Vocabulary

broad-minded

to pay out of one's own pocket

to feather one's own nest

neither fish nor fowl; hard-to-predict

to throw in a shrimp and pull out a whale; to use a sprat to catch a mackerel; to get big returns on a small investment

like water off a duck's back; water on a frog's face

after pleasure comes pain; there is no pleasure without pain; there is no rose without a thorn; take the good with the bad

law of inertia

to go back to the start; to reset; to restore; to return to the point (of a discussion); to return something (that has been moved) to previous place; to reconstitute

to require the care of others; to need to be looked after; to be troublesome; to be a nuisance; to be a handful

unfortunately

to hurry; to hasten

waiting one's turn

to pay attention; to be watchful

inside and outside the company

since then

no one knows what the future holds; the future is a closed book; one sun (unit of measurement) ahead is darkness

to some extent; to a certain extent

this way and that; (by) various means; (by) every means

loving couple; couple of lovebirds; happily married couple (who are always together)

to become wider

to put an end to something; to get something over with; to quit something one has been engaged in too long or to an excessive degree

this and that; one thing and another

to have a comeback for every remark; to be always ready with excuses; to contradict everything

the wife; the missus

even though things may appear this way

(any) particular; special; particularly noteworthy; worth mentioning

even so (expressing frustration, etc.); still

even so (expressing frustration, etc.); still

when looked at in that way

anyway; by the way; incidentally; well; to change the subject

after that (a substantive change occurred)

who on earth; just exactly who; who the heck

from out of nowhere; from who knows where

suddenly disappears somewhere

somehow or other

somehow or other

it cannot be helped; there's nothing for it; it's no use fighting back; it's hopeless; there is no way out of it

sometimes; occasionally; once in a while

New Year greeting