ratchet sth up/down, out-of-touch, gear down, gear up, fifth gear, Part Ways With

Los Angeles Gears Up for Michael Jackson Memorial
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
Officials prepared for large crowds at Tuesday’s memorial service, as some of those who got tickets put them up for sale.

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"We've got guys who have been working 80 hours straight. You've got to have a fifth gear. You've got to have the two C's: commitment and caffeine."

CAPT. SEAN NORMAN, deputy head of operations for the Sonoma Valley wildfires in Northern California, which are stretching exhausted firefighters to their limits.

The 50 little-seen works on view span nearly five centuries and reveal medieval drawing to be vital, evolving, remarkably diverse and essential to the medium’s Renaissance blossoming. The medieval period is often compared with its successor and found lacking. And the superficial clumsiness in some of these works may initially ratchet up your awe for the Renaissance and for the radical changes wrought by its embrace of antiquity and its obsession with the human body and linear perspective.


Google Gears Down for Tougher Times
Google is ratcheting back spending and cutting new projects and employee perks as revenue growth has slowed dramatically over the past year.

Houses Add Up to A Snag for McCain
Sen. John McCain's inability to recall the number of homes he owns during an interview yesterday jeopardized his campaign's carefully constructed strategy to frame Democratic rival Barack Obama as an out-of-touch elitist and inspired a round of attacks that once again ratcheted up the negative tone...
(By Jonathan Weisman and Robert Barnes, The Washington Post)



TOP STORY

AIG Holders Add Change
In the Board to Demands

By LIAM PLEVEN

Angry shareholders at American International Group Inc. are ratcheting up their campaign against the insurer, demanding changes to the board in addition to management changes they sought earlier.

Nortel Parts Ways With CEO

Mike Zafirovski is leaving the Canadian telecommunications company as its bankruptcy-court liquidation moves into high gear.

Part Ways With

 fifth gear (plural fifth gears). The fifth and typically highest gear of an engine. 

gear down
(¦gir ′dau̇n)
(mechanical engineering) To arrange gears so the driven part rotates at a slower speed than the driving part.
gear up
(mechanical engineering) To arrange gears so that the driven part rotates faster than the driving part.
━━ n. 歯車（装置）, 伝動機, ギヤ (in top 〜 最高速ギヤで）; 装置; 道具一式 (foot [head] 〜 はき［かぶり］物）; 船の索具; 衣服, 服装; 調子; 〔話〕 かっこいい服［靴，時計，アクセサリー］; 〔俗〕 アステリスク （asterisk） ((＊印が歯車に見えることから)); 〔俗〕 麻薬.
be in [out of] gear　ギヤがきく［きかない］; 調子がよい［悪い］.
get into gear　順調に動き出す.
in high [low] gear　高速［低速］で［の］; 調子が最高［最低］で［の］.
━━ a. 〔話〕 かっこいい, 素晴らしい.
━━ vt. …の運転準備をする, 連動させる ((to)); （機械に）ギヤを掛ける; 馬具を付ける ((up)); 適応させる ((to)).
━━ vi. （歯車が）合う ((into)); （機械が）掛かる; 連動する ((with)); 適合する ((with)).
be geared up (for)　（…を）てぐすね引いて待つ.
gear down　車のギアを低速にする; （程度などを）下げる ((to)).
gear up　車を高速にする; 速める; 能率を上げる; 調子を上げる; 〔英〕 【金融】借入金を利用する, 資金を借り入れる［調達する］.
gear・box　ギヤボックス, （自動車の）変速装置 （gear case）.
gear・ing　━━ n. （歯車の）かみ合い; 伝動装置; 【株】資金調達力比率.
gear lever [stick]　〔英〕 変速ギヤ.
gear・shift　〔米〕 変速ギヤ.
gear wheel　（1つの）歯車.

out-of-touch 不知民間疾苦

Idioms: out of touch

No longer in contact or communication, as in John and Mark have been out of touch for years, or That speech showed he's out of touch with his constituency. This metaphoric expression alludes to physical contact. [Late 1800s] Also see in touch.

ratchet sth up/down phrasal verb [M]
to increase/decrease something over a period of time:
The debate should ratchet up awareness of the problem among members of the general public.
The government was accused of ratcheting up pressure on the health services.
Costs have been ratcheted down by as much as 50% since 1999.

ratchet Hide phonetics
noun [C]
a part of a machine which allows movement in one direction only. It is usually a wheel with teeth-like parts which either slide over or lock against the free end of a bar.