Occur To and Rats Off The Ship

Today's phrasal verb is Occur To, which means:
For a thought or idea to enter one's mind

Didn't it occur to you to help me when you saw how much trouble I was in?
It didn't occur to him to lock the door.   
Would it ever occur to you that I want to be left alone?  
 Did it occur to you to call my apartment to see if I was there?  
It never occurred to me to ask where she'd been.
 It hadn't occurred to her that she would be expected to ride a bike.
 

Notes: often used in the form not occur to you. Inseparable and intransitive

Synonyms:  dawn on, strike, appear, hit, cross your mind, come to mind Today's idiom is (Like) Rats Off A (Sinking)Ship, which means: People who abandon, forsake, desert, "ditch" or run when difficulties arise, or when things get bad, they are compared to rats jumping off a sinking ship. They flee a "lost cause" because they weren't committed to it. When a ship is about to sink, rats are usually the first aboard it to depart.  They are said to have very good instincts about this. The rats jump off and swim away because they know the ship is doomed and that they need to swim to safety.  Some people, like rats,  are only concerned for their own safety, well-being and self-interest and will not stay to help prevent the ship from sinking or to help others, unlike the captain and the men on the ship who try their best to save the "ship", which they are loyal to.  The "ship", in this case, is a metaphor for a cause or  some other sort of social organization, such as a business company. You can tell when something is about to fail because large numbers of people begin to leave it.  These people are "rats", i.e., they are selfish and disloyal.  In the rats defense, sometimes this is a great idea and the very best thing to do. Jill: The company next door must be going bankrupt. Jack: How do you know? Jill: All its employees are resigning. Jack: Like rats off a sinking ship, eh? Either you're loyal to this cause or your not.  All rats off the ship now.  We don't need you.  Only those who still believe in it should remain in order to keep this effort afloat. "What can I say? I could smell that the ship was sinking"

Saddle With and Beyond The Pale.

Today's phrasal verb is Saddle With, which means:

To be burdened, encumbered or weighed down.  To give someone a task or responsibility that is difficult or hard work.

He was saddled  with the heavy responsibility of raising his three children alone
They were saddled with heavy expenses.
The boss saddled his secretary with cleaning up all the files over the weekend  

The war saddled the country with huge foreign debt.

They  saddled me with preparing all the arrangements for  the visit.

Notes:- Separable and transitive
 Synonyms: afflict,  bother, crush, cumber, depress, , dish out, dump on, encumber, hamper, handicap, hinder, impede, lade, load, make heavy, obligate, oppress, overcharge, overload, overwhelm, pile, press, , snow under, snow*, stick it to, strain, tax, trouble, try, vex, weigh down, worry 

Someone saddled this poor dog with a ridiculous hat and the job of carrying beer around.

Today's idiom is Beyond The Pale, which means:

Unacceptable; outside agreed standards of decency. an action that’s regarded as outside the limits of acceptable behaviour, one that’s objectionable or improper.

After he's had a few beers his behaviour is often beyond the pale.

Her rude comments to my friends were really beyond the pale.

The behavior of the pupils during the break was beyond the pale.

Diogenes, The Cynic, chose to live beyond the pale of society, like a "dog" (Gr. kynikos, "dog-like")

 Origin

The word 'pale' in this expression is not the adjective meaning 'whitish and light in colour', but it is in fact a now obsolete noun that used to mean 'a pointed piece of wood or a stake'. We no longer use this noun, but it is where the verb 'impale' originated from. Of course, a number of 'pales' in a row were used to make fences, and any area enclosed by a fence was believed to be safe. So anything 'beyond the pale' was considered to be outside the area accepted as 'safe'.  Historically, several "pales" were created in Europe in order to separate or segregate one community of people from another.  Catherine the Great created the Pale of Settlement in Russia in 1791. This was the name given to the western border region of the country, in which Jews were allowed to live. The motivation behind this was to restrict trade between Jews and native Russians. Some Jews were allowed to live, as a concession, 'beyond the pale'. Pales were enforced in various other European countries for similar political reasons, notably in Ireland (the Pale of Dublin) and France (the Pale of Calais, which was formed as early as 1360).

Pan Out and Gold Digger

Today's phrasal verb is Pan Out, which might also be considered an idiom, but I have a better idiom for later today.  Pan Out means:
To turn out or to happen, especially successfully: come to pass; succeed

The couple's reconciliation just didn't pan out 
He was very creative, although not all his ideas have panned out.
My latest sales prospect has finally panned out.   
I don't know how things will pan out now that the company's been taken over.

