Some problems are difficult to solve. But there are a lot of number expressions that can help. For example, if we put two and two together, we might come up with the right answer. We know that two heads are better than one. It is always better to work with another person to solve a problem.

Sometimes there are no two ways about it. Some problems have only one solution. You cannot be of two minds over this.


But with any luck, we could solve the problem in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. We could have our answers quickly and easily.


Sometimes we can kill two birds with one stone. That is, we can complete two goals with only one effort or action. But we must remember that two wrongs don’t make a right. If someone does something bad to you, you should not do the same to him.


If you are going out with your girlfriend, or boyfriend, you do not want another friend to go along on your date. You can just say to your friend: two’s company, three’s a crowd.


When I was a young child in school, I had to learn the three R’s. These important skills are reading, writing and arithmetic. These three words do not all start with the letter “R.” But they have the sound of “R.” My teachers used to give three cheers when I did well in math. They gave praise and approval for a job well done.


Some of my friends were confused and did not understand their schoolwork. They were at sixes and sevens. In fact, they did not care if they finished high school. They saw little difference between the two choices. Six of one, half a dozen the other – that was their position. But they were really happy when they completed their studies and graduated from high school. They were in seventh heaven. They were on cloud nine.


Nine times out of ten, students who do well in school find good jobs. Some work in an office doing the same things every day at nine-to-five jobs. You do not have to dress to the nines, or wear your best clothes, for this kind of work.


Last year, one of my friends applied for a better job at her office. I did not think she would get it. I thought she had a hundred to one shot at the job. Other people at her office thought her chances were a million to one. One reason was that she had been caught catching forty winks at the office. She slept at her desk for short periods during the day. But her supervisor appointed her to the new job at the eleventh hour — at the very last minute. I guess her lucky number came up.

Akkor íme, néhány hasznos kifejezés:

put two and two together - kikövetkeztet valamit, összerakja, hogy mi az ábra
 

two heads are better than one - ketten többre megyünk; több szem többet lát
 

there are no two ways about it - egyértelmű a helyzet; nem fér hozzá kétség
 

be of two minds - hezitál, több lehetőség között ingadozik
 

in two shakes of a lamb’s tail - semmi perc alatt, könnyedén
 

kill two birds with one stone - két legyet üt egy csapásra
 

two wrongs don’t make a right - bosszút állni, visszavágni nem helyes megoldás
 

two’s a company, three’s a crowd - hárman már egy kicsit sokan vagyunk
 

the three R’s - három alapkészség (írás, olvasás, számolás) tréfásan egy kalap alá véve
 

give three cheers - lelkesen megdicsér (háromszoros hurrát zeng)
 

at sixes and sevens - zavarodottan, zűrzavarban
 

six of one, half a dozen the other - egyik tizenkilenc, a másik egy híján húsz
 

in seventh heaven - a hetedik mennyországban
 

on cloud nine - a föld fölött jár, fel van dobva
 

nine times out of ten - tízből kilencszer, többnyire
 

nine-to-five job - tipikus alkalmazotti munkakör (a reggel kilenctől délután ötig tartó munkaidőre utalva)
 

dress to the nines - kicsípi magát
 

a hundred to one shot - egy a százhoz esély
 

a million to one - egy a millióhoz
 

forty winks - rövid szundítás napközben (nap, catnap)
 

eleventh hour - az utolsó pillanat, a huszonnegyedik óra
 

one’s lucky number comes up - szerencséje van