50IDIOMATICEXPRESSSIONSYOUMUSTKNOW

Thecorrectuseofidiomaticexpressionswillearnyoumeritpointswhenyou
writeyouressays.
1ace
Getan"A"onatest,homeworkassignment,project,etc.
IheardthatSusieacedthetestyesterday
2Aseasyasapie
veryeasy
Thetestwasaseasyasapie.
3attheeleventhhour
atthelastminute;almosttoolate.
Hefinishedtheprojectattheeleventhhourandhenearlylosthisjob.
4allears
eagertohearwhatsomeonehastosay.
Tellmeaboutyourlatesttripoverseas.Imallears.
5bebroke
bewithoutmoney.
Ineedtoborrowsomemoney.Iambroke.
6beonthego
beverybusy(goingfromonethingorprojecttoanother).
Iamverytired.I'vebeenonthegosince5inthemorning.
7beat
exhausted;verytired
Ineedabreakafterthis.I'mbeat!"
8beataroundthebush
evadeanissue;avoidgivingadirectanswer.
Stopbeatingaroundthebush!Justtellmewhathappenedtomycar.
9biteoffmorethanonecanchew
takeresponsibilityformorethanonecanmanage.
MrsLeefindsitdifficulttofinishallherwork.Shehasbittenoffmorethanshe
couldchew!"
10blowone'stop
becomeextremelyangry.
MyfatherblewhistopwhenhefoundoutIhadtakenhiscarwithouthis
permission.
11burnthemidnightoil
study/workallnightoruntilverylateatnight.
Johanisnotreadyforthetest.Hewillhavetoburnthemidnightoil."
12callitaday
stopworkfortheday.
Thelabourerscallitadayafterworkingforfivehoursonthefield.
13can'tmakeheadsortailsofsomething
can'tunderstandsomethingatall;
findsomethingconfusingandillogical.
Icannotmakeheadsortailsofyournotes.Wereyousleepyduringtheclass?
14catchone'seye
attractone'sattention/interest.
ThiscolourfuladvertisementcaughtmyeyewhenIwasinthebus.
15changeone'smind
decidetodosomethingdifferentfromwhathadbeendecidedearlier.
DaviddidnotgotoAustralia.Hechangedhismindwhenheheardthathis
motherisill.
16cost(someone)anarmandalegcostalot;
beveryexpensive.

Thiscarcostshimanarmandaleg.Hehastogetanotherjobtohelppayforit.
17couchpotato
someonewhospendstoomuchtimewatchingTV.
Youarebecomingacouchpotato.Youneedtogetoutanddosomeexercise.
18Don'tcountyourchickensuntil(before)theyhatch(they'vehatched)
Don'tassumethatsomethingwillhappenuntilithashappened.
Ithinkyoushouldnotcountyourchickensuntiltheyvehatched.Waittillthe
boyswinthecompetitionthisSunday.
19dropsomeonealine
writetosomeone
Dodropmealinewhenyouhavetime.
20dragone'sfeetdelay;
takelongerthannecessarytodosomething.
Whyareyoudraggingyourfeet?Youshouldhavefinishedyourhomeworkby
now.
21aneagerbeaver
apersonwhoisalwayswillingtovolunteerordoextrawork.
Rahimisaneagerbeaver.Heisthefirsttovolunteerforanyjobtobedone.
22feelblue
feelsadanddepressed.
Ritaisfeelingbluebecauseshehasnotheardfromherboyfriendforalong
time.
23firesomeone
dismisssomeonefromajobbecauseofpoorperformance.Lokmanmightbe
firedifhecontinuestobelateforwork.
24getit
understandsomething(oftennegative).
Idontgetit.Couldyoupleaseexplainittomeagain?
25getonone'snerves
irritatesomeone;makesomeoneupset.
Hisconstantchatterisgettingonmynerves.Pleasetellhimtokeepquiet.
26getoutofhand:
becomeoutofcontrol;becomebadlymanaged.
Thesituationisgettingoutofhand.Thereliefcentrecanonlyholdfortypeople
butwehaveonehundredpeopletocarefor.
27givesomeoneahand
i.helpsomeone.
ii.applaudsomeone
Pleasegiveahandtothepooroldlady.Sheistryingtocrosstheroad.
Thegardenerhasdoneawonderfullandscapingjob.Letsgivehimahand.
28Hardheaded
haveone'shandsfullstubborn;inflexible;unwillingtochange.
ItsprettydifficulttogetSimontochangehismind.Heishardheaded.
29haveone'shandsfull
extremelybusy
Peggyusuallyhasherhandsfullinthebeginningofanewschoolterm.
30intheblack:
profitable;notshowingafinancialloss.
Thecompanyisbackintheblackaftersufferingfromgreatlossesthelasttwo
months.
31inthered:
unprofitable;showingafinancialloss.
Thecompanyisinthered.Wehavetostopsomeoftheworkersifthesituation
continues.

