Unit 10 The Weather

Unit 10 The Weather

Cool down to become cooler in temperature

             Also: cool off

             ▪ During the summer everyone is glad when evening comes and the weather cools down.

             ▪ The weather reporter says that is should cool off by the weekend.

Heat up to make or become warmer in temperature

             GRAMMAR/USAGE NOTES: Besides weather, this idiom is used for room temperature, cooking, and such. When an object is used, the idiom is separable.

             ▪ We should open all the windows tomorrow morning before the weather heats up

             ▪ The room heated up quickly with thirty-five people inside.

             ▪ Could you heat some water up for the coffee?

Rain cats and dogs to rain very hard

             Also: beat down

             GRAMMAR/USAGE NOTES: The subject pronoun it must be used with rain cats and dogs. The idiom beat down can also be used to refer to intense heat from sun rays.

             ▪ Look outside! It’s raining cats and dogs right now.

             ▪ The rain was beating down on the roof so hard that it sounded like hail.

             ▪ The desert sun beat down on the lost hikers, making them thirsty and sweaty.

Run off to flow from a high place to a lower place

             Related form: runoff (noun)

             USAGE NOTE: This idiom is used to refer to excessive amounts of rainwater.

             ▪ It rained so long and hard that water ran off the hills and flooded many communities.

             ▪ The source of all rivers, such as the Mississippi, is runoff from mountain streams.

Cold spell a period of very cold weather

             Also: cold snap

             Opposite meaning: heat wave (a period of very hot weather)

             ▪ The city government had to open shelters for homeless people during the long cold spell.

             ▪ Farmers have to worry about frost damage to their crops during severe cold snaps.

             ▪ During a heat wave, people either use air-conditioning or open all their windows

Roll in to approach from a distance, over land or sea

             Opposite meaning: roll (back) out (to sea)

             USAGE NOTE: Roll (back) out (to sea) is used when coastal fog recedes from the land.

             ▪ The thunderstorm rolled in suddenly and dropped two inches of rain.

             ▪ The planes were not allowed to take off from the airport after the fod rolled in.

             ▪ Most flights were delayed several hours until the fog rolled back out to sea.

Die down to reduce in strength, to diminish, to subside

             Also: let up

             USAGE NOTE: These idioms can also be used to refer to sounds.

             ▪ We were lucky that the blizzard died down enough so that we could ski.

             ▪ After several hours of heavy hownpour, the rain finally let up.

             ▪ The thunder died down as the storm moved out of the area.

Clear up to become sunny

             ▪ It was cloudy all morning, but in the afternoon it cleared up completely.

             ▪ The weather cleared up nicely when the fog rolled out to sea.

Dry up to become dry, to lose moisture

             Also: dry out

             USAGE NOTE: Dry out applies to things that are not normally used when they are wet.

             ▪ Streams and small lakes can dry up during periods of drought.

             ▪ It took a long time for the soccer field to dry out after the heavy rains.