Useful English Phrases 3
Hi, everyone. It’s Janice. Today we will be talking about some more English expressions.
Pull it off To pull something off means to succeed in achieving something. This is a slightly more verbal phrase. Example sentences: The lead actor called in sick an hour before the show. Luckily, we pulled it off because we had a backup. The central bank has pulled off one of the biggest financial rescues of recent years.
Rub it in First of all, of course “rub it in” can be taken literally. But it can also be used to mean to make someone feel bad about something s/he is already embarrassed about. See the difference in meaning between the first example and the second. Example sentences: You can’t just put the sunscreen on your skin like that. You need to rub it in gently to make sure that it is well absorbed into the skin. She’s had a long day. She knows that it’s her fault. You don’t need to rub it in. She feels bad enough already.
Top-notch “Top-notch” means something is excellent, one of the best. Example sentences: That restaurant's really top-notch. No wonder it’s always full house. This theatre is a bit dirty; the show was top-notch though.
Go to any/great lengths This expression means someone would do anything at all in order to achieve something. Example sentences: Some people go to great lengths to make their homes attractive. It is the most important place and where you spend most time in after all. He'll go to any lengths to get what he wants. So, please don’t mess with him. We never know what he is capable of doing.
Until now// so far If you would like to say “from before to this day”, we would probably use the phrase “until now”. As in “we haven’t succeeded in finding a solution to the problem until now.” However, this kind of expression is actually influenced by Cantonese because this would be how we say it in Cantonese. In English, “until” has a meaning of up till the point you are referring to, things are different after that. For example, I will be working until 7pm. This means that before 7pm, I am working. After that, I am not. Now, this is not what we mean by “until now”, right? Therefore, we can use the phrase “so far”. Note the differences in meaning in the following sentences. The first one means that from the start of winter it hasn’t been cold at all. In the second sentence, it means that it is finally cold today. Example sentences: This winter hasn’t been very cold so far. This winter hasn’t been cold until now.