garage sale

CHAPTER 15

A T T H E G A R A G E S A L E

(Scene: A Saturday morning. Anna, a Lithuanian student, explores a garage sale in suburbia with Jay, her American boyfriend).

Jay:   Let me tell you Anna, you can find real bargains at these sales! I've decorated my apartment with what I
    have bought at these sales. I also look for something that I might sell. Even a techie like me finds stuff. Get
    a load of all the people here!

Anna: They find this junk interesting?

Jay: This junk is more interesting than their own junk. Of course, some of these people are really in the
know. They're dealers looking for valuable old collectibles.

Anna: Collectibles?

Jay: Today, people collect everything! Anything that is old can be collected! Some dealers find rare,
collectible items and resell them in their shops.

Anna: I can't imagine people buy some of this stuff.

Jay: It's not all worthless. I've learned to pass over the garbage. I'm an old hand at these sales!

Anna: What have you bought recently that was valuable?

Jay: Every so often I find valuable old toys. Last week I paid a dollar for a toy truck that is worth
nearly thirty dollars. Let's speed it up. We'd better get a move on if we want to make the
next sale.

Anna: How do you know the value?

Jay: I read special books that list going prices.

Anna: Do you do this every Saturday?

Jay: You bet! I often show up at some houses at seven in the morning and wait, drinking
my coffee.

Anna: Do you select the houses carefully?

Jay:   Absolutely! I only go to sales in wealthy neighborhods. The upper crust throw out all sorts of valuable
    things. This one lady whose house I went to - she didn't know the first thing about what she had, or didn't
    care. Her husband had run off and she was dumping all his stuff. What a steal! I bought an old bakelite radio
    for a dollar, an aquarium for fifty cents, and his collection of baseball cards for five bucks. I hit the jackpot.
    thought I'd died and gone to heaven. The old lady was absolutely clueless; besides that, she just didn't
    care. I'd do this seven days a week if I had the money.

Anna: And a big garage to store everything you'd buy!

EXERCISES:

Exercise 1: Select the meaning of the following idioms most appropriate to the above dialogue.
An answer key is at the end of the chapter.

1. Get a load off: (a) observe, (b) acquire something, (c) obtain much of something

2. In the know: (a) in a mood, (b) knowledgeable, (c) insiders

3. An old hand: (a) someone experienced in something, (b) someone with rough skin,
(c) lacking new ideas

4. Every so often: (a) every time, (b) occasionally, (c) very frequently

5. Speed it up: (a) to act quickly, (b) to go beyond speed limits, (c) to lift something up quickly

6. Get a move on: (a) to imitate, (b) to procrastinate, (c) to act quickly

7. Going prices: (a) yesterday's prices, (b) current prices, (c) sale prices

8. You bet: (a) to test one's luck, (b) yes, (c) your turn

9. Upper crust: (a) part of a pizza, (b) something difficult to chew, (c) wealthy people

10. Not to know the first thing about something: (a) to lack directions, (b) to lose count or sequence, (c) to
be uninstructed

11. Run off: (a) excessive water, (b) flow, (c) to run away

12. What a steal: (a) stolen property, (b) a replica of something real, (c) a bargain

13. Hit the jackpot: (a) to punch something, (b) to have great fortune, (c) to kick a bucket

14. Died and went to heaven: (a) to desire to die, (b) to be in a state of paradise, (c) rewarded

15. Clueless: (a) without an idea, (b) lacking clues, (c) smaller than a clue

Exercise 2: Fill in the correct idiom from the above list. An answer key is at the end of the chapter.

1. Greg wasn't aware that his bad table manners were annoying to his wife, Clare. When she
complained to him, Greg apologized. He was truly unaware and __________________.

2. For years, Marv resented the position, wealth and power of those people who he said were
members of the __________________of society.

3. When it comes to fixing light switches, Tim's _______________________.

4. Basil works so slowly that his manager told him to __________________.

5. When I tasted Ingrid's homemade chocolate-chip ice cream, I thought that I
_____________________________.

6. When the 1957 pink Thunderbird came down the street, Bennie exclaimed,
"_____________________ of that classic machine!"

7. I'm fairly successful staying on my diet, but ______________________I get an
overwhelming desire for nacho chips and salsa, and I give in.

8. Would I like the opportunity to sail out on the ocean in your boat? __________!

9. Kyung has access to the latest development in computer technology. When it comes to
computers, no one is more __________________.

10. With the rain clouds coming, I began to doubt that we would finish the lawn work. I told
Matthew, who was working with me, "Let's __________________."

11. When I found the valuable old stamp mixed in with thousands of worthless ones, I knew that I had
____________________.

12. I can't believe that you only paid four thousand dollars for that car! ________________!

13. At the garage sale I found some wonderful kitchen items from the 1950s. The
_____________for such items are quite high.

14. Gretchen, their rebellious young daughter, decided to __________and join a rock band.

15. When it comes to playing golf, I'm completely ignorant. In fact, I don't _______________
about the game.

Exercise 3: Use the following idioms in a spoken sentence of your own creation.

1. Get a load: ________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2. In the know: ______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

3. An old hand: ______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

4. Every so often:____________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

5. Speed it up: _______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

6. Get a move on: ____________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

7. Going prices: ______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

8. You bet: _________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

9. Upper crust: _______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

10. Not to know the first thing: __________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

11. Run off: __________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

12. What a steal: ______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

13. Hit the jackpot: ____________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

14. I'd died and gone to heaven: __________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

15. Clueless: __________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 4: Examine the previous sentences and decide which of them would be more suitable for formal written expression through the use of synonyms. Rewrite those sentences using precise, appropriate synonyms.

Answers to exercise 1: 1 (a), 2 (b), 3 (a), 4 (b), 5 (a), 6 (c), 7 (b), 8 (b), 9 (c), 10 (c), 11 (c), 12 (c), 13 (b), 14 (b), 15 (a).

Answers to exercise 2:
1. clueless                                      8. You bet
2. upper crust                                 9. in the know
3. an old hand                               10. Let's get a love on
4. speed it up                                11. hit the jackpot
5. had died and gone to heaven 12. What a steal
6. Get a load                                 13. going prices
7. every so often                           14. run off
                                                       15. know the first thing