IDIOMS - Powered by Eduhyme.com

above board – legitimate, legal. She knows it shouldn’t be kept a secret. She wants to keep everything above board.
across the board – including everyone or everything. The company had a successful year. All salaries were increased by 10% across the board.
air one’s dirty laundry in public – discuss personal problems openly. He is a very private person. If he has a problem in his family he doesn’t want to air his dirty laundry in public.
all along – all the time. She was accepted into the university, but she knew all along that she’d get in.
all ears – eager to listen. I was excited to hear about her vacation. When she told me about it, I was all ears.
all thumbs – clumsy, unable to fix things. Don’t ask me to put that clock back together. I’m all thumbs.
an arm and a leg – a large amount of money. It cost an arm and a leg to fix the stove.
ants in one’s pants – nervous, anxious. He wasn’t sure if he would be chosen to win the award. He had ants in his pants.
apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, the – being similar to a parent or family member. He acts just like his father. You know, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
apple of one’s eye – someone special, usually a son or daughter. Although he loves his son, his daughter is the apple of his eye.
at fault – responsible for making errors. He is at fault for all the errors on the computer.
at odds – in disagreement. He is at odds with his boss.
at one’s beck and call – always ready to do what is ordered. Whenever she calls him, he’s always helping her. He is at her beck and call.
at one’s wit’s end – anxious, frantic. I need to speak with him to finish the report by tomorrow but he’s not available. I’m at my wit’s end!
at the end of one’s rope – desperate, with nowhere to turn. I’ve tried every which way to figure out this problem but I can’t. I’m at the end of my rope!
back on one’s feet – financially or physically healthy again. Since sales improved, he is doing better and he’s getting back on his feet.
back out of – withdraw, end an obligation or promise. I made a deal with my friend to help him at work. When I became too busy, I had to back out of it.
back to the drawing board – rethink an idea, need to start over. When my supervisor told me that our idea would not work, we had to go back to the drawing board to come up with something else.
backbone – courage. He has no backbone because he was afraid to reprimand her.
backseat driver – passenger who tells you how to drive. I’ll never drive Joe to the airport again. He kept on wanting me to take another road which I knew was wrong. He is such a backseat driver.
bail one out – help. Thanks for picking me up when my car broke down. You really bailed me out of a bad situation.
ballpark figure – approximate amount. When I asked the contractor how much it would be to remodel the kitchen, he gave me a ballpark figure.
bang for the buck – value for the money spent. Newspaper advertising works well for us because we get the best bang for the buck.
bank on it – be sure of, count on. I’ll be there to help you. You can bank on it.
banker’s hours – short work hours. He loves his job because on Friday, he gets to work banker’s hours.
bark up the wrong tree – make a wrong choice or a false assumption. If he thinks that I’m going to help him paint his house, well he’s barking up the wrong tree.
bat a thousand – have a perfect record. He is so happy that everyone he invited to the party is coming. He’s batting a thousand.
bat an eyelash – show emotion. He was filled with emotion during his speech, but she didn’t bat an eyelash.
bawl out – reprimand. The team was bawled out after they lost the game.
be beside one’s self – be very upset. I was so mad when I heard that she was making up stories about me that I was beside myself.
beat around the bush – avoid giving a clear answer. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings and tell him that he wasn’t selected for the team. So when he asked me if I had any information, I basically beat around the bush.
beat someone to the punch – do something before someone else can. She was going to buy the last red dress that the store had, but I beat her to the punch and bought it first.
beat the rap – escape punishment. There was not enough evidence to convict him, so he beat the rap and was set free.
behind the 8-ball – in trouble. My department is late on its deadline. We are behind the 8-ball.
bend over backwards – try very hard. He’ll bend over backwards to help any of his friends.
bide one’s time – wait patiently for the right opportunity. I’m just going to bide my time. I know that eventually a position will open.
big shot – important person. Since he was given a promotion, he’s been acting like a big shot.
big stink – an angry and loud complaint. She made a big stink when her meal was served cold.
birds and bees - facts about sex and birth. The girl’s mother told her daughter about the birds and the bees during the summer holidays.
bit off more than one can chew – trying to do more than one can physically and mentally handle. I told her I would help her in her job, but it seems that’s all I’ve been doing lately. I think I bit off more than I could chew.
bite one's tongue – keep oneself from speaking. I had to bite my tongue in order not to tell him that he won the raffle.
bite the dust – die, disappear. Our old TV didn’t work yesterday. I guess it finally bit the dust.
blab – talk too much. She is always blabbing about her supervisor’s personal life to her friends.
blabbermouth – person who talks too much and tells secrets. He is such a blabbermouth that there is no way Bob will be surprised for his party.
black sheep – a family member with a bad reputation. John’s way of life is so different from all of ours. He is known as the black sheep of the family.
blind date – a date arranged for two people who don’t know each other. Many married couples have met on a blind date.
blow it – lose a chance, make a mistake. I knew I blew it when I forgot my lines in the play.
blow over – end, pass. She knew her coworkers will eventually forget how she messed up the filing system in the office. She couldn’t wait for the incident to blow over.
blow the whistle – expose, betray. I just found out that he’s been stealing from our company for the past year. I don’t want it to continue and I’ve decided to blow the whistle.
boil down – make shorter, condense. This whole complicated situation just boils down to something simple…it’s either a yes or a no.
bomb – fail, be unsuccessful. The whole cast was very sad that the show bombed on Broadway.
bone to pick with someone – complaint, argument. I heard that you have rejected my proposal. I’m upset and have a bone to pick with you.
boob tube – television set. What is on the boob tube tonight?
bookworm – person who reads a lot. The library is the perfect place for her to work because she is such a bookworm.
booze – liquor – They kept bottles of booze behind the bar.
botch up – make a mistake, ruin. I asked for her help with my watercolor painting. But when she decided to add some purple paint, I knew that she completely botched it up.
bottom line – end result, ultimate cause. He never practiced the piano, so the bottom line is, he can’t play very well.
bounce – not acceptable because of insufficient funds in the bank. If your check bounces, I will need to charge you extra money.
brain – intelligent person. She is such a brain, she will figure out how to solve the problem.
brainstorm – very smart idea. I have got a brainstorm! Let’s start giving out free samples of our products.
bread and butter - basic needs of life (food, shelter, clothing). The voters are worried about bread and butter issues like jobs and taxes.
break one’s neck – try very hard. She broke her neck last night trying to finalize the proposal.
break the ice – overcome formality or shyness with others. He started the meeting by telling a joke. He was hoping the joke would break the ice.
break the news – tell a surprising fact. She broke the news and told him that she was going to move to another city.
break up – separate. They needed to break up their engagement because she fell in love with someone else.
break even – have expenses equal to profits. The company did not make a profit this year. We just broke even.
breathe a word – tell. Please don’t breathe a word of this to anyone.
breeze – easy. Last night’s homework was a breeze.
bring home the bacon – earn the family’s income. He stays home and raises the children and she brings home the bacon.
broke – having no money. I can’t go to the restaurant tonight because I’m broke.
brown bag – bring one’s lunch from home. For the meeting on Friday, we’ve all decided to brown bag it.
buck – dollar. I’m low this week on cash. Can I borrow a few bucks to get me through the week?
buckle down – study or work very hard. Last semester his grades were very low, so this year he decided to buckle down.
buddy-buddy – very friendly. She’s gotten to be very buddy-buddy with her boss.
bug – annoy, bother. It bugs me every time he asks to borrow a pencil.
bulldoze – intimidate, coerce. I did not want to work on the fundraising committee, but I feel I was bulldozed into it
bum – worthless person. As long as I have known him, he never
burn a hole in one’s pocket – money to be spent quickly. The bonus he received must have burned a hole in his pocket. He ended up buying a car the next day.
bury the hatchet – make peace. Although we had gotten into a big fight last month, we decided to bury the hatchetand become friends again.
butt in – interfere. Please don’t butt in to our conversation, it’s personal.
butter up – flatter for selfish reasons. I buttered up my boss before I asked him off for the upcoming holiday.
by hook or by crook – by any means necessary. Even though we have to fly to get to your wedding, we will be there by hook or by crook.
by the skin of one’s teeth – by a very small margin. Our team won by the skin of our teeth.
call it quits – stop, finish. I have worked all day and am exhausted. I‘ve decided to call it quits.
call off – cancel. The game was called off because of rain.
call on the carpet – reprimand. He was called on the carpet for losing all the financial statements.
call someone’s bluff – havesomeone prove what he says. I don’t think Bob knows as much as he says. I think we should call his bluff.
call the shots – be in charge, give orders. We knew who the supervisor was because she called all the shots.
can – fire, dismiss. I was canned and no longer am working for the company.
can of worms - complex problem or complicated situation. It opened up a large can of worms when the company decided to talk about the union contract.
carried away – adversely influenced by strong emotion. He was carried away by his effective sales approach and bought the remainder of his products.
catch on – understand, figure out. I am beginning to catch on to this algebra.
catch someone red-handed – find one in the act of doing something wrong. The police came and the bank robber was caught red handed.
caught short – I didn’t have enough money to pay the bill. I was caught short.
chalk up – record, score. Chalk up another one for the team. They won the championship.
change of heart - a change in the way one feels about something. I wasn’t planning to spend the holidays with my family, but after speaking with my mother, I had a change of heart.
chickenfeed – a small amount of money. Taking the whole family on that cruise is certainly not going to be chickenfeed.
chip in – contribute. We are all going to chip in and give the teacher a gift.
chip off the old block – child who looks or acts just like his or her parent. He reminds me so much of his father. He’s a chip off the old block.
chip on one’s shoulder – quarrelsome attitude, quick to anger. I was afraid to ask her for a favor. It looked like she had a chip on her shoulder.
cinch – easy. Adding and subtracting was always a cinch.
clamp down – become stricter. Because he came home from the party so late, his father said he will start to clamp down on his curfew.
clean up – make a big profit. Since he started his new business, he’s really cleaning up.
clear – go through. When will this check clear my bank?
