bear down on
bear down upon
To draw constantly nearer with great speed and force.
The police cars were bearing down on the bank robbers' get-away car.
After the boys threw the snowballs they saw a large lady bearing down upon them from across the street.
come down on like a ton of bricks
To direct one's full anger at somebody.
When the janitor was late for work, the manager came down on him like a ton of bricks.
cut down
cut down on
cut back on
To lessen; reduce; limit.
Tom had to cut down expenses.
The doctor told Mr. Jones to cut down on smoking.
In order to lose weight, you have to cut down on your intake of sugar.
The doctor told me to cut back on exercise until my back injury heals.
down on one's luck
Having bad luck; having much trouble; not successful in life.
Испытывать неудачи; быть в трудном положении, беде.
Harry asked me to lend him ten dollars, because he was down on his luck.
The teacher is easy on Jane because Jane has been down on her luck lately.
Alan is down on his luck and I am sorry for him.
Алан в тяжелом положении, и я сочувствую ему.
down on
Having a grudge against; angry at.
Испытывать недоброе чувство к кому-либо; сердиться на кого-либо.
John is down on his teacher because she gave him a low grade.
My teacher was down on me because I had missed a lot of classes.
Мой учитель рассердился на меня, потому что я пропустил много занятий.
down one's alley
up one's alley
Suited to your tastes and abilities; what you like or like to do.
Baseball is right down Jim's alley.
down one's neck
breathe down one's neck
To follow closely; threaten from behind; watch every action.
Следовать по пятам; угрожать из-за спины, сзади; пристально следить.
Too many creditors were breathing down his neck.
The carpenter didn't like to work for Mr. Jones, who was always breathing down his neck.
The atmosphere at work isn't great; the boss keeps breathing down our necks all the time.
У нас на работе не самая лучшая атмосфера, начальство постоянно за нами следит.
fall down on the job
To fail to work well.
Потерпеть неудачу при попытке хорошо работать.
The boss was disappointed when his workers fell down on the job.
Начальник был разочарован, когда его работники не смогли хорошо выполнить работу.