hard of hearing: partially deaf, not able to hear well Examples of HARD OF HEARING The elderly man pretended to be hard of hearing, so nobody would bother him on the train. Playing in too many rock bands made the musician hard of hearing while he was still young.

by oneself: alone, without assistance Examples of BY ONESELF He drove four hours to Los Angeles, by himself, for the audition. Frustrated with her useless team, Carol finished the project by herself.

to come across: to meet or find unexpectedly (also: to run across); to be perceived or judged as (also: to come off) Examples of TO COME ACROSS A woman walking her dog came across a butchered body left on a pile of branches. I came across this story out of Georgia on a National Park…

to turn off: to cause to stop functioning (also: to switch off, to shut off) Examples of TURN OFF I forgot to turn off the television after I recorded the program. She needs to turn off the waterworks; crying won’t help in this job.

to lay off: to abstain from, stop using as a habit; to release or discharge from a job (also: related idiom: to let go) Examples of TO LAY OFF Today is my 30th birthday, but I should probably lay off the cake and champagne. He said the company had to lay off employees and has…

to make up one’s mind: to reach a decision, to decide finally Examples of MAKE UP ONE’S MIND He needs to make up his mind what restaurant to go to, otherwise we’ll never eat. She can’t make up her mind between two great jobs.