clear the air – calm anger and remove misunderstanding. We were tired of fighting, so we decided to start talking and clear the air.
close shave – narrow escape. It was a close shave getting out of the burning building.
coast is clear – no enemy is in sight. Take the present out of the closet when the coast is clear.
come a long way – make great progress. He came a long way in his recovery from surgery.
come across – find or meet by chance. If you come across any pictures of my friends from high school, let me know.
come apart at the seams – be upset and lose control. I almost came apart at the seams when I saw the taxicab hit my car.
come clean – tell the truth. I came clean when I knew I was caught in a lie.
come hell or high water – no matter what happens. Come hell or high water, I’ll for sure be at that meeting.
come off it – stop kidding, boasting or making believe. Herbert said he was the only one who could do the job. I told him to come off it.
come on strong - overwhelm with excessively strong language or personality. The car salesman came on too strong and angered my wife.
come through with flying colors – succeed, win, exceed. When he graduated with honors, it was evident that he came through with flying color.
comeback – to be successful again. The actress made an outstanding comeback on the stage, after her bout with pneumonia.
con – lie, swindle, trick. His boss conned him into working on the weekend for no pay.
cook someone’s goose – create big problems for someone. He knew that when he was caught in a lie his goose was cooked.
cough up – give money unwillingly, give up a secret. You said that you would help pay for their wedding. Well, it’s been three months – cough it up.
count on – rely on, trust. I could always count on my best friend.
cover for someone – protect someone. Please cover me, if I end up not knowing what to say at the meeting.
crack down – The police are beginning to crack down on teenagers who are out too late at night.
cream of the crop – the best of a group, top-choice. This university only accepts the cream of the crop.
creeps, the – fear, uneasiness. It gives me the creeps every time I pass the strange looking house.
crocodile tears - show of sorrow that is not really felt. He cried crocodile tears when he discovered that he couldn’t go to the meeting.
crop up – happen quickly without warning. I had to stay at work late yesterday. Some new work cropped up.
cross one’s mind – think of, occur quickly to someone. It did not cross my mind to thank her for my birthday card.
cut corners – limit one’s buying. She was way over budget for the wedding, so she needed to cut corners.
cut down on – use less, reduce. My doctor wants me to cut down on sugar.
cut the mustard - succeed, do well enough what needs to be done. He wasn’t able to cut the mustard so he had to leave the army after only one year.
cut out – have talent for, be suited for. She is not cut out for the swim team. She’s too slow.
cut someone down to size – prove someone is not as good as he or she thinks. John thought he was the smartest student in the class. We needed to cut him down to size.
dawn on – become clear, begin to understand. It finally dawned on me that I missed our anniversary.
dead-end job – position with no future. He decided to go back to college because he realized he had a dead- end job.
dig up – find, recall, discover. Have you dug up any information on the new employee?
dime a dozen – common, easily obtained. Those shiny stones are not worth anything. They are a dime a dozen.
dish out – criticize, abuse, scold - Sometimes he’s nasty and insulting. He can really dish out.
dive – disreputable, low class bar or nightclub. I did not like where he brought me last night. It was a real dive.
do the trick – be successful, achieve a good result. The recipe needs a little help. I think salt may do the trick.
do without – live without something. When the television broke, I knew that I could do without it for a week or two.
doctor it up – fix temporarily. The hem on the dress ripped. I doctored it up with some tape.
double check – reinvestigate thoroughly, look again for errors. This column does not add up. I will double check it for a mistake.
double-cross – betray. I cannot double-cross my best friend.
dough – money. He makes a lot of dough.
down and out – having no money, no success. Although he was successful a few years ago, today I hear he’s down and out.
down in the dumps – unhappy. She’s been down in the dumps ever since she lost her job.
down the drain – wasted, lost. I don’t like to throw my money down the drain.
down to earth – having good sense, practical. My fiancée is friendly and sensible. She’s very down to earth.
draw the line – set the limit. He sets an early curfew for his children. He draws the line at 10:00 PM.
dress up – wear one’s best clothing. We need to dress up for this wedding.
dressed to kill - wear one’s finest clothing. She was dressed to kill when I saw her at the convention last year.
dribs and drabs – little by little, small quantities. She told us the story in dribs and drabs.
drive at – try to say, insinuate. What were you driving at when you said that insulting comment?
drive someone up a wall – make someone crazy. My son is driving me up a wall!
drop in the bucket – a small amount. The cost of fixing the sink is a drop in the bucket compared to replacing the whole sink.
drop out – one who doesn’t complete a study course. My cousin dropped out of college.
drown one’s sorrows – drink liquor to forget one’s problems. I was so upset last night, that I drowned my sorrows at the bar.
dump – get rid of, reject – I can’t believe you dumped your girlfriend.
dwell on – talk and think about something all the time. I know it is a big decision, but you shouldn’t dwell on it all day.
eager beaver – ambitious, hard working. Charlie gets to work at 7:00 am everyday. He is an eager beaver.
earful – interesting gossip, information. My friend found out about the local politician. I got an earful.
egg someone on – push, urge. My wife didn’t want to take the job, but I egged her on.
elbow grease – strength for cleaning. I needed to use a lot of elbow grease to get the dirt off the floor.
elbow room – enough space to be comfortable. It was so tight in that restaurant. There wasn’t any elbow room.
end up – finish. I heard that you got lost on your way home last night. Where did you end up?
every Tom, Dick and Harry – the average person, nobody special. It seemed like every Tom, Dick and Harry came out to purchase tickets for the movie.
face the music – meet one’s punishment, accept the consequences. When he got caught stealing the money from the bank, he realized that soon he would have to face the music.
face up to – accept something unpleasant or difficult. You need to face up to the fact that you did not win the election.
fair and square – honest, honestly. I won the contest fair and square.
fall apart – stop working properly, deteriorate. His old car finally fell apart.
fall behind – not be able to keep up, fail to maintain a schedule or rate of speed. When she couldn’t go to school because of her illness, she significantly fell behind in her work.
fall for – begin to love, have strong emotions for. I fell for her as soon as I met her.
fall off – decrease. Sales have been falling off since the economy has slowed down.
fall through – fail, collapse – The big sale I made at work yesterday fell through this morning.
false alarm – warning or report that is untrue. She thought that she was pregnant, but it was a false alarm.
far-fetched – unlikely, exaggerated. The possibility of her receiving a full scholarship is very far-fetched.
fast buck – money obtained easily and often unethically. I know a way we can make a fast buck.
feather in one’s cap – proud achievement. His speech went well at the corporate meeting. It was a feather in his cap.
fed up with – had enough, disgusted with. She was fed up with his attitude at the office.
feel in one’s bones – know by intuition, feel certain without evidence. I believe he is going to get the promotion. I can just feel it in my bones.
feel like a million bucks – feel wonderful. I felt like a million bucks when I wore my new suit to the wedding.
feel like two cents – feel ashamed or embarrassed. I felt like two cents when I dropped the birthday cake on the floor.
feel sorry for – pity. She felt sorry for him when she heard the news of his accident.
fender bender – minor accident. I had a fender bender on my way to work this morning.
fiddle around – work without a definite plan and knowledge. The clock was broken, so he fiddled around with it until he got it to work.
figure out – try to understand, solve. She couldn’t figure out one of her math problems.
fill someone in – tell a person the details. We had the meeting yesterday when you were out. Let me fill you in on what you missed.
find fault – complain, criticize – She always seems to find fault with any of my friends.
fish out of water - someone who does not fit in. She felt like a fish out of water when she went to the party in her formal dress while everyone else was wearing jeans.
fishy – suspicious, false sounding. Your company is giving you a month off from work? That sounds a bit fishy.
fix someone up – arrange a date for someone. I fixed her up with my best friend.
flip one’s lid – get angry, go crazy, become very excited. He flipped his lid when he found out his son stole some candy from the store.
floor someone – surprise, confuse. I was floored when I found out they had made me a surprise birthday party.
flop – failure – His business ended up being a flop.
fly off the handle – get angry. Her mother flew off the handle when she found out that her daughter dropped out of college.
fly the coop – leave suddenly, run away. As soon as he turned eighteen years old, he flew the coop.
fly-by-night – unreliable, untrustworthy. I don’t want to buy my computer from that store. It’s a fly-by-night company; they may not be in business next year.
foot in the door – opening, hopeful beginning of success. It is not my idea of a perfect job, but at least I have my foot in the door with a great company.
foot the bill – pay. Who is going to foot the bill for the office renovations?
for a song – at a low price, cheap. He got his new car for a song.
for the birds – terrible, awful. I work long hours and hardly get paid. This job is for the birds.
for the time being – at the present time. For the time being, let’s not make any changes to the report.
free-for-all – mayhem, disorder. When the teacher left for a meeting, it was a free-for-all in the classroom.
freeload – get things that others pay for. When my friend moved, into my apartment, stayed for a year and never contributed any money, I knew he was a freeloader.
from the bottom of one’s heart - with great feeling, sincerely. My sister thanked me from the bottom of her heart for saving her dog’s life.
from the left field – unexpectedly, with an odd or unclear connection to the subject. We were in the middle of a business meeting when, out from left field, he asked about the weather.
from scratch – from the very beginning, starting with raw materials. This chocolate was not made from a cake mix, she made it from scratch.
fume – be angry. When I heard that she was talking about me to other people, I was just fuming.
gall – shameless, insolent attitude. She spent all of her money on clothes and music, and then she asked to borrow money for groceries. She has gall.
game – willing, ready. Okay, you want to make plans to go to China? Okay, I’m game.
get a grip on oneself – take control of one’s feelings . When he lost the soccer game, he couldn’t stop crying. I told him to get a grip on himself.
get a kick out of – enjoy. I get a kick out of it every time I see her dance.
get a load of – have a good look at. Get a load of those fancy cars driving down the street.
get ahead – become successful. She is saving all her money, so that one day she can get ahead.
get along – manage. He realized that he was able to get along quite well without his partner.
get around to - finally find time to do something – I have put it off for months, but I finally got around to cleaning the windows.
