Lesson glossary (27 phrasal verbs)

• toss-up n

  informal a situation in which two people or things seem equally likely to be chosen or two possible results seem equally likely to happen

  Choosing a captain was a toss-up between the two senior players.

• get off the ground

  to get started

  The youth tournament got off the ground with local funding.

• pull down sth or pull sth down

  to destroy a structure because it is not wanted anymore

  The club pulled down the old stand to build a safer one.

• breeze in/into swh

  to walk in quickly and confidently

  The new coach breezed into the stadium with confidence.

• knock sb about/around

  informal to hit or kick someone several times

  The rival players knocked each other about during the rough match.

• get the most out of sb/sth

  to take maximum benefit from something

  Good coaching helps athletes get the most out of their training.

• get off on the wrong foot

  to start something badly

  The team got off on the wrong foot by missing an easy chance.

• go-ahead adj

  using new methods and ideas to succeed

  The club hired a go-ahead coach with modern ideas.

• round off sth or round sth off

  to do something as a way of finishing an event or activity in a satisfactory way

  The team rounded off the season with a friendly match.

• hit on sth

  to have a good idea, especially one that solves a problem

  The captain hit on a better way to organise the defence.

• insist on sth/doing sth

  to demand something and to make it clear that you will not accept anything else

  The coach insisted on the team practising every day.

• pull out all the stops

  to do everything you can

  The team pulled out all the stops to win the championship.

• blunder about/around

  to move in an awkward way, usually because you cannot see where you are going

  The goalkeeper blundered around in the foggy warm-up area.

• spread out sth or spread sth out

  to open something that is folded [e.g. map, towel] and put it down flat on a surface

  Spread out the training mats before the class begins.

• spur on sb or spur sb on

  to encourage someone to try harder in order to achieve something

  Her coach spurred her on to train harder.

• roll about/around

  informal to laugh a lot about something

  The supporters rolled about laughing at the mascot.

• get to the bottom of sth

  to understand something properly, not superficially

  The referee tried to get to the bottom of the disputed decision.

• get off sb’s back

  to stop nagging someone

  After the win, the coach finally got off the players’ backs.

• stream into swh

  to move continuously in one direction, especially if a lot of people do this at the same time

  Spectators streamed into the stadium before the match.

• lift up sth or lift sth up

  to move something from a lower to a higher position

  Lift up the trophy so the crowd can see it.

• toss (sb) for sth

  to decide which person or team can do something or have something by throwing a coin in the air and guessing which side of the coin will be on top when it lands

  They tossed for who would serve first.

• flood in/into sth

  to arrive or enter somewhere in very large numbers or amounts

  Fans flooded into the stadium before the final.

• pull your socks up

  to make an effort to improve

  After the poor performance, the captain told the team to pull their socks up.

• cheer on sb or cheer sb on

  to shout encouraging words at someone, especially a person or team in a race or competition, or to receive encouraging words or shouts

  The crowd cheered the home team on until the final whistle.

• switch around/round

  to move two or more things, so that each of them is now in the place that one of the others was in before

  The coach switched the two wingers around at half-time.

• stand-off n

  when two groups fail to reach an agreement in talks

  The stand-off between the finalists delayed the decision.

• knockabout n

  British informal when two or more people kick or hit a ball to each other for pleasure but not in a serious way, sometimes to warm up before a game

  The children had a quick knockabout before training began.