Let's enjoy some of the English idioms!

[Кристюшa]

Idioms from People


The Real McCoy
Our boss Virgil is a very original person. He started a business from nothing, and now he's a millionaire. Although he is such a man of means, he remains a sincere, helpful person. If any of his friends needs help, he's the first to give it. He's a true friend, the real McCoy.He does all sorts of jobs in his company, from typing out his own letters to repairing big machines. He's a jack of all trades. And he doesn't bother about keeping up with the Joneses. He doesn't care what people think of his life-style; he doesn't have to have a lot of expensive things. He still drives the old car that he bought ten years ago, and he sometimes wears jeans to work.

1. If someone is a man or woman of means, what does the person have a lot of?
2. What can a jack of all trades do?
3. If you want to keep up with the Joneses, what do you do?


to go Dutch
When I go out to eat with my friends, we usually go Dutch.
This way everyone knows what he or she is spending.

a jack of alltrades
Louise can fix TVs, paint houses, and build shelves. She's a jack of all trades.

to keep up with
Kate and Ken just bought the same car as Mavis and Mick, the the Joneses same drapes as Dinah and Dick, the same chihuahua as Antonio and Antonia. They're really keeping up with the Joneses.

a man/girl Friday
Griselda wants to get some work experience, and she likes to do a lot of different things. So she's gotten a job as a girl Friday at the local TV studio.

a man/woman of means
My cousin has a business that makes a large profit every year.He's a man of means.

the real McCoy
The large diamond in her ring isn't an imitation. It's the real McCoy.

This rum it the real McCoy!




to run in the family
Omar and his sister are both very thin. Being skinny must run in the family.

a smart aleck
Alexandra is such a smart aleck. She always thinks she's right
about everything and always makes you think that you're wrong.

Tom, Dick, or Harry
The boss was very careful about whom he hired for the job, and he interviewed several people. He didn't just hire any Tom, Dick,or Harry.

a wise guy
Don't be such a wise guy and act as if you know it all. Other people won't like you.

[Andrei1]

English idioms of the body, face and head

Break someone's heart - upset someone greatly: "She broke his heart when she left him."
Learn something off by heart - learn something completely: "I've learnt this off by heart – I'm bound to pass the exam!"
You're all heart! - when you tell someone sarcastically how kind they are: "Thanks for giving me all this work – you're all heart!"
Hand on heart - promise with sincerity: "Hand on heart, it's the honest truth."
Have the heart - be able to give someone bad news: "I didn't have the heart to tell him he'd failed."
A heart of gold - be a very kind person: "She'll always help – she has a heart of gold."
Get out of hand - become impossible to manage: "You'll have to deal with this problem before it gets out of hand."
Know something like the back of your hand - know something extremely well: "He knows London like the back of his hand."
Have your hands full - be very busy: "I can't do anything about it now – my hands are full."
In hand - under control: "The company report is in hand – you'll have it next week."
Live hand to mouth - only earn enough money for food: "After he lost his job, he had to live hand to mouth for a couple of months."
Give someone a hand - help someone: "He always gives me a hand with the housework."
Have someone in the palm of your hand - have influence over someone: "He's got her in the palm of his hand."
Be caught red-handed - be caught doing something bad: "The children were caught red-handed picking the flowers.
Keep your fingers crossed - wish something for someone: "Keep your fingers crossed for me tomorrow – it's my job interview."
Under your thumb - control someone: "She's got him under her thumb – he won't do anything without asking her first.
Cost an arm and a leg - cost a fortune: "The car cost an arm and a leg – it'll take them ages to pay back the loan
Have itchy feet - not able to settle down in one place: "She's going off travelling again – she's got really itchy feet."
Keep someone on their toes - keep someone alert: "Our teacher keeps us on our toes – we have to pay attention in class."
Have eyes in the back of your head - warn someone that you can see exactly what they are doing: "Don't make those signs at me – I've got eyes in the back of my head!"
See eye to eye on something - agree with someone: "Those two don't always see eye to eye – they often argue."

[DAS]

     I wonder how and who could associate GREEN with envy.

