Unit 8 Transportation

Unit 8 Transportation

Get around to move, to travel

             Also: get about

             USAGE NOTE: These idioms refer to one’s daily means of transportation.

             ▪ How do you get around if you haven’t bought a car yet?

             ▪ Since her operation, eighty-year-old Mrs. Jackson has used a wheelchair to get about.

Get out of to exit, to leave

             Also: Get off

             GRAMMAR/USAGE NOTES: You get ou of a car or truck, but you get off a bus, train, subway, motocycle, or bicycle. Get out of must be followed by a noun phrase; get off sometimes is followed by a noun phrase, but at other times it isn’t.

             ▪ Mr. Nguyen got out of the taxi as soon as it stopped at the curb.

             ▪ Linda wasn’t paying attention, so she got off the subway at the wrong station.

             ▪ Mr. Wells’s daughter was scared while riding on ger dad’s motocycle, so she asked to get off.

Get in(to) to enter

             Also: hop in(to), get on, hop on

            GRAMMAR/USAGE NOTES: You get in(to) or hop in(to) a car or truck; you get on or hop on a bus, train, subway, morocycle, or bicycle. When into is used, a noun phrase must follow. When in is used, a noun phrase may or may not follow.

             ▪ Mr. Olson got into the car to start the engine. His wife got in a short time later.

             ▪ I’d be glad to give you a ride to the store. Hop in!

             ▪ The high school students got on the bus when it arrived at the corner.

Ride shotgun to ride in the front passenger’s seat

             ▪ Jake’s brother rode shotgun for the entire trip acress the United States.

             ▪ If you’d like to drive now, I don’t mind riding shotgun.

Take a spin to drive for pleasure, usually for a short time

             Also: go for a spin, go for a ride

             ▪ Would you like to take a spin before you decide whether to buy this truck?

             ▪ We went for a spin around the block in Helen’s new car.

             ▪ It was a beautiful day to go for a ride in the country.

On someone’s tail following too closely behind

             Related form: tailgate (verb)

             ▪ I’d better change lanes. There’s a large truck right on my tail.

             ▪ The sports car was tailgating the car ahead when the accident occurred.

Make good time to travel efficiently (without wasting time)

             ▪ We made good time on our cross-country drive, which took only six days.

             ▪ We arrived at our relative’s house an hour early because we’d made good time.

Fill up to fill one’s vehicle with gas

             Also: gas up

             GRAMMAR NOTE: These idioms may or may not be used with noun phrases. When noun phrases are used, the idioms are separable.

             ▪ Look, we’re low on gas. We’ll have to stop at the next gas station to fill up.

             ▪ Did you gas the car up on your way home?

Gas-guzzler a vehicle that consumes too much gas

             ▪ Sascha replaced her old gas-guzzler with a modern economy car.

             ▪ During the 1960s and 1970s, U.S. auto companies produced large gas-guzzlers.

Take off to depart from an airport runway

             Opposite meaning: touch down

             Related form: take-off (noun)

             ▪ Several airplanes were waiting to take off because of the busy holiday weekend.

             ▪ The plane touched down gently on the runway and taxied to the terminal.

             ▪ On take-off the pilot banked the plane to the left and headed west toward Tokyo.