Idioms and Expressions in American English

One challenge in understanding American English is the many idioms and expressions used in speaking
and also in e-mail. Keep in mind that people of different ages may use different idioms and expressions.
Some idioms are very informal (the room was trashed; her research blew me away), while others
are commonly used and appropriate in academic and professional situations.

Goals of this assignment:

To encourage you to listen for, understand, and use idiomatic languageimportant for everyday
interactions and often used in e-mail.
To give you an opportunity to present material in front of the class and explain meanings clearly
and correctly.
To help you distinguish which idioms are highly informal (and not appropriate for all situations)
and which are used in academic and professional situations.

How many of the idioms in bold do you understand? Which are appropriate for use in an
academic or professional situation?
1. A: Why are you so sure youre going to like your new lab? B: Its just a gut feeling.

2. (two students are sharing a pizza) A: Do you want another piece of pizza? B: Thanks. Im
good.

3. (Professor to T.A.) Some of your students asked difficult questions. But I thought your
answers were spot on.

4. A: Were going to Yosemite over the weekend. Do you want to go? B: Im in. (OR Count
me in).

5. A: What did you think of Tokyo? B: The number of skyscrapers was literally mind-
boggling.

6. A: What do you see as one of your strengths as a researcher? B: I think Im good at

thinking outside the box.

7. A: Can you be in charge of picking up the pizza for the meeting? B: Im all over it.

8. Having John in the study group is fine, but having him as coordinator is a recipe for
disaster!

9. A: I thought you were going to bring a laptop so we could take notes of the meeting.
B: Oops. My bad.

10.A: Is your paper done? B: I might tweak it a little, but basically, yes.

Using the Corpus of Contemporary American English

You can research the general usage of your idiom by typing the word or phrase into the search
criteria of the COCA.

Instructions for presenting your idiom or expression (2 3 minutes maximum):

a) Choose an idiom or expression that you have heard on campus or elsewhere (i.e., choose
one in common use).
b) Write it on the board. Give an example of how the idiom is used.
c) Explain what it means and where you heard it (i.e. what situation it was used in).
d) Tell us how to pronounce the idiom and whether it can be used in academic and
professional situations or only in less formal situations.
List of Idioms (you do not need to choose from this list; these are
suggestions)
To keep someone in the loop
Mind-boggling
To run it by someone
Bombed
Bummed
Catch some zs
Veg out
Piece of cake
Out of the blue
Call it a day
A wake up call
The munchies
To be in the same boat
To be on a roll
Excuse my French
On the same page
My two cents
To be swamped
It doesnt ring a bell
To touch bases
to have someones back
to zero in on something
a win-win situation
to be set in stone
to be off base
a grey area
par for the course
to give someone a heads up