get at – mean, hint. You tell me that I am slow at work. What are trying to get at.
get away with murder – not be punished for wrongdoing. – He’s the boss’s son and comes in late everyday, but we can’t complain. He’s getting away with murder.
get cold feet – be afraid at the last minute, lose confidence. I was prepared to make a speech, but I got cold feet when I saw how many people were going to hear it.
get down to brass tacks – begin important work or business.Get off the phone so that we can discuss business. Let’s get down to brass tacks.
get even – get revenge, settle the score. I was so upset when she insulted me last week. I want to get even with her.
get the runaround – be sent from place to place without getting the information needed. It took me four hours to renew my driver’s license. I was sent to almost every department and seemed to get the runaround.
get in on the ground floor – start from the beginning so you’ll have full advantage of any favorable outcome. He is a very wealthy man. He was one Microsoft’s first employees and got in on the ground floor.
get in the swing of things – adapt or adjust to a new environment. After working two weeks in the new department, I finally got into the swing of things.
get off the ground - make a successful beginning, go ahead. He will finally take his project and get it off the ground in the coming year.
get off one’s back – leave someone alone, don’t bother. She reminded me that I had to prepare for my trip out of town. I wish she would get off my back.
get off on the wrong foot – make a bad start. Having a fight with a co-worker on my first day of work was not a good idea. I got off on the wrong foot.
get off the ground – make progress, make a good start. I finally got my business off the ground.
get one’s goat – make someone disgusted, annoyed, angry. Sitting in traffic for 5 hours really got my goat.
get out from under – end a worrisome situation. I am glad that I am working again and making money. I finally got out from under my bills.
get out of – withdraw. I would really like to get out of going to the holiday party.
get out of hand – lose control. The party really got out of hand when they started drinking alcohol.
get something off one’s chest – unburden yourself, tell what’s bothering you. I feel better ever since I told him my problem and got it off my chest.
get the ax – be fired. My company finally realized that he wasn’t doing his job. They gave him the ax.
get the show on the road – start a project or work. We have been discussing unimportant things all morning. Let’s get the show on the road and start getting down to business.
get to the bottom of – find out the real cause. After talking to my friend for an hour, I finally got to the bottom of why he was angry at me.
get under someone’s skin - annoy, bother, upset. He has a difficult and annoying personality and always got under my skin.
get up and go – ambition, energy, enthusiasm – She always seems so excited and motivated at work. She’s got a lot of get up and go.
get up on the wrong side of the bed – be in a bad mood. My son has been cranky all day. I think he got up on the wrong side of the bed.
get what is coming to one – what one deserves, good or bad. After stealing so much money from the charity, I really hope he gets what’s coming to him.
get wind of – find out, hear gossip or rumors about. I got wind of the fact that they will be closing down our department.
give a hoot – care. I don’t give a hoot who wins the election.
give the cold shoulder – be unfriendly to, ignore. I was so mad at my cousin, that I gave her the cold shoulder at the wedding reception.
give in – do as others want, surrender. I wanted to paint the room blue, my wife wanted yellow. I had to give in.
give it one’s best shot – try very hard. I gave it my best shot, but I still didn’t make the team.
give someone a break – give someone an opportunity or chance. The actor struggled for many years. Finally, someone gave him a break and put him in a movie.
give someone a hand – help. I couldn’t work my regular hours. A co-worker gave me a hand and switched schedules with me.
give someone a piece of one’s mind – say what you really think when angry. I was so mad that he was late for the wedding, I gave him a piece of my mind.
give someone his walking papers – dismiss, fire, send away. She got her walking papers on Friday and won’t be coming back to work.
give someone the green light - give permission to go ahead with a project. We were finally given the green light to begin setting up the new project.
go cold turkey – stop abruptly. My doctor really wants me to quit smoking. I decided to stop and go cold turkey.
go Dutch – each person pay for himself. If we have dinner together, I insist that we go Dutch.
go from bad to worse – deteriorate. Sales have been very slow this season, but this was the worst week of all. It seems like it’s going from bad to worse.
go out of one’s way – make a special effort, do more than necessary. I went out of my way to make it easier for you.
go over – examine. Before I submit the report, I want to go over it one more time for mistakes.
go over big – be very successful. Do you think my idea to have a birthday party for our teacher will go over big?
go overboard – overact, be reckless. I’ve never seen so many flowers at a wedding. Do you think maybe you’ve gone overboard?
go steady – go out with only one person romantically. Who did you go steady with in high school?
go to bat for – assist, help. I have overheard that she may be fired from her job. I think she is a hard worker and I want her to stay. I’m going to bat for her.
go to pot – deteriorate, become undisciplined, unkempt. He has quit his job, gained weight, and I think may be abusing drugs. It looks like he’s really gone to pot.
go under the knife – have surgery. I’ll be going under the knife next week for some minor surgery.
go up in smoke – disappear, fail to materialize. She was going to go on a vacation, but her mother got sick. Her plans have gone up in smoke.
go-getter – ambitious person. She is the most successful salesperson I’ve ever seen. She’s a real go-getter.
goldmine – worth a lot of money, successful. His business is a major success and will only get bigger every year. He is sitting on a goldmine.
goner – someone in a lot of trouble. His boss found out he has been stealing from the cash register. He’s a goner.
good sport – a person who loses well. Even though I beat you in the game, you still congratulated me. You are a good sport.
goof off – not want to work, be lazy. I am tired of working so hard. I just want to stay home and goof off.
grab 40 winks – I felt so sleepy after my lunch, I decided to grab 40 winks.
grand - $1000. It cost me a grand to stay in the luxury hotel.
greasy spoon – inexpensive restaurant with mediocre food. I hated dinner last night. It turned out being a greasy spoon.
gung ho – enthusiastic, eager. He thinks his team is the best in the league. He is really gung ho this season.
guts – courage. He has a lot of guts to stand up to management.
guy – man. That guy over there is my neighbor.
half baked – foolish, silly. Opening up a store which sells only tape will not be successful. It is a half baked idea.
hand it to someone – give credit, acknowledge. I’ve got to hand it to you. Your idea to open a store in this location was great.
hand over fist – rapidly. He’s making money hand over fist.
hand something on a silver platter - give a person something that has not been earned. His father is president of the university and his education was handed to him on a silver platter.
hand to mouth – barely able to cover basic expenses. That family is struggling since the father lost his job. I hear that they’re living hand to mouth.
handful – a lot of trouble. My three year old runs around the house and often breaks things. He’s a real handful.
handle with kid gloves – be very careful, tactful. His wife gets upset very easily. He has to handle her with kid gloves.
handy – can fix things, useful. She’s very handy around the house. If anything breaks, she can fix it easily.
hang in there – be patient, wait. I know you want to quit school, but hang in there. You only have 4 more weeks before your graduation.
hard feelings – anger, bitterness. I know we had our differences, but I hope there are not any hard feelings.
hard up – in desperate need of something. Everyone comes to her desk and takes supplies. I know she’s hard up for pencils.
harp on – dwell on the subject, repeat, persist. I know losing your job was awful, but don’t harp on it. You are only making yourself more depressed.
has-been – a person once popular but no longer in public favor. Since the movie star was found guilty of a crime, I haven’t seen him in any motion pictures. He’s a has-been.
hassle – bother. Please stay home tonight. I don’t want the hassle of having to bring you and pick you up from the party.
have a ball – have a good time, enjoy one’s self. She had a ball at her holiday party.
have a crush on – be attracted to. I have had a crush on her since 5th grade.
have a fit – become upset. She’ll have a fit if she finds out you broke her watch.
have a good head on one’s shoulders – be smart or sensible. You have a good head on your shoulders and I’m sure you’ll do fine in college.
have a mind of one’s own – be able to think independently. Although we all voted one way, she voted in a completely opposite direction. She’s really got a mind of her own.
have a prayer – have a chance. He’s not good enough to make it on the team. He doesn’t have a prayer.
have been around – to be experienced, sophisticated. She knows all about office politics. She has been around for awhile.
have egg on one’s face – be embarrassed. She called in sick to work yesterday, but when I saw her at the store she had egg on her face.
have it coming – deserve a punishment. I didn’t study for the exam and I failed. I had it coming.
have it made – be sure of success, have everything. Ever since she won the lottery, she can do whatever she wants. She has it made.
have it out with someone – discuss a conflict or misunderstanding with the other person involved. My friend and I had a big fight last week. This morning I had it out with him and now everything is okay.
have one’s feet on the ground – be practical, sensible, stable. She’ll make a great wife and mother because she has got both feet on the ground.
have one’s hand in the till – steal from one’s employer. The reason he has been buying such nice new clothes is that he’s got his hand in the till.
have one’s head in the clouds – have unrealistic dreams, lost in thought. Even though she is a terrible actress, she thinks someday she will be a movie star. She has got her head in the clouds.
have one’s heart set on – desire greatly. The boy had his heart set on getting a puppy.
have someone’s number – know what kind of person someone is. He doesn’t think anyone knows, but I know he stole the material for the book. I’ve got his number.
have something up one’s sleeve – kept secretly ready for the right time. If the electricity goes out during the birthday party, don’t worry. I’ve got something up my sleeve.
have the heart to – be thoughtless enough. I know there was just a death in her family. I don’t have the heart to ask her when she is coming back to work.
have two strikes against someone – be in a difficult situation with little chance of success. He wanted the job but he can’t write and he has difficulty speaking on the phone. He’s got two strikes against him already.
haywire – broken, confused, awry. The plan was in place to surprise by boss on his birthday, but it all went haywire.
heart-to-heart – intimate, honest. I needed to speak him about a problem I was having. We had a heart-to-heart talk.
high and dry – alone, without help, stranded. After everyone left the party, I was all alone to clean up. I was left high and dry.
high and low – every place. I can’t seem to find my keys. I’ve looked high and low.
high-brow – intellectual, cultured person. Everyone seemed very high-brow at the cocktail reception.
hit – a success. Her book was a hit and sold a million copies.
hit below the belt – hurt someone cruelly and unfairly. I havebeen upset ever since she made that awful comment to me. It really hit below the belt.
