Page 104 - Speak English Like an American

(to) learn the ropes — to learn the basics
EXAMPLE |: Mark learned the ropes of the restaurant business by work-
ing as a cook at Outback Steakhouse.
EXAMPLE 2: David worked at a big law firm for 10 years where he
learned the ropes. Now he runs his own law firm.

pain in the neck — an annoyance
EXAMPLE |: Yesterday I had to stay home all day and wait for the re-
pairman. What a pain in the neck!
ExampLe 2: Alice wants me to drive her to the airport early tomorrow
morning. That’s going to be a pain in the neck!
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piece of cake — very easy
Example 1: Nicole finished her physics test in just 25 minutes. It was a
piece of cake.
EXAMPLE 2: The driving test is a piece of cake. Don’t worry about it.
SYNONYM: easy as pie. You should have no trouble passing the driving
test. It’s as easy as pie.

(to) round up — to gather people together
Exampce 1: The town rounded up 200 volunteers to search for the hiker,
who was lost in the woods of Yosemite National Park.
EXAMPLE 2: Let’s round up some volunteers to help bake cookies and
pies for the bake sale.

second nature — a behavior that has been practiced for so
long, it seems to have been there always

ExampLe 1: Karen has been arguing with her husband every day for the
past 20 years, so by now it’s just second nature.
EXxampLe 2: With practice, riding a unicycle becomes second nature.

EXAMPLE 2: Will Ted graduate on time? Your guess is as good as mine!
to tell you the truth — to speak openly; to admit
EXAMPLE |: To tell you the truth, Ted isn’t a very good student.
EXAMPLE 2: To tell you the truth, I didn’t even want to attend Katie’s
wedding. But I knew she'd be offended if I didn’t go.

your guess is as good as mine — | don’t know; I don’t know
any more than you do
Exampte 1: Will we ever find intelligent life on other planets? Your
guess is as good as mine.

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