介绍:
1) Come a cropper
-The club's challenge for the championship has come a cropper.
-David came a cropper while coming down the steps and hurt his backside.
-A radio announcer really came a cropper when he made an offensive remark. He lost his job and now he can't get another one.
Meaning:
If you come a cropper, you fall over, or you make a mistake, which has serious consequences for you.
Etymology:
The tall tale about the origins of "come a cropper" involves Thomas Henry Cropper, a man who developed a version of the platen printing press in the mid-1800s. The story goes that over time, all platen presses were referred to as "croppers," and that someone could "come a cropper" by getting his or her fingers stuck in the workings of the press.
2) Bear the brunt
-The team's coach bore the brunt of the criticism because he'd selected the players who'd performed so badly.
-The driver bore the brunt of the crash because he was right at the front of the bus.
-James bore the brunt of the financial crisis when all of his stocks became worthless.
Meaning:
If you bear the brunt of something, you suffer the worst of its impact or its effects.
Etymology:
Many attribute the origin of the phrase "bear the brunt" to forms of old English. Old English has much in common with the German language, and some word historians can identify the original meaning of the word "brunt." Here, the word seems to be associated with the German word for burning, for example, where the modern English word "burnt" translates in German to verbrannt.
3) All the rage
-Tina's son keeps asking her to buy him a transformers toy, they are all the rage.
-When John was a kid, skate boards were all the rage.
-Even though lady gaga is all the rage, Tim still does not like listening to her music.
Meaning:
If something is all the rage, it's very popular or it's in fashion at the moment.
Etymology:
Derived from rage having the secondary meaning of "a widespread temporary enthusiasm or fashion".
