Page 108 - Speak English Like an American

rest assured — be sure
EXAMPLE 1: Rest assured that the police will find the thieves.
EXAMPLE 2: Rest assured I’ll take good care of your dog while you’re on
vacation.

right away — immediately
EXAMPLE 1: When Meg realized her house was on fire, she called the fire
department right away.
EXAMPLE 2: You need some sugar for your cookies? I'll bring some over
right away.

(to) sell like hotcakes — to sell fast; to be a popular item
ExampLe 1: Those new Fubu blue jeans are selling like hotcakes. All the
girls love them.
EXAMPLE 2: Stephen King’s new novel is selling like hotcakes.

(to be) sitting pretty — in a good position (often financially)
ExampLe 1: After Chad won the lottery, he was really sitting pretty. He
quit his job and bought a mansion in Malibu, California.
EXAMPLE 2: Gina was one of the first people to work at Amazon.com,
and she made millions on her stock options. Now she’s sitting pretty.

sold out — completely sold

EXAMPLE 1: Becky was really disappointed when she found out that the
Britney Spears concert was sold out.
ExamPLe 2: Susan’s cookies were very popular at the bake sale. In fact,
they sold out in just 20 minutes!

(to) take off — to become popular; to grow suddenly
ExampLe: Julia Roberts’ career took off with the film “Pretty Woman.”
Note: “Take off” has several other meanings:

1. Remove. Please take off your shoes before coming inside our apart-
ment. We just vacuumed this morning.
2. To leave. We’re taking off now. See you later!
3. To deduct. The waiter forgot to bring us drinks, so he took $10 off the bill.
4. To leave the ground. The airplane took off on time.
tall order — a task or goal that is difficult to achieve
ExamPLe 1: It’ll be a tall order to find a new governor as popular as the
current one.
EXAMPLE 2: You want me to figure out how to clone your pet rabbit?
That’s a tall order!

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