IDIOM MEANING/SENTENCE

ish About. I'll meet you at 4ish.

a basket case A wreck. He was a basket case after he was
thrown off the basketball team.
a breath of fresh air Refreshing/fun. She's a breath of fresh air.
a change of heart Change my mind. I've had a change of heart.
a blessing in disguise Something bad that turns out good. Losing his job turned out to be
a blessing in disguise.
a dead end That's a dead end job- time to find a new one.
a gut feeling Feeling in my stomach. I have a gut feeling that everything is going
to turn out all right.
a matter of opinion It's a matter of opinion whether eating fried tarantulas is a
gourmet treat.
a piece of cake That test was a snap- it was a piece of cake. (easy)
a rip off You spent $500 for a watermelon! What a rip off! You were
cheated.
a pain in the neck A pest. His little brother is a real pain in the neck.
be in hot water Be in trouble. If you tell you boss off, you'll really be in hot water.
in the same boat We're in the same situation. We're all in the same boat- so be cool.
on the same wave length We have the same ideas and opinions. We're on the same wave
length.
be on the ball Very sharp. Very smart. He's really on the ball.
it's only a matter of time Very soon. It's only a matter of time until his boss realizes that he
is the one stealing money from the till.
be that as it may As things stand. Be that as it may, I think you should re-consider
your decision to move to Antarctica.
up in arms Really angry. His father was up in arms when he learned that he had
crashed his new car.
up in the air Not sure. Plans are up in the air- we haven't decided what to do yet.
bend over backwards Go out of your way. She really bent over backwards to make my stay
enjoyable.
Big deal! Not important (sarcastic). Losing an old sock is not a big deal.
cost an arm and a leg Very expensive. His new Ferrari cost an arm and a leg.
cross your fingers For good luck. Cross your fingers that I pass the English exam with
flying colors.
draw a blank Can't remember. I drew a blank when I tried to remember his
brother's name.
Easier said than done. More difficult than it seems.
Am fed up with Sick and tired of something. I'm fed up with whining friends who
have everything!
from scratch Make from basic ingredients. Her carrot cake was made from
scratch.

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for the time being For now. For the time being everything is fine at work.
get cold feet Chicken out. John wanted to ask Maria out but he got cold feet and
chickened out.
get out of the wrong side of In a bad mood. He must have gotten up out of the wrong side of the
the bed bed today.
get the picture Understand. Do you get the picture?
get your act together Get organized/stop wasting time. You better get your act together
or you're going to fail all your classes.
give it a shot Try. Why not try bungee jumping. Give it a shot.
give him a piece of your mind Get angry and tell someone off. If I were you I would give him a
piece of your mind.
give him the cold shoulder Ignore someone. Brett walked right post me without saying a word.
He gave me the cold shoulder.
go all out Do your utmost for someone or something. His parents went all out
for his graduation party.
go downhill Get worse. After he got divorced, everything went downhill.
go up in smoke Evaporate/disappear. His dreams of being a professional athlete
went up in smoke when he broke his leg.
have a chip on your shoulder Think you are great. He has such a chip on his shoulder that he
hardly ever relates to anyone.
had it up to here Can't take any more. I've had it up to here with noisy students!
mixed feelings Positive and negative feelings together. I have very mixed feelings
about her marrying a fisherman.
second thoughts Thinking again about a decision. I'm having second thoughts about
trekking in Greenland this summer.
throw a fit Get really angry. His mother threw a fit when she heard that he
lost her i-Phone.
I’m all ears. To listen intently. Tell me about your wedding plans- I'm all ears.
in the bag Certain. His new job is in the bag. He signed the contract.
in the middle of nowhere Way out in the country. Their ski chalet is in the middle of nowhere.
Just my luck! Bad luck. Just my luck to lose the winning lottery ticket.
keep an eye on Watch carefully. Will you keep an eye on my nephew while I walk the
dog?
bear in mind Keep it in mind. Bear in mind, learning a new language isn't as easy as
it seems.
learn by heart Memorize. You have to learn irregular verbs by heart.
let the cat out of the bag Spill the beans. Tell a secret. Don't let the cat out of the bag. Keep
his surprise birthday party a secret.
make my day Make my day great. The guy I have a crush on finally called me. He
made my day.
miss the point Don't understand the basic meaning. You are missing the point
entirely.-.
no way Impossible. You got all A's on your exams and you never studied. No
way!
don't have a clue Have no idea. I don't have a clue what the professor was talking
about.
don't have the faintest idea Don't understand. I don't have the faintest idea what that article
was talking about.
off the top of my head Without thinking. Off the top of my head, I think it's worth $6
million.

