a new used car

C H A P T E R 3

A N E W U S E D C A R

(Scene: Outside his apartment house, Ashish, an Indian student, shows his American friend, Chuck, the "pre-owned" that car he purchased).

Chuck: So, Ashish, how much did this car set you back?

Ashish: Not much really. Do you like it?

Chuck: I like it as long as someone didn't palm off a lemon on you.

Ashish: This is a classic! A 1974 Pontiac with power steering, power brakes, and only 62,000
miles!

Chuck: It's a far cry from what I expected you to come back with.

Ashish: This old lady only wanted $2000 for it. Then I pointed out the age and some dents and
she reduced the price even more.

Chuck: What did she knock it down to?

Ashish: Only $1,000. Look, I wanted a big car, with a big engine, chrome bumpers, and lots of
room inside! I got it!

Chuck: You mean to tell me you took it off her hands for only a thousand? This sounds too good
to be true. But let's not lose sight of some things, like how good are the engine, the brakes,
and the suspension. Did you have a mechanic check the car out?

Ashish: I looked it over carefully. Don't worry. I know plenty about cars. I've worked on them.
The old lady told me that she took great care of it. She said that she kept it in her garage and changed
the oil every three thousand miles. The 62,000 miles is the original mileage.

Chuck: That's all? I'd bet it's more like 262,000 miles! I don't want to get personal, but I think you
were had. Let me take it out for a spin and put it through its paces. We'll see how it holds
up.

Ashish: No way! I've seen how you drive!

Chuck: I don't know. At face value, it seems like you got a great deal. Of course, gas is going to
cost you a fortune, since you'll get only seven miles to the gallon.

Ashish: I don't care. I've dreamed for a long time of owning a car like this.

Chuck: Seriously, I wish you the best. It's what you want. Besides, it will certainly turn heads!

Ashish: And it's all mine!

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. Set back: (a) lean back, (b) cost, (c) to put or to place

2. Palm off: (a) to hand someone something, (b) to agree upon something, (c) to say something
is genuine that is fake.

3. A Far cry: (a) a distant call, (b) something completely different than expected, (c) a yell for help

4. Knock down: (a) reduce the price, (b) push over, (c) get physical

5. Take off one's hands: (a) clean one's hands, (b) relieve someone of a burden, (c) disassociate
with something.

6. Too good to be true: (a) a lie, (b) intensely good, (c) an opportunity difficult to believe as
real.

7. Lose sight of: (a) forget, (b) to be blind, (c) to be hidden from view

8. Check it out: (a) mark with checks, (b) examine, (c) purchase

9. To get personal: (a) to be intimately involved, (b) to go beyond friendship, (c) to insult

10. To be had: (a) to be surprised, (b) to be insulted, (c) to be cheated

11. For a spin: (a) for a dangerous test, (b) to drive around, (c) to test the steering

12. Put through (its/their) paces: (a) to gallop, (b) to test, (c) to establish a beat

13. Holds up: (a) a robbery, (b) to reach up, (c) endures

14. Face value: (a) the value of the exterior, (b) apparent value, (c) the top value

15. Cost a fortune: (a) expensive, (b) all of one's savings, (c) beyond belief

16. Turn heads: (a) cause injuries, (b) get attention, (c) manipulate people

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

1. The battery in Philip's car is old. He doesn't believe it'll _____________to the extreme cold of
this winter.

2. As we try to balance the budget and cut back on wasteful programs, we should not
_________________ of the idealism that first created those programs.

3. Enrico loves to wear stylish clothes. He is certain to ___________wherever he goes.

4. This is as low as I will go! I'm not going to _____________the price on this furniture any
lower!

5. Marisol's life in acting is a ____________ from what she expected it would be.

6. The price of this air conditioner is more than I expected. If I buy it, I'll be _________
quite a few dollars.

7. Raphael loves the ring that he bought from a vendor on a street corner in New York. He
thinks he got a good price, but I know that he was ________.

8. When buying a used car, remember that if the owner won't let you take it out _________
__________, you should walk away.

9. Gabriel tried to ____________the fake watch on Lorraine by saying that it was an expensive
Swiss watch which had been stolen.

10. If you can't find a buyer for the train set, I'll _________________________for a fair price.

11. Some advertisements are simply _________________________________. No one is going
to sell you a pair of imported, hand-made shoes for forty dollars.

12. Here is a great investment opportunity in soy beans, but you should ______________
carefully before sending money.

13. Without checking into its maintenance history, I purchased the car at ______________.

14. I don't mean to ___________ with the professor, but someone should tell him about his
unpleasant breath.

15. We've going to see what the new recruits are made of. Sergeant Murphy is going to
______them _________their_________.

16. Bill would love to put vinyl siding on his house, but he knows that in terms of money, the
job would ______________.

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

1. Set back: _______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

2. Palm off: _______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

3. Far cry: ________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

4. Knock down: ___________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

5. Take off one's hands: _____________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

6. Too good to be true: _____________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

7. Lose sight of: ___________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

8. Check it out: ____________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

9. To Get personal: _________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

10. To be had: ______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

11. For a spin: ______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

12. Put through (its/their) paces: _______________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

13. Holds up: ______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

14. Face value: _____________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

15. Cost a fortune: ___________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

16. Turn heads: _____________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

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 (b), 2 (c), 3 (b), 4 (a), 5 (b), 6 (c), 7 (a), 8 (b), 9 (c), 10 (c), 11 (b), 12
(b),13 (b), 14 (a), 15 (a), 16 (b).

Answers to exercise 2:
        1. holds up
        2. lose sight of
        3. turn heads
        4. knock down
        5. far cry
        6. set back
        7. to be had
        8. for a spin
        9. palm off
      10. take it off your hands
      11. too good to be true
      12. check it out
      13. face value
      14. get personal
      15. put them through their paces
      16. cost a fortune