ill at ease: uncomfortable or worried in a situation Examples of ILL AT EASE The financial crisis last September especially made people become ill at ease. There is anticipation, but there is also an ill-at-ease feeling about it all.

to buy out: to purchase a business or company; to purchase all of a person’s chares or stock Examples of TO BUY OUT When the larger scale media companies buy out the more smaller-scaled or local companies they become more powerful within the market. The other directors have offered to buy me out.

quite a few: many Examples of QUITE A FEW The journalist was about to tell quite a few secrets about the politician. There are quite a few problems with the presentation, and it’ll take a lot of time to fix.

Chicken feed: A very small amount of money. Examples: Of course I can afford $800. That’s just chicken feed. He’s so rich that $1000 is chicken feed to him.

to take by surprise: to surprise, to amaze, to astonish Examples of TO TAKE BY SURPRISE The offer of a high-paying position with another company took me by surprise. The president’s announcement that the university was in financial trouble didn’t take anyone by surprise.

no wonder: it’s no surprise that, not surprisingly Examples of NO WONDER No wonder this story of parents and children in explosive crisis won that Oscar. No wonder studies have found that 10% of psoriasis patients contemplate suicide.