Significato: abolish

a·bol·ish || ə'bɒlɪʃv. abolire, sopprimere; abrogare

lis Idioma

ballistic

(See go ballistic)

black-listed

excluded, not be invited, not allowed to join Gore was black-listed because he led the demonstration.

go ballistic

become very upset, freak out When I told Mom I was pregnant she went ballistic.

hellish

bad, awful, unfair If we have to pay our medical bills, it's a hellish arrangement!

ignorance is bliss

ignorant people have nothing to worry about "The teacher said, ""Ignorance is bliss - until you write exams."""

listen up

listen carefully, pay attention "The coach said, ""Listen up, guys. This is important."""

on the shit list

on the list to be punished, in your bad books Greg's on the shit list because he missed the sales meeting.

penny-wise and pound foolish

wise or careful in small things to the costly neglect of important things My friend is penny-wise and pound foolish and economizes on small things but wastes all of his money on big things.

polish off

finish completely, finish doing something quickly We polished off the work early and went to the beach for the day.

polish off/polish it off

eat all of it, drink it all Somebody polished off the last few cookies. Who ate them?

polish the apple

try to win favor by flattering someone The teacher doesn

shit list

(See on the shit list)

sucker list

a list of easily-fooled people who are easily persuaded to buy something The salesmen used a sucker list to try and get people to buy his new product.

apple polish

American slang for flattery

listen for

be eager or make an effort to catch the sound of 倾听；用心听
They were listening for the sound from the next room．他们正留心听隔壁屋子是否有声音。
Please listen carefully for the telephone while I am upstairs．我在楼上的时候，请注意听着电话。

listen in

1．listen to a radio broadcast，etc．听广播等
We were listening in to the President's speech．我们在收听总统的广播讲话。
He likes to listen in late at night．他喜欢在深夜听广播。
2．listen to the talk of others 偷听（讲话）；窃听（电话）
When Mary talked to her boy friend on the telephone，her little brother listened in．玛丽与男朋友打电话时，她弟弟在偷听。
The police had tapped his tele phone wire and listened in on his conversations with his confederates．警方在他的电话线上搭线，监听他和同伙的谈话。
The boy listened in while we were discussing the problem．我们在讨论这个问题时，这男孩在旁边听着。

listen to

give ear to；try to hear 倾听
All listened to him with great attention．所有人都聚精会神听他说话。

polish up

1．become bright and clean with polishing擦亮
He polished up the silverware till it shone．他把银器擦得铮亮。
2．improve改善；润色
I'll have to polish up my French before the holidays．度假前我得温习一下法语。
I think this article needs polishing up before we print it．我认为这篇文章还需润色一下才能复印。

stop, look, and listen

Idiom(s): stop, look, and listen

Theme: CAUTION

to exercise caution, especially at street corners and railroad crossings, by stopping, looking to the left and to the right, and listening for approaching vehicles or a train. (Also used figuratively for exercising extreme caution in general. Fixed order.)
• Sally's mother trained her to stop, look, and listen at every street corner.
• It is a good practice to stop, look, and listen at a railroad crossing.
• You really should stop, look, and listen before you take any risks with your hard-earned money.

publish or perish

Idiom(s): publish or perish

Theme: COLLEGE

[for a professor] to publish many books or articles in scholarly journals or get released from a university or fall into disfavor in a university. (Also occurs in other parts of speech. See the examples. Fixed order.)
• Alice knew she would have to publish or perish if she took the teaching job.
• This is a major research university and publish or perish is the order of the day.

polish sth off

Idiom(s): polish sth off

Theme: COMPLETION

to finish something off.
• There is just a little bit of work left. It won't take any time to polish it off.
• Bob polished off the rest of the pie.

penny-wise and pound-foolish

Idiom(s): penny-wise and pound-foolish

Theme: FOOLISHNESS

A proverb meaning that it is foolish to lose a lot of money to save a little money. (Fixed order.)
• Sally shops very carefully to save a few cents on food, then charges the food to a charge card that costs a lot in annual interest. That's being pennywise and pound-foolish.
• John drives thirty miles to buy gas for three cents a gallon less than it costs here. He's really penny-wise and pound-foolish.

listen to reason

Idiom(s): listen to reason

Theme: YIELDING

to yield to a reasonable argument; to take the reasonable course.
• Please listen to reason, and don't do something you'll regret.
• She got into trouble because she wouldn't listen to reason.

in plain English

Idiom(s): in plain language AND in plain English

Theme: SIMPLICITY

in simple, clear, and straightforward language.
• That's too confusing. Please say it again in plain English.
• Tell me again in plain language.
• Please put it into plain language.

