Essential english idioms

o n c e i n a b l u e m o o n : rarely, infrequently  
- Snow falls on the city of San Diego, California, once in a blue moon. 
- Once in a blue moon my wife and I eat at a very expensive restaurant. 
t o g i v e u p : to stop trying; to stop a bad habit (S); to surrender (S)
- I'm sure that you can accomplish this task. Don't give up yet!
- If you give up smoking now, you can certainly live a longer life. 
- The soldiers gave themselves up in the face of stronger enemy forces. 
to cross out : to cancel by marking with a horizontal line (S)
- The teacher crossed out several incorrect words in Tanya's composition. 
- I crossed the last line out of my letter because it had the wrong tone to it. 
to take for granted : not to appreciate fully (S); to assume to be true without giving much thought (S)
A noun or pronoun often follows the verb take. 
- John took his wife for granted until once when he was very sick and needed her constant attention for a week. 
- He spoke English so well that I took it for granted he was an American. 
- He took for granted that I wasn't American because I spoke English so poorly! 
t o t a k e s o m e t h i n g i n t o a c c o u n t : to consider a fact while evaluating a situation (S)
Again, a noun or pronoun often follows the verb take. 
- The judge took the prisoner's young age into account before sentencing him to three months in jail. 
- Educators should take into account the cultural backgrounds of students when planning a school curriculum. 
to make clear : to clarify, to explain (S)
- Please make clear that he should never act so impolitely again. 
- The supervisor made it clear to the workers that they had to increase their productivity. 
clear - cut : clearly stated, definite, apparent
- The president's message was clear-cut: the company had to reduce personnel immediately. 
- Professor Larsen is well known for his interesting and clear-cut presentations. 
to have on : to be wearing (S) 
- How do you like the hat which Grace has on today? 
- When Sally came into the room, I had nothing on except my shorts. 
t o come to : to regain consciousness; to equal, to amount to
- At first they thought that the man was dead, but soon he came to. 
- The bill for groceries at the supermarket came to fifty dollars.