to take after: to resemble a parent or close relative (for physical appearanceonly, also: to look like) Examples of TO TAKE AFTER Little Kevin was a very good soccer player; he must take after his father. My son doesn’t take after me at all.

to have it in for: to want revenge on, to feel hostile towards (also: to hold a grudge against) Examples of TO HAVE IT IN FOR Martina expects to lose her job because her boss has had it in for her for a long time. The teacher has held a grudge against Al ever since the…

out of order: not in working condition Examples of OUT OF ORDER When my cell phone ran out of battery, I tried the pay phone, but it was out of order. It seems like one of the projectors is always out of order, but the others always work fine.

now and then: occasionally, sometimes (also: now and again, at times,from time to time, off and on, once in a while) Examples of NOW AND THEN David offends people, now and then, without even meaning to do so, but it’s so rare that everyone still works with him. Every married couple fights now and then.

for the time being: temporarily (also: for now) Examples of FOR THE TIME BEING For the time being, you’ll need to get extra rest, until you’re healthy again. The project was almost done, but for the time being, it was horrible.

to back up: to drive or go backwards (S); to defend, to support (S); to return to a previous thought Examples of TO BACK UP So it plans to buy back up to $10 million of its stock over the next few months Unfortunately, the rates haven’t gone back up, and people are dealing with…