldnt hold upproduction for more than a few hours

111 Hold water(not use inthe middle ofthe sentence)

Have any validity Im sorry, but your argument justdoesnt hold water

112 How come why How come you havent complainedabout this before?

113 Imposeon/upon

Inconvenience, be aburden to

I dont want to impost on you, but Ineed a letter of recommendation.Would you mind writing one for me?

114 Improve onsomething

Make somethingever better

I know its a good product, Owens, butisnt there some way we can improveon it?

115 In a nutshell In summary, inshort

Ill just skip the details for the timebeing and tell you basically whathappened. To put it in a nutshell, allour amoeba samples werecontaminated.

116 In case (of) In the event of In case of an accident, call Dr Wilson117 In charge of Responsible for Im putting you in charge of this part

of this experiment118 In-house Within the company Rather than using an outside agency,

wouldnt it be more economical todevelop our own in-house training

program?119 In the same

boatFaced with thesame problem

The models were competing againstall failed the collision test, too. In fact,it looks like were all in the same boaton this.

120 (be) in theway

Be an obstruction, ahindrance

I wish we could move this tablesomewhere else, its just in the wayhere

121 In time Within the requiredtime

In order to finish my data-processingin time, Ill have to work night and day

122 Inquire about Ask about The project manager just called toinquire about our progress

123 Interfere with hinder Professor Kim doesnt believe ininterfering with the creative work ofresearch scientists.

124 Jot down Quickly write down Let me just jot down your phonenumber so that I can get in touch withyou

125 Jump to theconclusion

Make a quickjudgment without

Mr. Young looked at my first twoprintouts and jumped to the


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that adequatejustification

conclusion that I was arguing forMethod A. In reality, though, I thinkMethod B is better.

126 Keep abreastof

Keep up with, staycurrent with

We should be keeping abreast of thelatest developments in our field.

127 Keep down Maintain at a low

level, suppress

Id like to keep our expenses down, if

at all possible128 Keep in mind Bear in mind, not

forget or overlookKeep in mind that all the samplesmust be assayed before we can moveon to the next stage of theexperiment.

129 Keep in touch Stay incommunication(with)

Weve enjoyed doing business withyou. Please keep in touch

130 Keep on continue The one thing that drives me crazy isthat Joe keeps on smoking in the labeven though we asked him not to

131 Keep out Prevent fromentering

Be sure to keep all strangers out ofthe building

132 Keep pacewith

Be competitivewith, grow at thesame rate with

Without our own computer we cannotkeep pace with our competitors

133 Keep track of Know the locationor status of

Its hard for me to keep track of all mypapers, maybe I need a filling system

134 Know-how Practical knowledge Susan has the know-how it takes toget the jot done right

135 Know theropes

Know thecustomaryprocedures, be

experienced

Itll take a while before you know theropes around here

136 Lag behind Move more slowlythan, fall behind

The design group is lagging behindschedule

137 Lay off Temporarily dismissfrom employment

If the national economy keeps gettingworse, many companies will have tolay off some of their employees.

138 Lean awayfrom

avoid We try to lean away from dependenceon any one source of funding

139 Lean toward favor Although I lean toward option A, thedepartment head seems to favoroption B

140 Leave out omit Unfortunately, we left out some

important details in our write up of theexperiment

141 Leavesomeoneholding thebag

Avoidresponsibilities,thus forcingsomeone else tofulfill them

I think the construction firm wants towithdraw from its commitment andleave us holding the bag

142 Look for seek We arent looking for protection, but


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we do expect you to turn in reports ontime

143 Look forwardto

Await witheagerness

I look forward to hearing from you atyour earliest convenience

144 Look over Inspect, examine Id appreciate it if you would lookthese blueprints over before we start

laying the foundation145 Look up Search for and find You can look her phone number up in

the directory146 (it) looks like (it) appear that, (it)

seems to be thecase that

It looks like the company is going tohire some new people

147 Make amountain outof a molehill

Exaggerate the realimportance of something

Are you sure those cracks are reallythat dangerous, Mike? Are you sureyoure not just making a mountain outof a molehill?

