2. What a time we had last night, she grinned, suddenly remembering. It came back to him now. (a. Sillitoe)

3. Everything came back to him, but came back with a wonder, came back above all with a high and magnificent beauty. (H. James)

4. It was late afternoon when he awoke. Slowly the fact of life came back to him. (J. London)

to be (all) at see – to be puzzled, not to know how to act

1. Hilary didn’t quite know what to say… He felt thoroughly at sea, conscious that this girl’s life contained a thousand things he did not know… (J. Galsworthy)

2. When I imagined that on seeing his pictures I should get a clue to the understanding of his strange character I was mistaken… They merely increased the astonishment with which he filled me. I was more at sea than ever. (W.S. Maugham)

3. “What are you doing with your life?” “I`m at sea,” she said at last. “Lots of my generation are, I think.” (H. Well)

that’s too bad – an exclamation expressing regret, pity, sympathy

1. “It is too bad, Mr.Bartlett,” said Celia when Gregg had gone. “What’s too bad?” asked Bartlett. “That you have to drink alone.”(R. Lardner)

2. “Did I bother you much last night?” “Not too much,” she said. “I seem to be getting over it a little.” “That’s too bad. Where would you like to go?” he asked. (M. Wilson)

3. “Is Haviland around?” “Not today,” Erik let himself out through the barrier. “That’s too bad. Nobody at all seems to be around.” (M. Wilson)

to go wrong – to fail, to go amiss

1. I feel, if anything went wrong, Dad’d blame me for not looking after you better. (D. Cusack)

2. On a day like this everything was an adventure. You felt that nothing could go wrong. (D. Cusack)

3. The match just went down sizzling into the grayish mixture. Felicity was frantic. The whole thing was going wrong at the last moment. (I. Murdoch)

4. Mor studied the tower. If only there were anything, any plan, which could help. Clearly something had gone wrong about the rope. (I. Murdoch)

to make head or tail of – to understand, to comprehend (always used in the negative)

1. It was he who first made me acquainted with the Impressionists, whose pictures had recently been accepted by the Luxemburg. To my shame, I must admit that I couldn`t make head or tail of them. (W.S. Maugham)

2. But he remembered that she was a bit touched, and that even if anybody believed her information it would be so raveled-up that they wouldn’t be able to make head or tail of her tittle-tattle. (A. Sillitoe)

3. Mrs.Stricland pondered deeply for some time. It was clear that she could not make head or tail of my announcement. (W.S. Maugham)

4. … but I could see they couldn’t make head or tail of the old creature. (J. Galsworthy)

(for) the rest of life (evening, day, week, month; way, trip etc) – the remainder; that which is left

1. And after Chapel he walked home with Miriam, whilst Mrs.Morel spent the rest of the evening with her old friend, Mrs.Burns. (D. Lawrence)

2. “We do the rest of the way by taxi,” Rain announced. (I. Murdoch)

3. In that moment he loved her more than he ever had before, and he knew that for the rest of his life he would never forget this. (I. Murdoch)

4. Neither noticed that Fabermacher didn’t return for the rest of the day. (M. Wilson)

to take something easy – not to take something close to heart; not to get excited; not to work hard; not to hurry

1. “Take it easy.” The doctor put a hand on his shoulder. “It will do neither of you any good if you crack up, and the sister in ward 3 tells me your wife depends on you a lot.” (D. Cusack)

2. Bart lifted and gently lowered the great hulk of a man back on to his rubber cushion. He let him lie there a moment, gasping, the shallow breath stirring only the top of his chest. “Just take it easy, Danny. Here, take a swig of oxygen.” (D. Cusack)

3. “Well, of course…” said Haviland tentatively. “Since I haven’t any definite plans, it’s not fair of me to ask you to lie yourself down…” “He means for you to take it easy,” Maxwell translated to Erik. (M. Wilson)

4. “Besides I don’t want any cancellations. I don’t think this Daladier is going to fight Hitler any more than Blum would. So take it easy.” (M. Wilson)

5. “Take it easy,” one of the men said. “You’re all right now, boy.” (A. Saxton)

more or less – almost, about

1. “Are you around with him?” she looked up at him with a steady gaze, but her eyes changed their quality as she said: “More or less.” (M. Wilson)

2. Up till this time, in spite of all, he had been her husband and her man. She had felt that, more or less, what he did to himself he did to her. (D. Lawrence)

3. … she generally knew more or less what he was thinking. (J. Galsworthy)

4. And to Miriam he more or less condescended, because she seemed so humble. (D. Lawrence)

in the same boat – in similar circumstances; facing the same risks

1. “Well, it’s this way, Hitckock,” he finally said. “I’m in the same boat with the rest. If three- score bucks have made up their mind to kill the girl, why we can’t help it?” (J. London)

2. Was Tom nicer to Burce, did he give him a lot of snap assignments because he thought they were in the same boat? (Sh. Anderson)