IDIOMS FROM

THE
PROMOTIONAL
VIDEO

Get off my back!

stop bothering me

Smell a
rat...

A: How come the front door is open?

Didnt you close it before we went shopping?
B: Im sure I did. I cant understand it.
honestly, I smell a rat.
A: Me too. Im convinced that something is wrong here

to feel that something is

wrong

Straight
from the
horses
mouth

A: how did you find out Jill was engaged?

B: Jill told me. That came straight from
the horses mouth.

from a reliable source

Taking
the bull
by the
horns
Taking a decisive action in a
difficult situation
A: Hannah has been making excuses
for not doing the homework. But
finally she took the bull by the
horns
and went to the library. She will be up
all night.

Let the
cat out of
the bag

inform beforehand

The boss wasnt supposed to know about it,

but someone let the cat out of the bag.
Now we are all waiting to see what is he
going to do

Spill the beans

He was planning on
surprising her for their
anniversary, but
someone spilled the
beans and now she
knows.

reveal a secret

Pull
someone
s leg

fool someone

A: Hey, Al. There is a 50% of discount

in all the electronics at best buy
B: Oh, really? Come on, youre pulling
my leg!

Sell
someone
short

underestimate
someone

Just because he does not say very much

is no reason to sell him short.
Actually, hes a profound thinker
and a most talented writer.

Fly a kite

go away!

Sell
someone
down the
river
A: I heard John ended up in jail.
B: Yeah, his so-called girlfriend sold him down
the river and claimed the reward.

betray someone

ANIMAL IDIOMS

Go to the dogs
Become run-down
and in serious
need of repair.

Have you seen their house lately?

Its really gone to the dogs.

Fishy

Strange and
suspicious

When the security guard saw a light in the store

after closing hours, it seemed to him that there
was something fishy going on.

Horse of a different
color
Quite a different
matter

Eric likes to play jokes on his friends,

but he makes sure that nobody is hurt
by any of his pranks. Being playful is
one thing, but hurting someone is a
horse of a different color!

For the birds

Uninteresting and
meaningless

Global Academy students went to the museum,

but they got bored and restless. As far as they were
concerned, it was for the birds.

Horse around
Play
around

After the coach left the

gym,
Peter decided to stay and
horse around on the
parallel
bars. He somehow lost his
grip and fell on his back.

Cat got your

tongue?
Cant talk
A: Come on, Bonnie! Tell us what happened
at the party yesterday.
B: Well, uh...
A: Wasnt it exciting?
B: I, uh...
A: Whats the matter? Cat got your tongue?

The bees knees

If something is the
bees knees, its
Outstanding or the
best in its class

Birds eye view

If you have a bird
s eye view of
something, you
can see it perfectly
clear

Could eat a horse

Very hungry

Angry as a bear
Very angry

Donkeys years
Very long time

At a snail pace
If something
moves at a snail
pace, it moves
very slowly

Chicken out
To refuse to do
something
because of fear.

You chickened out of the

fight.

Like a deer caught in

the headlights
To be so frightened or surprised that
you cannot move or think.
To be in a situation where you dont
know what to do.

Each time they asked him a question he

was like a deer caught in the headlights.

Ill be a monkeys
uncle
I am amazed!

A: I just won $500,000 in the

lottery!
B: Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle!

Blind as a bat
If you are in total
darkness and cant
see anything at all,
you are blind as a
bat.

Cool as a cat
To act fine when
you are actually
scared or nervous.

Lions share
The lions share of
something is the
biggest or best
part.

Like a duck to
water
If someone has a
natural talent for
something and
enjoys it.

Memory like an
elephant
To have a good
memory

Night owl
Someone who
goes to bed very
late.

Mad as a badger

Crazy

Quite as a mouse
Someone who
doesnt make
noises.

When Pigs fly

If you think
something will
never happen or
succeed.

Turn turtle

It turns upside
down.

Work like a dog

To work very hard.

BODY IDIOMS

Get in someones
hair

To bother someone
and make that person very
angry
Marie, I know that children get in your hair, but
you should try not to let it upset you so much.

Shoot off ones

mouth

Express ones opinion loudly

Talking like if you knew
everything

Jim doesnt play tennis very much, but

hes always shooting off his mouth about
how good he is.

Jump down
on
someones
throat
To become angry
with someone

Calm down dad. You dont have to jump down my throa

I told you that Id make it home around 11:30.

Pay through the

nose
Pay too high price.

He realized that he would have to pay through the no

in order to have that car.

