get up the nerve
1：I'm trying to get up the nerve to walk in and tell my boss I want a 20% raise
我打算鼓起勇气到老板的办公室去，告诉他我想加薪百分之二十
有时候人们用work代替get，成为

work up the nerve
I've been trying to work up the nerve to ask her to marry me, but I'm afraid all she'll do is laugh.
我一直想鼓起勇气开口向她求婚，但我老觉得难以启齿，因为我怕她会一笑了之。

我们再来学个习惯用语: have got a lot of nerve。在这个习惯用语里，nerve不再解释为“神经”或者“勇气”，而是“鲁莽”。
You've really got a lot of nerve telling me I spend too much money! Remember, you are the one who goes up to New York every month and brings back a thousand dollars worth of stuff.
你也好意思说我花钱太多？你每个月都得去一次纽约，而且每次总要买一千多美元的东西！

Of all the nerve。
Of all the nerve! How dare you criticize me for being late in the morning. You're the one who sneak out half an hour early - at least I work a full eight hours every day!
真是大言不惭！你还说我早上迟到？你自己每天提前半小时就回家了，至少我每天都待够八小时。