Using the microwave instead of the oven more has helped us save on our electricity bills.
I always bring my lunch to work to save on food expenses.
Taking the bus instead of owning a car lets me save thousands of dollars on transportation expenses.
My club membership helps me save on tickets to go to events around town.
save up (ts/ii) - save, store (transitive separable or intransitive inseparable)
Right now my husband and I are saving up to buy a new home in Miami.
I need to save up to buy a better computer.
My daughter is saving up her money to buy a new camera. She loves taking photos.
He is saving up money so that he can buy his parents and sister nice gifts for Christmas.
shrug off (ts) – not be bothered by something, to express that something is not important
The accused government official is trying to shrug off the criminal charges against him as lies by jealous opponents.
“Everybody knows that most people who want to get elected make promises that they later shrug off after elected,” Heather said.
It would be a serious and dangerous error to just shrug off extreme violence committed by police as bad training.
"It seems that the government wants to shrug off its public duties by transferring them to the private sector,” she said.
~ ~ She is good at smoothing over conflicts.
smooth over (ts) - make a problem or bad situation seem less serious
Jen talked to Zak and Samantha to smooth things over between them.
My manager is good at resolving conflicts and smoothing over differences to maintain better relationships with his employees.
These drugs can help smooth over various types of pain, but there is a risk of becoming addicted to such medication.
It is clear that the internet will not smooth over many of the divisions that exist in society.
snap up (ts) - buy or get quickly
Fans of the famous singer snapped up tickets to her next concert and it was sold out within one hour.
Chinese business owners are snapping up houses in the U.S. as a way to invest and protect their wealth.
Microsoft snapped up another small business that specialized in big data analysis.
Many developers are snapping up land owned by aging farmers and building new homes on it.
Practice
You can practice using these phrasal verbs by doing the exercises below!
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