Similes With As - As Good as Gold

Meaning – very well-behaved

• The children have been as good as gold ever since I told them I’d take them to their favourite restaurant for dinner if they behaved themselves.
• The employees have been as good as gold. The management suspects it’s because they’re afraid of being retrenched/fired.

Synonyms - Acquire

Meaning – buy, gain, gather, get, obtain, procure, purchase

• John acquired (=bought, purchased) a small law firm 2 years ago.
• I don’t know how you managed to acquire (=obtain, gather) all this information, but I appreciate your sharing it with me.
• Due to his unpredictable mood swings, Raymond has acquired (=gained) a reputation for being extremely difficult to work with.  
• I still haven't figured out how he managed to procure my mobile number.

Phrasal Verbs - Get (Get about v Get (sth) across v Get ahead v Get along v Get away v Get by)

Get about – to be able to move or travel from place to place.

• William gets about quite easily on his new motorbike.

Get (sth) across – to successfully communicate a message or idea.

• I haven’t had any luck getting my ideas across to management. Hopefully, I’ll have better luck next week.

Get ahead – to make progress or be successful in sth.

• In order to get ahead in the rat race, people are willing to try different things.

Get along (with someone) – to be friendly towards each other.

• It’s great to see the children getting along so well.

Get away (with sth) – to do sth, usually sth bad without getting caught or punished.

• Many people wouldn’t pay their taxes if they thought they could get away with it.

Get by – to manage satisfactorily

• It’s amazing how Randy gets by on such a low salary.
• We can get by with two cars until my brother returns from Australia.  

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year! May 2015 be filled with love, joy, peace, happiness, health and wealth!

Confused and Misused Words - Respectful v Respective v Respectively

Respectful (adj) – to show respect and admiration for someone or sth.

• He gave a respectful bow before apologizing for his bad behaviour.
• She always speaks in a respectful tone of voice in the presence of her parents.

Respective (adj) – relating or belonging to each individual or thing mentioned.

• The students were all instructed to return to their respective classes after the morning assembly.

Respectively (adverb) – refers to named individuals in the exact order that they are mentioned.

• Sam and Gary are aged 6 and 8 respectively. (= Sam is 6 and Gary is 8).

Homophones - Prize v Prise

Prize (noun) – sth that is given to someone who excels in a competition or game. It is sometimes given as a reward to someone for their good work.

• Tom was delighted when he won first prize at the drawing competition.
• The prize money for certain competitions can run into thousands of dollars.

Prise (verb) – to separate things using force

• After numerous attempts (=tries), I finally managed to prise the lid off the box.
• Sally slowly prised Tim’s fingers apart and forced him to give her the pills which he had found in one of the drawers.      

Homonyms - Punch (As a Noun and Verb)

1.   (noun) – a blow with one’s fist

·        The brave girl threw a punch at her attacker and fled.

2.   (noun) – a drink

·        Everyone laughed at Sally for ordering a punch at the bar last night.

3.   (noun) – an equipment used to cut holes in a material

·        After searching the study room for nearly fifteen minutes, I still couldn’t find the hole punch.

4.   (verb) – to hit

·        Randy punched Tim in the eye after a heated argument over money.

Similes with As - As Drunk As A Lord

Meaning – Very drunk. Being rich, a nobleman could afford to consume as much alcohol as he wished, therefore, getting drunk.

• Richard really shouldn’t be driving tonight. He’s been drinking for the past three hours and he’s as drunk as a lord!
• Tim was as drunk as a lord at Lisa’s party. He was dancing and singing the entire night.

Common Idioms - A Fair-weather Friend

Meaning – someone who is a good friend in good times and stops being one when you have problems

• Banks are like fair-weather friends. They are only keen to lend money to people who are financially sound (= people with no financial problems).
• It’s best to stay away from fair-weather friends as they are never around when you need them the most.

Homophones - Pore v Pour v Poor

Pore (noun) – a very small hole found in the skin of people and animals

• Lawrence has a lot of pimples on his face. I suspect his pores are blocked with dirt.

Pour (verb)

·        Could you please pour Mrs Lee a glass of water?

·        I accidentally spilt some milk on the floor while I was pouring it out earlier on.

Poor (adj)

• Although Richard came from a poor family, he is now a successful lawyer.
• Despite being poor, Michael is grateful to have a loving, supportive family.

Similes - As Deaf as An Adder/As a Post

Meaning – Very deaf. An adder is a kind a snake, and snakes have no sense of hearing.

·        Although John’s relatively young, he’s as deaf as an adder. In fact, many of his friends secretly think he needs a pair of hearing aid.

·        Ben’s as deaf as a post when he’s on the computer. You have to practically shout in order for him to hear you.

Common Idioms - Empty-handed

Meaning – without getting or bringing anything

• I didn’t want to come to your birthday bash empty-handed. So, I brought you a bottle of wine.
• John refused to leave the meeting empty-handed. In the end, he managed to convince the client to commit to a one year contract with the company.

Confused and Misused Words - Proof v Prove

Proof (noun) – a piece of information that shows that sth exists or is true.

·        Does the police have any proof that Julia’s a thief?

·        I suspect he’s cheating on his wife, but unfortunately, I don’t have any concrete proof.

·        It’s best to keep all your receipts as proof of purchase.

Prove (verb) – to show a particular result after a certain period of time.

• The operation proved to be a complete success.
• This murder case proved impossible to solve 20 years ago.