hit it off – enjoy one another’s company, get along. Although we just met, we really hit it off and will probably see each other again.
hit the bottle – drink alcohol. He hits the bottle every time he has some family trouble.
hit the ceiling – get angry. I hit the ceiling when I found out that she broke my computer.
hit the nail on the head – arrive at the correct answer, make a precise analysis. When you named the person who was responsible for our losses this quarter, you really hit the nail on the head.
hit the sack – go to bed. I was so tired last night, that I hit the sack as soon as I got home.
hit the spot – refresh or satisfy. We sat in the sun and hadn’t had a drink all day. That cold glass of water really hit the spot.
hogwash – nonsense. The idea that aliens landed in New York City is a bunch of hogwash.
hold a grudge – not forgive someone for an insult or injury. Even though they broke up 10 years ago, she still holds a grudge and will not speak to him.
hold back – conceal, hide. He held back his feelings and acted as if everything was alright.
hold one’s horses – wait. I can’t leave the office yet. I’m waiting for an important phone call. Just hold your horses.
hold up – delay, postpone. Sorry I’m late. I was held up in traffic.
holy mackerel - used to express strong feeling of surprise. Holy Mackerel! Look at that man’s motorcycle.
hook, line and sinker – without question or doubt. I told a lie to my teacher. He bought it hook, line and sinker.
hot1 – stolen. He bought a great television from a guy on the street for $50.00. The television must have been hot.
hot2 – in great demand. This was the hottest movie out this weekend.
hot air – nonsense or exaggerated talk. I don’t believe a word that man says. He is full of hot air.
hound – continually bother. She hounded me until I finally agreed to say yes.
hush-hush – secret. The birthday party is a surprise. Please don’t tell anyone, it’s hush-hush.
hustler – person who gets money aggressively or unethically. He won’t work. If he needs money, he’ll hustle someone.
hyper – very energetic, anxious, unable to sit still. It is impossible to bring that child to a restaurant. He is too hyper.
ill at ease – I am shy. So when I go to a cocktail party I am ill at ease.
in a bind - In trouble no matter what you do. She committed to help two different people at the same time. She is in a bind.
in a jam – in trouble. He is in a jam and needs some help to get out of it.
in a nutshell – briefly. She spoke to us for at least an hour and told us a long story. I would have preferred that we heard it in a nutshell.
in a pinch – okay, when nothing else is available. If you don’t have a needle to sew something together, a safety pin will work in a pinch.
in a rush – in a hurry. I can’t find my wallet and keys and I’m late for a meeting. I’m in a rush.
in a rut – always doing the same thing. My job is very boring and uninteresting. I’m depressed and think I am in a rut.
in advance – ahead of time. Let’s call the movie theatre in advance and see if they have any tickets left.
in black and white – in writing. The salesman said that he would give me a 5 year warranty on my purchase. I told him to put it in black and white.
in hot water – in trouble. I am going to be in hot water when she finds out that I dented her car.
in nothing flat – quickly, in a short time. When he heard that I was taking him out to dinner, he got dressed in nothing flat.
in seventh heaven – very happy. I begin my month long vacation tomorrow. I’m in seventh heaven.
in someone’s shoes – in another person’s place or position. You cannot pass judgment on someone until you’ve stepped into their shoes.
in stitches – laughing. He is the funniest person I know. He always keeps me in stitches.
in the bag – certain, sure, definite. The job interview went very well and I think I will be hired. I am confident that it’s in the bag.
in the doghouse – in trouble. My wife and I had a big fight last night. I’m in the doghouse.
in the long run – in the end, as a result. If you study hard in school, in the long run you will be successful.
in the market for – wanting or ready to buy. We are in the market for a new mattress.
in the red – losing money. Our company is in the red and may be going out of business.
in the same boat – in a similar situation. He can’t pay his bills either. He is in the same boat as you.
iron out – work out. Even though the two men do not get along, they are both willing to iron out their problems.
jack up – raise prices. Last week the department store jacked up all their prices.
jack-of-all-trades - person who can do many kinds of work. My friend is a jack-of-all-trades. He knows how to fix everything.
jalopy – old car usually in poor condition. I finally sold my jalopy and bought a new car.
jam-packed – crowded, full. My new computer can do so many different things. It’s jam-packed with features.
the jitters – anxiety, nervousness. She knew the test was going to be very difficult and she had the jitters all day.
John Hancock – signature. The car salesman asked the customer to put his John Hancock on the bottom of the contract.
jump down someone’s throat – criticize angrily, hastily. He’s very angry today. Every time I ask him a question he jumps down my throat.
jump the gun – start before you should. You will need more facts before you go into business. Don’t jump the gun.
jump to conclusions – make quick but unjustified conclusions. Don’t jump to conclusions and assume that all well-dressed men are rich.
keep a stiff upper lip – have courage, be brave. Even though he thought he was going to be terminated from his job, he kept a stiff upper lip.
keep in touch – communicate, talk or write to each other – Even though we won’t see each other for six months, let’s try to keep in touch.
keep on – continue. If you are not hungry, don’t keep on eating.
keep one’s fingers crossed – wish for good luck. His mother kept her fingers crossed so that her son would make the team.
keep one’s head above water – be able to exist on one’s income, pay bills. Even though she only made a meager salary, she was still able to buy clothes, go to restaurants, and keep her head above water.
keep one’s nose clean – After he was released from prison he stayed out of trouble. His parents were glad that he kept his nose clean.
keep one’s shirt on – be patient, wait. I know it’s taking me a long time to finish my work, but keep your shirt on.
keep something under your hat – keep something a secret. She was given information which was meant to be private, so she kept it under her hat
keep tabs on – watch, check. My neighbor is always looking out her window and keeping tabs on me.
Keep up with the Joneses – try to equal your neighbor’s lifestyle. He works many long hours just so he can keep up with the Joneses.
kick in the pants – rejection, criticism. Steve was always kind to someone who was poor and unfortunate. When that person made a lot of money, he ignored Steve. Steve got a kick in the pants.
kick oneself – regret. I could kick myself for not buying that stock which tripled in value.
kick something around – discuss, think about. We didn’t know which way to direct the company, so we kicked some ideas around.
kick the bucket – die. The old man kicked the bucket when he was 110 years old.
kid – a young person. I have two kids. They are 10 and 3 years old.
kid around – fool, play, joke. Don’t kid around with Mary. She is in a very bad mood.
kiss something goodbye – see something ruined or lost. When I saw the photo album fall off of the boat and into the water, I knew it was lost forever and I just kissed it goodbye.
knock it off – stop. He wouldn’t stop tickling me, so I told him to knock it off.
knock one dead – greatly impress, surprise. When the actor was preparing to go on stage, I told me to knock them dead.
knock one for a loop – surprise. I didn’t expect the movie to have that sort of ending. It knocked me for a loop.
knock one’s head against the wall – waste time in futile effort to improve or change something. Teaching teenagers to drive responsibly is like knocking my head against a wall.
knock oneself out – make a great effort. She worked many hours getting ready for the party and knocked herself out.
knockout, a – a beautiful person or thing. That beauty queen is a knockout.
know if one is coming or going – be able to think clearly, know what to do. There were so many students signing up at registration, I didn’t know if I was coming or going.
know-how – experience and knowledge. He has been building houses for many years and has a lot of know-how.
kosher – true, authentic. The financial statements say that your business is making a lot of money. Are the amounts all kosher?
land on one’s feet – come out of a bad situation successfully. She just came off of a terrible divorce. She’s doing well now and it seems that she landed on her feet.
last straw, the – the last insult or injury that one can endure. His son watched TV all day and didn’t work. When he started to gamble, that was the last straw.
lay out – spend or pay. Will you lay out the money for the meal and I will pay you back tomorrow?
learn the ropes – acquire special knowledge of a job. Now that you have started your new position with the company, it will probably take you a few months to learn the ropes.
leave a bad taste in one’s mouth - make a bad impression, make or feel disgusted. I thought the salesman was obnoxious. He left a bad taste in my mouth.
leave someone holding the bag – put someone in an awkward position, leave someone else to take the blame. The children ate all of the cookies and ran away. Peter was the only one who remained and was left holding the bag.
lemon – merchandise that doesn’t work. My new car has needed repair four times since I bought it. I ended up buying a lemon.
let bygones be bygones. – Forget differences that happened in the past. Even though my friend and I had a big fight, I told him we should let bygones be bygones.
let it ride – continue without changing a situation. Don’t say anything to him now. I don’t want to hurt his feelings. Just let it ride.
let on – reveal, inform, tell. She let on that she knew my secret.
let one’s hair down – be informal, relaxed. After the business meeting when our supervisor left, we spoke about our personal lives and let our hair down.
let someone off the hook – excuse from a penalty or promise. Because this was his first criminal offense, he was let off the hook.
let the cat out of the bag – tell a secret. His surprise birthday party was cancelled because someone let the cat out of the bag.
