2. "A far cry from..." means something has materially changed for the worse from what it was originally, or has turned out to be much worse than what was initially expected. Eg. The bonus I got this year was a far cry from what my idiot boss promised me. 3. "And how" can also be used to demonstrate the degree or severity of something. Eg. A: Man, we sure got taken in by that conman. B: And how. (In this case, B is agreeing that they really, really got cheated by that conman, as in, it was a major con job) 13. Back something up can also mean "to reverse" if it's applied to vehicles. Eg. Can u please back up the truck a bit so we can unload it? In an IT context to "back something up" means to save another copy somewhere just in case the original gets deleted by mistake or corrupted.

Could depend on sentence context, but the remaining answers should be: 16. Be burned up : Be consumed by an issue or a problem (eg. not knowing whether his wife is cheating on him is really burning him up). This is different from "Burned out" which means 非常非常累...not only physically, but also mentally. 18. Be head and shoulders means a great degree of difference. Eg. Little Michael is so naturally intelligent, he's head and shoulders above the rest of his classmates... Hope this helps.

8. To be cut out for is to be capable, a natural fit, goes well together. "With his long legs he's cut out for running" 9. Absorbed in means you don't want to stop. 10. Tear somebody away means to make them stop something they were enjoying. "Johnny is absorbed into that video game. He wouldn't go to bed. I had to tear him away " 11. Be attached to means really like something, that it's important to you. "Johnny was attached to his cat. He never got over his death. " 12. Backed up means a long line or a flow that's not moving fast. 13. Back something up means to stop the flow so a line forms. "The drain got clogged and the water backed up" or "Johnny dropped his toy in the water and it backed the toilet up." 14. Bound for is Destined for or direction headed in. "I'm headed west, I'm bound for California" 15. Be yourself is to act like you normally do. Feel yourself is to feel like you normally do (means you are better. Not sick anymore) 17. Be hard up for means to need it badly. "I lost my job, and I'm hard up for money" 19. Be in the dark means you don't know what's going on. "He made changes to our paper without telling me. He left me in the dark" 20. Be stuck means unable to continue or you don't know what to do next. "I got stuck on this math problem. I don't know what to do with this variable"

1. Yes. But not only your walking speed. It usually means to increase your speed /frequency /effort /rhythm. To become faster. To learn faster, for example. 2. Things not directly connected, but related in a distant way (far). 3. I don't know this one from english. It means "Oh yes. He's a good dancer. Even better than that." "How" might be an outstanding comparision with "good". 4 a phone call away: Not far away. You only have to pick up the phone and dial. There are no excuses for not using that offer. Often used when offering services. 5 allergic to: Getting sick (/ill) when you get in touch with something you are allergic to. Basically a term from medical science. But also used in social matters. A friend of mine said his computer had become allergic to him... 6. around the clock ( means in time or on time?) It means without break. Literally: for 24 hours. You start now and don't stop. Not for a short break. Not for going home. You go on, not for 24 hours, but may be forever. 7 back out: to retreat. To abscond, to take flight. To leave a risky situation immediately.