Essential Idioms

By ROBERT J. DIXSON - Powered By Eduhyme.com

Page 15 (435 to 465)

to mind the store: to be responsible for an office while others are gone

  • It seems that all of our employees are taking a lunch break at the same time. I wonder who's minding the store.
  • Lynne agreed to mind the store while the others went outside to watch the parade passing by.

to throw the book at: to punish with full penalty, to be harsh on

  • Because the criminal was a repeat offender, the judge threw the book at him with heavy fines and a long prison term.
  • My boss threw the book at me when he discovered that I had been using company time for personal business. I was severely reprimanded and forced to make up the lost time.

to put one's foot in: to say or do the wrong thing

This idiom is used with the noun phrase one's mouth or the pronoun it.

  • Fred really put his foot in his mouth when he called his supervisor by the wrong name.
  • I really put my foot in it when I forgot my girlfriend's birthday and didn't buy her anything. She almost lost her cool.

to be up for grabs: to become available to others this idiom is used when something is highly desirable to many other people.

  • When one of the full-time contract instructors stepped down, her nice office overlooking the river was up for grabs.
  • Did you know that Senator Stone is retiring and that her Senate seat is up for grabs?

to show off: to display one's ability in order to attract attention; to let others see, to expose to public view

This idiom can form the noun showoff for the first definition.

  • Elizabeth is an excellent swimmer, but I don't like the way she shows off in front of everyone. It's very obvious that she enjoys being a showoff.
  • Jacquie showed her large wedding ring off to all her friends.

to learn the ropes: to become familiar with routine procedures at work or school

  • The job applicant didn't have much previous experience or knowledge, but she seemed intelligent enough to learn the ropes quickly.
  • It took the new schoolteacher a year to learn the ropes regarding administrative and curricular matters.

to keep one's fingers crossed: to hope to have good results, to hope that nothing bad will happen

This idiom reflects the way people cross their fingers to hope for good luck.

  • Let's keep our fingers crossed that we got passing grades on that college entrance exam.
  • Jerry kept his fingers crossed that the good weather would hold up for the picnic he was planning for the coming weekend.

to land on one's feet: to recover safely form an unpleasant or dangerous situation

  • After a series of personal and professional difficulties, it's amazing that George has landed on his feet so quickly.
  • Some young adults get into so much trouble at school that they are never able to land on their feet again. They drop out before graduating.

to dish out: to distribute in large quantity; to speak of others in a critical manner

  • Mary's mom dished out two or three scoops of ice cream for each child at the birthday party.
  • Larry can't seem to take any criticism of his actions but he certainly likes to dish it out.

to get through to: to communicate with, to make someone understand

This idiom has the meaning of to make someone "catch on" (Lesson 29, eighth idiom, the first definition)

  • Some of the students in my reading class understand English so poorly that it is difficult to get through to them.
  • The doctors have never succeeded in breaking though to Mr. Ames, who is a silent and secretive patient.

to keep one's word: to fulfill a promise, to be responsible

An idiom with the opposite meaning is to break one's word.

  • Suzanne kept her word to me not to let on to others that I intend to step down next month.
  • Thomas always intends to keep his word, but invariably the end result is that he breaks his word. He just isn't capable of being a responsible person.

to be over one's head: to be very busy, to have too much to do; to be beyond one's ability to understand

  • I'd love to take a week off for a hiking trip, but at the moment I am over my head in work. Maybe next week when I'm only up to my ears!
  • It was impossible for the tutor to get through to Bill about the physics problem because the subject matter was over Bill's head.

to ask for: to deserve, to receive a just punishment

  • If you drink alcohol and then drive a car, you're only asking for trouble.
  • Don't complain about your cut in salary. You asked for it by refusing to heed our repeated warnings not to be late and inefficient.

to be a far cry from: to be very different from

  • I enjoyed visiting Seattle, but it was a far cry from the ideal vacation spot I expected.
  • Ned is enjoying his new job, but his responsibilities are a far cry from what he was told they would be.

