TO REGRET

TO REGRET

• I deeply regret my decision not to have children.
• We regret to inform you that your flight has been cancelled.

have got to

have got to: must (also: have to)

• She has got to go to Chicago today to sign the contract papers.
• I have to be back home by two o'clock or my wife will feel ill at ease.

have got

have got: to have, to possess

• Curtis has got a bad cold. He's sneezing and coughing a lot.
• How much money have you got with you right now?

to shut up

to shut up: to close for a period of time(S); to be quiet, to stop talking

The second definition of this idiom is impolite in formal situations.

• During the hurricane, all the store owners shut their shops up.
• Bob's sister told him to shut up and not say anything more about it.
• The student got into big trouble for telling his teacher to shut up.

to become of

to become of: to happen to (a missing object or person)

This idiom is always used in clause beginning with what.

• What has become of my pencil? I had it ten minutes age, but now I can't find it.
• I wondered what became of you. I looked around the shopping center for two hours, but I couldn't find you at all.

to blow out

to blow out: to explode, to go flat(for tires)

to extinguish by blowing(S)

• On our trip to Colorado, one of the tires blew out when it hit a large hole in the road.
• Little Joey wasn't able to blow all the candles out, so his big sister helped him.

to cut out / to knock it off

to cut out: to remove by cutting(S); to stop doing something(S) (for the second definition, also: to knock it off)

For the second definition, the idiom is usually separated by the pronoun it.

• The child likes to cut out pictures from the newspaper and to paste them in a notebook.
• He kept bothering her, so finally she told him to cut it out. However, he wouldn't knock it off until her larger brother appeared.

to cut off

to cut off: to shorten by cutting the ends(S); to disconnect or stop suddenly(S)

• The rope was two feet longer than we needed, so we cut off the extra length.
• My Internet provider cut off service today, so I couldn't check my e-mail.

to make the best of

to make the best of: to do the best that one can in a poor situation

• If we can't find a larger apartment soon, we'll just have to make the best of it right here.
• Even though the Martinez family is having financial problems, the make the best of everything by enjoying the simple pleasures of life.

to grow out of

to grow out of: to outgrow, to become too old or too big for; to be a result of

• He still bites his nails now and then, but soon he'll grow out of the habit.
• The need for the salary committee grew out of worker dissatisfaction with the pa scale.