Page 97 - Speak English Like an American

(to) pull an all-nighter — to stay up all night to do work
EXAMPLE !: Ted pulled an all-nighter to study for his chemistry test and
ended up falling asleep in class the next day.
ExampLe 2: I’ve got a 20-page paper due tomorrow morning, and I
haven’t even started writing it yet. I guess I'll be pulling an all-nighter! |

rule of thumb — a useful principle
EXAMPLE 1: When cooking fish, a good rule of thumb is 10 minutes in
the oven for each inch of thickness.
EXAMPLE 2: “Ted, as a rule of thumb, you should always plan to study
for your chemistry tests for at least two hours.”

(to) turn off — to cause to feel dislike or revulsion

EXAMPLE 1: I used to be friends with Monica, but she gossiped all the
time and it really turned me off.
ExampLe 2: At first, Sara really liked Jacob. But when he started talking
about all his ex-girlfriends, she was really turned off.

Note: The noun form, turn-off, is also common and usually describes
something that causes the opposite sex to respond negatively. Example:
When Jake started talking about all his ex-girlfriends, it was a real turn-
off for Sara.
what’s up? — see Lesson 10

&. PRACTICE THE IDIOMS

Choose the best substitute for the phrase in bold:

1) Ted didn’t start studying for his chemistry test until the night
before. Then he had to pull an all-nighter.
a) get plenty of rest before an exam
b) stay up all night studying
c) sleep late

2) After working on it for months, I finally gave my presentation
this morning. That was certainly a load off my mind!
a) arelief
b) difficult
c) easy

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