资深全职专长P3 GEP及小学英语数学一对一家教 学生2016年PSLE得275!

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fall short (of)

- be deficient or inadequate

The total vote fell short of the required two-thirds majority.

The Council acknowledges that the care provided to him fell short.

The athlete's skill fell far short of expectations.  

Food supplies fell short.

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throw a (monkey) wrench into （the works/process）

- prevent something happening smoothly by deliberately causing a problem.

They threw a giant monkey wrench into the process by raising all sorts of petty objections.

It threw a massive wrench into the happiness of the trip.

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chalk up to

- to attribute something to something else (which is stated after "to").

They're a very young team, so we'll chalk this loss up to inexperience and nerves.

Gray's family has since chalked up his peculiar behaviour to having one too many drinks before the flight.

Sure, getting a B in Algebra is disappointing, but I'm just going to chalk it up to the fact that I'm usually terrible at math!

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brush off something

- to refuse to consider what someone says, or to not admit that something may be true or important:

The committee chairman brushed her off when she tried to raise the issue.

The mayor brushes off suggestions that he's spending taxpayer dollars for campaign ads.

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stave off

- stop something bad from happening, or to keep an unwanted situation or person away, usually temporarily

We were hoping to stave off these difficult decisions until September.

The man was appeared to have made some attempt to stave off the mountain cold, with a coat and several layers of clothing on his legs.

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carve out something

— create or obtain something that helps someone by skillful activities

She carved out a reputation for herself as a high-powered lawyer.

He carved out his own future.

She carved out a reputation among her male colleagues.

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flush out sb/sth

- to force a person or animal to leave a hiding place

He had to climb down the side of the tunnel to flush out the birds.

The military government flushed out foreign spies.

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squirrel away something

- to put (something) in a safe or secret place especially so that it can be kept for future use

Most of his money is squirreled away somewhere.

Lots of kids put part of their Halloween candy in a safe spot so they can eat it in a few days — in other words, they squirrel away their treats.

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pluck up one's/the courage

- to force oneself to be brave enough to do something, although he/she is frightened or worried about it:

He finally plucked up courage to ask her to marry him.

So I plucked up the courage and asked him why he had a hotel booking.

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by a mile

- by a large amount; by a lot

We won that game by a mile! I think the final score was 10-1.

I missed the target by a mile that time.