صيغ مركبة
or | OR |
| a dozen or so adj | informal (around twelve) | حوالي اثنا عشرة: دزينة |
| | Can you please bring me back a dozen or so eggs from the grocery store? |
| black or white adj | (clear cut) | واضح تماماً |
| black or white adj | (viewed simplistically) | واضح للعيان |
| | There is no gray area here, it's black or white. |
| come hell or high water adv | (whatever the difficulties, whatever happens) | مهما كانت الصعوبات |
| | Come hell or high water, I am going to finish this marathon. |
| come rain or shine adv | literal (whatever the weather) | مهما ساءت حالة الطقس |
| | Come rain or shine, we are going to beach tomorrow! |
| come rain or shine adv | figurative (whatever happens) | مهما يحدث |
| | Come rain or shine, I will never abandon you. |
| do or die n | figurative (critical situation) | يصمّم على، يصرّ |
| double or nothing n | (gambling: type of bet) | مقامرة، ضرب من الرهان |
| | At first I lost $10 on our bet, but I said "double or nothing" and won the second time so now he owes me $20. |
| either or, either-or adj | informal (limited to two choices) | واحد من اثنين |
| for better or for worse adv | (whatever the consequences) | مهما كانت الظروف |
| | I will be your wife for better or for worse. |
| hit or miss, hit-or-miss adj | (unpredictable, variable) | متذبذب، غير منتظم |
| | | لا يمكن التنبؤ به |
| ملاحظة: hyphen used when term is an adj before a noun |
| in one way or another adv | (somehow, by some means) | بطريقة أو بأخرى |
| in some way or other adv | (somehow) | بطريقة أو بأخرى |
| | I would like to help him in some way or other, because he deserves to succeed. |
| know a thing or two v | informal (be experienced in sth) | يملك خبرة جيدة |
| | After 20 years on the job, he knows a thing or two about construction. |
| lay into sth or sb v | informal (attack) | يهاجم |
| learn a thing or two v | (become knowledgeable) | يصبح ذا معرفة |
| | Stick around and watch; you may learn a thing or two. |
| little or no adj | (hardly any) | صعب |
| | I have not studied so there is little or no possibility that I will pass the exam. |
| make or break v | (determine success or failure) | ينجح او يفشل |
| more or less adv | (to a greater or lesser extent) | إلى حد بعيد أو قريب |
| | I have more or less decided to delay going to college for a year. |
| no ifs, ands, or buts expr | informal (no excuses are permitted) | لا يسمح بالمبررات |
| | I need you to finish that report today, no ifs, ands or buts. |
| not for love or money adv | (impossible to obtain by any means) | صعب المنال بأية وسيلة |
| | You can't get a table in that restaurant for love or money. |
| now or never adv | (final chance) | فرصة آخيرة، لا مجال للتاخير |
| | You have to decide, it's now or never if you want to go to the concert. |
| one hundred or so adj | informal (about a hundred) | حوالي المائة |
| | It's a middle-sized plane, with one hundred or so seats. |
| or else adv | (otherwise, if not) | إذا لم، وإلا |
| | Choose ham and eggs, or else ham and cheese. |
| or else interj | informal (expressing a threat) | وإلا (للتهديد) |
| | You will do as I say, or else! |
| or so adv | (approximately) | تقريباً |
| | The container could hold a litre or so of water. |
| sink or swim v | figurative (fail or succeed) | ينجح او يفشل |
| | I'll either sink or swim in this final exam. |
| somehow or other adv | (in an undetermined way) | بطريقة ما |
| | Jan studied the cliff face, determined to scale it somehow or other. |
| something or other n | (sth not remembered precisely) | هذا أو ذاك: كناية عن عدم التذكر بدقة |
| | I need something or other to prop open the door. |
| | She told me something or other about not being able to pay the bill. |
| sooner or later adv | (at some time in the future) | آجلاً أم عاجلاً |
| | Keep up your life of crime and sooner or later you'll end up in prison! |
| ten or so adj | (about 10) | حوالي العاشرة أو عشرة |
| | In about ten or so days, I will have finished my exams! |
| trick or treat n | (Halloween tradition for children) | مناسبة احتفالات السحرة |
| | | يقوم الأطفال فيها بالتسول |
| | Trick or treat's the only thing I like about Hallowe'en. |
| trick or treating n | (Halloween door-to-door tradition) | تقليد طفولي في عيد القديسين |
| whether or not conj | (no matter if, even if) | اى الاثنين |
| | We'll go to the game whether or not it rains. |
| without rhyme or reason adv | (unnecessarily and inexplicably) | دون حاجة إلى تفسير |
| | He yells at me without rhyme or reason, and I just can't understand why. |
| without rhyme or reason adj | (unnecessary and inexplicable) | غير ضروري |
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