It also puzzles me how BLUE can be associated with sadness and depression.  As for me, it symbolises joy, integrity and perseverance. Nevertheless, this colour is said to have negative interpretations as well, which include being rigid, deceitful, spiteful and emotionally unstable.

[Ann]

 To DAS
green with envy
wishing very much that you had what someone else has
Sharon's going off to the south of France for three weeks and we're all green with envy.

     The green color is the color of  nature: trees. bushes, grass - everything is green in summer, pleasant to eyes and very attractive.  There is another color of which  there is also very much in summer - blue, and this is the enormous  sky. When you have everything much, how possibly can you be envious. 
     I wonder how and who could associate GREEN with envy.

[DAS]

Green, Pink, Purple



have a green thumb
Fig. to have the ability to grow plants well.
Just look at Mr. Simpson's garden. He has a green thumb. My mother has a green thumb when it comes to houseplants.

green with envy
wishing very much that you had what someone else has
Sharon's going off to the south of France for three weeks and we're all green with envy.

Long green
Money, especially a large amount of it.
 How much long green is this repair job going to cost me?

tickled pink
 very much pleased or entertained.
 I was tickled pink to have you visit us. We were tickled pink when your flowers arrived.

a pink slip
a letter from your employer which tells you that you do not have a job any more
 It was Christmas time when Miller got his pink slip from the company.

be in the pink  (old-fashioned)
to be very healthy
 I wasn't well last week, but I'm back in the pink, I'm pleased to say.

purple state
In U.S. general elections, a state that votes in roughly equal proportion for candidates of both the Democratic and Republican Parties.
Primarily heard in US. Whoever is going to win the election will have to focus their power on swinging the purple states of the country in their favour.

born to the purple
Born into royalty. Purple is a colour traditionally associated with royalty.
Did you see pictures of the latest addition to the royal family? What a sweet little princess born to the purple!

purple prose
writing that is more complicated and formal than necessary
 Despite occasional passages of purple prose, her latest novel is still very readable.

[Andrei1]

Очень полезная и простая идиома "have it out".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unTotHZj_2U

[DAS]

Red, Blue, Yellow



as red as a ruby
deep red
The office assistant was wearing lipstick that was as red as a ruby.

catch (someone) red-handed
- to catch someone in the middle of doing something wrong
The woman was caught red-handed when she tried to steal some cosmetics.

paint the town red
to go out and party and have a good time
When my cousin came to visit us we decided to go out and paint the town red.

red herring
an unimportant matter that draws attention away from the main subject
Talking about the other issue was a red herring that did not do anything to deal with today's problem.

roll out the red carpet
- to greet a person with great respect, to give a big welcome to someone
The government rolled out the red carpet when the politician came to visit.

see red
- to become very angry
My boss saw red when I told him that I would not be coming to work today.

blue blood
- the blood of a noble or wealthy or aristocratic family
Many of the blue bloods of the town went to the opening of the opera.

blue-ribbon
- of superior quality or distinction, the best of a group
A blue-ribbon panel of experts were asked to suggest a new policy for the city.

get the blues
- to become sad or depressed
The dull cloudy weather has caused me to get the blues.

out of the blue
- without warning, happening suddenly and unexpectedly
 The decision to close the store came out of the blue.

talk a blue streak
- to talk very much and very rapidly
The woman beside me on the bus talked a blue streak for most of the journey.

yellow-bellied
 extremely timid, cowardly
The man is yellow-bellied and is never willing to fight for what is right.

yellow brick road
A path believed to lead to success or adventure.
Jenna took the internship thinking that it would be the yellow brick road to her dream job.

yellow dog
A despicable person or thing.
I can't believe you get so invested in these debates—all politicians are yellow dogs that can't be trusted.

yellow light
An indication to slow down, likened to a yellow traffic light, which means slow down, proceed with caution, or prepare to stop.
 I would not ask her out yet, dude—she was totally giving you the yellow light.

yellow press
Journalism with the primary aim of sparking reader interest—reporting the facts are secondary.
 I can't believe you read those tabloids—they're just yellow press stuffed with ads.

[Andrei1]

Some interesting idioms:

Below the salt
If someone is below the salt, they have a low social position. Salt was expensive in medieval times and only placed on the high table where the wealthy and powerful ate.

