2 Thành ngữ, tục ngữ

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catch 22

the cause is the effect and the effect is the cause It was catch 22. I needed my glasses to find my glasses.

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sharp(2)

sarcastic, abrupt Even when Anne was tired, she never gave you a sharp reply.

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O-1-2

The O stands for Oakland, the 1-2 for a left-right combination punch:"Up in Oakland you might get the O-1-2" -- Father Dom (??? [??])

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SP-12

The E-MU SP-12 (or SP-1200), a high-end sampling drum machine for rap music production. These pieces of equipment came out around 1985 and 87 respectively. The SP-12 did not have an internal disk drive, but EMU saw the problems since it only worked with a Commodore diskdrive. So they made the next model with an internal drive. Incidentally Ced-Gee of Ultra-Magnetics was the first person in hip-hop to use this machine which has become one of the most sought after pieces of equipment to date. So much that EMU has reissued the SP-1200.

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Catch-22

Catch-22 is a situation where conflicting rules make the desired outcome impossible. It comes from a novel by the American author Joseph Heller, in which pilots would not have to fly missions if they were mentally ill, but not wanting to fly dangerous missions was held to be proof of sanity, so they had to fly anyway. ('Catch 22', without the hyphen, is also used.)

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bog down(2)|bog|bog down|bogged|bogged down|to get

v. phr., mostly intransitive or passive 1. To stop progressing; to slow to a halt. Work on the new building bogged down, because the contractor didn't deliver the needed concrete blocks. 2. To become entangled with a variety of obstacles making your efforts unproductive or unsatisfying. The novelist wrote tittle last summer because she got bogged down in housework.

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catch-22|catch

n., informal From Joseph Heller's novel "Catch-22", set in World War II. 1. A regulation or situation that is self-contradictory or that conflicts with another regulation. In Heller's book it referred to the regulation that flight crews must report for duty unless excused for reasons of insanity, but that any one claiming such an excuse must, by definition, be sane. Government rules require workers to expose any wrongdoing in their office, but the Catch-22 prevents them from their doing so, because they are not allowed to disclose any information about their work. 2. A paradoxical situation. The Catch-22 of job-hunting was that the factory wanted to hire only workers who had experience making computers but the only way to get the experience was by working at the computer factory.

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cease-fire(2)|cease|cease fire|fire

n. A period of negotiated nonaggression, when the warring parties involved promise not to attack. Unfortunately, the cease-fire in Bosnia was broken many times by all parties concerned.

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crash-dive(2)|crash|crash dive|dive

v. 1. To dive deep underwater in a submarine as quickly as possible. We shall crash-dive if we see enemy planes coming. 2. To dive into (something) in an airplane. When the plane's motor was hit by the guns of the enemy battleship, the pilot aimed the plane at the ship and crash-dived into it.

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cut-rate(2)|cut|cut rate|rate

adj. Sold for a price lower than usual; selling cheap things. If you buy cut-rate things, be sure they are good quality first. John's brother bought a cut-rate bicycle at the second-hand store. There is a cut-rate drug-store on the corner.

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double-check(2)|check|double|double check

v. 1. To do a double check on; look at again very carefully. When the last typing of his book was finished, the author double-checked it. 2. To make a double check; look carefully at something. The proofreader double-checks against errors.

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double-date(2)|date|double|double date

v., informal To go on a double date; date with another couple. John and Nancy and Mary and Bill double-date.

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fifty-fifty(2)|fifty|fifty-fifty

adj., informal 1. Divided or shared equally. It will be a fifty-fifty arrangement; half the money for me and half for you. 2. Half for and half against; half good and half bad. There is only a fifty-fifty chance that we will win the game.
Compare: HALF AND HALF.

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first-class(2)|class|first|first class

first-class¹ adj. 1. Of the highest class or best kind; excellent; first-rate. Jane did a first-class job of repairing the coat. It was a first-class TV program.
Compare: TOP-NOTCH. 2. Of the best or most expensive class of travelling. Mr. Jones bought a first-class plane ticket to Chicago. 3. Belonging to the class of mail for sending letters, post cards, and handwritten or typewritten mail that is sealed. It is expensive to send a heavy letter by first-class mail.
first-class² adv. With the best material; in the best or most expensive way. When Mr. Van Smith goes anywhere he always travels first-class. "How did you send the package?" "First-class."

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flare-up(2)|flare|flare up

n. The reoccurrence of an infection or an armed conflict. He had a flare-up of his arthritis. There was a bad flare-up of hostilities in some countries.

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follow-up(2)|follow|follow up

n. Additional work or research by means of which an earlier undertaking's chances of success are increased. I hope you'll be willing to do a bit of follow-up.

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foul-up(2)|foul|foul up

n. (stress on "foul") 1. informal A confused situation; confusion; mistake. The luncheon was handled with only one or two foul-ups. 2. informal A breakdown. There was a foul-up in his car's steering mechanism. 3. slang A person who fouls up or mixes things. He had gotten a reputation as a foul-up.

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fourth-class(2)|class|fourth|fourth class

fourth-class¹ adj. Belonging to the fourth class of mail. The package weighed a pound and a half, so it had to be sent by fourth-class mail.
fourth-class² adv. By fourth-class mail. How did the company mail the package? Fourth-class.

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get-together(2)|get|get together

n. A party; a gathering. I hate to break up this nice get-together but we must leave. We manage to have a get-together with our old friends once or twice a year.

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heads-up(2)|heads|heads up

adj., informal Wide-awake; alert; watchful; intelligent. You must play hard, heads-up baseball to win this game.
Compare: ON ONE'S TOES, ON THE BALL.

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last-ditch(2)|ditch|last|last ditch

adj. Made or done as a last chance to keep from losing or tailing. He threw away his cigarettes in a last-ditch effort to stop smoking.
Compare: BACK TO THE WALL.

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pile-up(2)|pile|pile up

n. 1. A heap; a deposit of one object on top of another. There is a huge pile-up of junked cars in this vacant lot. 2. A large number of objects in the same place, said of traffic. I was late because of the traffic pile-up on the highway.

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put-up(2)|put|put up

adj. Artificially arranged; plotted; phony; illegal. The FBI was sure that the bank robbers worked together with an insider and that the whole affair was a put-up job.

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rip-off(2)|rip|rip off

n., slang (Stress on "rip") An act of stealing or burglary. Those food prices are so high, it's almost a rip-off.

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sand-lot(2)|lot|sand|sand lot

adj. Of the kind seen on sand lots; not professional. The professional football team was so confused by their opponents' fast play that they acted like a bunch of sand-lot amateurs.

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sit-up(2)|sit|sit up

n. A vigorous exercise in which the abdominal muscles are strengthened by locking one's feet in a fastening device and sitting up numerous times. Do a few sit-ups if you want to reduce your waist.

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tie-up(2)|tie|tie up

n. A congestion; a stoppage of the normal flow of traffic, business or correspondence. There was a two-hour traffic tie-up on the highway. No pay checks were delivered because of the mail service tie-up.

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warm-up(2)|warm|warm up

n. A period of exercise or practice in preparation for a game or other event. During the warm-up the baseball players were throwing the ball around and running up and down the side of the field. Before the television quiz program, there was a warm-up to prepare the contestants.

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write-off(2)|write|write off

n. A loss. This last unfortunate business venture of ours is an obvious write-off.

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write-up(2)|write|write up

n. A report or story in a newspaper or magazine. There was a write-up of the accident in the newspaper. I read an interesting write-up about the President in a new magazine.