Common Idioms and Expressions

ace: make an "A" on a test, homework assignment, project, etc.

"Somebody said you aced the test, Dave. That's great!"

all right (1): expression of reluctant agreement.

A: "Come to the party with me. Please!"

B: "Oh, all right. I don't want to, but I will."

all right (2): fair; not particularly good.

A: "How's your chemistry class?"

B: "It's all right, I guess, but it's not the best class I've ever had."

all right (3): unharmed; in satisfactory condition.

A: "You don't look normal. Are you all right?"

B: "Yes, but I have a headache."

and then some: and much more besides.

A: "I'd guess your new computer cost about $2,000. "

B: "It cost that much and then some because I also bought extra RAM and VRAM."

antsy: restless; impatient and tired of waiting.

"I hope Katy calls soon. Just sitting around and waiting is making me antsy."

as easy as pie: very easy.

"I thought you said this was a difficult problem. It isn't. In fact, it's as easy as pie."

at the eleventh hour: at the last minute; almost too late.

"Yes, I got the work done in time. I finished it at the eleventh hour, but I wasn't late.

bad-mouth: say unkind, unflattering, embarrassing (and probably untrue) things about someone.

A: "I don't believe what Bob said. Why is he bad-mouthing me?"

B: "He's probably jealous of your success."

be a piece of cake: be very easy.

A: "Bob said the test was difficult, but I thought it was a piece of cake.""

be all ears: be eager to hear what someone has to say.

A: "I just got an e-mail message from our old friend Sally."

B: "Tell me what she said. I'm all ears!"

be broke: be without money.

"No, I can't lend you ten dollars. I'm completely broke until payday."

be fed up with (with someone or something): be out of patience (with someone or something);

be very tired of someone or something.

"Bill, you're too careless with your work. I'm fed up with

apologizing for your mistakes!"

be in and out: be at and away from a place during a particular time.

"Could we postpone our meeting until tomorrow? I expect to

be in and out of the office most of the day today."

be on the go: be very busy (going from one thing or project to another).

"I'm really tired. I've been on the go all week long."

be on the road: be traveling.

"You won't be able to contact me tomorrow because I'll be on the road."

be over: be finished; end.

"I can't see you until around 4 o'clock. My meetings won't be over until then."

be up and running: (for a technological process) be operational; be ready to use .

"Dave's ESL Cafe on the Web has been up and running since December 1995."

be used to (+Ving/noun): be accustomed to; not uncomfortable with.

"It won't be hard to get up at 5:00 AM. I'm used to getting up early."

beat: exhausted; very tired (adj.).

"This has been a long day. I'm beat!"

beat around the bush: evade an issue; avoid giving a direct answer.

"Quit beating around the bush! If you don't want to go with me, just tell me!"

beat one's brains out: try very hard to understand or do something.

"Can you help me with this problem? I've been beating my brains out with it,

but I just can't solve it."

Beats me: I have no idea.

A: "What time's the party?"

B: "Beats me!"

before long: soon.

A: "I'm really tired of working."

B: "Just be patient. The weekend will be here before long."

bent out of shape: needlessly worried about something.

"I know you're worried about your job interview, but don't get bent out of shape.

You'll do just fine."

bite off more than one can chew: take responsibility for more than one can manage.

"I'm really behind with my project. Can you help me? I'm afraid I

bit off more than I could chew!"

blabbermouth: a very talkative person--especially one who says things that should be kept secret.

"Don't say anything to Bob unless you want the whole office to know.

Bob's quite a blabbermouth."

blow one's top: become extremely angry.

A: "Was your father upset when you came home at 3 AM?"

B: "He was more than upset. He blew his top!"

boom box: portable cassette/CD player.

"Don't forget to bring your boom box to the picnic!"

the bottom line: the most essential information.

"The discussion lasted many hours. The bottom line was that

the XYZ Company isn't for sale."

Break a leg!: Good luck!

"I understand you have a job interview tomorrow. Break a leg!"

break someone's heart: make someone feel very disappointed/discouraged/sad.

