231

get it

- to understand something, to understand a joke
Everybody was laughing at the joke but I did not get it.

get it all together

- to be in full control of oneself
My friend got it all together and applied for the job at the supermarket.

get it through one`s head

- to understand/believe something
The man has got it through his head that he will get a job without making any effort.

Get lost!

- Go away!
The girl told her brother to get lost so she could finish doing her homework.

get mad at (someone or something)

- to become angry with someone or something
I often get mad at my friend when he is late.

get married

- to marry someone

We got married in June of last year.

get mixed up

- to become confused
"I`m sorry but I got mixed up with the dates. That`s why I came today."


232

get nowhere fast

- to make no progress
We are getting nowhere fast in our effort to convince our boss to give us a holiday.

get off

- to escape or avoid punishment
The criminal got off with a very light sentence from the judge.

get off (a bus/train/plane etc.)

- to leave or exit from a bus or train etc.
We decided to get off the train at the next station.

get off easy

- to escape a serious punishment
The criminals got off easy after they robbed the bank.


get off on the wrong foot (with someone or something)

- to make a bad start with someone or something
I got off on the wrong foot with my boss and our relationship is not good.

get off one`s butt

- to get busy, to start working
My friend should get off his butt and try to find a job.

get off one's high horse

- to become less arrogant
The manager was forced to get off his high horse and act better toward the employees.


233

get off (someone`s) back

- to leave someone alone and not bother him or her
I wish that my supervisor would get off my back.

get off the ground

- to make a successful beginning
My uncle's new business never got off the ground and he must look for a new job.

get off the hook


- to become free from an obligation
I got off the hook and I did not have to clean the classroom after school.

get off to a flying start

- to have a successful beginning
The new restaurant got off to a flying start when many people came during the first
weekend.

get on in years

- to become older
My uncle is getting on in years and is not very healthy.

get on one`s high horse

- to behave with arrogance
Our boss likes to get on his high horse and give orders to everyone.

get on (someone`s) nerves

- to irritate someone
The woman's constant complaining is beginning to get on my nerves.


234

get on (someone) to do (something)

- to ask/pressure someone to do something

I will get on my friend to bring your book back tomorrow.

get on the good side of (someone)

- to get in someone's favor
I took my aunt to a nice restaurant in order to get on her good side.

get one's act together

- to become more organized
My sister finally got her act together and was able to find a new job.

get one's bearings

- to determine where one is
When I got my bearings I was able to easily find my way around the big department
store.

get one's comeuppance

- to get the punishment that one deserves
The woman got her comeuppance when she was forced to apologize to the other
woman in the company.

get one`s dander up

- to become angry
You should not talk to the supervisor early in the morning or you may get his dander
up.







235

get one's ducks in a row

- to put one's affairs in order, to get things ready
I got my ducks in a row and was able to find a job easily.

get one`s feet wet

- to begin something, to do something for the first time
The writer got his feet wet in the publishing business and he is now ready to start his
own business.

get one's fill of (someone or something)

- to receive enough of someone or something
Recently, I have got my fill of fresh corn and I do not want to eat any more.

get one's foot in the door

- to begin to do something that you hope will lead to future success (often used with
jobs/careers)
I was able to get my foot in the door of the banking industry when I found a job at a
bank.


get one's hands on (someone or something)

- to get someone or something in one's grasp
"When I get my hands on a hammer I will help you fix the door."

get one's head above water

- to get in control of one's situation (often financial situation)
When I get my head above water I will be able to spend less time working.






236

get one's just deserts

- to get what one deserves
The apartment manager got her just deserts when she was fired for bothering the
tenants.

get one's money's worth

- to get value for what you have paid for
We got our money's worth when we stayed on the golf course for seven hours.

get one's nose out of (someone's) business


- to stop interfering in someone else's business
The school secretary was told to get her nose out of the teacher's business.

get one`s own way

- to be able to do what you want
The boy always gets his own way with his younger brothers.

get one`s rear in gear

- to hurry up, to get going
"Let`s get our rear in gear before it is too late to go to a movie."

get one's say

- to be able to say what one thinks
The meeting was over very quickly but everyone got their say.








237

get one's sea legs

- to become accustomed to something (like you would become accustomed to the

movement of a ship)
After we got our sea legs we were able to get up and walk around the boat.

get one's start

- to receive the first major opportunity of one's career
The newspaper owner got his start by selling papers when he was a child.

get one's walking papers

- to get fired
The young man got his walking papers for being late too often.

get one's wires crossed

- to get confused about something
We got our wires crossed and we both went to different places for our meeting.

get out from under (someone or something)

- to escape from a situation that one does not like
I would like to get out from under my boss who is always watching my work.

get out of a jam

- to get free from a problem or bad situation
We got out of a jam this morning when enough people came to help finish the job.

get out of bed on the wrong side


- to be in a bad mood
I think that she got out of bed on the wrong side as she is not talking to anyone today.


238

get out of hand

- to get out of control
The party was beginning to get out of hand so we asked everyone to leave.

get out of (somewhere)

- to leave somewhere, to escape
I want to hurry and get out of my house so I will not be late for work.

get out of the way

- to stop obstructing or interfering with someone or something, to escape from
something
The car was unable to get out of the way of the truck and it was hit.

get over (something)

- to overcome a difficulty, to recover from an illness or shock
The woman is having trouble getting over her father`s death.

get ready

- to prepare yourself for something

"First I must get ready for work, then I will help you."

get religion

- to develop a strong religious belief
My uncle recently got religion and is very busy now.








239

get rid of (something)

- to give or throw something away, to sell or destroy something, to make a cold or
fever disappear
I bought a new television set so now I want to get rid of my old one.

get rolling

- to get started
"Let's get rolling and try and finish this project today."

get set

- to get ready to start something

Everybody is getting set for the wedding ceremony.

get sick

- to become ill
I got sick yesterday and did not go to the movie.

get sidetracked

- to become diverted from one's task
I began to watch the news and got sidetracked in what I had planned to do.

get (someone) down

- to make someone unhappy, to cause discouragement
The long commuting time is getting my friend down so she wants to quit her job.

get (someone`s) goat

- to irritate someone
My friend is always getting my goat and I am tired of him.


240

get (something) off one's chest

- to talk about something that has been bothering you
I told my father about my problem at work so that I could get it off my chest.


get (someone or something) out of one's mind/head

- to manage to forget about someone or something
It took me several months to get my old girlfriend out of my mind.

get (something) out in the open

- to make something public
We had a frank discussion in order to get everything out in the open.

get (something) out of one's system

- to get rid of the desire to do something
I went on a short holiday so that I could get travelling out of my system.

get (something) out of (something)

- to get some kind of benefit from something
My mother does not understand why my aunt can get something out of going to an
opera.

get (something) out of the way

- to take care of some business, to do/finish something
We got our work out of the way and began to plan for the weekend.

get (something) over with

- to finish something (often something that you do not want to do)
I was very happy to get my exams over with.