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on the dot On time. He arrived at 6 o'clock on the dot.
out of sight, out of mind You forget someone you don't see anymore.
out of the blue Suddenly. Guess who called me out of the blue?
play it by ear Make no plans- do things spontaneously. Let's just play it by ear
tonight and see what comes up.
pull someone's leg Kid someone. Stop pulling my leg. I know you are kidding!
red tape Bureaucracy. It's almost impossible to set up a business in Greece
because there is so much red tape.
read between the lines Understand what is not stated. If you read between the lines, you'll
realize that he is trying to dump you.
safe and sound Fine. The Boy Scouts returned safe and sound from their camping
adventure in Yellowstone National Park.
see eye to eye Agree. He doesn't see eye to eye with his parents at all.
sour grapes Pretend to not want something that you are desperate for. It's just
sour grapes that he is criticizing George's villa in Italy.
slipped my mind Forgot. I meant to call you last night, but it slipped my mind.
small talk Chitchat. It's important to be able to make small talk when you
meet new people for the first time.
talk shop Talk about work. What a boring evening! Everyone talked shop- and
they're all dog walkers!
the icing on the cake Something that makes a good thing great. And the icing on the cake
was that the movie for which he earned $12 million, also won the
Oscar for best picture.
the last straw The thing that ruins everything. When my boss asked me to cancel
my wedding to complete a project- I said that's the last straw and
I quit!
time flies Time goes fast. Time flies when you are having fun.
you can say that again You agree emphatically. Kanye West is a great singer.
You can say that again!
you name it Everything you can think of. This camp has every activity you can
think it- like swimming, canoeing, basketball and you name it.
wouldn't be caught dead Not even dead would I do something. I wouldn't be caught dead
wearing that dress to the ball.
she's a doll Someone really great. Thanks for helping me out. You're a doll.
full of beans Lively- usually for a child. Little children are usually full of beans.
full of baloney Not true. She's full of baloney- she doesn't know what she is
talking about.
like 2 peas in a pod Very similar. His 2 brothers are like peas in a pod.
a piece of cake Very easy. My math test was so easy- a real piece of cake.
sounds fishy Suspicious. Doubling your money in an hour sounds fishy to me.
a frog in my throat Can't speak clearly. Ahem! Sorry I had a frog in my throat.
smell a rat Something is suspicious. The policeman didn't believe the witness- in
fact, he smelled a rat.
go to the dogs Go downhill. Everything is going to the dogs in our town, since the
new mayor took office.
cat got your tongue Silent for no reason. What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?
for the birds Awful. How was the new Batman movie? Oh, it was for the birds.
pay through the nose Pay lots of money. They paid through the nose to hold their wedding
at Buckingham Palace.

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tongue in cheek
all thumbs
get off my back
drive me up a wall
spill the beans
hit the ceiling
go fly a kite
dressed to kill
in stitches
feel like a million dollars
at the end of my rope
my head is killing me.
that's out of the question
I’m beat
It'll knock your socks off!
beats me
hands down
goody-goody
pain in the neck
like pulling teeth
for crying out loud
I’m at my wit's end
like beating a dead horse
out of this world
cost an arm and a leg
go figure
in the nick of time
I’m up to my eyeballs in
I had a blast/a ball
win-win situation
I’m swamped
It's a steal
Being ironic. I meant that tongue in cheek. I was kidding.
Clumsy. He couldn't put that simple table together- he's just all
thumbs.
Leave me alone. Bug off! Get off my back!
Drive me crazy. Rude people drive me up a wall.
Tell a secret. Hey, don't spill the beans. It's a secret.
Blow up. His dad hit the ceiling when he saw his dreadful report
card.
Get lost! Oh leave me alone! Go fly a kite!
Dressed in fancy clothes. Cinderella was dressed to kill when she
arrived at the ball.
Laughing a lot. We were all in stitches when we heard the latest
joke.
Feel great. I just slept for 15 hours- I feel like a million dollars.
Can't stand it any more. The mother of 4 little children is at the
end of her rope.
Something hurts. My head is killing me- I should take an aspirin.
Impossible. Me? Stand up and sing and dance in front of the whole
school- out of the question!
Very tired.
Thrills you. You'll love this summer's action movie. It'll knock your
socks off.
Don't know. What's the capital of Outer Mongolia? Beats me!
No comparison. Hands down Mykonos is the world's most beautiful
island.
Behaves perfectly. I can't stand Matilda- she's such a goody-goody
and no fun at all.
A big problem. Washing dishes is a pain in the neck.
Very difficult. Trying to get 2 year olds to cooperate is like pulling
teeth.
Oh no! For crying out loud- let me finish this book- will you?
I'm desperate. I'm at my wit's end trying to deal with 2 impossible
bosses.
A waste of time. Trying to get my father to ever change his mind is
like beating a dead horse.
Fantastic! My vacation to Hawaii was out of this world!
Very expensive. A Rolls Royce costs an arm and a leg.
Try to guess why. Our English teacher gives us 5 tests a week and
this week- no tests at all. Go figure.
Just in time. The hero arrived in the nick of time to save the
desperate damsel.
Very busy. I'm up to my eyeballs in work this week.
A great time. I had a blast/ball at Sandy’s slumber party.
Both sides win. Selling their old stock of i-Phones 4s was a
win-win situation- they got rid of -to them- useless phones- and we
bought –phones very cheaply.
Very busy. Let’s get together next week- this week I'm swamped.
Fantastic bargain. Getting a new computer for $300 dollars is a
steal.
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the sticks Way out in the country. Who would want to live in the sticks- what
would you do for excitement?
break the ice Start a conversation. Talking about the weather is a good way to
break the ice when you meet someone new.
give me a break Leave me alone! Come on! Give me a break! I've been working all day
long- and I just want to play a little bit of Angry Birds..
like talking to the wall A waste of time. Dealing with many teenagers is like talking to a
wall- they won't even respond to your questions.
see eye to eye Agree. I hardly ever see eye to eye with my parents.
It's about time It's time. It's about time you started your homework- it's midnight!
pays peanuts Pays hardly anything. This job pays peanuts- $1 an hour!.
sleep like a log Sleep soundly. Last night I slept like a log and didn’t hear the
thunderstorm at all.
ace Do great. I aced the math test. I got 100%.
easy as pie Super easy. The English test was as easy as pie.
blabbermouth Someone who tells secrets. Don’t tell Sophie your secrets or the
whole town will know them.
don't bug me Don’t bother me. Don’t bug me- I’m busy.
by the skin of my teeth Barely manage something. I passed the geography test by the skin
of my teeth.
can't make head nor tail of Can’t understand. I can’t make head nor tail of this math chapter.
cool as a cucumber Very calm. The policeman was cool as a cucumber when he persuaded
the man not to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.