Lesson 3

Idioms and Story

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as a rule = most of the time; normally

You should wash your white clothes and colored clothes separately, as a rule.

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be at a loss = be unable to think

I'm at a loss for words.

I know the man you are talking about, but I'm at a loss to think of his name.

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come up with = think of

We have to come up with a plan.

When did you come up with that idea?

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for short = a shorter way to say a name

My name is Alexander, but you can call me Alex for short.

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in spite of = regardless of something; despite

In spite of the rain, they went to the beach.

In spite of the bad weather, we will go hiking.

A: How was your trip to Mexico?

B: I had a great time in spite of the hurricane!

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look to A for B = turn and ask A to give B

She usually looks to her parents for support.

You should look to your parents for help if you don't have enough money.

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neither A nor B = both A and B do not or are not

Neither I nor my brother is as tall as our father.

Neither I nor my sister is as beautiful as my mother.

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point out = indicate

He pointed out the places he visited on the map.

A: Wow! That girl is really ugly!

B: I should point out that she's my sister.

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run into = meet by chance

I had a feeling I'd run into you!

A: What took you so long at the store?

B: I ran into my old elementary school teacher

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when it comes to = regarding; when dealing with

He doesn't know very much when it comes to mathematics.

When it comes to explaining difficult subjects, she is the best teacher.

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My husband and I went to a high school reunion party in our old town. Almost one hundred people were there. As a rule, I enjoy meeting people. But when it comes to large, noisy parties, I get very tired. I told my husband that I would prefer not to stay for too long. My husband pointed out that we should at least say hello to the people that we knew. We did run into several old friends at the party, so in spite of the crowd I still had a good time.

During the party, a young man came up to us. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Brown," he said to us.

He looked familiar, but I didn't know where I had seen the young man before. I knew it was no use looking to my husband for help. He is terrible at coming up with names to match with faces. This time, we were both at a loss to think of his name. We talked with the young man for a while and then a couple came up to us. It was Don and Liz Wilson. (Her name is Elizabeth, but everyone calls her Liz for short). They were friends of ours. We had kept in touch, but had not seen them for many years.

The young man left after a few minutes to talk with some of his other friends. I told the Wilsons, "I'm sorry we did not introduce you to that nice young man. Neither my husband nor I could figure out his name."

"That's all right," said Mr. Wilson, "He is our son."

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