Maybe something bright and shiny will pan out from this

Notes:  Intransitive and inseparable.  
Synonyms:  work out, click, come out, culminate, eventuate, go over, happen, prove out, result, turn out,  yield.  
The phrase is idiomatic because it derives from the process of  washing gravel, sand, etc. in a pan to separate gold or other heavy valuable metal.   There is also a secondary meaning to this verbal phrase, though it is not very common.  It means: to zoom out with a camera in order to move back to a wider angle picture using a zoom lens.  

Pan out at this point in the script and give a wider view of the scene.

Today's idiom is Gold Digger, which is also considered slang, means:

Any woman whose primary interest in a relationship is material benefits.  Usually she is very attractive and lies about loving a man in order  to gain his wealth.  The closest male equivalent is a gigolo or boytoy.

 

That gold digger was never in love with him; she was in love with his money.

Do you see that woman over there?  Watch out for her and your wallet.  She's a gold digger.

 

Die For and Shut Your Cake Hole

Today's phrasal verb is Die For.  It is often heard as To Die For, which has a slightly different meaning.
The first means: to want something a lot. The second means: that something is excellent.

I'm dying for  the weekend to come!- this week's been so hard.
I would die for a Super Burrito with extra guacamole and cheese right now!  
This blueberry cheesecake is to die for! Have a bite.  

Today's idiom is Shut Your Cake Hole!  It means:
Be quiet or more rudely, shut up.

Aaahh, just shut yer cake hole for a second, willya?. You never stop nagging. 

Note:  I personally like to use this phrase on neighborhood dogs who bark at me when I pass by their door.

Dead and Dead To Rights

Today I am going to explain a usage of the word Dead that you may commonly hear, but not quite understand.  This is its slang use to mean:

Exact, precise accurate; sure; unerring, absolutely; completely; altogether; direct or straight, and occasionally, to mean suddenly

 

The dead center of a circle/square/place/area. (exact, direct).  We're in the dead center of town.

A dead shot. (accurate, precise)  Bull's eye! That answer was a dead shot  

A dead line. (straight, accurate, unerring).  He made a dead line to the bathroom.

(not to be confused with "deadline", which means a time limit).

Dead right/Dead wrong (Absolutely/completely/ altogether).  The Republicans are dead wrong about taxes.

Dead tired.   (Absolutely/completely/ altogether). 

Dead sure/certain (Absolutely/completely/ altogether) 

Dead broke (Absolutely/completely/ altogether)

Dead ahead (direct/straight), e.g., There's a gas station dead ahead.

3. Stop dead (suddenly) She stopped dead on the stairway.  

 

Dead Center!

 

Today's idiom is Dead To Rights, which means:

To be caught in the very act of making an error or committing a crime  

 

The runner was thrown out, dead to rights, by the pitcher as he attempted to steal second base

 The police caught the thief dead to rights with the stolen goods still in his hands.

I have you dead to rights in this lie!  

 

"Picked off, dead to rights!"

 

Note: This is a very difficult idiom to understand.   The first part of the phrase, “dead,” is the slang use of the word to mean “absolutely, without doubt", but the second part, "to rights” is a bit more complicated. “To rights” has been used since the 14th century to mean “in a proper manner,” or, later, “in proper condition or order,”  "To rights" is probably used in British English much more than American English.  This said, Dead To Rights is considered an American idiom.  The British say "Bang To Rights".  I suppose that the best definition of this idiom is "absolutely sure and certain order".  In other words, "without question or doubt".

Get One's Head Around Something and Nose Out Of Joint.

I have two idioms for you today:  Get Your Head Around Something  and Nose Out Of Joint.  The first one means:
To come to understand something  even though it is difficult to comprehend or to accept something that seems strange. 

Have you got your head around your new job yet?  

I just can't get my head around these tax forms.

I'm having a hard time getting my head around this new schedule.  

There's a lot to get your head around on the first day of school.

The second one means:

To have one's feelings hurt or one's plans upset. To be irritated or envious, especially when displaced by someone.

Ever since Sheila got promoted he's had his nose out of joint.  

The boss's praise of her assistant put Jean's nose out of joint. 

What's your nose out of joint about this time? Your book 's selling. 

Note: Presumably this expression alludes to the face-distorting grimace made by one who is displeased

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Definition

Today's phrasal verb is Dig Into, which has four meanings:
1-To reach inside to get something

 She dug into her handbag and pulled out a bunch of keys.

He dug into his pocket and pulled out a handful of coins


2-To  use money that you had been saving

I’ve had to dig into my savings this month to pay for my car insurance.

