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.

let alone: and certainly not (also: not to mention, to say nothing of) Examples of LET ALONE He would never walk again let alone play golf. He doesn’t even speak his own language well, let alone French.

to get on (someone’s) nerves: to annoy or disturb Examples of TO GET ON (SOMEONE’S) NERVES I wish they would turn off that radio. It’s getting on my nerves. Ruby loves to talk to anyone. Sometimes her chatter really gets on my nerves.

to be bound to: to be certain to, to be sure to Examples of TO BE BOUND TO “You’re bound to love this hit musical!” read the ad. Let me write down the shopping list; I’m bound to forget something.

to clean out: to empty, to tidy by removing; to steal, to rob; to buy or purchase all of something Examples of TO CLEAN OUT I want to clean out that closet so that we can store these things in there. A burglar entered my apartment while I was gone and cleaned me out. He…

at first: at the beginning, originally Examples of AT FIRST At first, I didn’t know what to think about Jamie, but now I think she’s pretty cool. She consulted, at first, with a general practitioner, but then she decided to see a specialist.