An Englishman's home is his castle.

An Englishman's home is a place where he feels safe, enjoys privacy and can do as he wishes.

Ignorance is bliss.

Possible interpretation: What you do not know causes no worry or sadness.

Penny wise, pound foolish.

Refers to a person who is careful about spending small amounts of money, but not careful about spending large amounts of money.

At the top of the list

If something is at the top of the list, it is of highest priority, most important, most urgent, or the next in one's line of attention.

Kick the ballistics

It means you realise the intensity of a situation. For example, there is too much unemployment now, so the prime minister must kick the ballistics and change his policy.

Penny wise, pound foolish

Someone who is penny wise, pound foolish can be very careful or mean with small amounts of money, yet wasteful and extravagant with large sums.

Polish the apples

(USA) Someone who polishes the apples with someone, tries to get into that person's favor.

Polishing peanuts

To work very hard at something for little or no return. In other words, wasting time on work which will not yield reasonable value.

To be off someone's Christmas card list

"Oh dear. I think I'm off her Christmas card list after insulting her husband!"

on the black list

be on a list of "undesirables": "We won't be invited to their party this year - we're on their black list."

blacklisted

be banned: "Many actors and writers were blacklisted in Hollywood in the 1950's because they were considered "un-American."

Where ignorance is bliss it is folly to be wise.

It is better to be unaware of something that will bring unhappiness.

Pidgin English|English|Pidgin

n. phr. A jargon that consists of some mispronounced English words and some foreign words used by Orientals in talking with Westerners. You can conduct a lot of business in Pidgin English in the Far East.

Salisbury steak|Salisbury|steak

n. A broiled or fried hamburger patty sometimes containing eggs, milk, bread crumbs, and seasoning. James ordered a Salisbury steak for lunch.

apple polisher|apple|polisher

n., slang A person who is nice to the one in charge in order to be liked or treated better; a person who does favors for a superior. Jane is an apple polisher. She is always helping the teacher and talking to him. Joe is an apple-polisher. He will do anything for the boss.
Compare: EAGER BEAVER, YES-MAN. -

apple polishing|apple|polishing

n., slang Trying to win someone's good-will by small acts currying favor; the behavior of an apple polisher. When John I brought his teacher flowers, everyone thought he was apple polishing.

body English|English|body

n., informal The wishful attempt to make a ball move in the right direction after it has been hit or let go, by twisting the body in the desired direction. He tried to help the putt fall by using body English.

holistic health|health|holistic

n., informal, semi-technical The maintenance of health and the avoidance of disease through such psychogenic practices and procedures as biofeedback, meditation, alternative methods of childbirth, and avoidance of drugs. The Murgatroyds are regular holistic health freaks why, they won't even take aspirin when they have a headache.

in plain English|English|plain|plain English

adv. phr. Plainly; simply; in clear language. Stop healing around the bush and saying that John "prevaricates"; in plain English he is a liar.

listen in|listen

v. 1. To listen to a radio broadcast. We found them listening in to the president's speech. 2. To listen to the talk of others, often to talk that is not intended for your ears; eavesdrop. When Mary talked to her boyfriend on the telephone, her little brother listened in.

listen to reason|listen|reason

v. phr. To listen to and think about advice that you are given. Joe was stubborn and would not listen to reason. It will save you a lot of trouble if you will just listen to reason.

penny wise and pound foolish|foolish|penny|penny w

Wise or careful in small things but not careful enough in important things.

A proverb. Mr. Smith's fence is rotting and falling down because he wouldn't spend money to paint it. He is penny wise and pound foolish.

polish off|polish

v., informal 1. To defeat easily. The Dodgers polished off the Yankees in four straight games in the 1963 World Series. 2. To finish completely; finish doing quickly, often in order to do something else. The boys were hungry and polished off a big steak. Mary polished off her homework early so that she could watch TV.

polish the apple|apple|polish

v. phr., slang To try to make someone like you; to try to win favor by flattery. Mary polished the apple at work because she wanted a day off. Susan is the teacher's pet because she always polishes the apple. -

short list|list|listed|short|short-listed

v. phr. To place on the list of select finalists for a job. Only three of the twenty-seven applicants were short-listed for the assistant professorial vacancy in our department.

sucker list|list|sucker

n., slang A list of easily-fooled people, especially people who are easily persuaded to buy things or give money. The crook got hold of a sucker list and started out to sell his worthless stock. Mr. Smith gets so many advertisements in his mail that he says he is on every sucker list in the country.