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.