Let the chips fall where they may. – Act regardless of consequences. The police were asking him about the robbery. He knew he had to tell everything he knew and let the chips fall as they may.
like a ton of bricks – strongly, forcefully. When I was told that my favorite uncle died, it hit him like a ton of bricks.
live high off the hog – have many luxuries, be very comfortable. When you see their new home, you’ll know that they live high off the hog.
live it up – pursue pleasure, have a good time. Now that school is over, I want to live it up this weekend.
live wire – active exciting person. People always want her at their parties because she is a live wire.
loaded – having lots of money. Ever since he started his new business, he appears to be loaded.
loaded – drunk. I can tell by the way she spoke that she was loaded.
look down one’s nose at – think someone is worthless or unimportant, show contempt. She thinks she is better than everyone else. She always looks down her nose at others.
look into – investigate, check. I’m going to look into the possibility of getting a scholarship for college.
look up – improve, getting better. Since he is putting in more hours at work, his financial situation is looking up.
loony bin – insane asylum. I couldn’t believe how crazy she acted last night. She belongs in the loony bin!
loot – money. How much loot do you need to buy that fancy car?
lose one’s marbles – go insane, act irrationally. Anyone who insults his boss has lost his marbles.
lose one’s shirt – lose all one’s money. He put his lifetime savings into the restaurant. When it failed, he lost his shirt.
lose track of someone – lose contact, no know where someone is. I have lost track of him since high school and have no idea where he lives now.
louse up – ruin. I’ve worked on this painting for weeks, but when my paintbrush slipped out of my hand, I loused up the painting.
lowdown – the true story. I heard that she was married before but didn’t know why she divorced. Give me the lowdown.
lower the boom – stop completely, punish strictly. When the father heard that the children were not doing their homework, he lowered the boom.
make a bundle – make a lot of money. She made a bundle selling donuts to the construction workers.
make a dent in – make progress. I have got a lot of work to do, but I made a dent in it last night.
make a federal case out of – overreact, take strong measures for a minor problem. I’m sorry for spilling some water on your desk, but you don’t have to make a federal case out of it.
make a go of – succeed, produce good results. Although this new business is risky, I’m going to try to make a go of it.
make a hit – be successful. People loved my new brownies and wanted the recipe. I guess I made a hit.
make a killing – gain a large amount of money at one time. She made a killing in the stock market last year.
make a monkey out of someone – cause to look foolish. The lawyer was shrewd and made a monkey out of his opponent’s client.
make a mountain out of a molehill – make a big problem out of a small one. It wasn’t difficult, it was easy. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.
make ends meet – balance one’s budget, meet one’s payments. His expenses are so high, that even though he makes a lot of money, his family has difficulty making ends meet.
make fun of – ridicule It’s not nice to make fun of other people.
make it up to someone – compensate for an unfulfilled promise. I am so sorry that we have to cancel our plans tonight, but I will try to make it up to you.
make of something – interpret, figure out, think of. What do you make of his decision to drop out of college?
make one’s hair stand on end – frighten, horrify. The extreme poverty in that country would make your hair stand on end.
make one’s mouth water - look or smell very good, make one want to eat or drink something one sees or smells – The smell of garlic outside the restaurant made my mouth water.
make one’s own way – rely on one’s own abilities. She had no help from anyone. She had to make her own way.
make out – do, progress, succeed. How are you making out with your new responsibilities at the office?
make sense – be comprehensible. What’s the word in English that’s spelled yrkszwa…it doesn’t make sense.
make sure – see about something yourself, check. We are leaving on our vacation, and I want to make sure that you locked all the doors.
make the best of – accept a bad situation and do as well as possible under the circumstances. Even though our heating system broke, let’s light a fire in the fireplace and make the best of it.
make up one’s mind – decide. She hasn’t made up her mind as to what university she will be attending.
make waves – upset the status quo, create a disturbance. He likes to avoid controversy and usually doesn’t make waves.
man-to-man – frank, direct. Don’t discuss the problem with me. Go to your boss’s office and talk about it man-to-man.
mean business – be serious. He told his son that he had to finish all of his homework before he went out to play and he meant business.
mess – disorderly, cluttered condition; bad or confused situation. There were clothes and food all over his apartment and it was a mess.
miss a trick – take advantage of every situation. As soon as her boss left the building, she began to make personal calls. She doesn’t miss a trick.
miss out on – lose an opportunity, miss a worthwhile event. It is too bad you couldn’t make it to the reunion because you missed out on a good time.
miss the boat – lose an opportunity. It’s too bad he didn’t buy gold when it was cheap. Now, it is very expensive and he really missed the boat.
mobbed – crowded. The shopping mall was mobbed the day before Christmas.
mooch – borrow, beg, get without paying. She says that she doesn’t smoke, but she is always mooching cigarettes from her friends.
mouthful – a true and impressive statement. You said a mouthful when you admitted that she was the smartest girl in her class.
mudslinging – making malicious remarks to damage someone’s reputation. There is a lot of mudslinging going on in politics today.
mum’s the word – don’t talk about what was said. I don’t want you to say anything about our discussion. Mum’s the word.
murder – a difficult or painful ordeal. Getting her master’s degree while she worked full-time was murder.
nag, a – a persistently urging person. He complains that his wife is always nagging him to do things around the house.
name someone after – give the child the name of an admired person. My son is named after my grandfather.
nest egg – extra money saved. They have a small nest egg saved up for their vacation.
nightcap, a – last drink one has before leaving or prior to sleeping. She ordered some brandy as a nightcap.
nincompoop – a stupid person, a fool. He doesn’t know how to act well around other people. He’s a nincompoop!
nip in the bud – prevent at the start. When she saw that her little boy was snacking between meals, she decided to nip it in the bud.
nitpick – look for very minor errors or problems. Every time she reads one of his reports, she is always nitpicking on the most minor points.
nitty-gritty – the essence or important part. We’ve been discussing your problem for an hour, but we finally got down to the nitty-gritty.
nitwit – idiot. He messes up everything in our department and is such a nitwit.
no bed of roses – uncomfortable, unhappy situation. Their marriage is no bed of roses. They seem to always be fighting.
no dice – no, certainly not. I like living in this area. When my children wanted to move, I said ‘no dice’.
no picnic – not pleasant. He works very hard at the factory. He says it is no picnic.
nobody’s fool – smart competent person. She’s very smart. She’s nobody’s fool.
not on your life – definitely not, no way. There is not a chance I am going to drive 4 hours to go to that party…not on your life.
not so hot – not very good. She boasted about her pumpkin pie, but I thought it was not so hot.
nothing to sneeze at – something not trivial, to be taken seriously. They offered him a lot of money to take this new position. He was going to give it a lot of thought because it was nothing to sneeze at.
nuts about – in love with, enthusiastic about. I’m nuts about our new neighbors.
odds and ends – miscellaneous items. I have some odds and ends around my house that I would like to sell.
off and on – occasionally. We are not very good friends anymore. I see him off and on.
off base – inaccurate. If you think I paid one thousand dollars for this coat, you are way off base.
off color - in bad taste, rude, dirty. He told an off-color joke at the party that embarrassed my wife.
off one’s rocker – crazy. He is off of his rocker if he thinks I’m going to help him decorate for the party.
off the hook – out of something, freed from an embarrassing situation. I don’t want to have dinner with him. Let’s tell him that we will be out of town so that we will get off the hook.
off the record – privately, unofficially, not for public announcement. I need to tell you about one of my accounts, but it needs to be off the record.
off the top of one’s head – from memory, spontaneously. Off the top of my head, I think her last name begins with an ‘M’.
old flame – former boyfriend or girlfriend. She bumped into an old flame at the shopping mall.
on a shoestring – with very little money. We are trying to decorate our home on a shoestring.
on easy street – having a pleasant, secure life. Ever since his mother won the lottery, they have been on easy street.
on guard – careful, wary. It is a very important meeting and we must think before we speak. We must be on guard.
on one’s last leg – at the end of one’s strength of usefulness. My car is over ten years old and it’s on its last leg.
on one’s shoulders – one’s responsibility. The president has a lot of problems on his shoulders.
on pins and needles – nervous, excited. When I found out that the movie star was coming to the party, I was on pins and needles.
on shaky ground – unstable. The buyers aren’t sure if they really want to buy the car. I think the sale is on shaky ground.
on the ball – paying attention and doing things well. She always gets her paperwork submitted on time. She is always on the ball.
on the blink – not working. The ice is melting in our freezer. I think it is on the blink.
on the edge of one’s seat – in nervous suspense. I have wanted to see this movie ever since I read the book. Now that it is about to start, I am on the edge of my seat.
on the fritz – not working correctly, out of order. The ice is melting in our freezer. I think it is on the fritz.
on the go – busy running around. I won’t be home all day. I have many errands to run and will be on the go.
on the house – provided free by a bar or restaurant. Since I am good friends with the owner of the restaurant, dinner was on the house.
on the level - honest. They are not telling you the whole story. They are not on the level.
on the q.t. – secretly. I was just told that I will be promoted to icepresident but nobody knows about it yet. Please don’t tell anyone and keep it on the q.t.
on the rocks – breaking up, ruined. The couple is always fighting and I wasn’t surprised to hear that their marriage is on the rocks.
on the same wavelength – communicating, thinking similarly. They didn’t understand each other. They were not on the same wavelength.
on the spot – in a difficult or embarrassing situation. I was put on the spot and expected to make a toast at the anniversary party.
on the wagon – abstaining from liquor. He used to drink a lot of beer and wine, but now he is on the wagon.
on the warpath – very angry, looking for trouble. When Mary saw John with another woman, Mary went on the warpath.
once in a blue moon – occasionally. He doesn’t watch television often. Only once in a blue moon.
once-over – quick look or examination. I didn’t have time to read the contract, so I gave it a once-over.
one for the books – very unusual, remarkable. She hates to be around children and she’s an elementary school teacher. That’s one for the books.
one’s cup of tea – something one enjoys, special interest. I don’t like going to the opera. It’s not my cup of tea.
one’s hands are tied – one is unable to help. I would like to lend you money, but we just bought a car and a house. My hands are tied.
one’s heart is in the right (wrong) place - kindhearted, sympathetic or well-meaning. Although she makes a lot of mistakes, her heart is in the right place.
one’s heart is in one’s mouth – one is nervous, fearful, or anxious. I’m speaking in front of 200 people tonight and am very nervous. My heart is in my mouth.
one-track mind – mind focused on a single idea. All he ever thinks about is football. He has a one-tracked mind.
out of line – not usual, incorrect, unacceptable. She tells her husband what he can and cannot do. I think she is out of line.
out of sorts – in a bad mood, irritable. I haven’t’ been feeling very happy lately. I am out of sorts.
out of the blue – unexpectedly, by surprise, from nowhere. I haven’t’ heard from my college roommate in 10 years. Last week, out of the blue, he called me.
out of the woods – no longer in danger, in the clear. The doctors say she no longer has the disease. Her prognosis is very good and she is now out of the woods.
out of this world – wonderful, terrific. This chocolate cake is the best I have ever had. It’s out of this world.
