to miss the boat: to ​lose an ​opportunity to do something by being ​slow to ​act Examples of TO MISS THE BOAT There were ​tickets ​available last ​week, but he ​missed the ​boat by ​waiting till today to ​try to ​buy some. The precious metals market was looking up several months ago, but unfortunately most…

to live it up: to spend money freely, to live luxuriously Examples of TO LIVE IT UP Jackson and Aiden saved up money for two years so that they could travel to Europe and live it up. After receiving a large inheritance from a rich aunt, I was able to live it up for years.

face-to-face: direct, personal; directly, personally Examples of FACE TO FACE He thinks people should be allowed inside a judge’s office to talk face to face. You’ll make a meaningful, powerful connection when you communicate face to face.

to kick the habit: to stop a bad habit Examples of TO KICK THE HABIT People have grown up reading paper books and will not kick the habit easily. The doctor advised the heavy cigarette smoker that her heart had become damaged and that she should kick the habit right away.

more or less: approximately, almost; somewhat, to a certain degree Examples of MORE OR LESS Although your bedroom feels smaller, it’s more or less the same size as mine. Ted more or less agreed with our decision to put off the meeting until more members could show up. At least he didn’t object strongly.

to step down: to retire or leave a top position, to resign Examples of TO STEP DOWN Next May the principal will step down after thirty-five years of service to the school. The angry shareholders wanted the company president to step down because of the stock scandal.

to cut short: to make shorter, to interrupt Examples of TO CUT SHORT The moderator asked the speaker to cut short his talk because there wasn’t much time remaining for questions from the audience. We were very unfortunate when we received bad news from home that forced us to cut our trip short.

on edge: nervous, anxious; upset, irritable Examples of ON EDGE Sophia was on edge all day about the important presentation she had to give to the local citizens group. I don’t like being around Jackson when he’s on edge like that. Someone should tell him to calm down and relax.