Common American Phrases in Everyday Contexts (156 page)

Never been better
.
Go to (I've) never been better.

Never felt better
.
Go to (I've) never been better.

Never heard of such a thing
.
Go to (I) never heard of such a thing.

Never hurts to ask
.
Go to (It) doesn't hurt to ask.

Never in a thousand years
!
Go to Not in a thousand years!

Never mind
!
Forget it!; It's not important!
S
ALLY
: What did you say? J
ANE
: Never mind! It wasn't important
.
J
OHN
: I tried to get the book you wanted, but they didn't have it. Shall I try another store? M
ARY
: No, never mind. J
OHN
: I'd be happy to give it a try.

Never thought I'd see you here
!
Go to (I) never thought I'd see you here!

Never would have guessed
.
Go to (I) never would have guessed.

Next question
.
That is settled, so let's move on to something else. (Usually a way of evading further discussion.)
M
ARY
: When can I expect this construction noise to stop? B
OB
: In about a month. Next question
.
B
ILL
: When will the board of directors raise the dividend again? M
ARY
: Oh, quite soon. Next question.

Nice call
!
Go to Good call!

Nice going
!
AND
Good job!; Nice job! 1
.
That was done well.
J
OHN
: Well, I'm glad that's over. S
ALLY
: Nice going, John! You did a good job
.
T
OM
: Nice job, Bill! B
ILL
: Thanks, Tom!
2
.
That was done poorly. (Sarcastic.)
F
RED
: I guess I really messed it up. B
ILL
: Nice job, Fred! You've now messed us all up! F
RED
: Well, I'm sorry
.
“Nice going,” frowned Jane, as Tom upset the bowl of potato chips.

Nice job
!
Go to Nice going!

Nice place you have here
.
Your home is nice. (A compliment paid by a guest. The word
place
might be replaced with
home, house, room, apartment
, etc.)
Jane came in and looked around. “Nice place you have here,” she said
.
B
OB
: Come in. Welcome. M
ARY
: Nice place you have here. B
OB
: Thanks. We like it.

Nice talking to you
.
Go to (It's been) good talking to you.

Nice to be here
.
Go to (It's) good to be here.

Nice to have you here
.
Go to (It's) good to have you here.

Nice to meet you
.
Go to (It's) nice to meet you.

Nice to see you
.
Go to (It's) nice to see you.

Nice weather we're having. 1
.
Isn't the weather nice? (Sometimes used to start a conversation with a stranger.)
B
ILL
: Nice weather we're having. B
OB
: Yeah. It's great
.
Mary glanced out the window and said to the lady sitting next to her, “Nice weather we're having.
”
2
.
Isn't this weather bad? (A sarcastic version of sense 1.)
B
ILL
: Hi, Tom. Nice weather we're having, huh? T
OM
: Yeah. Gee, it's hot!
M
ARY
: Nice weather we're having! S
ALLY
: Sure. Lovely weather for ducks.