to take pains: to work carefully and conscientiously Examples of TO TAKE PAINS She takes pains to do everything well; she’s our best employee. She takes pains to conceal his true identity from her villagers and even her husband.

to take off: to remove (usually said of clothes) Examples of TAKE OFF The chef forgot to take off his apron when he sat down to eat. With his diet, he was hoping to take off some weight before his vacation at the beach.

to look after: to watch, to supervise, to protect (also: to take care of, tokeep an eye on) Examples of TO LOOK AFTER While Kim is on vacation, I’m going to look after her dog! The cleaning crew wasn’t able to look after the plant in the office, so I decided to do it myself.

on edge: nervous, anxious; upset, irritable Examples of ON EDGE Sophia was on edge all day about the important presentation she had to give to the local citizens group. I don’t like being around Jackson when he’s on edge like that. Someone should tell him to calm down and relax.

to be the matter: to be unsatisfactory, to be improper, to be wrong Examples of TO BE THE MATTER There is something the matter with the whole discussion of gun control. But he could not pretend that the matter is something he could easily ignore.

to find fault with: criticize, to complain about something Examples of TO FIND FAULT WITH You mustn’t be quick to find fault with everyone you date because you might learn to appreciate their flaws. Nobody could find any fault with Jennifer’s performance on the exam.