PE 8/19 Working from Home

* thrilled to pieces: very happy and excited

ex> Grandma was thrilled to pieces with the gift we got her.

Note> Another variation of this phrase is “thrilled to bits.” You can also “love someone to bits” which means to love someone a lot.

* apprehensive: nervous; concerned about a future situation

ex> Trevor is always apprehensive when the company is being audited.

* How so?: Why do you say that? What is the reason?

ex> You say we won’t be able to afford a vacation next year. How so?

ex> Our competitor’s customer service is superior to ours? How so?

* isolated: separated from or having little in common with others

ex> Our son was very isolated until he started playing guitar in a band.

* stir crazy: restless and agitated

ex> We taught each other card games so we wouldn’t go stir crazy on the long voyage.

Note> Stir crazy is a phrase that was used among inmates in prison. It referred to a prisoner who became mentally unbalanced because of prolonged incarceration. The term “stir crazy” is based upon the slang stir (1851) to mean prison.

* in a big way: very much; to a great extent

ex> Maria’s taco truck was successful in a big way, so she bought another one.

* round up: “Round up” also refers to the mathematical operation of increasing a figure to the next highest amount. It has a third meaning too! A “roundup” or “round-up” is a gathering together of people or animals, especially livestock.

ex> Don’t worry. I’m sure that if we can round up enough volunteers the work will be done in less than an hour.