Tongue-in-cheek
Not serious

I didnt mean to offend her.

I was simply making a tongue-in-cheek remark
when I said that.

Play it by ear
Improvise as one
goes along.
Not knowing what
to expect and
deciding what to do
as we go along.
A: Lets go to the movies, agreed?
B: Sure. And whatll we do after that?
A: Oh, I dont know. Lets play it by ear.

Stick out ones

neck
Take a risk

That jungle has danger lurking around every corner.

Why should I stick out my neck for them?

Shake a leg
Hurry!

Mary, you always take such a long time

to put on your makeup.
Come on, shake a leg!

All Thumbs
Clumsy

I guess Im all thumbs because Im so nervous.

Im already late for my date.

Not have a leg to

stand
To have no good
defense for ones
opinion or actions.
Without a strong
foundation of facts to
support his position.

He wont have a leg to stand on unless he can prove

what he is saying.

Thats not nice...

Drive
someone up
a wall

A: Wow, What a great set of drums!

To annoy someone
greatly.

B: Yeah, theyre great, but I cant play on them

when my folks are at home. They say I drive
them up a wall with all the loud banging.

String
someon
e along
To lead
someone on
dishonesty.

Liz had high hopes of marrying Dean. When

he ran off with another woman, she realized
that he was just stringing her along. She
had felt very strongly about him and was
really hurt to see that he was deceiving her
and had no intentions of ever marrying her.

Leave
someone high
and dry
To abandon
someone
A: I thought that John was going to help you
do the dishes tonight.
B: So did I. But he left me high and dry.
A: Where did he go?
B: Well, he got a call from some of his pals at
work to go bowling, and he left me alone to do
all this work without any help at all.

Feed
someone a
line
deceive someone.
Mr. Jones had been telling Rita how efficient
she was and how much he admired her
work at the office. He had promised her a
promotion in the near future, but she soon
discovered that he was feeding her a line
when he passed her by and gave the
promotion to someone less capable.

IDIOMS
from Adeles song
Rolling in the Deep

Fever Pitch
A state of extreme
excitement.

The soccer fans were at

fever pitch waiting for
their idols.

Lay someones sh..

bare
To reveal the bad
side of someone.
After breaking up with
me she laid my sh.. bare
and now no one trusts in
me.

You reap what you

sow
This means that if you
do bad things to
people, bad things will
happen to you, or good
things if you do good
things. It is normally
used when someone
has done something
bad.

To sell out
To give information
that compromises
others.

Dont sell me out or Ill lay

your sh.. bare.

Rolling in the deep

It is an expression of
deep love. She may
have thought he was
the one but instead
he was playing with
her love. She thought
they had a chance at
a deeper love, a true
love that would last.

Played me to the
beat
Playing with my
emotions.

See how Ill

leave with
every piece
of you
Im moving on. I
will get over it.

Taking Idioms Litera

lly

You are what you

eat.
To be fit and healthy you need to eat good food.

Start from scratch.

Begin (again) from the beginning, start on
something without any preparation or advantage.

Zero tolerance
A form of policing that allows no crime or anti-social
behavior to be overlooked.

You cant judge a

book by its cover.
You cant make conclusions just by observing
outward appearance.

Out of the blue.

Something unexpected or out of nowhere.

Chip on his
shoulder.

If I have a chip on my shoulder it means that I feel resentment towards

something or someone, that I am bothered or upset about something
because I feel that I was wronged.

Rise and shine.

Get out of bed and prepare for work.

Racing against the

clock.
To have many things to do and
not too much time to do it.

Feeling under the

weather.
Feeling sick.

People do the
Strangest Things

On Ice
Set aside for
future use.
A: Do you think we should
take a break for some
dinner.
B: Yes, lets put the report
on ice for a while and grab
something to eat

Shoot the Breeze

To chat
informally.

A:

Why dont you come

over to my place? We can
listen to some records
and shoot the breeze.

B: That sounds OK to me.

Bite the Dust

Go down in
defeat.

LeBron James did

exceptionally well in all of
the games this season, but
he bit the dust in the
dunking competition. All his
fans were disappointed.

Bend over
backwards
To try very hard.

When Joan first started teaching she

afraid that she would have a lot of
trouble getting used to the kids and
to the faculty. Her fears turned out
to be unfounded, since everybody
bent over backwards to help her.

Hit the Hay

Go to bed.
A: Listen, Kim. Were going to be
really busy with moving tomorrow,
and weve got to get an early start.
B: I guess youre right. Well need all
the rest we can get. What do you
say we hit the hay now?
A: Agreed. Lets go to bed and get a
good night sleep..