Bust a move
It can mean to break out a dance move or to get a move on, hurry up.

Spoon-fed
If you are spoon-fed, you are given so much information that you don't have to try to find out the answers yourself.

On edge
If someone is worried or nervous, they are on edge.

[Кристюшa]

Idioms from Recreation


A Person on theBall

We always knew what our boss, Winona, was thinking.
Right off the bat, as soon as she walked through the door,she'd let you know what she wanted you to do. Her stylewas clear, direct, and open. She always put her cards onthe table.
If you did something wrong or said somethinginappropriate, Winona told you that you were off base. Ifshe thought you were doing well and on the ball, she told you that, too. And when she said no, she meant no. No dice. Not many people argued with Winona and won. But I think she really enjoyed people who would stand up to herand give their own opinions. I think she secretly got a kick out of it.

1. Right off the bat is an idiom from baseball, in which aplayer hits a ball with a bat. If you do something right off the
bat, when do you do it?
2. If you are on the ball, do you do things well?
3. If you get a kick out of something, do you enjoy it? What things do you get a kick out of?



Meanings

Each example has an idiom with a word from a recreation or sport.Read the example carefully to find the meaning of the idiom. Then look at the definitions that follow the examples. Write the idiom next
to its definition.

to get a kick out
I really get a kick out of Lisa's jokes. She always makes me
of something laugh.

to go fly a kite
I'm tired of listening to you complain. Stop bothering me. Why
don't you just go fly a kite?

a good sport
I beat Albert five times at video games today, but he's such a good sport that he bought us a pizza afterward.

in the same boat
Now that we're both out of work, we're in the same boat.

to keep the
Let's keep the ball rolling. We're off to a good start, but we ball rolling still need to collect more money to get videotape machines for our school.
no dice
Tom wanted the party to be at my apartment, but I said no dice.

off base
You're off base with that answer. Try again.

on the ball
Sophie is an excellent manager. She really knows how to organizethings and get things done. She is really on the ball.

to put one's cards
Let me put my cards on the table. Either we sell more or on the table we'll have to close the business.

right off the bat
Una looked at the math problem for just a minute, and she got the correct answer right off the bat.

sink or swim
We're going to do our best to start our own restaurant, sink or swim.

[DAS]

Dog



A barking dog never bites
Making threats but not carrying them out.
 a candidate for local political office went from door to door to solicit votes. Ringing a doorbell, he was greeted by a woman restraining a large dog that was barking loudly. When the candidate hesitated, his assistant encouraged him to stay, saying, “Don't you know the proverb ‘a barking dog never bites'?” “Yes,” said the candidate, “I know the proverb, and you know the proverb, but does the dog know the proverb?” (Barking dogs figure in another phrase: “My dogs are barking” means that my feet hurt.)

a dog's age
An exceptionally long period of time.
 It's been a dog's age since I worked one of these machines, but I'll give it a shot!

as sick as a dog
very ill
She was as sick as a dog after eating the stew.

cat-and-dog life
Of spouses or romantic partners, a life together typified by arguments, fights, and disagreements.
They were so happy together when they first started dating, but after 10 years together, they've started leading a cat-and-dog life.

not my dog
 It’s not my problem.
 So what! It doesn’t matter! Not my dog.

have a dog in the hunt
To have some vested interest in or something to gain by a given situation.
 Many small business owners—whether they know it or not—have a dog in the hunt with this proposed tax bill.

make a dog's dinner (of something)
To make a mess of or completely ruin something.
 I thought I could trust Jim to finish the business proposal, but he made a dog's dinner of the whole thing!

dog eat dog
if a situation is dog eat dog, people will do anything to be successful, even if what they do harms other people
In showbusiness it's dog eat dog - one day you're a star, the next you've been replaced by younger talent.

the top dog  (informal)
the most important and powerful person in a group Jackson was top dog and he made sure he got what he wanted.

sly dog
Someone who, through cunning, devious, or dishonest means, achieves a fortuitous outcome.
What a sly dog, he managed to get a copy of the test so he could memorize the answers ahead of time!

[Ксюша]

Maria A. , I'm in the red when pupils don't do their homework!

