Пособия - Most Commonly Used Idioms

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69/365: Art Has Kicked The Bucket by Tim • Все иллюстрации

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Идиома	Перевод	Значение	Пример
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	выносить сор из избы	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	с самого начала	all the time	She was accepted into the university, but she knew all along that she’d get in.
all ears	я весь внимание / я весь во внимании	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	зайти в тупик	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’mupset and havea 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 worked and always borrowed from other people. He is such a bum!
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 hatchet and 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	еле-еле успеть что-то сделать	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		have someone 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	обманом вовлекать, кинуть	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	применить суровые меры	to start dealing with bad or illegal behaviour in a more severe way	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	достичь цели, сработать	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	бабки, капуста	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	расфуфыренный	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	Iwonthe 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 fromthe bottom ofher 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	нахальство	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 amworkingagainand making money. I finally got out fromunder mybills.
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 wasangryat 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 uponthe 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	делать все, что от тебя зависит	make a special effort, do more than necessary	I went out of my way to make it easier for you.
go over	перечитывать	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 mylunch, I decided to grab 40 winks
grand	штука	$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	бездумный	foolish, silly	Opening up a store which sells only tape will not be successful. It is a half baked idea.
hand it to someone	поддержать	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		besmartorsensible	You have a good headon your shoulders and I’msureyou’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	беспорядочный, расстроенный	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 have been 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!	вот это да!	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.
hot 1		stolen	He bought a great television from a guy on the street for $50.00. The television must have been hot.
hot 2		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	неловкий	I am shy	So when I go to a cocktail party I am ill at ease.
in a bind	в труднейшем положении	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 toget 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 himaquestion he jumps down mythroat.
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	осмеивать	ridicule	It’s not nice to make fun of other people.
make it up to someone	пытаться загладить свою вину	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 begantomakepersonal 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	в шоколаде	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 vice-president 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	раз в сто лет, в кои-то веки	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	Ihaven’t eaten all day, and I think I amgoingto 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 fi ht, 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’m not 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 empty and 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 are splitting 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. Th yare 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, thecouple decided to split up because they couldnolongergetalong.
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 theplunge and decided to seriously goonadiet.
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	разводить бодягу, нести чушь	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 wasgoingtofinish 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	в точку, в точности	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		becareful of whatone says	The boss is going to interview me today. I don’t wanttotalktoomuch. 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. Hebecame successful all by word of mouth.
work one’s fingers to the bone		workveryhard	Ihad to type manypages to put this booktogether. Ihave worked my fi gers 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 marryanyone 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

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