clatter：カタカタ、ガチャガチャ、ガタガタ

Cleveland Residents Confused Over Door Construction

Two weeks ago, the sound of pounding hammers woke Cleveland 1st residents at 8:00 a.m. The clatter came from Facilities Management (FM) constructing a new door to the Cleveland computer lab, placed farther down the hallway than the lounge entrance, the only way to enter the lab in past years.

以上はＳｃａｒｌｅｔ＆ｂｌａｃｋ Feb 26th の記事からの引用

Ｃｌａｔｔｅｒ
　a rattling sound カタカタ、カチャカチャ鳴る音
　　the clatter of dishes in the kitchen
a racket ガタガタ、ガヤガヤうるさい音
　　the clatter of the subway train
down
通り、廊下、通路などでは 「先へ」 の意味となる
　Down the street.

NEXT UP "down the road"!!

　

in the nick of time

$2.5M Indiana lottery ticket found in the nick of time

Eric White didn't realize he'd left $2.5 million sitting on the desk in the office in his Indianapolis home for six months.

On Friday, he and his wife, Lori, cashed in, beating the odds by turning in the winning Hoosier Lotto ticket from the Aug. 19 drawing a week after the lottery officials said the prize wouldn't be awarded because the 180-day deadline had passed. Officials extended the deadline to Feb. 22 after saying the date had been miscalculated.

以上は Lottery post - Lottery news の Feb. 20　の記事からの引用。

in the nick of time

　「（時間が）ぎりぎりで」 の意味。なんとか間に合ったときに用いる表現。

　英英辞書では "in a final critical moment"

　He was rescued by a fireman in the nick of time.

　The alarm went off in the nick of time for the Southwestern Illinois College Blue Storm Thursday in the　first round of the Region 24 Men's Basketball Tournament.

　(例文は常に、生の英語から引用)

nick

a small notch, groove, or chip 切り込み、刻み目。

a small cut or wound　小さな切り傷。

not all it's cracked up to be

Seventh grader says MCAS should be abolished
The MCAS test is coming up. This assessment is really not all it’s cracked up to be though.

Most years you take it in math and science.

Some years you take in all 4 subjects. It is still a huge time-waster.

What do you really have to gain by taking a 2 hour test?

Does it really tell teachers anything they don’t already know?

Why do you have to study for it all year?

It just makes school very boring. All they do is teach to a test.

以上は、WICKED LOCAL WAYMOUTH からの引用。

not all it's cracked up to be

「期待通りではない」、「もてはやされているほどのものではない」 といった意味。

常にネガティブな意味合いで用いられる表現。

crack up

色々な使い方をする。
　 You crack me up!　での crack は burst into laughter すること。
He cracked me up with his stories about his days in high school.
他にも damage a vehicle/experience a crash の意味でも。