Meaning: abies balsamea

n.
medium-sized fir of northeastern North America; leaves smell of balsam when crushed; much used for pulpwood and Christmas trees

mea Idiom, Proverb

by all means

yes, please do it By all means, come to the Learning Skills Centre.

by any means

any way or method, by doing any job He survived by any means when he first came to Canada.

by no means

not in any way, not by any stretch... By no means is a car a good investment. It will depreciate.

dead meat

finished, terminated, done for If you're caught driving drunk in Sweden, you're dead meat.

end justifies the means

(See the end justifies the means)

for good measure

adding enough or a bit more than required For good measure, we added a a bottle of wine to the punch.

in the meantime

for now, meanwhile Someday I want to own a yacht. In the meantime, I have a canoe.

make mincemeat of

defeat badly, demolish, blow them away The heavyweight champ made mincemeat of the young boxer.

mean business

is serious or determined, no nonsense At work or play she means business. She is a serious person.

mean streak

being unkind at times, having cruel traits Kurt has a mean streak in him. Did you see him kick his dog?

mean well

wants to help, has good intentions Kay is a gossip, but she means well. She tries to be a friend.

measure up

do enough work, achieve high quality With more training, he'll improve. He'll measure up to our standards.

one man's meat is another man's poison

one person likes what another person hates, to each his own "Some people love his music; others hate it. One man's meat is another man's poison."

play a mean game

play very well, play to win Ingrid may beat you. She plays a mean game of chess.

square meal

full meal: meat, bread, vegetables and milk We need at least one square meal each day. Do you agree?

the end justifies the means

any method is fine if the result is good If a person steals food to survive, does the end justify the means?

beat your meat

to jack off, to masturbate

means

money

beyond one's means

more than one can afford 非财力所及
Don't live beyond your means．过日子不要超出自己财力所及的范围。

by means of

with the help of；by using sth．or some method 利用
He recovered by means of seaair and seabathing．他通过呼吸海边的空气和洗海水浴恢复了健康。
They succeeded by means of perseverance．他们依靠坚持而成功。
The thief entered the house by means of a ladder．小偷用一个梯子进了房间。

measure off

mark off by measuring划出；量出
They measured off the area in which they would work．他们划出了他们将要工作的地区。
I asked the shopassistant to measure off two metres of blue corduroy for me．我叫营业员给我量两米蓝灯芯绒。

measure out

appoint in measured amounts量出；按量分配
The chemist carefully measured out a dose of herbal medicine and told me how to brew it．药剂师仔细地配好一付中药，并告诉我煎药的方法。
He opened the flourbin and measured out some flour．他打开面粉柜，量出了一些面粉。

measure up to

display qualities，skills，etc．of a required standard胜任；适合；符合标准
The products did not measure up to specifications．这些产品没达到规格。
If she doesn't measure up to the job，she'll just have to leave．要是她不能胜任这工作，她只得离去。

ways and means

Idiom(s): ways and means

Theme: MONEY

eferring to the raising of money to pay for something. (Typically refers to a government committee or a committee of some organization charged with raising money. Fixed order.)
• The suggestion was referred to the ways and means committee for discussion at the next meeting.
• The proposed legislation is stalled in ways and means.

one means business

Idiom(s): one means business

Theme: SERIOUSNESS

one is very serious. (Informal.)
• Billy, get into this house and do your homework, and I mean business.
• We mean business when we say you must stop all this nonsense.

meat-and-potatoes

Idiom(s): meat-and-potatoes

Theme: BASIC

basic, sturdy, and hearty. (Often refers to a robust person, usually a man, with simple tastes in food and other things. Fixed order.)
• Fred was your meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. No creamy sauces for him.
• There is no point in trying to cook up something special for the Wilsons. They are strictly meat-and-potatoes.

measure up to one's expectations

Idiom(s): measure up (to one's expectations)

Theme: ACHIEVEMENT

to be as good as one expects.
• This meal doesn't measure up to my expectations.
• Why doesn't it measure up?

mean to

Idiom(s): mean to (do sth)

Theme: INTENTIONS

to intend to do something.
• Did you mean to do that?
• No, it was an accident. I didn't mean to.

mean sth

Idiom(s): mean sth (to sb)