3-To try to find information about something

After he announced his candidacy for congress, journalists began digging into his past

4-To press hard into something

The seat belt is digging into my shoulder
These new shoes are digging into my heels

Notes:
- Inseparable

Today's idiom is Straight Shooter, which means: 

One who is honest, forthright and voices very accurate opinions

The owner of this cafe is a straight shooter who says what he thinks.

I always read E.J. Dionne's column in the Washington Post.  He's a straight shooter.  

Shot.

I will give you a piece of common slang today; Shot, which means:

1-When something is old or breaks and no longer functions correctly.

I have to throw this old, dry paint away that's been sitting in the basement for years.  It's shot. 

These pants are shot.  I can't wear them to work anymore.

The motherboard on my laptop computer is completely shot and beyond repair. 

2-When someone is very tired  or "messed up" and can no longer funtion normally.

Jack: You look thoroughly shot.  Jill: Yes, I'm utterly exhausted!

Things are really going bad at work. The boss despises me.  My career is shot! 

	3-A small amount of an alcoholic beverege typically above 80 proof. Served in a small glass known as a tumbler or shot glass. Variety of mixed shots; whisky is the most common straight shot in America. Jack: I just lost my job.  Give me a shot.   Bartender: A shot of what?  Jack: Anything.

Call For and Make One's Hair Stand Up (On End)

Today's phrasal is Call For, which has six meanings:
1-To demand or request for something to be done

The Opposition party called for the minister's resignation after the scandal broke.

2-To telephone for something

 I'll call for a cab right away.
 Do you want me to call for a pizza?

3-To arrive and collect someone to take them out

 I'll call for you at seven, so be ready because the film starts at half past

4-To need or require a particular thing or quality

An emergency like this calls for some pretty drastic action.
You're getting engaged?  This calls for a celebration!

5-To go to collect something

The courier called for your parcel, but I told him it wasn't ready yet.

6- To suggest as likely: to suggest that something is likely to happen ( refers to weather forecasts )

The weathercasters are calling for thunderstorms in the late afternoon.

Notes: Transitive verb.  All usages are inseparable. Synonyms: need, require, justify, necessitate, cry out for, be in need of, exact (v.), order, demand, claim, clamor, request, ask

Today's idiom is Make One's Hair Stand On End, which means:

Something that causes someone to be very frightened

The horrible scream made my hair stand up..  
The ghost story made our hair stand on end.
The thought of jumping out of an airplane makes my hair stand on end.

  

Note: This is first found in Shakespeare's Hamlet, 1602:

"I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres, thy knotted and combined locks to part and each particular hair to stand an end, like quills upon the fretful porpentine."

Shakespeare conjured up many images in his works; few though have been more vivid than the mental picture of a fretful porcupine. The allusion of makes your hair stand on end is to the actual sensation of hairs, especially those on the neck, standing upright when the skin contracts due to cold or to fear. This is otherwise known as 'goose-flesh' and the condition is, or rather was, known by the entirely splendid word horripilation. This was defined by Thomas Blount in his equally splendidly named book Glossographia, or a dictionary interpreting such hard words as are now used, 1656:"Horripilation, the standing up of the hair for fear... a sudden quaking, shuddering or shivering".

Back Out and Close, But No Cigar.

Today's phrasal verb is Back Out (Of), which has two meanings:
1-To fail to keep an arrangement or promise;  to withdraw from a previous commitment

He backed out of going to concert  two days before the show so we gave the ticket to his sister
The buyer backed out before the papers were signed.

2-To go backward: to move out backward, or cause something to move out backward; to exit a parking area in reverse gear;

She backed the BMW out of its parking space.
He backed out of the overcrowded elevator, realizing that he wouldn't fit. 

Some days are harder than others to back your car out.

Notes:  Definition 1 is intransitive and inseparable and Definition 2 is both transitive and intransitive and separable.  Synonyms for Definition 1:  pull out, withdraw, renege, go back on, cancel, change your mind, drop out, call off, beg off, cry off, fink out.  Synonym for Definition: back up, move in reverse.

Today's idiom is Close, But No Cigar, which means:
Fall just short of a successful outcome and get nothing or very little for your efforts. Something that you say to someone if what they tell you or what they do is nearly correct but not completely  Jill: How did you do in the contest? Jane: Close, but no cigar. I got second place. Jack: "Is his name Howard?" Jill:"Close, but no cigar. It's Harold." Close, but no cigar, old boy. Notes: The phrase, and its variant 'nice try, but no cigar', are of US origin and date from the mid-20th century. Fairground stalls gave out cigars as prizes,

Act Out and Nick Of Time

Today's phrasal verb is Act Out, which has three meanings:
1-Perform something with actions and gestures, and usually with speech or dialogue.

