tall order

درخواستی که انجام دادنش مشکل است

a task or goal that is difficult to achieve

EXAMPLE l: 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!
 

take off

معروف شدن - درآوردن لباس - ترک کردن - کسر مبلغی - بلند شدن هواپیما

to become popular; to grow suddenly
 

sitting pretty

از لحاظ مالی در تامین بودن

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

فروش کامل و تمام شدن آن

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!
 

right away

همین الان

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.
 

sell like hotcakes

 فروختن آسان چیزی

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.
 

do one's best

تمام سعی خود را کردن

to try as hard as possible

EXAMPLE 1:  Although Ted did his best, he still failed his chemistry test.

EXAMPLE 2: You might not get a perfect score on your history test, but just do your best.
 

rest assured

مطمئن شو

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.
 

deliver the goods

محقق کردن خواسته های کسی

to meet expectations; to do what's required

EXAMPLE 1:  Peter thought Bob wasn't delivering the goods, so he fired him.

EXAMPLE 2: I'm depending on you to finish the job on time. I know that you can deliver the goods!
 

burn the midnight oil

تاصبح بیدار ماندن و کار یا مطالعه کردن

to stay up late studying or working

EXAMPLE 1:  Michael burned the midnight oil studying for his algebra test.

EXAMPLE 2: The project is due tomorrow and we're far from finished. We're going to have to burn the midnight oil tonight.
 

chitchat

مکالمه کوتاه و دوستانه و غیرمفید انجام دادن

casual conversation; gossip

EXAMPLE 1:  Peter told Heather to stop the chitchat and get back to work.

EXAMPLE 2: Okay, enough chitchat! Let's start discussing this week's reading assignment.

deliver the goods
 

blow it

گند زدن

to spoil an opportunity

EXAMPLE 1:  The actress got nervous and forgot all of her lines. She really blew it!

EXAMPLE 2: I'll give you one more chance, but don't blow it this time!
 

your guess is as good as mine

منم مثل تو نمی دونم

I don't know; I don't know any more than you do

EXAMPLE 1:  Will we ever find intelligent life on other planets? Your guess is as good as mine.

EXAMPLE 2: Will Ted graduate on time? Your guess is as good as mine!
 

to tell you the truth

واقعیت را بگویم

to speak openly; to admit

EXAMPLE 1: 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! didn't go.
 

round up

جمع کردن مردم

to gather people together

EXAMPLE 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

مثل آب خوردن

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.

EXAMPLE 2: With practice, riding a unicycle becomes second nature.
 

pain in the neck

کاری که از انجام آن بیزاری، زجرآور

an annoyance

EXAMPLE 1: Yesterday I had to stay home all day and wait for the repairman. 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!
 

piece of cake

مثل آب خوردن

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.
 

keep posted

کسی را درجریان کاری قرار نگه داشتن

to provide up to date information

EXAMPLE 1:  Keep me posted about your plans for the summer. If you're going to be at your cottage on the lake, I'd love to come visit.

EXAMPLE 2: Good luck selling your house and keep me posted! I'd love to know how much you get for it.
 

learn the ropes

روش انجام کاری را یاد گرفتن

to learn the basics

EXAMPLE 1:  Mark learned the ropes of the restaurant business by working 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.
 

give (sb) a ring

به کسی تلفن کردن

to telephone someone

EXAMPLE 1: Give me a ring tomorrow so we can discuss plans for this weekend.

EXAMPLE 2: If you're free on Saturday, give me a ring and we can go to the movies.
 

in any case

قطعاً

whatever the fact is; certainly

EXAMPLE 1:  We can either go to the new Star Wars movie or see a play tonight. In any case, you'll need to be at my house by six o'clock.

EXAMPLE 2: You'll probably be too tired on Sunday to come over. In any case, give me a call in the morning to discuss.

in person

شخضاً و رودر رو

personally; in one's physical presence

EXAMPLE 1:  Tim hoped that he and Svetlana would get along as well in person as they did over the Internet.

EXAMPLE 2: After hearing so much about Donna's boyfriend, I'm looking forward to meeting him in person.
 

get the hang of (sth)

قلق چیزی را بدست آوردن

to learn how to do something; to acquire an effective technique

EXAMPLE 1: Billy had trouble learning how to ride a bike, but after a few months he finally got the hang of it.

EXAMPLE 2: When I went snowboarding for the first time, I kept falling down. But after a while, I got the hang of it.
 

at first

در ابتدای

in the beginning

EXAMPLE 1: Nicole didn't like Don Quixote at first, but after 200 pages she started to get into it.

EXAMPLE 2: Don't get discouraged if you don't succeed at first. The important thing is that you keep on trying!
 

turn off

منزجر شدن نسبت به کسی

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.
 

pull an all nighters

تا صبح برای انجام کاری بیدار ماندن

to stay up all night to do work

EXAMPLE 1: 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

حساب سرانگشتی

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."