Theme: FEELING - LACKING

for someone to have feeling for (someone or something).
• You mean a lot to me.
• This job means a lot to Ann.

mean nothing

Idiom(s): mean nothing (to sb)

Theme: FEELING - LACKING

[for someone] not to have feeling for (someone or something).
• Do I mean nothing to you after all these years?
• Do all those years mean nothing?

mealymouthed

Idiom(s): mealymouthed

Theme: FRANKNESS - LACKING

not frank or direct; too shy to speak directly. (Informal.)
• Jane is too mealymouthed to tell Frank she dislikes him. She just avoids him.
• Don’t be so mealymouthed. It's better to speak plainly.

make a meal of

Idiom(s): make a meal of sth

Theme: EATING

to eat only a large portion of one kind of food as an entire meal.
• There were lots of salad makings, so we fixed a large salad and made a meal of it.
• We had tons of leftover turkey after the festival, so the next day we sat down and made a meal of it.

made to measure

Idiom(s): made to measure

Theme: FITTING

[of clothing] made especially to fit the measurements of a particular person.
• Jack has his suits made to measure because he's rather large.
• Having clothes made to measure is rather expensive.

live within one's means

Idiom(s): live within one's means

Theme: LIVELIHOOD

to spend no more money than one has.
• We have to struggle to live within our means, but we manage.
• John is unable to live within his means.

live beyond one's means

Idiom(s): live beyond one's means

Theme: LIFESTYLE

to spend more money than one can afford.
• The Browns are deeply in debt because they are living beyond their means.
• I keep a budget so that I don’t live beyond my means.

eat a meal out

Idiom(s): eat (a meal) out AND dine out

Theme: EATING

to eat a meal at a restaurant.
• I like to eat a meal out every now and then.
• Yes, it's good to eat out and try different kinds of food.
• It costs a lot of money to dine out often.

by all means of

Idiom(s): by all means of sth

Theme: POSITIVE

using every possible manner of something to do something.
• People will be arriving by all means of transportation.
• The surgeon performed the operation by all means of instruments.

beyond measure

Idiom(s): beyond measure

Theme: AMOUNT - LARGE

more than can be measured; in a very large amount.
• They brought in hams, turkeys, and roasts, and then they brought vegetables and salads beyond measure.
• They thanked all of us beyond measure.

make mincemeat out of

Idiom(s): make hamburger out of someone or something AND make mincemeat out of someone or something

Theme: OVERCOME

to beat up or overcome someone or something. (Slang.)
• Stop acting silly, or I'll make hamburger out of you.
• Our team made mincemeat out of the other team.

He who wills the end wills the means.

If you are determined to do something you will find a way.

The end justifies the means.

Wrong or unfair methods may be used if the result of the action is good.

Lean and mean

An organisation that is lean and mean has no excess or unnecessary elements and is very competitive.

Make a meal

If someone makes a meal of something, they spend too long doing it or make it look more difficult than it really is.

Man of means

A man, or woman, of means is wealthy.

Mealy-mouthed

A mealy-mouthed person doesn't say what they mean clearly.

Meat and drink

If something is meat and drink to you, you enjoy it and are naturally good at it, though many find it difficult.

Meat and potatoes

The meat and potatoes is the most important part of something. A meat and potatoes person is someone who prefers plain things to fancy ones.

Shades of meaning

Shades of meaning is a phrase used to describe the small, subtle differences in meaning between similar words or phrases; 'kid' and 'youth' both refer to young people, but carry differing views and ideas about young people.

Drastic Times Call For Drastic Measures

When you are extremely desperate you need to take extremely desperate actions.

a square meal

a filling meal: "You need a square meal after all that exercise."

More Idioms/Phrases

the way the cookie crumbles have someone eat out of your hand eat into your savings eating for two eat your heart out! not your cup of tea a square meal it smells fishy small fry roll out the barrel rhubarb catch someone's eye to fancy someone to have a crush on someone to have a soft spot for someone

English Vocalbulary

abies concolor abies fraseri abies grandis abies lasiocarpa abies lowiana abies venusta abila abilene abilities ability abiogeneses abiogenesis abiogenetic abiogenist abiotrophies abiotrophy abject abjection