Lesson 10: English Idioms from

Buildings and Structures

Introductory Quiz
Guess the correct meaning of each idiom from the context. It's OK if you get a lot of
answers incorrect - the important part is to do your best in trying to figure it out!

Question 1

My husband and I are trying to reduce our expenses, but I still like going to the mall just
to window-shop.

"Window shopping" means...

A buying inexpensive items

B looking at things in stores without buying them
C observing the people in a public place

Question 2

For years, I've been trying to get my mother to stop making critical comments about my
friends, but it's like hitting my head against a brick wall.

"Hitting your head against a brick wall" means...

A it's a situation that requires a more direct approach

B repeated effort that produces no results, only frustration
C something that could permanently damage the relationship

Question 3

Two weeks after graduation, I accepted an internship at my local bank. It wasn't an ideal
position, but at least it helped me get my foot in the door.

"Get your foot in the door" means...

A have an opportunity to start your career

B make connections with important people
C save money to pay off student loans

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Question 4

This presidential election could go either way - surveys show that a full 15% of voters are
still on the fence.

If you are "on the fence," you...

A are undecided
B don't care about the outcome
C haven't participated

Question 5

My English teacher keeps canceling and rescheduling the classes - it happens almost
every week, and it's driving me up the wall because I can't plan anything.

If something is "driving you up the wall," it is...

A interfering in your social life

B making you really annoyed
C negatively affecting your education

Question 6

I'd like to express my gratitude to Janet for holding down the fort while I've been
traveling these past three weeks.

If someone is "holding down the fort," they are...

A closing a business temporarily

B responsible while the person in charge is away
C working overtime every day

Question 7

Even if you didn't like your previous job, you should never burn bridges - after all, you
might need to ask your ex-employer for a recommendation letter someday.

To "burn bridges" means...

A accept a job where you are not being paid enough

B leave a situation suddenly without previous notice
C destroy a relationship with bad behavior

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Question 8

Right now I'm completely swamped - I have four final exams and two major projects due
in the next week. But there are just ten days left in the semester, so there's light at the
end of the tunnel.

"Light at the end of the tunnel" means...

A a reward for working very hard

B completing something that will benefit you
C hope for the end of a difficult situation

Question 9

The state football team has lost ten of their past fourteen games. I think the writing's
on the wall for their coach.

In this context, "the writing's on the wall" means that the coach...

A has no leadership ability

B needs to make better plans
C will probably be fired

Question 10

It's going to be a boring week at work. I have to implement a few run-of-the-mill

security procedures and lead a training session for new employees - nothing exciting.

"Run-of-the-mill" means...

A complex
B necessary
C standard

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Video Explanation
#1 - window shopping = looking at items in stores without buying them

This idiom is pretty self-explanatory. Many shops

display items in the front window of the store. If
you go "window-shopping," then you look at the
items in the windows, but you don't buy anything.

#2 - hitting your head against a brick wall

= repeated effort that produces no results, only frustration

This is a wall that is made of bricks. If you hit your head

against a brick wall, you will only hurt yourself; you won't
make any progress in breaking through the wall. So this
idiom can be used for any situation in which you try to do
something repeatedly, but your efforts are not successful.

A related idiom is "it's like talking to a brick wall" - this is when you try repeatedly to tell
a person something, but they don't listen to you.

#3 - get your foot in the door = have an opportunity to start your career

Imagine you are standing outside a door, and the other person tries
to close the door. If you put your foot in the doorway, you can stop
the door from closing completely and have the opportunity to
enter.

In a similar way, the idiom "get your foot in the door" describes
having an opportunity to start your career, or to have access to a
new career area.

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#4 - on the fence = undecided

A fence separates one area from another. If you are "on the
fence" or "sitting on the fence," then you are neither on one
side nor the other. This idiom means being undecided -
usually between two major options.

#5 - driving me up the wall = making me really annoyed

This idiom comes from the fact that if you are in a room with someone who is annoying,
you would be so desperate to escape that you would even climb up the walls to try to get
away.

Some similar idioms with the same meaning are:

driving me crazy
driving me mad
driving me insane
driving me nuts
driving me bonkers

As you can see, English has a lot of idioms for annoying things!

#6 - hold down the fort

= being responsible while the person in charge is away

A "fort" is a type of military building. If the military

commander left the fort to lead an attack, he would
leave another officer in control of the fort to "hold"
(defend) it while he was away.

