Phrasal verbs and idioms in context - Lession 9: New premises

PHRASAL VERBS AND IDIOMS IN CONTEXT 09
NEW PREMISES
 The flat adjacent to the school had recently become available. It was more than double the size of the one Dora used as her school. She had a sudden idea. She picked up the phone and called Signor Marini – her landlord – to make an appointment to view the flat next door. Signor Marini had inherited the whole building upon the death of his father. He was not a greedy man and charged an honest rent. After all, with no outstanding mortgages with the bank and never having bought the flats in the first place, any profit was a good one.
 The flat that had become available had previously been used as a legal firm for over a decade. The head solicitor had mentioned to Dora in the passing that they’d found bigger premises closer to the Vatican area.
 ‘We’re expanding and need a larger studio,’ Avvocato Merlo had said.
 ‘Not only, it’s better for us to be closer to the courtrooms which are over on that end of the city. We’ll save so much time. You know what they say, ‘time is money.’
 The next day Mr Marini arrived to show Dora around the flat. It had six rooms done out as studios and a very elegant, spacious reception area. This was far superior to the place she was renting next door. She’d be able to fit more than double the amount of students into this place.
 ‘How much is the rent Mr Marini?’
 Dora was already paying a reasonable rent of 750, 00 a month for the flat next door. She knew only too well that Mr Marini could get a good bit more for it but he wasn’t a greedy man.
 ‘Well to be honest with you Dora, these lawyers had one of these old contracts and were paying next to nothing. They took over the contract that was previously held by Avvocato Merlini’s uncle. When I inherited the property, I also inherited the tenants along with their contracts. Now if you agree I’ll rent it to you for 875, 00.
 ‘Are you sure Mr Marini?’
 ‘Yes Dora. I’m certain. I’ve never been one to take advantage of people and try to squeeze them dry moneywise. In my opinion 875, 00 is a fair amount plus the fact you’ve never defaulted on the rent payments. As the proverb goes, ‘a bird in the hand is always better than two in the bush’.
 ‘I’m ever so grateful to you Mr Marini. That is so very kind of you.’‘Well Dora, it’s a whole lot more than I was getting on the old contract I inherited. These lawyers were paying 300, 00 a month.’
 ‘They weren’t,’ exclaimed Dora. ‘I don’t believe it.’
 ‘Indeed they were.’
 ‘Couldn’t you have evicted them and rented it out to someone who would have paid you more?’
‘They had a perfectly valid contract and even if that hadn’t been the case, who in their right mind would try to evict a team of lawyers, especially ones who specialize in eviction. The law would undoubtedly have been on their side. Moreover, it’s not in my nature to evict people, unless of course they stop paying the rent – then I would be faced with no option.’
 And so it was agreed that Dora would move to the bigger premises next door.
 That evening Dora thought about how kind Mr Marini had been. Her mind went back to the church group she had attended most of her married life.
 She’d heard it so many times. Do not despair. Just like angels the right people are put in your path just when you need them most. Some are fleeting, others stay longer and some are permanent fixtures in your life. She had a little cry to herself and thanked God for the people he’d put in her life after the painful breakup with Luigi.
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GLOSSARY – PHRASAL VERBS
Fit (something) into – find the right sized space to accommodate something
Do out – when referring to rooms this expression is used mainly in the passive form. It means decorated in a particular way
Go back– return
Pick up – (literal meaning) lift/raise something with your hands
Show (someone) around – when a person doesn’t know a place and is seeing it for the first time, ‘show around’ means that you lead the person around the different parts so he/she can see it all, you act rather like a guide
Take over – take control
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GLOSSARY – IDIOMS AND EXPRESSIONS
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush – an English proverb which means ‘it is better to keep what you have than risk losing it for something better.’
After all –reinforces and supports what was said before by giving an additional reason
Along with – together with
Be faced with – used in the passive voice, this means that you have a difficult, unpleasant situation to deal with
Contain (oneself) – control one’s emotions/if you can hardly contain yourself it means you are having difficulty in keeping your emotions under control
In the first place – to begin with/from the onset
In the passing – briefly, when passing someone in a place
Next to nothing – almost nothing, in the context – a very small amount of money
Take advantage of – exploit
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
show someone around