by all means: certainly, definitely, naturally; using any possible way or method

  • If the Johnsons invite us for dinner, then by all means we have to return the invitation. Of cause, we don't have to invite their children, too.
  • In order to ensure its survival, the ailing company has to obtain an infusion of cash by all means.

to get out from under: to restore one's financial security, to resolve a difficult financial obligation

  • After years of struggling to get ahead, the young couple finally got out from under their debts.
  • The ailing company, succeeding in obtaining the necessary cash, was able to get out from under its financial burdens.

to take the bull by the horns: to handle a difficult situation with determination

This idiom is usually used when someone has been postponing an action for some time and finally wants or needs to resolve it.

  • After three years of faithful service, Jake decided to take the bull by the horns and ask his boss for a raise.
  • Vic has been engaged to Laura for a long time now, and I know that he loves her. He should take the bull by the horns and ask her to marry him.

to give (someone) a hand: to assist, to aid, to help

  • Would you give me a hand lifting this heavy box?
  • When Terry's car broke down at night on the highway, no one would stop to lend her a hand.

to give (someone) a big hand: to clap one's hands in applause, to applaud

  • After the talented new vocalist had sung her number, the audience gave her a big hand.
  • Should we give a big hand to each beauty contestant is as she is introduced, or should we wait until all the introductions are finished?

to goof off: to waste time, to be idle

  • Some of the workers in our office always goof off when the boss is out.
  • On Saturday afternoons, I like to go to a movie or just goof off at home.

to talk back to: to answer in a rude manner, to speak to disrespectfully

  • Billy, if you talk back to me like that once more, you're going to spend the rest of the day in your room.
  • The school principal had to reprimand the child for talking back to her teacher.

to be in: to be popular or fashionable; to be available at one's work or home

  • Most young people tend to want anything that is in at the time, but a few don't care about current trends.
  • Could you please tell me when Mrs. Zachary will be in? I'd like to talk to her soon.

to be out: to be unpopular or no longer in fashion; to be away from one's work or home

  • These days, designer jeans are in and long skirts are out.
  • I'm sorry, Mr. Jensen is out at the moment. Could I take a message?

to draw the line at: to determine to be unacceptable, to refuse to consider

  • I don't mind helping him with his homework, but I draw the line at writing a term paper for him.
  • The conference organizers tried to accommodate the needs of the various interest groups, but they drew the line at extending the conference by two day.

to get out of line: to disobey or ignore normal procedures or rules

  • When a child gets out of line in that teacher's class, she uses the oldfashioned method of making the child sit in the corner of the room.
  • Any employee who steps out of line by coming to work in an unacceptable condition will be fired.

dry run: rehearsal, practice session

  • The college president requested a dry run of the graduation ceremony in order to ensure that all aspects went smoothly.
  • Before the manager present the reorganizational plans to the board of directors, he did several dry runs of his presentation.

to play by ear: to play music that one has heard but never read; to proceed without plan, to do spontaneously

The pronoun it is often used with the second definition.

  • That pianist can play most popular music by ear. She never needs to read sheet music.
  • My husband wanted to plan our trip carefully, but I argued that it was more fun if we played it by ear.

to be in (someone's) shoes: to be in another person's position, to face the same situation as another person

  • If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't take too many classes this semester.
  • When his boss finds out about that accounting error, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes.

to keep after: to remind constantly, to nag

  • Lynn always has to keep after her children about cleaning up their rooms and doing chores around the house.
  • Lon is so forgetful that it's necessary to keep after him about every little thing.

to fix up: to repair or put back in good condition; to arrange a date or an engagement for another person

  • Instead of buying an expensive new home, we decided to buy an older home and fix it up ourselves.
  • Since my visiting friend didn't have a date for dinner, I fixed her up with a male friend of mine. They got along very well together.

to be had: to be victimized or cheated

  • When the jeweler confirmed that the diamonds that the woman had purchased abroad were really fake, she exclaimed, "I've been had!"
  • The angry customer complained about being overcharged at the store, asserting that this was the third time that he had been had.

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