English Slang Idioms (195)

"We are going to have to write off our new cellular phone as a ......... loss. We believed that customers would be willing to pay for a phone that was also a hand-warmer but we were wrong. We had an effective marketing campaign but the price of this extra feature is inhibitive and the hand-warming function depletes the phone's batteries at an alarming rate, rendering the phone dead after a mere five minutes," Bill told management.

Janis hoped she would be able to drive home safely. She normally had to cope with sleep deprivation but this situation was worse than usual. She worked three back-to-back shifts and the work had been physically demanding as well. She had been required to lift several patients onto gurneys and, then, had to wheel several of them long distances. She was dead on her ......... and was afraid that she did not possess the requisite reaction time one needed to safely drive.

"Why are you so dead set ......... gay marriage, Dad? Look at it from a legal perspective. Gay marriage is against many religions but there is supposed to be a separation between church and state in this country and the constitution says that we have freedom of and from religion. I know you don't agree with it but is it your job to decide what people can do in this country?" Elsie asked.

"We had him ......... to rights on that breach of contract issue. The terms and conditions were clearly spelled out: there was adequate consideration given by us, there was a valid offer and acceptance and he signed the contract as is required by the Statute of Frauds. His refusal to deliver the products on time was a blatant breach of contract and the courts agreed with us," Vince told the reporters.

"It was pure torture being seated next to John on the business trip flight. He is such a .......... He told these long-winded, inane, incredibly dull stories all the way to our destination. He wouldn't be quiet the whole way and none of his conversation included any useful information," Linda said to Lucy.

"The corporation, by refusing to accept any responsibility for the harm caused to consumers by their products, sounded their own ......... knell. If they choose to move their production overseas, it is still their responsibility to make sure that the products they will sell meet proper quality control standards," Miles told the class during his presentation.

"Our new boss seems OK but she is still kind of an unknown quantity at this point. We don't know where we are with her and we don't have any sense of boundaries either. For instance, our old boss was ......... on poor public speaking but she doesn't seem to care whether someone stutters and uses an abundance of filler words during a presentation. On the other hand, she yelled at Bob for 15 minutes for not keeping an aesthetically pleasing, organized cubicle. It is stressful not knowing what makes a boss happy or mad," Linda said to Louisa.

"Wow, you are all ......... out tonight. You're wearing your Armani suit tonight and alligator loafers. You even have a Rolex watch! That must have cost you a fortune. What's the occasion?" Paul asked Chris.

"You searched the suspect's home without a warrant and then questioned him before his lawyer arrived after he had requested one. I hope you realize that you are going to be in deep ......... for letting a suspected rapist go due to technicalities when the mayor and the governor of the state find out. That was a blatant disregard for protocol that won't be tolerated, John" Detective Mellison said.

"When she finds out that you deceived her she is going to be mad at you to the ......... degree. Lying, in her opinion, is the worst breach of trust one could commit and she seldom gives anyone a second chance," Lisa told Bob, her roommate's boyfriend when he confided in her.