Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook (64 page)

Three-Word Verbs Ending with
With

Almost all three-word verbs that end with the preposition
with
require only a direct object. The first idiom that follows is one exception, requiring two objects.

take
(something)
up with
(someone)

come down with

come up with

come out with

do away with

fall in with

get away with

make off with

run off with

put up with

take up with

APPENDIX I

EXPRESSIONS WITH DO, FIX, HAVE, MAKE, AND TAKE

Some of the most frequently used expressions in American English are formed with the following verbs:

These simple verbs, combined with nouns, create expressions that people use to talk about everyday life, routine activities, and common personal interaction. Phrases such as
do laundry, fix dinner, have a cold, make a mistake,
and
take a bath
are examples of this category of idiomatic language. Though these expressions may seem commonplace or simple, they can be difficult for non-native speakers because of:

• The non-literal use of the verb.
  For example, the verb
  fix
  means repair, but
  fix dinner
  doesn’t mean to repair it!
  
• The seemingly arbitrary choice of verbs.
  For example, why is it correct to say
  make
  a mistake
  ,
  and not
  do
  a mistake?
  
• The use of a different verb than is common in other languages to express the same idea.
  For example, American English uses
  have
  in “Let’s have our coffee,” but a number of other languages use the equivalent of the verb
  take
  to express this idea.
  

Some of the expressions found here may not be considered true idioms, but are idiomatic or unconventional in some way that makes them confusing or difficult to learn and to use correctly.

This appendix is designed to help you sort out when to use
do
or
make, have
or
take,
and so on. The first (and main) section of this appendix is organized by topic. The final section is organized by verb and includes additional idioms that don’t fall into one of the topic categories.

Housework Idioms with
Do
and
Make

Most idioms related to work in and around the house use the verbs
make
and
do
. For example, the idioms
do housework
and
do chores
mean to clean and tidy about the house. Here they are in context:

• I usually
  do the housework
  on Saturday morning.
  
• Come on kids, you have to
  do your chores.
  

Grammar Note:
The same idea can be expressed as
have housework to do
or
have chores to do:

• You boys
  have chores to do
  before you go out to play.
  

In the following idioms,
do
means to clean or wash:

In the following idioms,
do
means to complete or take responsibility for doing a task:

Grammar Note:
In all of the above expressions that use the verb
do
, an adjective (such as
some, a little
) or a possessive adjective (such as
my, our
) can be placed between the verb and its object (the cleaning word). Such adjectives would replace the word
the.

The following cleaning-related idioms use the verb
make:

Money Idioms with
Have
and
Make

Most idioms related to money use the verb
make
and a few use the verb
have.
First you must
make money
(earn money), then if you’ve earned a lot of money, you might
have money
(be rich). The expression to
make one’s money
can mean either to earn money or to become rich, depending on the context. Here are some examples of these idioms:

• I don’t
  make much money
  at this job, but I like the work
  .
  
• His family
  has money
  , so they bought him an expensive, nice car!
  
• She
  made her money
  in the computer component industry
  .
  

Note
:
To
have
money also means to possess money (“I
have
some money in my pocket”), but this is the literal meaning, not the idiomatic meaning of to be rich.

The idiom
to make it rich
means to become rich (legally or illegally) through a business endeavor. For example

• She has
  made it rich
  as a fashion designer.
  
• He
  made it rich
  selling on the black market.
  

The following idioms also mean to earn a lot of money and become rich:

For example:

• I
  made a mint
  when I sold my company!
  

By contrast, the following idioms mean to earn very little money at a low-paying job:

For example:

• I
  make peanuts
  working with kids, but I love the job.
  

To
make a living
basically means to earn money on which to live, to earn living expenses. People sometimes say “I
make a living,
” meaning “I earn enough money to pay my bills and live moderately comfortably, but I’m not rich.”

Make a living
is also used to ask or talk about one’s occupation or type of work. In this context, one can say either
a living
or
my living, your living,
and so on.

• How do you
  make a living?
  
• I
  make my living
  as a photographer.
  

To
make payments
means to pay one’s bills and pay on one’s debts:

• Please
  make your payment
  on the first of the month.
  
• You’ll
  make payments
  on that school loan for a long time.
  

[See
make ends meet, make a fast buck
in Chapter 6. Also see
make bank, make big bucks, make money hand over fist
in Chapter 5.]

Appointment Idioms with
Have
and
Make

Idioms with
have
and
make
can be used in reference to setting up a plan or scheduling an appointment, meeting, or date. Use
make
to talk about the actual arranging of the time and place, as in “I need to
make
an appointment.” Then use
have
to talk about something that is already arranged, as in “I
have
a doctor’s appointment for next Tuesday.”

Here are some arrangements with which you can use
have
or
make:

Conversation Idioms with
Have
and
Make

If you
make conversation,
you talk casually, usually about unimportant things.
Making conversation
is also called
making small talk.
If you
have a conversatio
n, you talk more seriously or for a longer period of time, possibly about an important topic. Here are some examples:

• A reception is a good place to meet people and
  make conversation.
  
• Americans often
  make small talk with strangers
  while waiting in line.
  
• We need to
  have a conversation
  about your future school plans.
  

When you
have a discussion
you talk seriously about something important.
Having a discussion
is a lot like
having a conversation,
and the two terms are often interchangeable, but a discussion implies a more formal situation. For example

• We
  had
  an interesting
  discussion
  on genetic engineering in class today.
  

Have
is also used in the following ways to mean present or offer an idea:

In reference to communication problems,
have
means to engage in or experience, as in the following examples:

[See also
take advice
later in this chapter.]

You can also
make a point
(state an idea well). If it’s a good point it will
make sense
(be logical, rational, practical). Here are some examples of these two idioms:

• He
  made
  some
  good points
  about the benefits of using wind power.
  
• You’ve
  made
  your
  point.
  Now let someone else speak.
  
• I like your suggestion. It
  makes
  a lot of
  sense.
  
• What are you talking about? You’re not
  making sense.
  

Food Idioms with
Fix, Make,
and
Take

Fix
and
make
can be used interchangeably to mean
prepare food to eat.
Here are some examples:

• If you’re going to
  fix
  yourself a cup of coffee, would you
  make
  one for me too?
  
• I’m going to
  make
  a sandwich for lunch.
  

Fix
and
make
can be used whether the meal is elaborate, like a Thanksgiving dinner, or less complex, like breakfast. These verbs tend to be used when the food requires very little preparation, such as instant coffee, a microwaveable meal, or a frozen dinner.