Cough Up
To give
unwillingly

A: I need to buy a computer.

B: It is going to take a while to raise the
money.
A: It would take me forever, but dad said hed
cough up the money I need since Im going to
be using the computer for my school work.

Jump the Gun

To be hasty.

Denise was planning on telling her

grandparents that the doctor said she was
going to have twins, but when her dad found
out he jumped the gun and told them
before Denise could say a word. He was so
excited that he became hasty and revealed
the news before Denise had a chance to tell
them.

Scratch someones
back
To return a favor.
A: Hey, Brad. I need some help stacking
these boxes. Would you please give me a
hand?
B: OK. And I need some help fixing some
things at my house. How about you helping
me after that?
A: OK. If you scratch my back, Ill scratch
yours.

Hit the Ceiling

To become very
angry
Edmunds father hit the ceiling when he
was informed that his son had been detained
by the police for disorderly conduct.

Fork Over
To hand over, to
give.
A: Hey, Dan. How come youre looking so
sad?
B: Its nothing really. I unexpectedly bumped
into Ralph and he asked me to fork over the
ten bucks I owed him.

Turn Someone Off

To disgust
someone.

A: How was your date with Marty last night?

B: Well, it started off OK, but he really
turned me off when he started talking
about his ex-girlfriend.

Kick the Bucket

To die.

Its been said that the old man knew of a

buried treasure, but he kicked the bucket
before telling anyone where it was.

Raise a Stink
To protest
strongly.

A: Listen! Dont try to use any of your sisters

clothes without asking her first. She might
raise a stink if she finds something missing.

Clothing Idioms

Wet Blanket
Dull or boring
person who spoils
the happiness of
others
James was not invited to go with
us because hes such a wet
blanket. On many previous
occasions he has kept others from
enjoying themselves by his
pessimism and lack of
enthusiasm.

Keep under ones

hat
To keep
something a
secret
Although the contestants were
most anxious to know who won
the prizes in the piano
competition, the judges kept the
results under their hats until
the end.

Up ones sleeve
Concealed, in
secret.
A: All right, Sara. We know that
youre planning something big
for Jean-Pauls birthday. Mind
telling us just what you have up
your sleeve?

To wear your heart

on your sleeve
To display one's feelings
openly and habitually, rather
than keep them private.

1. John always has his heart on his sleeve

so that everyone knows how he feels.
2. Because she wears her heart on her sleeve,
it's easy to hurt her feelings.

Dressed to kill
To wear ones
finest clothing. To
be dresses in
fancy or stylish
clothes.
The reception for the new Swedish
ambassador at the Jennisons was quite
lavish. Naturally, everybody was
dressed to kill since it was a formal
occasion.

Give someone the

slip
To make a
getaway. To
escape.
The police were chasing the thief
through the streets of the city, but he
managed to give them the slip. There
were so many people around that the
thief managed to escape by getting lost
in the crowds.

Knock someones
socks off
To surprise someone
thoroughly. To become very
excited.

The exciting news just knocked my socks off!

Talk through ones

hat

To make foolish
statements. To
brad or
exaggerate. To
talk nonsense.

Pay no attention to Mary.

She is just talking through her hat.

Lose ones shirt

To lose a
great deal of
money.

Jonathan told me lost

his shirt in Las Vegas.

In Stitches
Laughing
very hard.

Danny was hilarious at the party the

other night.
He had us all in stitches! I didnt
realize he was such a comedian.

Dressed to the
Teeth
Dressed
elegantly
A: Did you see Hilda at the
party last night?
B: Yes, I did. She was really
dressed to the teeth.

To have ants in your

pants
To be
nervous or
restless.

Hes got ants in his pants.

Keep your shirt on

To be
patient.

Wait a minute! Keep your shirt on!

I'll be with you in a minute.

Roll up your
sleeves
To prepare
for hard
work.

After the election, the president

rolled up his sleeves and
began immediately to put
his promises into action.

When Things go
Wrong

Lemon
Something
defective.
A: Have you seen Betsys car?
B: Yeah, it looks good, but shes had
nothing but problems with it.
A: Thats too bad. It sounds loke she
got a real lemon.

Out of the Woods

Out of
danger.

Although Eric was on

his way to recovering
from his sickness, he
was out of the woods.

Get up on the wrong side of

the Bed
To wake up
in a bad
mood.
A: Whats the matter with Bernard
today? He started shouting from the
moment he stepped into the office.
B: I dont know. He usually doesnt
act that way at all. I guess he got
up on the wrong side of the bed.

