to cut corners: to economize, to save money Examples of TO CUT CORNERS Most students live on limited budgets and have to cut corners whenever possible. The Livingstons have nine children, so it is essential that they cut corners at all times.

to become of: to happen to (a missing object or person) Examples of TO BECOME OF In the meanwhile, what has become of us as a previously identified open society? I might have missed this, but what has become of the existing child trust funds?

to dress up: to wear formal clothes, to dress very nicely Examples of DRESS UP There are whole websites full of people who like to dress up their cats and dogs. On casual Fridays, we don’t need to dress up at my office.

out of the question: impossible, not feasible Examples of OUT OF THE QUESTION Buying a new car is out of the question, especially before we pay off the old car. If we close this deal, a raise wouldn’t be out of the question for you!

to take by surprise: to surprise, to amaze, to astonish Examples of TO TAKE BY SURPRISE The offer of a high-paying position with another company took me by surprise. The president’s announcement that the university was in financial trouble didn’t take anyone by surprise.

to run into: to meet someone unexpectedly; to crash or collide into Examples of TO RUN INTO Just the other day, I ran into a colleague who was on her way to a tango lesson. While researching Wednesday’s post, I ran into a number of strange case studies.