They acted out the story on stage.
Do children act out what they see on television?

2. To express a negative feeling or impulse by behaving in a socially unacceptable way

Their anger is acted out in their antisocial behavior.
Because his parents spent so much time with his chronically ill sister, the boy resorted to acting out in order to get attention.

3. To translate into action or realize through action

He wanted to see his theory acted out in practice
They were unwilling to act out their beliefs in human rights and dignity due to their fear that it might get them hurt or killed by the militia. 

Notes:  transitive and intransitive verb. - Separable [optional].
Acting out is a psychological term from the parlance of defense mechanisms and self-control, meaning to perform an action in contrast to bearing and managing the impulse to perform it. The acting done is usually anti-social and may take the form of acting on the impulses of an addiction (eg. drinking, drug taking or shoplifting) or in a means designed (often unconsciously or semi-consciously) to garner attention (eg. throwing a tantrum or behaving promiscuously).  In general usage, the action performed is destructive to self or others and may inhibit the development of more constructive responses to the feelings. The term is used in this way in sexual addiction treatment, psychotherapy, criminology and parenting. Acting out painful feelings may be contrasted with expressing them in ways more helpful to the sufferer, e.g. by talking out, expressive therapy, psychodrama or mindful awareness of the feelings. Developing the ability to express one's conflicts safely and constructively is an important part of impulse control, personal development and self-care.

Today's idiom is In The (Very) Nick  Of Time, which means:

Just in time; at the last possible instant; just before it's too late. 

The doctor arrived in the nick of time. The patient's life was saved.  

I reached the airport in the very nick of time and made my flight.

Note: (*Typically: arrive ~; get there ~; happen ~; reach something ~; Save someone ~.). The "nick" in Nick of Time that is being referred comes from a notch or small cut and was synonymous with precision. Such notches were used on 'tally' sticks to measure or keep score. If someone is now said to be 'in the nick' the English would expect him to be found in prison, the Scots would picture him in the valley between two hills and Australians would imagine him to be naked. To Shakespeare and his contemporaries if someone were 'in (or at, or upon) the (very) nick' they were in the precise place at the precise time. Watches and the strings of musical instruments were adjusted to precise pre-marked nicks to keep them in proper order.  

Rule Out and Fly In The Ointment

Today's phrasal verb is Rule Out, which means
1-To exclude something or someone or make a decision not to consider something
 
The police have ruled out suicide and are treating it as a case of murder
Well, it's raining now.  That rules out our picnic today. 
He's ruling out going to medical school.  He simply doesn't have the money for it. 
The background check on him completely rules out our ever hiring him

2. prevent something or to make something impossible  

By moving his Bishop to A4 rules out my moving my Rook to E8

There are no avocados in the market today.  That rules out making guacamole.

Notes: Separable [optional] and transitive.

Today's idiom is Fly In The Ointment, which means
1-A small annoyance that spoils an otherwise pleasant experience or thing.

We enjoyed the play, but the fly in the ointment was not being able to find my hat afterward.
 I wish you hadn't decided to have anchovies put on the pizza. That's a fly in the ointment. 

 2-Someone or something that spoils a situation which could have been successful or pleasant.

Now that Martha has arrived at this party is a real fly in the ointment.  I was enjoying Robert's party until now. 

3-A drawback

It sounds like a good idea, but there must be a fly in the ointment somewhere.

I'd like to buy this car, but the fly in the ointment is that it doesn't come with air conditioning. 

Washed Up and Put A Spanner In The Works

Today's phrasal verb is Washed Up, which has two meanings:
1. Something deposited by the tide on a shore

There were hundreds of jellyfish washed-up on the shore

2. Someone, and occasionally something, no longer effective or successful

The baseball pitcher had been traded three times in the last three years, was 40 years old, and was considered washed-up at this point in his career.
She hadn't made a movie in 3 years and was considered a washed- up actress around Hollywood.
The company was deep in debt, consumers and investors had lost confidence in it, and was now simply washed-up. 

Today's idiom is Throw (Put) A Monkey Wrench (Spanner) In The Works, which means
Something or someone which prevents a plan or activity from succeeding, often causing mayhem and often intentionally so.

We were hoping to get the project started in June but the funding was withdrawn so that rather threw a monkey wrench in the works
The sudden withdrawal of the guest speaker really put a spanner in the works.

Note:'Put (or throw/toss) a spanner (monkey wrench) in the works' refers to the calamitous effects of throwing a spanner into the gears and pistons of an engine while it's running.

Monkey Wrench is American English and Spanner is British English.