148 Make certain Be sure Make certain to turn out all the lightswhen you leave

149 Make do Accomplish onespurpose

We dont have new equipment, but wecan make do with what weve got

150 Make sure Be certain Please make sure that all the testtubes are thoroughly cleaned.

151 Narrow down Reduce the numberof

Given these data, I think we cannarrow down the alternatives to PlanA and Plan D, right?

152 Now andthen

occasionally Now and then I get the urge to take along walk by myself

153 Old hand Someone with longexperience in doing

something

Fortunately my boss is an old hand atsolving personnel problems like this

154 On the whole In general, for themost part

We had some bad weather. And thecar needed repairs. Still, on the whole,it was a good trip.

155 On time At the appointedtime

Ms. Valdez always likes us to be ontime for meetings.

156 Once in awhile

occasionally We should have a day off once in awhile, dont you think?

157 Out-of-date Old-fashioned,obsolete

Too many of our plants are out-of-datewe should be building more new ones.

158 Out of order Not functioning Dont bother trying to get the TV towork, its out of order

159 Out of thequestion

Impossible, noteven to beconsidered

Your proposed solution, I, afraid, isout of the question, its just far tooexpensive

160 overstaffed Have too manyemployees

Were so overstaffed Im afraid wellhave to lay some people off

161 Pay attentionto

Listen to, look at Harry complains that his kids neverpay attention to him when he stalking


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162 Phase out Eliminate by stages Management has decide to phase outour current accounting system andeventually replace it with a better one

163 Pick up Acquire, get This project has been a nerve-wracking experience-Ill bet Ivepicked up a few gray hairs working on

it164 Plan on Expect to You should plan on taking a least

three weeks to complete this part ofthe project

165 Point of view Perspective, opinion According to Bobs point of view, therabbits make better test animals thanthe rhesus monkeys.

166 Point out Direct someonesattention to,emphasize

When you show our new equipment tothe inspection team, be sure to pointout its safety features.

167 Pull together cooperate Our company is going through toughtimes right now, but if we all pulltogether we can get by

168 Put back return After youve finished using the taperecorder, please put it back in thecloset

169 Put off postpone Id like to put off my decision untiltomorrow

170 Put ourheadstogether

Consult, plantogether

If we put our heads together, Im surewe can find a solution to this problem.

171 Put out extinguish Would you please put out yourcigarette?

172 Put two andtwo together Observe whatsobvious, make anobvious inference

All you have to do is put two and twotogether and you can see thatRobertson and Williams dont likeeach other

173 Quality for Fulfill necessaryconditions for

Because of your weak background inmicrobiology, you do not qualify forthis position

174 Quite a few A fairly largenumber of

I thought wed only have one or tworejects in the entire samples, butactually we ended up with quite a few

175 Red tape Bureaucratic forms,official regulations

Theres so much red tape involved, itmay take us months to get our

request approved.176 Reinvent the

wheelDo outdatedresearch

We want to do state-of the-artresearch, not reinvent the wheel

177 Resort to Have recourse to(for lack of anyother options)

Since we cant afford to buy a dialysismachine, I guess well have to resortto renting one

178 Rightaway/now

immediately Lets buy it right away before pricesgo up


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179 Runacross/into

Encounter, meetaccidentally

While I was in Singapore on a businesstrip, I ran across an old friend of mine

180 Run aroundin circles

Get nowhere, makeno progress

Ive been working on this designproblem all day with nothing to showfor it. I just seem to be running aroundin circles.

181 Run low on Have only a smallquantity of

We seem to be running low onsupplies; lets put in an order for more

182 Run out of Use up, exhaust Lets get the project finished beforewe run out of funds

183 Second-rate Of mediocre quality Ellen go her degree at a second-rateschool but has been a first-rateemployee for us

184 See eye toeye

agree We just dont see eye to eye on thisissue: she wants to keep using thesame method and I want to try a newone

184 Set up Establish, create Our company has just set up a newtraining program in interculturalcommunication for employees goingoverseas

185 Shoot for Air for, have as agoal

Lous been putting in a lot of overtimelately, he must be shooting for apromotion

186 Shoot thebreeze/bull

Talk casually During lunch hour I like to shoot thebreeze with my colleagues

187 shorthanded Lacking sufficienthelp, understaffed

As shorthanded as we are, it willprobably take us three weeks or moreto fill your order

188 Shut down Stop, close We dont want to shut down theassembly line of we can help it189 Six of one, a

half dozen ofthe other

Theres no realdifference betweenthem

Why bother voting for eithercandidate? Theyre just six of one, ahalf dozen of the other.