Out on a limb
In a risky
position.

I don't want to go out on a

limb when we buy that
house, but I think we can
afford to do it.

Eating someone
Bothering or
worrying
someone.

A: Hey, Alice. Whats been eating you lately? Dont you

realize how rude and irritable youve become?
B: I know. Im really sorry. It is just some problems I have
with my husband.

Get the Ax
To be
dismissed,
fired.
Betty and two of her friends
got axed today.

In the Hole
In debt.

He is $500 in the hole after buying that car.

We are in the hole every year after having to pay our taxes.

Bite the Bullet

To endure in a
difficult
situation.

They decided to bite the bullet and pay

the
extra for the house they really wanted.
Car drivers are biting the bullet after
another rise in petrol prices.

Face the Music

To accept the
consequences
.

Its no wonder you have a

stomachache. I told you not
eat so many green apples. You
dont listen, and now youre
going to have to face the
music.

Blow it
To fail at
something.

They want to publish his

autobiography so let's hope

he doesn't blow it by
arguing with the publishers.

I think I blew it at the math

test.

At the end of ones

rope
At the limit of
ones ability
to cope.
These kids are driving me

out of my mind. I'm at the

end of my rope.

On ones last legs

Sick and
failing.

Poor Mike. He was one

of the greatest
musicians Ive ever
known, but when I saw
him yesterday he
looked like he was on
his last legs.

Hot under the

Collar

Extremely
angry.

A: Did you see Bill

came in to work this
morning?
B: Boy, was he hot
under the collar!
What brought that on?

On the Line
In danger of
being lost.

Lately Toms been more

conscientious about the accuracy
and quality of his work with the
company. He was warned that his
job was on the line because of
his lack of concern for his duties.

When things go
well

For a song
For very little
money.

I was really quite lucky. I got

the sofa for a song at a
little furniture store.

Make a splash
To be successful
and attract
attention.

It wasn't the best movie but

it did make quite a splash in
the Golden Globes last year.

Have the world by

the tail
To be
successful and
happy.

Mark finished school at the

top of his class and he was
offered an excellent position
at a company. Now he feels
that he has the world by
the tail.

Sitting Pretty
In a fortunate
position.

My uncle died and left

enough money for me to be
sitting pretty for the rest of
my life.

Feel like a million

dollars
To feel
wonderful.

He feels like a million after he

got the promotion.

kick up ones heels

To celebrate.

She got admitted into Law

School at Harvard. She has
reasons to kick up her
heels.

bury the hatchet

Make peace.

Tom and I buried the hatchet

and we are good friends
now.

Paint the town red

To have a good
time.
To go out and
enjoy yourself
in the evening.
Jack finished his exams today so
he's gone out to paint the town red.

Get away clean

To escape
punishment.

After robbing a neighborhood bank,

the robbers sped off in a waiting car
and got away clean.

Come alive
Brighten up
and become
active.
Up to now the guests at the
party had been eating and
making small talk, but when
the rock band arrived,
everyone came alive.

Do your Best

Toot ones own

Horn
To boast.

Michaels last project was the

best in the class. He has no
need to toot his own horn
about his accomplishments.

Stick to ones guns

To maintain
ones position.

In spite of the fact that it was

inadvisable to have a discussion at
the club, the chairman stuck to
his guns and insisted that it would
make good sense to hear the other
side if the story.

Get the ball rolling

Initiate action.
We've been trying to get
the ball rolling on
construction of a new
playground.
She was hoping that a
meeting with senior
managers would get the
ball rolling.

Mind ones Ps and

Qs
Take care in
speech and
action.

Listen, Larry. If you want an

invitation to Clarissas party
youd better mind your Ps
and Qs.

Hang on
To persevere

During the depression years

the Smiths had a great deal of
trouble with their business, but
somehow they were able to
hang on.

Give it ones best

shot
To try hard.
Give it a shot = To try
A: Can you do anything
about repairing this TV set?
B: Im not much of an
electrician, but Ill give it
my best shot.

Make Ends Meet

To pay ones
bills.

I have to work at two jobs to make ends meet.

Get the Jump on

Someone
Get the
advantage
over someone.
Benito got the jump on me by
telling Teresa that if she went
out with him, hed take her out
to dinner and then to dance in
his brand new convertible.

Pull Strings
To use
influence.

If you give me the

documents I can get you
the admission letter easily
by pulling a few strings.