out on a limb – in a dangerous, exposed position, one’s ideas are openly known. By speaking up against her boss, she is putting herself out on a limb.
over a barrel – in a helpless, trapped position. He saw me cash my paycheck and then asked me for a loan. I could not refuse. He had me over a barrel.
over one’s dead body – under no condition, never. I work six days a week. Only over my dead body will I work another day.
pad the bill – add false expenses. The insurance company found out that the dentist had padded the bill.
pain in the neck – bothersome, annoying thing or person. My little brother is a pain in the neck.
pan out – happen favorably. This new business is risky, but hopefully it will pan out.
pass away – die. I miss the neighbor who passed away last year.
pass out – faint. I haven’t eaten all day, and I think I am going to pass out.
pass the buck – shift responsibility to others. I called their customer service line, but everyone kept on passing the buck.
patch up – fix. Even though we had a fight, let’s try to patch things up.
pay through the nose – pay too much. I had to pay through the nose to stay at that fancy resort.
peanuts – small amount of money. It only cost peanuts to fix the scrape on the car.
pep talk – a talk to arouse enthusiasm. The coach gave the players a pep talk before the game.
perk up – emerge from a depressed or uninterested mood. When the owner of the company walks into the office, try to perk up.
pick up – obtain, get. Please pick up a gallon of milk when you go to the grocery store.
pick up the tab – pay the bill. Since he came into a lot of money, he always picks up the tab whenever we go out to dinner.
pick-me-up, a – a drink or snack taken to refresh oneself. “You look tired. Drink this, it’s a good pick-me-up”.
piece of cake, a – easy. She has also been good at mathematics. She thinks algebra is a piece of cake.
pile up – accumulate, put things on top of each other. Try not to let the work on your desk pile up.
pill – an annoying, disagreeable person. She is always mad about something and unpleasant to be around. She is such a pill.
pin someone down – make someone tell the truth or agree to something. He needed to pin her down as to the date for the meeting.
pinch pennies – be thrifty, careful how you spend money. If you spend your time pinching pennies, eventually, you’ll have a lot of money.
pink slip – notice of dismissal. He was fired and received a pink slip on Friday and will not be showing up for work on Monday.
pinpoint – find exact location or cause. We need to pinpoint the cause of the problem.
pitch in – help. Everyone needs to pitch in so that we can get the work done and go home.
pits, the – the worst, anything that is very bad. Having to clean out my basement is the pits.
play hooky – stay away from school or work without permission. He played hooky from work so that he can do things around his house.
play it by ear – make your decision according to the situation. I’mnot sure when I will arrive at the restaurant, so let’s play it by ear.
play the field – go out with many people romantically. She is not dating anyone seriously and is still playing the field.
play up to someone – flatter or please for selfish reasons. He is playing up to his boss because he is hoping to move up in the company.
play with fire – invite danger, trouble. You are playing with fire if you drive with your car on ‘empty’.
plenty of – a lot of, abundance. She had plenty of food at the party, so everyone ate a lot.
point out – explain, show, call attention to. Let me point out the problem with your plan.
pop the question – ask to marry. He popped the question and asked her to marry him when they were scuba diving.
pound the pavement – look for a job. It took him 3 months of pounding the pavement before he landed a job.
pour it on thick – flatter profusely, exaggerate. He poured it on thick to his boss, because he wanted to get a raise.
pull a fast one – cheat, deceive. She pulled a fast one when she got away with stealing all the company’s profits.
pull punches – hide unpleasant facts or make them seem good. She told him why she wouldn’t date him anymore, and she didn’t pull any punches.
pull someone’s leg – trick, playfully tease, fool. If you think I believe that you won the lottery, your pulling my leg.
pull something off – accomplish something remarkable. He never thought he would be able to put on a show, but he pulled it off.
pull strings – secretly use influence and power. I’ll see if I can pull strings so that you can get an interview.
pull the rug out from under – spoil someone’s plans, withdraw support. I felt like someone pulled the rug out from under me when he said he wouldn’t pay my tuition.
pull the wool over one’s eyes – deceive, mislead. He pulled the wool over her eyes and married her just for her money.
pull up stakes – move to another location. They pulled up stakes last year and moved to another state.
push someone around – boss, make a person do what you want. I don’t like it when she pushes me around.
put a damper on – discourage, spoil a person’s fun. I hate putting a damper on the party, but it is getting late and everyone has to go home.
put anything past someone – be surprised by what someone does. I wouldn’t put it past her to talk about me behind my back.
put down – make someone look bad, criticize. He embarrassed her by putting her down in front of her family.
put in one’s two cents – give one’s opinion. I put in my two cents, so that everyone knew how I felt.
put one’s cards on the table – be frank, tell everything. She put her cards on the table and told everyone what she really thought.
put one’s finger on – find precisely, remember exactly. She didn’t know what was causing the problem, but she finally put her finger on it.
put one’s foot down – object strongly, take firm preventative action. I cleaned the whole house. When she told me that I had to clean the garage too, I finally put my foot down.
put one’s foot in one’s mouth – speak carelessly, make a rude or insensitive comment. I said something that embarrassed my friend, and really put my foot in my mouth.
put our heads together – confer, discuss. Let’s put our heads together and figure out a way to solve this problem.
put someone in his or her place – scold someone for rude, improper behavior. When she embarrassed me in front of my friends, I angrily answered her back and put her in her place.
put someone on a pedestal – idolize, worship. He has great respect for his coach, and has put him on a pedestal.
put something out of one’s mind – try not to think about it. I’m worried about next week’s test, but I am going to relax and put it out of my mind.
put through the wringer – cause severe stress. The attorney asked me many questions and put me through the wringer.
put two and two together – make a conclusion knowing the facts. She put two and two together and realized that he was stealing from the company.
put up a good front – pretend to be happy, fool people about one’s status. Even though she is upset about the fight she had with her friend, she put up a good front and smiled the whole time they were together.
put up with – patiently accept, endure. He has had to put up with her terrible disposition if he wanted to remain married to her.
quack – an ignorant or fraudulent doctor. The man paid the doctor $1000.00 to fix his problem, but he still had a lot of pain. I think that doctor is a quack.
rack one’s brain – try to hard to think or remember. I racked my brain to remember who I was supposed to call back.
racket – easy, well-paying job, business that cheats customers. That company is running a racket. They take money from people, but never provide them with a service.
raise eyebrows – cause surprise or disapproval, shock. It raised some eyebrows when the mother hit the little child in the store.
rake it in – make a lot of money. Since business has improved, he is really raking it in.
rake over the coals – scold, reprimand, blame. My boss raked me over the coals for losing the big account.
rat race – endless, competitive striving; hurried material existence. Working in the big city can sometimes feel like a rat race.
raw deal – unfair treatment. I was the lowest paid worker in the office. I believe I was given a raw deal.
read between the lines – understand things that are not said, find a hidden meaning. If you read between the lines, you will see that this contract only protects the company and not the customer.
real McCoy – the genuine thing. This artifact actually came from the Titanic. It is the real McCoy.
red tape - excessive formalities in official business. Many businesses have been complaining about the amount of red tape that they must deal with in order to get anything done with the government.
right off the bat – in the beginning, immediately. Before anything else happened, right off the bat he welcomed everyone to the meeting.
right under one’s nose – in an obvious nearby place. Even though I never to my eyes off of the jewelry counter, someone stole a watch right under my nose.
ring a bell – remind one of something familiar. I’m sure I’ve seen that man before. His name rings a bell.
rip off – cheat, rob. This product I bought doesn’t work and is made poorly. I was ripped off.
road hog – person who takes too much room on the road. That road hog is driving between two lanes and I think may cause an accident.
rock the boat – upset the status quo. If you tell everyone in the office about the company’s plans to close, you may cause a lot of problems. Don’t rock the boat.
roll out the red carpet - greet a person with great respect, give a big welcome. When the King of Jordan visited Washington, they rolled out the red carpet and gave him a great welcome
rope into – trick, persuade or pressure. She got roped into going to the meeting even though she doesn’t work in that department.
rough – approximate. This computer sells for roughly $1000.
rub one the wrong way – annoy, bother, make angry. There is something about his personality that just rubs me the wrong way.
rub something in – constantly refer to a mistake or fault. She used to rub it in that I was fired from my job. She is no longer my friend.
rule out – decide against, eliminate. You will need some medical tests because your doctor needs to rule out whether or not you may have a virus.
rule the roost – be the dominant one in the family. Although she is very quiet and soft-spoken, I was told that she rules the roost in her family.
run around in circles – act confused, do a lot, but accomplish little. I had so much to do that I was running around in circles.
run out of – finish the supply, use up. The car’s gas tank was emptyand I was afraid that we were going to run out of gas.
run ragged – tire, exhaust. I haven’t had a day off in 2 months and feel like I’m running ragged.
run (take) a risk – be open to danger or loss, unprotected. Everyone is sick in your friend’s house. If you go and visit him, you are running the risk of getting sick too.
run down – in bad condition. Nothing seems to be working in this car. It seems to be very run down.
scalper – a person who buys a ticket at the regular rate and sells it at a profit. There were many scalpers selling tickets before the game.
scam – a plan to cheat someone. The woman finally got in trouble, because it was found out that she was running a scam.
scatter around – carelessly put in different places. Clothes were scattered around the messy room.
scrape the bottom of the barrel – take whatever is left after best has been taken. We need to find employees for the new company but all the talented ones are already working. It looks like we need to scrape the bottom of the barrel and hire people with less talent.
scrape together – get money little by little. I’ll need to scrape together some money so that I can buy your car.
scratch the surface – merely begin to understand or accomplish something. He has been looking through the accounting books to find all of the errors. There seems to be so many that he is only beginning to scratch the surface.
scrounge around – look in a lot of places for a certain item. I need a 2 inch screw that will hold a part tight in the light fixture. I’ve been scrounging around for an hour, but can’t seem to find one.
second hand – not new, previously used. The little girl has been wearing second hand clothes from her older sister for the past year.
see daylight – achieve or expect a favorable result. Now that most of the inventory is done, we are beginning to see daylight.