"Joe broke his mother's heart when he dropped out of school."

broke: without money.

A: "Can you lend me 10 dollars?"

B: "I'm afraid not. I'm broke."

buck(s): dollar(s).

"The cheapest tickets for the concert cost 25 bucks. Do you still want to go?"

bug: annoy; bother.

"I'm trying to concentrate! Don't bug me!"

bull-headed: stubborn; inflexible.

"Don't be so bull-headed. Why can't you admit that others' opinions are just as good as yours?"

a bundle: a lot of money.

A: "Your new car is really nice."

B: "It should be. It cost me a bundle!"

burn the midnight oil: study/work all night or until very, very late at night.

"I'm not ready for the test tomorrow. I guess I'll have to

burn the the midnight oil."

bushed: very tired; exhausted.

"I'm going to lie down for a while. I'm really bushed."

by oneself: alone and without help.

"I can't do this by myself. Can you help me?"

by the skin of one's teeth: barely succeed in doing something.

"I'll have to start earlier the next time. This time I only finished by the skin of my teeth."

call it a day: stop work for the day.

"It's late and you've accomplished a lot. Why don't you call it a day?"

can't make heads or tails of something: can't understand something at all;

find something confusing and illogical.

"I can't make heads or tails of your e-mail. Were you having problems

with your computer?"

catch one's eye: attract one's attention/interest.

"This brochure about Tahiti caught my eye when I was at the travel agency."

catch some Zs: sleep for a while; take a nap.

"You look tired, Dave. Why don't you catch some Zs?"

change one's mind: decide to do something different from what had been decided earlier.

A: "Why are you working this week? I thought you were going to be on vacation."

B: "I changed my mind. I'm taking my vacation next month."

chicken (adjective or noun): cowardly.

"Fred will never ask Lucy for a date. He's chicken / a chicken.

chow: food.

"How's the chow in the university cafeteria?"

chow down: eat.

"It's almost 6:00. Are you ready to chow down?"

a cinch: something that's very easy to do.

A: How was the test?

B: It was a cinch. I finished it quickly and I know that all my answers were correct."

cool (also kewl): neat, special, wonderful.

"The ESL Cafe on the Web is really cool!"

Cool it!: calm down.

"There's no need to be so upset. Just cool it!"

cost (someone) an arm and a leg: cost a lot; be very expensive.

A: "Your new car is really nice."

B: "It should be. It cost (me) an arm and a leg!"

couch potato: someone who spends too much time watching TV.

"You're a real couch potato, Jay. You need to get more exercise!"

cram: try to learn as much as possible in a very short time.

"Sidney did well on the test because he crammed for it. However, he probably

won't remember any of the information a couple of days from now."

crash course: short course designed to give a lot of knowledge/information in a very short time.

"Tom's company is sending him to a business meeting in Istanbul.

Should he take a crash course in Turkish?"

Cut it out!: stop doing something (that's annoying).

"You kids are making too much noise. Cut it out!"

Don't count your chickens until (before) they hatch (they've hatched).: Don't assume

that something will happen until it has happened.

A: I'm sure that I'm going to win a lot of money in Las Vegas."

B: "Don't count your chickens until they hatch!"

dicey: uncertain; taking too much of a chance.

A: A friend of mine says I can make a lot of moneyif I buy stock

in the XYZ company. Should I do it?

B: I wouldn't if I were you. The chances for success are too dicey."

ditch class: skip class/play hookey.

"You shouldn't have ditched class yesterday. We had an unannounced test."

do a bang-up job: do a very good job; do very well at something.

"Have you seen Frank's home page? He did a bang-up job with it."

down in the dumps: depressed; "blue."

A: "Is something wrong?"

B: "Not really, but I feel kind of down in the dumps."

drop someone a line: write to someone.

"I haven't written to my parents for a long time. I'd better drop them a line

today or tomorrow."

drag one's feet: delay; take longer than necessary to do something.

"Joe should have finished his project a week ago. Why is he dragging his feet?"