Right up there with A and B

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi. I need your help with some words & phrases below.

  1. leave someone in the dust
    This expression seems to have a negative meaning, but I don’t know exactly what it means. It appears like this: After she got her glamorous PR career (she had had a bartending job before), she left the flight attendants (= her roommates) in the dust and moved in with her coworker.

  2. turn on something
    I introduced him to her, and she turned on the charm, giggling and playing with her hair and nodding emphatically whenever he said anything. // It seems to me that she loved him at first sight. Was she attracted by HIS charm, or did she try to show HER charm?

  3. off the market
    The date obviously went well, because they went to brunch the next morning in the Village. Soon after that, they were both off the market. // Is it different from “off to a place (the market)” which means to be leaving (or have left) for a place (the market)?

  4. Right up there with A and B
    It (= to go bathing suit shopping with her) is one of the least pleasant tasks in the world. Right up there with scrubbing toilets and getting a root canal. // I can guess the meaning. However, I’d like to have your paraphrase of the idiom? Also, I wonder if it always needs two things (A and B) to make this idiom?

Thank you.

2

  1. “leave someone in the dust” = surpass or defeat someone; far exceed someone in one’s achievements.

  2. “turn on the…” = deliberately/consciously make an effort to behave in a certain way (in this case a charming way). Depending on context, may suggest that the thing is done artificially or disingenuously.

  3. “off the market” = no longer looking for a romantic partner. Refers to a supposed “market” in which people try to find partners.

  4. “right up there with” = having some quality to a comparably large extent; equally good/bad. Can be used with any number of items.