to throw the book at: to punish with full penalty, to be harsh on Examples of TO THROW THE BOOK AT The judge threatened to throw the book at me if I didn’t stop insulting the police officer. Because the criminal was a repeat offender, the judge threw the book at him with heavy fines…

to make friends: to become friendly with others Examples of MAKE FRIENDS Once you’re done with college, it’s hard to make friends, but it isn’t impossible. The kittens approached each other tentatively, hoping to make friends.  

to run away: to leave without permission; to escape Examples of TO RUN AWAY Police said three suspects ran away, but one was arrested in the immediate area. Someone who runs away becomes a coward, while someone who fears nothing is rash.

to work out: to exercise; to develop, to devise (a plan) Examples of TO WORK OUT She home-schools her 15-year-old son, runs errands, cleans house, takes care of her family, works out at the fitness center and tries to sleep. Eventually we worked out a plan so that he could return to work.

to hold up: to delay, to make late; to remain high in quality Examples of TO HOLD UP The incident also prompted a pushing match and play was held up for six minutes. We didn’t score like 130 points, 140 points, but we really held up our opponent.

would rather: prefer to (also: would just as soon) Examples of WOULD RATHER I would rather go biking than running, because biking is easier on my knees. He would rather go to the salad bar, but she wanted to go to the steakhouse.