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To sit on the fence

I sat on the fence and watched the game.

The politician sat on the fence and would not give his opinion about the tax
issue.

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To hold ones horse

Hold your horses, I said when my friend started to leave the store.

To cover all of ones bases

I tried to cover all my bases when I went to the job interview.

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to sit on
the fenceto sit on a fenceto sit on fenceson top
ofon the top of...

To be broken

The lamp is broken so I cannot easily read my book.

I am broke and I cannot go to a movie tonight.

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I sat on the fence and did not give my opinion.

Many people are sitting on the fence and not want to give their opinions.
The politician has been sitting squarely in the middle of the fence since the
election.

++
++

1 + (run + around)
The dog ran around the re hydrant.
I spent the day running around downtown.

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2 + (run + into)
The car ran into the truck on the busy street.

I ran into my friend in a restaurant yesterday.

3 + + (run +along/ around + with)

The dog is running along with the bicycle.

The boy is running around with a bad group of people.

to run (verb) around (adverb) like a chicken with its head cut off

I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off as I tried to prepare for my
holidays.

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money does not grow on trees

The girls father often says that money does not grow on trees when she
asks him for money.

the early bird catches the worm

My boss always comes to work early because he believes that the early
bird catches the worm.

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The pen is mightier than the sword

The pen is mightier than the sword and a good idea or strong beliefs will
defeat the strongest army.

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001
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 A

across the boardincluding everyone or everything

The computer company decided to give the workers an across-the-board increase in their salary.

adjourn a meetingto end a meeting

We adjournedthemeeting for lunch; we will resume it at two in the afternoon.

at a lossat less than the cost, at a financial loss

The store was selling things ataloss so the prices were very low.

bail a company out/bail out a companyto rescue a company that has financial problems

The government bailedoutthebank to maintain stability in the economy.

ball park figure [estimate]a rough estimate or figure

The contractor gave us a ballparkgure for the cost of repairing the new
building.

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bang for the buckvalue for the money

We were able to get much bangforthebuck when we advertised on the Internet.

banker's hoursshort work hours

My friend owns his own business and works banker'shours most days.

bankroll someoneto supply someone with money, to finance someone

The movie actor bankrolledhisson while his son was producing his first
movie.

bean counteran accountant

We asked the beancounter to look at the figures in the new budget.

big cheese [gun, wheel]an important person, a leader

The new director was a bigwheel in his previous company.

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 B

bigwigan important person, a leader

Some of the bigwigs of our company came to visit our factory.

bottom drops [falls out of] somethinga collapse occurs and prices fall below
an earlier low price

When the bottomfelloutof the coffee market, many coffee producers had to
stop doing business.

bottom linethe total, the final figure on a balance sheet, the results (of a business)

After we examined the bottomline of the company, we decided not to invest

in it.

As an office worker, the bottomline is to do everything to the best of one's

ability.

bottom outto reach the lowest or worst point

The value of my stock has begun to bottomout and it should soon begin to
increase in value.

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bounce a checkto write a check in which you do not have enough money in your
bank account

The young man bouncedacheck when he tried to pay his rent.

boys in the kitchena close circle of people, usually decision-making level of

managerial personnel, with the power and authority needed to change the course of
operation without getting others' consent or approval

The boysinthekitchen told us that the factory will be closed next year.

break evento have expenses equal profits

After three months the company was able to breakeven and begin to make a
profit.

budget crunch [squeeze]a situation where there is not enough money in the
budget

There is a severe budgetsqueeze at our company.

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 B

at stakesomething that can be gained or lost

There was much at stake during the negotiations between the employees and
employers.

back downto yield in one's position during negotiations, to not follow up on a

threat

The government backed down on their threat to give less money to the school
district.

back out of (something)to get out of an agreement, to fail to keep a promise

The property developer backed out of the plan to build a new apartment
building.

ball is in (someone's) courtit is the decision of another person or group to do

something

The ball is in the union's court after the company made their final offer.

beat around the bushto talk about something without giving a direct answer
The manager was beating around the bush and never said anything important.

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bog downto slow down and make no progress (a bog is an area of land that is wet
and muddy -like a swamp ) (swamp)

The negotiation bogged down over the issue of part-time workers.

bone of contentionthe subject or reason for a fight or dispute

The size of the project was a bone of contention between the city and the developer.

break downto fail, to stop

The negotiation broke down last night when both sides refused to compromise.

break off (something)/break (something) offto stop or end suddenly

The government decided to break off talks about extending the trade agreement.

break throughto be successful after overcoming a difficulty

We were able to break through in our efforts to find a solution to the problem.

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 B

breakthrougha success that comes after overcoming a difficulty

There was a breakthrough in the talks to end the teachers' strike.

bring (someone) to termsto make someone agree to something or do something

[]

The government worked hard to bring the two sides to terms.

bring up (something)/bring (something) upto begin a discussion about something, to mention something

I tried to bring up the subject of sales commissions during the meeting.

call someone's bluffto try to make someone prove that they can actually do what
they say they can

The government called the union's bluff when the union threatened to go on
strike.

call the shotsto be in charge

During the meeting the vice-president was calling the shots.

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cave in to (someone/something)to weaken or be forced to give up

The company was forced to cave in to the demands of the workers for money.

close a dealto end a negotiation successfully

We had to work hard but we were finally able to close the deal.

close ranksto unite and fight together

During the meeting we close ranks and refused to compromise on any issue.

come down in priceto lower the price of one's product

We decided to come down in price and try and sell our products quickly.

come in lowto offer a low amount of money for a product or service

The company came in low with an offer for our product.

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 C

come to termsto reach an agreement

After negotiating all night the government and the company came to terms
on an agreement for a new water system.

come up in a discussionto become a subject in a discussion

Nothing related to the issue of quality came up in the discussion.

common groundshared beliefs or interests

There was no common ground between the two sides and the negotiation did
not go well.

(continue) down to the wireto near a deadline, to have little time remaining

The negotiations continued down to the wire but they ended successfully.

They went down to the wire but the two sides finally agreed to a new contract.

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/ . --
. -- , 2012.10

ISBN 978-957-11-6838-8
1. 2.
805.123

101017006

1AG1

106 339 4
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(02)2706-6100

http://www.wunan.com.tw
wunan@wunan.com.tw
01068953

2012 10

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