190 Sleep on it Think about it for aday or so

Your proposal sounds good, but Idlike to sleep on it while before makingdecision

191 Slowdown/up

Go slower, reducethe speed of

These machines are running too fast.We should slow them down

192 So far Up to now So far we havent had any problemswith cost overruns

193 Sooner orlater

eventually This stirrer may still be working okay,but dont forget, its 20 years old.Sooner or later its going to breakdown.

194 Speak up Speak louder We cant hear you in the back row.Could you speak up, please?

195 Spin oneswheels

Make no progress I cant solve this homework problem,no matter what I try, I just keep


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spinning my wheels196 Split hairs Make a big issue

over minor detailsTheres no sense splitting hairs oversuch a petty matter

197 Stand achance

Have a chance Do you think we stand a chance ofhaving our paper accepted?

198 Stand for represent In this equation S1 stand for thelongitudinal tensile strength and Sr forthe radical tensile strength

199 Stand out Be prominent The color will stand out more of youput it against a while background

200 Start out with Begin with Ms.Chen started out with threeemployees in 1974, today she has 75

201 Stick with Stay with, keep Id like to buy a new car, but for now Ithink I stick with the one Ive got

202 Straightenout

Put in order Well have to call in the supervisor tostraighten this mess out

203 Switch on/off Activate/deactivate Would you mind switching on the light

over there?204 Take apart disassemble In order to see whats wrong with thismotor, well have to take it completelyapart.

205 Take intoaccount

Consider, be awareof

In designing this machine tool, wemust be sure to take into account allthe design criteria

206 Take turns Alternative with Alan, why dont you and Bette taketurns checking the pressure readings?

207 Talk shop Talk about businessmatters

My wife doesnt like it if I talk shop atparties

208 Team up with Work with Id like you to team up with Ed

Kurolski on this project since hesbeen working in a related area

209 Tear down demolish The company intends to tear the oldplant down to make room for a newone

210 Think of Remember,consider

Have you thought of all the possibleconsequences of going ahead withyour plan?

211 Think over Reflect on, meditateover

Mr.Peters, Id like to think over youroffer for a few days before making adecision.

212 Through the

grapevine

By rumor, by

hearsay

Weve heard through the grapevine

that Franks going to be our nextsection chief.

213 Time off Free time, timeaway from the job

My daughters in the hospital- I needsome time off so I can go visit her

214 Turn down Deny, reject Im sorry to say your proposal hasbeen turned down

215 Turn in Submit, hand in Ms.Miller wants us to run in our tripreports as soon as possible


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216 Turn into Be converted into Wine will turn into vinegar if you leaveit uncorked for long

217 Turn on/off Activate/deactivate,switch on/off

Do you mind if I turn the airconditioner off?

218 Turn out Happen, end up We thought our experimental designwas flawless, but it turns out that we

failed to control an important variable.219 understaffed Not have enough

employeesSince were so understaffed at themoment, most of us have beenworking overtime

220 Under theweather

Sick, not very well Im feeling a little under weather, Ms.Haddad. Could I take the afternoonoff?

221 Up-to-date current I wish I were more up-to-date aboutcurrent developments, but I donthave much time for reading thosedays.

222 Use up Exhaust, usecompletely

Weve used up all of our travel fundsfor the year, any trips from now on willhave to be paid for out of our ownpockets

223 Used to Accustomed to Im not used to eating with chopsticks,but I;m willing to give them a try

224 Wear out Become useless The fan belt in my VW is supposed tolast 30,000 miles before it wears out

225 Wind up Complete, conclude If we can wind up the first series of trial runs by next week, well haveenough time to finish the other two onschedule

226 Wipe out Destroy, eliminate If this new software doesnt sell, wellbe wiped out227 Work out (1) Resolve

(2) developShe and I argue a lot, but if we could

just sit down and talk things over Ithink we could work out ourdifferences.How are things working out at yournew job?

228 Would rather Prefer to I would rather read the New YorkTimes once a week than get the localpaper everyday

229 Wrestle with Struggle with,

ponder, worry about

Weve been wrestling with this

problem for a long time.

informal conversational expressions

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