see eye to eye – have the same opinion, agree. My partner and I aresplitting up. We do not see eye to eye.
see red – become very angry. I saw red when he told me that he wouldn’t be at work tomorrow.
sell like hotcakes – sell quickly, rapidly. His CD is becoming so popular, it is selling like hotcakes.
sell oneself short – underestimate oneself. Even though she is the only one who knows how to fix all of the computers, she doesn’t realize how valuable she really is. She is always selling herself short.
send someone packing – tell someone to leave, dismiss. When he broke up with his girlfriend, he didn’t want her living in his apartment anymore. He sent her packing.
serve time – be in jail. He served time in the county jail for driving without a driver’s license.
set one back – cost. These new shoes set me back $200.
settle down – live a quiet normal life. After they marry, they plan to move out into the country, settle down and have a family.
shape up – begin to act and look right. The school boy was hitting other children and talking out in class. He was told by the teacher that he better shape up or he will have to stand in the hallway.
sharp – smart, witty, quick thinking. The supervisor is very sharp. She knows how to quickly fix any problem that may arise.
shell out – pay. We shelled out a lot of money to eat at that fancy restaurant.
shook up – upset, worried fearful. I got all shook up when I heard the awful news.
shoot full of holes – find great fault with. I thought my idea was great, but my boss said it would never work. He shot it full of holes.
shoot the breeze – talk idly or gossip. Let’s go out after work and shoot the breeze for awhile.
shop around – look in many stores. She shopped around for the perfect dress to wear to the party.
shoplifter – one who steals goods from stores. The shoplifter was stealing some merchandise and was caught by the security guard.
short end of the stick – unfair, unequal treatment. I was the only employee who had to work all weekend. I got the short end of the stick.
shrug off – dismiss, not be bothered or hurt. Even though his classmates treated him badly, he didn’t let them bother him. He always shrugged off their mean comments.
sick and tired – disliking some continual behavior, annoyed. I am sick and tired of listening to the loud music that my neighbors are always playing.
side with – favor, support one position in a dispute. My father always sided with my sister even though he knew she was wrong.
side-swipe – hit the side of a car. My car needs to be repaired. It was side-swiped by a bus on my way to work today.
simmer down – become quiet, calm. The teacher told the children to simmer down because they were too loud.
sink one’s teeth into – go to work seriously. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this exciting new project.
sink or swim – fail or succeed by your own efforts. This venture is going to be successful or a complete failure. It’s either going to be sink or swim.
sit right – be acceptable. His father doesn’t want him to go to a far away university. It doesn’t sit right with him.
sit tight – wait patiently. Sit tight while I run back to my house and get my keys.
sitting pretty – in a favorable situation. Their team is 40 points ahead in the game. It doesn’t look like they can lose. They are sitting pretty.
six feet under – dead. The old man that used to live in that house is now six feet under. He died a few months ago.
size up – form an opinion, assess. Before I can give you my opinion, I need to size up the situation.
skeleton in one’s closet – a family secret. She has always seemed distant and secretive. She has many skeletons in her closet.
skip – forget, pass over. The teacher needed to skip a few questions on the test because he ran out of time.
sky high – expensive. After purchasing the new bed with all the sheets and pillows, the bill was sky high.
sleazy – shoddy, dirty, in poor condition. Her apartment was sleazy. There was dirt and garbage all over the floor.
sleep on it – think about, consider, decide later. Even though you want me to take the new job, I need to sleep on it before I give you my decision.
slip one’s mind – be forgotten. I’m sorry I missed our appointment. It must have slipped my mind.
slob – a person who isn’t clean and neat. I don’t think that man has washed his clothes in two weeks. He looks like a slob.
smell a rat – become suspicious. When $6000 dollars was missing from the company, I began to smell a rat and thought it may be internal theft.
smooth something over – make better or more pleasant. Even though there has been many family problems, her mother likes to smooth everything over and act like things are all good.
snap – an easy task. Putting these folder files in order won’t take very long. It is a snap.
snap out of it – free oneself from the control of panic, fear, hysteria. He was upset and crying so hard that he couldn’t snap out of it.
snow job – insincere or exaggerated talk intended to trick or impress. Even though he never worked a day in his life, he told everyone that he was a successful attorney. He was giving everyone a snow job.
snowball’s chance in hell – no chance at all. We’ve got a snowball’s chance in hell to win the lottery next week.
sob story – sad story that makes the listener sympathetic. The boy forgot to bring in his homework. He gave his teacher a sob story and told her that his dog ate it.
sore loser – person who gets angry when he loses. That little girl is a sore loser. She cries every time she doesn’t win a game.
sort of – almost, not quite, similar to. I’m not sure what color this shirt is. It is sort of blue and sort of green.
sourpuss – a disagreeable person who seldom smiles. My teacher is always in a bad mood. He is such a sourpuss.
spic and span – very clean, very neat. Now that we have cleaned our house, it looks spic and span.
spill the beans – tell a secret, inform. She found out a secret and told all of her friends. She spilled the beans.
spine chilling – terrifying, thrilling. I don’t think that young children should see this movie. It is spine chilling.
spitting image – exact resemblance. The boy is the spitting image of his father. They look like twins.
split hairs – make trivial, unnecessary distinctions. The lawyers were splitting hairs over the wording in the contract.
split up – separate. Although they have been married for over 25 years, the couple decided to split up because they could no longer get along.
splurge – spend a lot of money for something. When it came to buying a new car, they splurged and bought one that was luxurious.
spoiled – getting and expecting everything one wants. Their children are so spoiled. They have every toy that you can imagine and don’t seem to be appreciative.
sport – a person generous with money. He took me out to dinner and paid for everything. He was very sporty with his money.
spring – pay. Because he just won some money in a contest, he sprang for dinner.
spruce up – clean, redecorate. We wanted to make our home look good for the holiday party. We spent days sprucing it up.
square one – in the beginning. Now that the computer had lost all the information in the report, we will have to begin at square one.
squeal - inform. Even though he was involved in the bank robbery, he squealed on his partner so that he wouldn’t have to go to jail.
stab someone in the back – betray someone. We were always so friendly in the office. I cannot believe that he stabbed me in the back and tried to have me fired.
stand – tolerate, like. The president would not stand for corruption in his administration.
stand on one’s own two feet – be independent. Once he graduated from college, he was able to get a job and an apartment and he was able to stand on his own two feet.
stand someone up – fail to keep an appointment or date. They decided to meet at 6:00. She waited for him for an hour and then realized that he stood her up.
stand up to someone – be brave, courageously confront someone. Even though the bully was twice his size, the boy wasn’t afraid and was able to stand up to him.
start the ball rolling – take the initiative, begin an action. It takes approximately one year to be accepted into that school. We completed an application to start the ball rolling.
stay away from – avoid. I always try to stay away from mean people.
stick one’s neck out – look for trouble, take risks. Although I had nothing to do with the problem that he was having, I stuck my neck out to help him.
stick it out – endure, continue. The girl was miserable at sleep away camp but she only had one more week before it was over. She decided to stick it out and stay.
stick to one’s guns – to defend an action or an opinion despite an unfavorable reaction. Everyone told me this idea was stupid. I didn’t listen to them and stuck to my guns.
stick up for – defend, help, support. Even though everyone makes fun of her friend at school, she always sticks up for her and stands by her side.
stink – to be extremely bad quality, to be terrible. I was treated badly on the phone when I called the company about the problem I was having. I think their customer service department really stinks.
straight from the horse’s mouth – directly from the person involved. Even though we all heard about the John’s accident, it was nice to here about it from John himself. We finally heard it straight from the horse’s mouth.
straighten out – put in order. He spent Saturday straightening out his clothing drawers and making everything neat.
strapped – having no money available. Can you please buy my lunch today? I am strapped for money until payday next week.
strike while the iron is hot – take advantage of an opportunity. He has been working very hard on his new business. It has been taking off and he wants to strike while the iron is hot.
strings attached – restraining circumstances, obligations. He became company president, but he had to marry the owner’s daughter. There were strings attached.
stuck – unable to understand. I am stuck on this math problem and I cannot figure it out.
stuff – things. We need to buy a lot of stuff for the party.
stuffed shirt – a person who is rigid or too formal. It is fun working in my office. Everyone likes to laugh and have a good time except for Ed. Ed is always serious, businesslike and never wants to relax and have a good time. He is such a stuffed shirt.
swamped – overwhelmed. I need to complete four reports by tomorrow. I am swamped with work.
swan song – final appearance. The actress died after completing the role in this movie. This was her swan song.
sweat bullets – be nervous, be very hot. I didn’t know how the interview would go and was very nervous. I was sweating bullets.
sweatshop – a factory that has poor conditions, long hours, low pay. I feel bad for people who have to work in that chemical plant.I have heard it is like a sweatshop in there.
swell – terrific. Your boss has said great things about you. She says that you are a swell guy.
take a beating – lose money. Last year, everyone took a beating in the stock market.
take a crack at – try, attempt. Even though you tried to fix the toy and couldn’t, let me take a crack at it.
take advantage of – treat unfairly for your own gain, make good use of time or conditions. Because I had a few days off of work, I took advantage of all the time I had a read a few books.
take after – resemble or act like a parent or relative. I see that he takes after his dad in his ability to play basketball.
take it – endure trouble, criticism, abuse, pressure. Everyone in school told her how ugly and stupid she was. She was unable to take it and eventually changed schools.
take on – begin to handle, commit oneself to, accept. He took on a great challenge when he became the CEO of a bankrupt company.
take one’s hat off to someone – admire, respect, praise. I am very impressed that you actually had your book published. I take my hat off to you!
take over – take control, command. When the pilot became ill, the co-pilot had to take over the controls of the aircraft.
take someone for a ride – cheat, swindle. When my car broke down for the third time, I realized that the car salesman really took me for a ride.
take someone to the cleaners – win all of someone’s money, cheat someone. He invested money in a business deal that went bad. They took him to the cleaners.
take something lying down – suffer without having a fight. Someone said the he stole money from the company. He’s not going to take that lying down.