Spread oneself too

thin
To become
involved in too
many activities.
It's a good idea to get involved in a
lot of activities, but don't spread
yourself too thin.
I'm too busy these days. I'm afraid
I've spread myself too thin.

Go to bat for
someone
To help out and
support
someone.

I tried to go to bat for Bill,

but he said he didn't want any help.

Piece of Cake
Easy, effortless

For Maria, knitting a sweater is a piece of cake.

Money talks
Money can
influence
people.

A: He can't act so how did he get the

part in the first place?
B: His father is a millionaire and you
know, money talks.

Let sleeping dogs

lie
Do not agitate a
potential source
of trouble.

Jill: Should I ask the boss if he's upset

at my coming in late in the mornings?
Jane: If he hasn't said anything
about it, just let sleeping dogs lie.

Shape up of ship
out
To behave
properly or
leave!

This is the third serious mistake

you've made this month. It's not good
enough - you're going to have to
shape up or ship out.

If the shoe fits, wear

it
Admit the
truth.

A: Joe feels rather badly because hes

always being criticized for his sloppy
personal appearance.
B: With reason, If the show fits, wear
it, I always say.

Different strokes for

different folks
Everyone has
different
interests and
tastes.
My neighbor spends all his free time
working in his garden. I would never
want to do that, but different strokes
for different folks.

Putting ones money

where ones mouth is
To follow
through with a
state intention.
Youve been promising to take us to
Disneyland for the past two years.
Since the kids are free, how about
putting your money where your mouth
is?

Random Idioms

a hole in the wall

A small, very modest, often out-ofthe-way place.

ring a bell

to cause someone to remember

something or for it to seem familiar.

1. I've never met John Franklin, but his name rings a

bell.
2. Does the name 'Fitzpatrick' ring a bell? No, I'm
sorry, that description doesn't ring any bells with me.

Show your true

colors
You show your true colors if you show
what you're really like, or you reveal
your true character.

1. Bob always acts like he's a strong, brave guy, but

when the hurricane hit he showed his true colors.
2. The players showed their true colors when they
came back from three goals down to win the match.

The whole nine

yards
All of it. Full measure. All the way.

1. They have books, CDs, cassettes, DVDs, the whole nine yards.
2. They really went the whole nine yards with this party.

When it rains it
pours
When things go wrong, a lot of
things go wrong at the same time.

I have a new supervisor at the office, three new

assistants to train, and enough work to keep me busy
for months when it rains, it pours.

To have a few
loose screws
To be crazy

Barking up the
wrong tree
to make the wrong choice; to ask
the wrong person; to follow the
wrong course.

1. If you think I'm the guilty person, you're barking up

the wrong tree.
2. The hitters blamed the team's bad record on the
pitchers, but they were barking up the wrong tree.

Prove or show your

mettle
To prove that you are good at doing
something by succeeding in a difficult
situation.

To show that you are brave and have a

strong character

1. A relative newcomer to the game, he's certainly proved his mettle in the last two games.
2. As a reporter, she certainly proved her mettle working in the midst of a war zone.

Wild-goose chase
an absurd or hopeless pursuit, as of
something unattainable

1. I wasted all afternoon on a wild-goose chase.

2. John was angry because he was sent out on a wildgoose chase.

The apple doesnt

fall far from the
tree
kids are like their parents

I looked at the father, then at the son, and I thought, The apple doesn't fall far from the
tree.

That girl lost her

marbles
To go crazy; to go out of one's
mind.

What a silly thing to say! Have you lost your marbles?

Look at Sally jumping up and down and screaming. Is she losing all her marbl

He is not playing with a full deck of

cards
He is a few cards short/shy of a full
deck
Lacking
intellectual
ability.
To be a little
bit crazy.
Ever since she fell and hit her head,
Jane's been a few cards short of a full deck,
if you know what I'm saying.
Bob's nice, but he's not playing with a full deck.

He is a few bricks short of a load

He is two bricks shy of a load

Lacking
intellectual
ability.
To be a little
bit crazy.
Ever since she fell and hit her head,
Jane's been a few bricks short of a load,
if you know what I'm saying.
Bob's nice, but he's two bricks shy of a load.

The tables have

turned
The situation is
upside down
(different than
what you expect it
to be).

To go fishing for
compliments
When you dress up
in a certain way or
make others know
the good things
youve done for
them to give you
compliments.

Looking
through rose
colored
glasses
With the attitude
that things are
better than they
really are.
The magazine had a habit of looking at social issues through rose-colored glasses.