draw a parallel
To make a comparison.
It is easy to draw a parallel between the characters of Saint Francis of Assisi and Great Saint Theresa of Aquila, but this doesn't mean that all saints are alike.
drive to the wall
To defeat someone completely; to ruin someone.
Poor Uncle Jack was driven to the wall by his angry creditors when his business failed.
drop off
fall off
To take (someone or something) part of the way you are going.
Joe asked Mrs. Jones to drop him off at the library on her way downtown.
I don’t mind dropping you off at the store on my way to work.
To fall asleep.
Jimmy was thinking of his birthday party as he dropped off to sleep.
My mother dropped off during the boring television show; her head was nodding up and down.
To die.
The patient dropped off in his sleep.
To become less. When the quality, degree, or frequency of something decreases, it falls off.
Business picked up in the stores during December, but dropped off again after Christmas.
Sales of fountain pens fell off after the ballpoint pen was invented.
The quality of his work has fallen off as he has gotten older.
Business has been dropping off rapidly recently, but fortunately it hasn’t been falling off as quickly as for our competitors.
drop the ball
дословно: уронить, потерять мяч
Совершить ошибку, не справиться с ситуацией.
Совершить ошибку, не справиться с ситуацией.
We lay all our hopes on you, so don’t drop the ball.
Все наши надежды на тебя, так что не подведи нас.
Please, don’t drop the ball – we are relying on you.
Пожалуйста, не совершай глупых ошибок – мы полагаемся на тебя.
duty calls
One must attend to one's obligations.
"I'd love to stay and play more poker," Henry said, "but duty calls and I must get back to the office."
eat one's words
swallow one's words
To take back something you have said; admit something is not true.
Брать назад свои слова; признавать, что что-то было не верным.
John had called Harry a coward, but the boys made him eat his words after Harry bravely fought a big bully.
John was wrong about the election and had to eat his words.
Джон был неправ насчёт выборов и должен забрать свои слова обратно.
He said I'd never get the job, but he had to swallow his words when I was appointed.
Он говорил, что мне никогда не получить эту работу, но ему пришлось признать, что он ошибался, когда меня назначили.
To speak unclearly; fail to put enough breath into your words.
Phyllis was hard to understand because she swallowed her words.
engage in small talk
make small talk
To converse with a stranger or casual acquaintance about matters of no great importance in order to make the time go faster.
The patients in the doctor's waiting room engaged in small talk complaining about the hot weather.
I hate making small talk with people I don't know at parties.
explore all avenues
Перепробовать все возможности для достижения результата или нахождения решения.
We can't say it's impossible until we've explored all avenues.
Мы не можем сказать, что что-то невозможно, пока испробуем все.