Common American Phrases in Everyday Contexts (85 page)

I can't believe (that)
!
That is unbelievable!
T
OM
: What a terrible earthquake! All the houses collapsed, one by one. J
ANE
: I can't believe that!
B
ILL
: This lake is nearly two hundred feet deep. S
UE
: I can't believe! B
ILL
: Take my word for it.

(I) can't complain
.
AND
(I have) nothing to complain about
.
a response to a greeting inquiry asking how one is or how things are going for one.
S
UE
: How are things going? M
ARY
: I can't complain
.
M
ARY
: Hi, Fred! How are you doing? F
RED
: Nothing to complain about.

I can't get over
something
!
I am just so amazed! (The
something
can be a fact or a pronoun, such as
that
or
it
. Also with
just
, as in the example.)
“I just can't get over the way everybody pitched in and
helped,” said Alice.
B
OB
: The very idea, Sue and Tom doing something like that! B
ILL
: I can't get over it!

(I) can't help it
.
There is nothing I can do to help the situation.; That is the way it is.; There is nothing I can do. (Often in answer to a criticism.)
M
ARY
: Your hair is a mess. S
UE
: It's windy. I can't help it
.
F
RED
: I wish you'd quit coughing all the time. S
ALLY
: I can't help it. I wish I could too.

(I) can't make heads or tails of
something. I'm not able to figure out or understand something. (Also in other persons.)
He's read this book over and over, but he can't make heads or tails out of it
.
I got a new computer, but it just sits there. I can't make heads or tails of it.

(I) can't rightly say
.
I do not know with any certainty. (Colloquial and a little folksy.)
F
RED
: When do you think we'll get there? B
ILL
: Can't rightly say
.
B
OB
: Okay, how does this look to you? B
ILL
: I can't rightly say. I've never seen anything like it before.