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Confusing
Words:
Get
(#13)
More Idioms
with Get
(#5)
Get is a very challenging word in
English--because
it has many very different
meanings and because it
is used in many
expressions--including
phrasal verbs,
verbs + prepositions,
and other
combinations.
Another group of idioms with
get is used to show
strong feelings
or reactions. Some of these idioms
are actually
insults, so be very careful if you use
them!
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Get real!: Be realistic!
This
idiom is used when someone
seems naive. "Get real!"
shows
a negative
opinion of another person's
ideas and
means something like
"How could you believe
that?"
Get a life!: Don't be so naive!
This
idiom is also used when
someone seems naive. "Get a
life!"
is
like "Get real!,"
but stronger.
It means something like "How
could you
be so naive that
you
believe
that?"
Get lost!: Go away! / Leave me alone!
This
idiom is a way of dismissing
someone angrily. It means something
like "I can't
stand being
with you,
so
leave!"
Get a move on!: Hurry up!
This
idiom is used when someone
seems to be "dawdling"--taking too
long to do something.
Get the lead out!:
Stop delaying
and do something!
This idiom is like "Get
a move on"
but
stronger. When someone says,
"Get a move on!," he/she is
impatient.
When someone says, "Get the lead
out!,"
he/she is irritated.
Get to the point!:
What do you
really
want? (Stop
making "small talk" and
say what you really want!)
This idiomis a way of telling
someone
that you're tired of hearing him
or
her
make "small talk" and want him
or her to say what he/she really
wants.
Get with it!: Change your thinking or actions
now!
This idiom is difficult to
"translate"
exactly,
but it's similar to "Get
real!"
and "Get
a life!" "Get
with it!" is used
as
a reprimand
for someone whose
thinking or actions
seem to
be
unacceptable
or inappropriate.
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Special Notes
| 1. |
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In
Get real!, Get lost!, and
Get
with
it!, get
means about the same thing as
become:
change from
one state or
situation to another
one. |
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| 2. |
|
In
Get a life!, the meaning of get
is
something like receive and
in Get to
the
Point!, the meaning of get to
is
something like arrive at.
In both
Get a move
on!
and Get the lead
out!,
the meaning of
get is difficult to
explain
and is best understood as part
of the
idioms. |
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| 3. |
|
Be
careful!
These expressions are
often
used when someone is angry
or irritated and can
be understood
as insults. With friends, the
expressions
are sometimes used to
show strong
surprise
at someone's
opinion or
behavior, but most strangers
would
definitely consider these expressions
to be insulting. |
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