put oneself across

Put oneself across

To explain one's ideas and opinions clearly so that another person can understand them and get a picture of your personality.

• It is very important to put yourself across well at a job interview.

keep the change

keep the change: don't give back any money that has been overpaid, perhaps as a tip, or because the amount is so small

• I bought a newspaper at the airport with my last Brazilian reals, so I told the seller to keep the change.

keep to the subject

keep to the subject: talk or write only about the immediate topic

• I know you want to talk about vacation plans, but please keep to the subject while we figure out the answer to this other problem.

keep (something) in mind

keep (something) in mind: remember a fact or piece of information, especially because it might be useful in the future

• You need to be at the airport two hours early now - keep that in mind when you leave for London.

keep quiet

keep quiet: avoid complaining, telling a secret, or causing problems

• We knew they were doing something wrong, but we kept quiet.
• The working conditions were awful, but we decided to keep quiet because we were afraid we'd lose our jobs.

clear (one's) throat

clear (one's) throat: cough in order to speak more clearly

• The speaker took a drink of water and cleared her throat before continuing.

clear (something) with someone

clear (something) with (someone): get formal permission for an action

• The ambassador cleared it with the State Department before announcing that he was leaving the country.

clear (someone's) name

clear (someone's) name: prove that a person is not guilty of something

• Marthe worked hard to clear her son's name after he was accused of cheating.

clear a space

clear a space: move things to make room for something else

• Before you put those books down, let me clear a space for them on the desk.

to be had

to be had: to be victimized or cheated

• When the jeweler confirmed that the diamonds that the woman had purchased abroad were really fake, she exclaimed, "I've been had!"
• The angry customer complained about being overcharged at the store, asserting that this was the third time that he had been had.