take something to heart – consider seriously. His parents spoke to him about improving his grades. I hope he took it to heart.
take a bull by the horns – take strong action. He needs more money, so he is going to take the bull by the horns and ask for a raise.
take the Fifth – refuse to testify against oneself, as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. He asked the fat girl how much she weighed. She was embarrassed and took the Fifth.
take the plunge – do something decisive. I realized I gained a lot of weight, so I finally took the plunge and decided to seriously go on a diet.
take the words out of someone’s mouth – say something someone else was going to say. I was just going to say that he was a liar. You took the words right out of my mouth.
take up – begin an activity or hobby. She plans to take up golf next summer.
take with a grain of salt – listen with skepticism. He told me that he got all A’s in college. I don’t believe him. You should take it with a grain of salt.
talk through one’s hat – make exaggerated or inaccurate statements. She’s always talking about how much she is investing in the stock market, but I think she is talking through her hat.
talk turkey – discuss seriously, in a business-like manner. If you are really serious about buying my car, let’s talk turkey.
tearjerker – story that makes you cry. The movie we saw last night was a real tearjerker.
tell someone off – speak to angrily. Whenever she becomes too arrogant, it is time to tell her off.
think up – invent, create. The theme for this year’s party will not work. We need to think up a new idea.
third degree, the – prolonged questioning. When I returned home from my date, my roommate wanted to know everything that had happened and gave me the third degree.
through the grapevine – via gossip from other people. I heard through the grapevine that you are pregnant. Is that true?
through the mill – experienced in difficulties of life. She’s had a difficult life. She’s been put through the mill.
throw cold water on – discourage. I really don’t want to throw cold water on your business proposal, but I really don’t think that it is a good idea.
throw in the towel – surrender, give up. When he realized that there was no way he was going to finish the race, he finally threw in the towel.
throw one’s weight around – use one’s influence in a showy manner. Because she was the boss’s daughter, she liked throwing her weight around the office and tell everyone what to do.
throw the book at – punish severely for breaking rules or the law. They have a lot of evidence against that criminal. They are going to throw the book at him at the trial.
tickled pink – very happy. I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to go home. I was tickled pink that the party had finally ended.
tide someone over – help someone through a shortage. Can you please loan me $10 and tide me over until I get paid next week?
tie the knot – get married. She will tie the knot this spring.
tied down – restricted by family or job responsibilities. When you have children, pets and a mortgage, you feel tied down.
tight squeeze – difficult situation financially. I don’t have the money for that now. I am in a tight squeeze.
tighten one’s belt – economize, spend and use less. Since he has taken a cut in his salary, the family has needed to tighten their belt.
tightwad – person who is cheap and stingy. Whenever we go to a restaurant, he always tries to leave without contributing any money toward the bill. He is such a tightwad.
tip someone off – warn, inform. The burglars were arrested because the police were tipped off.
to a T – perfectly, exactly. Although you have only been to my house once, you described it to a T!
to boot – in addition, also. She is trying to lose weight. So I was surprised that after dinner, she ordered cake and ice cream to boot.
to the hilt – completely, to the limit. He’s borrowed a lot of money against his house. He is mortgaged to the hilt!
tooth and nail – as hard as possible, fiercely. Although they were going to take that an account away from me, I fought tooth and nail to keep it.
top-notch – excellent, the best. He never loses a court case. He is a top-notch attorney.
topsy-turvy – upside down, in disarray. When you move from one apartment to another, everything is topsy-turvy.
total – completely ruin. After the accident, my car was totaled and was unable to be fixed.
touch and go – very dangerous or uncertain. She was sent to the hospital in very poor health. The doctors said that it was touch and go.
tough break – unlucky event, misfortune. Breaking his leg in the middle of football season was a tough break for John.
tourist trap – any place that is overpriced and attracts tourists. I hate going to that resort in the summer. They charge hundreds of dollars a night for a tiny room. I think it’s a tourist trap.
track down – search for. The balances in both accounts are not matching. We need to track down the problem.
treat – pay for someone else. He really helped me complete my project, so I treated him to lunch.
try something out – test. The store told me that we can try the mattress out for 30 days to see if we like it.
turn one off – disgust, bore, repel. When he started saying bad things about my sister, it really turned me off.
turn out – result, end. Although the movie was boring at first, it turned out to be wonderful.
turn over a new leaf – change one’s conduct for the better. My little boy has recently started lying to his mother. After I spoke with him, he told me that he is turning over a new leaf and won’t do it anymore.
turn someone down – reject. Although the job interview went very well, he was turned down for the job.
turn someone’s stomach – get someone sick and upset. It really turns my stomach when little children treat their elders poorly.
turn the tables – reverse the situation. We lost the game last night, but tonight, we’ll turn the tables.
turn to – go to for help. He was such a good friend. I always knew that I could turn to him if I needed some money.
turn up – appear. Those keys have been lost for a month. I am hoping that they turn up soon.
twiddle one’s thumbs – not busy, not working. Our department has gotten slow this season. All we are doing is twiddling our thumbs.
twist someone around one’s finger – influence someone easily. He will do whatever she wants. It’s amazing how she has him twisted around her little finger.
two-faced – disloyal, untrustworthy. She’ll tell you that you have a beautiful dress, but when you leave, she’ll say that you are fat and how awful it looked on you. She is two-faced.
under the table – illegal money transaction, such as paying a bribe. She was paid under the table and continued to collect her unemployment checks illegally.
under the weather – not feeling well. I started sneezing this morning and have had a bad headache. I am beginning to feel under the weather.
up one’s alley – something one enjoys, special interest. I’m going to the art museum on Sunday. I know you love to paint, so this is right up your alley.
up the river – in jail. The judge found him guilty and he was sent up the river for 5 years.
up to here with – disgusted with another’s continual behavior. My phone bills are always so high. I am just up to here with them.
up to one’s ears – deeply immersed in. I have a lot of folders sitting on my desk. I am up to my ears in paperwork.
up to par (neg.)– meeting normal standards. I have a headache and don’t feel up to par.
up to someone – someone’s choice. Because it is her birthday, it is up to her what kind of birthday cake to buy.
upset the applecart – ruin or spoil a plan or idea. Our plans are perfect. Don’t discuss them with anyone. We don’t want to upset the applecart.
use one’s noodle (head) – think. He wasn’t using his noodle when he offered to stay and clean up the mess.
walk all over someone – take advantage of someone. He loves her so much and she walks all over him.
wash one’s hands of – refuse responsibility for, abandon. If he lies or hurts you, you should wash your hands of him.
washed up – no longer successful or needed, failed. Since he was arrested, his movie career is all washed up.
waste one’s breath – speak or argue with no result. I have told her that she should stop smoking a thousand times. Don’t even mention it to her, you’ll be wasting your breath.
watch (or mind) one’s P’s and Q’s – act very carefully, pay attention to detail. If you are having dinner with your boss, you have to watch your P’s and Q’s.
water down – dilute. The coffee is too strong. I think you need to water it down.
wear the pants – be the boss of the family. She makes all the big decisions when it comes to finances. We all know who wears the pants in that family.
weigh one’s words – be careful of what one says. The boss is going to interview me today. I don’t want to talk too much. I should weigh my words.
well-off – rich, wealthy. She has traveled extensively throughout the world. I believe she’s very well-off.
wet behind the ears – inexperienced. He can’t manage the office. He is still wet behind the ears.
wet blanket – person who discourages others from having fun. She was no fun at the party. She is a wet blanket.
wet one’s whistle – have a drink, especially alcohol. I am so thirsty. I would like to wet my whistle.
what it takes – any ability for a job, courage. She is smart and ambitious. She certainly has what it takes to be a doctor.
when the chips are down – at the worst time, when one faces the biggest obstacles. A true friend is someone who is always there when the chips are down.
whistle a different tune – change one’s attitude, contradict previous ideas. The boss’s son doesn’t believe his father should pay anyone overtime, but when he can work extra hours, he whistles a different tune.
white as a ghost - very pale because of fear, shock, illness. My sister became as white as a ghost when she saw the man at the window.
white lie - a harmless lie (told to be polite or to do something not seriously wrong). I told my boss a white lie and said that I was sick yesterday when I actually wasn’t.
wild goose chase – absurd or hopeless search. She did not want the police to find her boyfriend so she gave them false information and sent them on a wild goose chase.
will power – strength of mind. Some people say you need a lot of will power to quit smoking.
wimp – spineless, non-assertive person. He never speaks up for himself. He is such a wimp.
wind up – end, finish. It’s getting late and I want to finish this project and go home. Let’s wind things up.
wing it – rely only on one’s knowledge, act without preparation. They asked me to make a speech, but I did not prepare anything so I just winged it.
wisecrack – sarcastic or nasty remark. He is not very nice, so don’t be surprised if he makes a wisecrack about your clothes.
wishy-washy – having no definite opinion, unable to decide. He never has his own opinion. He is very wishy-washy.
with a fine toothed comb – very carefully. She lost her earring somewhere in our house. We searched for it with a fine-toothed comb.
with flying colors - with great or total success. She passed her course with flying colors and now wants to go out and celebrate.
within reason – sensible, reasonable, reasonably. I know you want to buy my car. If your offer is within reason, then it’s a deal.
word of mouth – recommendation from other people. His business does not advertise. He became successful all by word of mouth.
work one’s fingers to the bone – work very hard. I had to type many pages to put this book together. I have worked my fingers to the bone.
work out – find an answer, solve. I have added these numbers three times and still get different answers. This problem can’t seem to be worked out.
wrong side of the tracks, the – the poor section of town, implying social inferiority. She comes from a wealthy family. Her parents did not want her to marry anyone from the wrong side of the tracks.
yell bloody murder – express loud, emotional anger. Some babies yell bloody murder if their mothers leave them with babysitters.
You’re kidding – Really? Is it true? You’ve read every single entry in this book? You’re kidding!

Most Commonly Used Idioms

Who This Is For

About Eduhyme.com

Follow Hymeblogs