More Speak English Like an American » Lesson 19: Mark and Sara Make Plans
Example: This new diswashing detergent is for the birds. The dishes are still dirty.
Example: "What will your son do if he doesn't get into medical school?" - "That's the $64,000 question!"
Note: This expression comes from an American game show from the 1950s called "The $64,000 Question." The last question on each show was worth $64,000.
Example: The New York Yankees had to fork over $52 million to get the baseball star to sign a contract.
Example: Let's pick up a bottle of wine so we don't go to the party empty-handed.
Example: The new Internet dating site has hit a snag. They have 500 women signed up and only 20 men.
Example: "If Alan needs the money, he should sell his art collection." - "He'll never part with his paintings."
Example: If you want to make the big bucks, you should go into investment banking.
Example: When Apple Computer said they would announce a new product soon, many people wondered what they had up their sleeve.
Note 1: You will also see the variations "to have a card up one's sleeve" and "to have an ace up one's sleeve."
Note 2: This idiom comes from gambling, where players sometimes cheat by hiding a card up their sleeve.
Example: You passed the citizenship exam? We should go out on the town to celebrate!
Example: Would you be up for going out for a drink after the movie tonight?
Example: Let's go to Manhattan to celebrate New Year's Eve. We'll paint the town red!
Choose the best substitute for the phrase or sentence in bold:
After trying all the dumpling places on their list, Sara and Mark conclude that Madame Chu's are the best. They don't know how they'll get the recipes from her, but they decide Ron might have an idea. They go shopping for frozen dinners to see what their competition is planning and then go out to celebrate their last night in town.
Sara: These dumplings are for the birds!
Mark: Well, we've tried every place on our list. Madame Chu's dumplings are the best.
Sara: How are we going to persuade* her to give us her recipes?
Mark: That's the $64,000 question!
Sara: Well, we have to get her to fork over the recipes. We can't return to the office empty-handed.
Mark: We won't. I'll let Ron know all about Madame Chu. I'll just let him know we hit a snag in the negotiations with her.
Sara: Maybe he'll know how we can get her to part with her recipes.
Mark: He should. That's why he makes the big bucks!
Sara: Let's go buy some frozen dinners from Fu Dong so we can see what Grand Foods has up their sleeve.
Mark: Right! This is our last chance. Tonight's our last night here.
Sara: Let's go out on the town to celebrate.
Mark: I'm up for that. After we go shopping, let's go to dinner and then we'll go dancing. We'll paint the town red!
* persuade - to convince; to make someone take a certain action
If you already speak some English and now would like to speak more like a native, “Speak English Like an American” will help you. One of the keys to speaking like a native is the ability to use and understand casual expressions, or idioms. American English is full of idioms. Speak English Like an American will help you understand and use idioms better. It contains over 300 of today's most common idioms.
Speak Business English Like An American covers over 350 idioms and expressions you're likely to encounter in today's business world. Familiarize yourself with all of them.
English idioms, proverbs, and expressions are an important part of everyday English. They come up all the time in both written and spoken English. Because idioms don't always make sense literally, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the meaning and usage of each idiom. That may seem like a lot of work, but learning idioms is fun, especially when you compare English idioms to the idioms in your own language.