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As we walked through my neighborhood, which was a very nice one, by the way, I noticed that Sophie would get all worked up whenever she spotted a black man on the street. Now New Orleans has a rich black culture and is about 60% black. But every time this girl saw a black man, she’d be like “Oh my God! What are we doing here? We’re going to get raped! This is the ghetto!” I couldn’t believe my ears. I knew a lot of the men she was referring to; some of them were friends of mine, so it irked me to no end that she’d assume that they were out to rape her. Red flag number two! To say nothing of the fact that of all three girls, she was the least likely to attract any man’s attention… a long horse face, tiny little granny spectacles, and her breath! Every time she turned to talk to me — even outside in the open air — that putrid breath would hit me like a wet towel. It was all I could do to keep from throwing up right there on the street. But I digress…
to get (all) worked up | to become upset, nervous, or agitated about something.How come you get so worked up every time I mention taking the kids to church? Are you an atheist or something?
to be out to [VERB] | We use this phrase to infer that someone INTENDS to do something damaging, hurtful, violent, etc. After two years of working closely with Andy and thinking he was my friend, I overheard him on the phone one day and realized that all the while, he’d been out to take my job.
to spot | to catch sight of someone or something, especially when they’re difficult to see or far away.I had decided before going to the restaurant that I wasn't going to have dessert, but then I spotted a waiter with a dessert cart with a huge piece of cheesecake on it, and all my willpower went out the window.
hit me like a wet towel | When we suddenly feel an intense heat, cold, smell, shock, etc., we often compare this to someone throwing a wet towel in our face. Imagine the impact that would have!When I got off the plane in Miami, the heat and humidity hit me immediately — like a wet towel. I thought I was going to pass out.
But I digress | This phrase is commonly used to mean «However, I’ve gotten off the subject», before returning to the topic at hand.
to no end | This phrase is used with verbs like annoy, irritate, irk to express extremely. Oh God, here comes your friend, Connie. Please don’t ask her to join us — her laugh irritates me to no end. And what the hell is she wearing?!
it was all I could do to not [VERB]/to keep from [VERBING] | This is just a more idiomatic way of saying «I could barely keep myself from [VERBING]».I know Connie has always had an "eclectic" style, but when she walked into the restaurant wearing that turban with the peacock feathers, it was all I could do to not laugh in her face.
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