[Arsenovna]

Idioms from Colors


In the Red


The letter came out of the blue! I wasn't expecting it.
But there it was in black and white, signed by the bank manager. I had no money in my checking account. I was in
the red.I couldn't believe it. So I went to see the manager. We looked at the problem together. The bank had made a
mistake. It had put ten dollars into my account instead of one thousand dollars!
Because it was the bank's mistake, there was no delayreopening my account. The manager cut through all the red
tape. Now I had money in my account. And I had the green light to write checks again.


1. Does in the red mean to have enough money or to not haveenough money? When a company is in the red, is it in trouble?
2. When you learn something out of the blue, is it a surprise?
3. If doing something takes a lot of red tape, is it easy to do?
Sometimes getting papers from the government takes a lot of red tape. Can you think of some examples of things that take red tape?


 

[Spirit of Finland]

Cat

Ути, какая ты щекастенькая и глазастенькая! Так и хочется забрать такое чудо с собой)))

[DAS]

Break



break of day
The first sign of daylight; dawn. The party went on until the break of day

break a habit
to end a habit. I was not able to break the habit of snoring. It's hard to break a habit that you have had for a long time.

break even
for income to equal expenses. (This implies that money was not made or lost.)
Unfortunately, my business just managed to break even last year. I made a bad investment, but I broke even.

break someone's heart
 to cause someone great emotional pain.
 Sally broke John's heart when she refused to marry him.

break out in a cold sweat
to become extremely frightened or anxious.
Larry broke out in a cold sweat after he had cut his hand.

break one's word
Violate or fail to observe a promise or contract one has made.
 For example, You can trust him implicitly; I've never known him to break his word.

Break Step
to break from conformity with a larger group or others who one previously agreed with.
The eminent scientist broke step with the research team by suggesting an entirely different conclusion about the data.

break the ice
to attempt to become friends with someone.
He tried to break the ice, but she was a little cold. A nice smile does a lot to break the ice.

break the mould
to do something differently, after it has been done in the same way for a long time She broke the mould by insisting on becoming a doctor instead of a nurse. (often + of ) A new TV show is about to be launched which aims to break the mold of the usual daytime programs.

break a leg
to wish Good luck to someone
"Break a leg!" the director called to the lead actor.

a clean break
if you make a clean break from someone or something, you leave them quickly and completely, and are not involved with them at all in the future
The Japanese are planning a clean break from the old television technologies.

[DAS]

Cat



a cat may look at a king
Everyone has rights, regardless of status, especially to do things that are of no consequence to others. You can't keep us out of the student council office just because we're underclassman! A cat may look at a king, after all!

a grin like a Cheshire cat
a very wide smile
I just presumed he'd got the job because he walked in here with a grin like a Cheshire cat

All cats are grey in the dark.
When in the dark, appearances are meaningless, since everything is hard to see or unseen. I don't care if my date is ugly. All cats are grey in the dark.

cat and mouse
A phrase used to describe the suspenseful relationship between one being pursued and the pursuer. We've been hiding out here for days, and I can't handle this cat and mouse game any longer—I'm calling the police!

rain cats and dogs
 to rain very hard. It's raining cats and dogs. Look at it pour! I'm not going out in that storm. It's raining cats and dogs.

cat ice
A thin sheet of ice under which water has already receded. Watch out for cat ice out there! It's pretty slippery, so take your time walking.

cool cat
 someone who is cool, usually a male. Monty is a cool cat. I really like him.

cat in the sack
A ruse, swindle, or suspicious transaction. In English, the more common phrase is "(to buy a) pig in the poke"
I thought I was getting a great deal buying my car from that online seller, but as soon as I drove it home, I realized I'd bought a cat in the sack.

bell the cat
To undertake or agree to perform a risky, dangerous, or impossible job or task. It comes from a fable (often and likely incorrectly attributed to Aesop) called "Belling the Cat," in which a group of mice decide that one will harness a bell to a murderous cat so that its jingle will warn them of its presence, though none want to take on the dangerous role. Someone has to bell the cat and tell the boss we aren't going to come in to work on Saturdays anymore. Who's going to bell the cat and tell mom we wrecked her car?