This idiom is most frequently used in the context of

work, when the supervisor is away from the office and
somebody else needs to be responsible.

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#7 - burn bridges = destroy a relationship with bad behavior

A bridge provides a connection between two

places. However, if you burn the bridge after
crossing it, then you can't go back to the other
side.

If you are leaving a situation (a job, a

relationship, etc.) and you behave badly - for
example, by saying rude things to your former
boss - then you can't go back to having a good
relationship; the connection you had is broken.

#8 - light at the end of the tunnel

= hope for the end of a difficult situation

This is a tunnel. It is dark and can be scary - but if you see light
at the end, you know there is hope for getting out of the tunnel.
So you can say "there's light at the end of the tunnel" when you
can see and hope for the end of a difficult period of time.

#9 - the writing is on the wall

= something bad is definitely going to happen

This idiom will require a little bit of explanation. The

origin comes from a Bible story, when there was a
rich king having a drunken party and drinking wine
from the sacred temple cups. Suddenly, a hand
appeared and wrote on the wall that the kingdom
was going to collapse. That same night, Persian
attackers took control of the city and the king was
killed.

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In English today, "the writing on the wall" is used when there are signals or a large
probability that something will fail or something bad is inevitable.

#10 - run-of-the-mill = standard

A "mill" is a building that has machinery for processing raw

materials into finished products. For example, a "textile mill"
produces fabrics, and a "steel mill" produces metal.

A good mill produces a series of products that are identical, with no

differences or flaws. So describing something with the expression
"run-of-the-mill" means that it is standard, average, or typical.

You've finished Lesson 10!

Take the practice quiz and try the written exercises, and log in on Monday for Lesson 11.

Practice Quiz
Question 1

"Kids, I've gotta run to the store. Jessica, you're the oldest, so please ____________
until I get back."

A drive me up the wall

B hold down the fort
C sit on the fence

Question 2

"If you're interested at working for a large organization that doesn't have any job
openings at the moment, doing volunteer work can be a good way to ____________."

A burn bridges
B get your foot in the door
C write on the wall

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Question 3

"Around Christmastime, I love ___________ to see all the displays, decorations, and
special holiday products."

A hitting my head against a brick wall

B the light at the end of the tunnel
C window-shopping

Question 4

"The movie was somewhat entertaining. It's a _____________ romantic comedy."

A brick wall
B foot in the door
C run-of-the-mill

Question 5

"I'm still __________ about which university to go to. They both have some really
strong points, and the tuition is the same."

A holding down the fort

B on the fence
C driving up the wall

Question 6

"I've been working overtime to cover for my colleague who recently had a baby - but
_________________ because she comes back from maternity leave next month."

A I'm hitting my head against a brick wall

B the writing's on the wall
C there's light at the end of the tunnel

Question 7

"Would you PLEASE stop tapping your pencil on the table constantly? It's
_____________!"

A burning my bridges
B driving me up the wall
C run-of-the-mill

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Question 8

"I've had my car for 20 years, and the mechanic tells me the engine is falling apart. I
hate to say it, but I think _____________."

A it's on the fence

B I'll need to go window-shopping
C the writing's on the wall

Question 9

"Trying to open a business in this country is _________________ - there's so much

bureaucracy and it takes forever!"

A like hitting your head against the wall

B getting my foot in the door
C light at the end of the tunnel

Question 10

"If you've accidentally ____________, a simple apology can go a long way in making
things better."

A burned your bridges

B driven someone up the wall
C widow-shopped

Answers
1) B

2) B

3) C

4) C

5) B

6) C

7) B

8) C

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9) A

10) A

Speaking / Writing Exercises

1) Do you like to go window-shopping, or do you think it’s a waste of time?
2) Describe one thing that’s like hitting your head against a brick wall.
3) Have you ever been on the fence about a decision you had to make?
4) When you were starting your career, how did you get your foot in the door?
5) Would you rather have an exciting but completely unpredictable job, or a more
stable, run-of-the-mill job?

If you want correction / feedback, you can either e-mail me your writing at
help@espressoenglish.net or leave me a voice mail message:
www.speakpipe.com/espressoenglish

Image sources:

adamr, FreeDigitalPhotos.net
happykanppy, FreeDigitalPhotos.net
nirots, FreeDigitalPhotos.net
basketman, FreeDigitalPhotos.net
arkorn, FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Malene Thyssen
adamr, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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© Shayna Oliveira 2012
skladchik.in