Exercise – 13

🔹 Hit the books
🔸 Meaning: Study seriously
✅ It’s exam time, so it’s time to hit the books.
✅ He hits the books for two hours every day.

🔹 Know the ropes
🔸 Meaning: Understand how to do a job well
✅ He now knows the ropes of the office work.
✅ Watch carefully until you know the ropes.

🔹 Sharpen your skills
🔸 Meaning: Improve your abilities
✅ He sharpened his skills by learning new technology.
✅ If you want to succeed, keep sharpening your skills.

🔹 Burn the midnight oil
🔸 Meaning: Work late into the night
✅ He burned the midnight oil to prepare for the exam.
✅ You often have to burn the midnight oil to succeed.

🔹 Get the hang of it
🔸 Meaning: Learn to do something
✅ At first, he couldn’t type, but now he’s got the hang of it.
✅ With a bit of practice, you’ll get the hang of it too.

🔹 Pick up on
🔸 Meaning: Quickly learn or notice something
✅ He’s sharp — he picks up on everything quickly.
✅ The kids picked up on the new language quickly.

🔹 Brush up on
🔸 Meaning: Review or improve old knowledge
✅ He brushed up on his topics before the interview.
✅ I need to brush up on my English.

🔹 Learn the ropes
🔸 Meaning: Learn how to do a new job or task
✅ He quickly learned the ropes in his new job.
✅ When you start something new, it takes time to learn the ropes.

🔹 Put your thinking cap on
🔸 Meaning: Think deeply / creatively
✅ We need to put our thinking caps on for this problem.
✅ The teacher told the students to put their thinking caps on.

🔹 Break new ground
🔸 Meaning: Do something innovative or revolutionary
✅ This research has broken new ground in science.
✅ He always tries to break new ground.