Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[stevenukd]

Dear Teachers,

1.Don�t be so quick to move until you find out what it takes to live on your own.
- �find out what it takes� here means �find out what it is like�, right?

2.They just shack up until they�re tired of each other.
- �shack up� here means �sleep overnight with someone�, right?

3.Moving out with someone your parents don�t like isn�t a smart idea if you want to stay on good terms with them.
- �to stay on good terms with them� here means �to keep a good relationship with them�, right?

4.I think you�re too young to be out on your own.
- This means ����.to go out on your own� or ����..to move out on your own�, right?

5.You suck up, buddy!
- This means � you are so hypocritical�, right?

Thanks a lot to Teachers,

Stevenukd.

[asterix]

. 1. Right.

2. To shack up means to live with someone of the opposite sex as if you were married, but without being married.

3. Right.

4. This can mean to be out of the house without supervision, or to be living independently.

5. To suck up means to be sycophantic. to try and curry favour with someone. e.g. He sucked up to his teacher hoping to get good marks.

You suck means that you are no good, or you are no good at something. e.g. You suck at tennis, buddy! You can barely keep the ball in the court.
e.g. You are a thief and a liar. You suck!

They are slang expressions.

[LucentShade]

For #1 "find out what it takes" I would say it means "find out what it requires" / "find out what is necessary."

[Bob S.]

#5 doesn't sound too natural. What is the contect?
"Suck up" (v) can mean "to brown-nose" (or as a noun: a person who brown-noses).
"To suck it up" means to endure some hardship in a stoic manner.