32keepaneyeon
checksomethingregularly.
PleasekeepaneyeonthechildrenwhileIgotothebank.
33keepone'sfingerscrossed
hopeforthebest.
Heiskeepinghisfingerscrossedwhilewaitingfortheresultsofhisinterview.
34lendsomeoneahand
helpsomeone.
Canyoupleaselendahandatthereliefcentreforthefloodvictims?
35livefromhandtomouth
surviveonverylittlemoney;haveonlyenoughmoneytopayforbasicneeds.
Rosandthechildrenlivefromhandtomouthafterthefiredestroyedtheir
house.
36makeamountainoutofamolehill
makesomethingseemmuchmoreimportantthanitreallyis.
Susilaismakingamountainoutofamolehill.Iamsuretheboysareperfectly
capableof
lookingafterthemselves.
37makeupone'smind
decidewhattodo
Moseshastomakeuphismindwhethertocontinuehisstudiesortakeupajob.
38onthedotexactlyatagiventime.
Ifyoudonotcomeonthedot,wewillleavewithoutyou.
39(onthe)cuttingedge
usingthemostrecenttechnology
Thiscarboastsofhavingacuttingedgetechnology.Ithasacomputerand
trackingsystem.
40pullsomeone'slegteasesomeonebytryingtomakeher/himbelieve
somethingthat'suntrue.
Shepulledmylegwhenhesaidthathehadquithisjobtogetmarried.
41Rainorshine
nomatterwhattheweather
"We'releavingforCameronHighlands,rainorshine."
42raincatsanddogs
Rainheavily
Itsrainingcatsanddogsnow.Youbetterleavelater.
43readsomeone'smind:
knowwhatsomeoneisthinking.
Icanreadyourmind.IknowyouareveryhungryandIhaveorderedpizza.
44rubsomeonethewrongway
irritatesomeone
IcannotstandRobert.Heseemstorubmethewrongwayeverytimewe
discusssomething.
45sleeponittakesometimetothinkaboutsomethingbeforemakinga
decision.
Youshouldsleeponitfirstandwewilldiscussagaintomorrow.
46Tomakehisownbed;nowlethimlieinit.
Someonehascausedhis/herownproblems;he/shewillhavetosolvethem
himself/herself.
Heinsistedthatheshouldtakeuptheprojectalone.So,hehasmadehisown
bed,lethimlieinit.
47undertheweather
ill;unwell.
Susanwasfeelingundertheweatheryesterday,soshedecidednottogoto

work."
48untilyou'reblueintheface
forever
Youcanadvisehimuntilyou'reblueintheface,buthewontchangehisways.

49wetbehindtheearsinexperiencedandnaive.
IdonotthinkSureshissuitableforthisproject.Heisstillwetbehindtheears,
havingonlyjoineduslastmonth.
50wishywashy:

withoutanopinionofone'sown.
Youbettercheckwiththeothermembers.Johncanbewishywashyattimes.