“TIMES”周刊精选短语.docVIP

PAGE  PAGE 14 《TIMES》周刊精选短语 all in the same boat to be sharing the same difficult circumstances, often with others who would normally be competitors EXAMPLE: When bad weather discouraged tourists from coming to the popular seacoast resort town, the managers of the different hotels in the town knew they were all in the same boat and decided to work cooperatively with one another. Armed to the teeth equipped with everything one needs for action EXAMPLE: The worried company president had full financial statements, sales reports, new product ideas, letters of praise from major customers, and proposals for increased growth when he arrived to make his annual report to the hostile board of directors; he was armed to the teeth. avant garde Very modern in style; possibly experimental or self-consciously artistic FRENCH military term “forward guard,” soldiers who lead an attack EXAMPLE: The young employees of the New York advertising agency always wore dramatic, avant garde clothing so their clients would think they were modern and knowledgeable about popular trends. back to square one An expression used to mean that it is necessary to stop whatever one has done on a new project and to start again completely. EXAMPLE: When our experimental design for a new solar automobile failed totally on the first day of testing, our engineering department knew it was back to square one. bag of tricks The total skills, knowledge, and often secret abilities that a person has (a traditional reference to a magician’s bag). EXAMPLE: To be a successful in today’s competitive business environment, an executive has to use everything in his bag of tricks. blow off steam (verb phrase) to release frustration or anger that has been building up; also to celebrate or do something in a loud or noisy way EXAMPLE: After a week of negotiations with the union, the workers decided to have a party and blow off steam. blue chip (adj.) a type of stock highly valuesd for