Idioms

1. Ella wanted to talk to Bob immediately, but there were too many people around, so she held her tongue and waited until they were alone. 2. The young boy began shouting at his mother, and she lost her temper and told him to hold his tongue. She told him it was not polite to talk to anyone like that. 3. I’ve listened to you criticizing him and I’ve held my tongue, but I can’t any longer. Now I’m going to tell you some of the positive sides of his character.

1. John lost his job yesterday. He got the sack. 2. Marie has two small children to support. You can’t just give her the sack. What is she going to do for money? 3. I was sacked from my last job for showing up late every day. Compare to: pink slip

1. When asked about a tax increase on gasoline to help pay for public education, the governor said he hadn’t considered that kind of tax, but he said it certainly was food for thought. 2. Sarah read the book that had been recommended to her and found that it contained a lot of food for thought. Compare to: chew it over In use since the early 1800s, this idiom refers metaphorically to the idea that the mind ‘chews’ on thought like the mouth chews on food.

1. If you tell a lie, you may get caught up in it and find that it comes home to roost. 2. Dorothy is convinced that she is ill and dying because her unhealthy lifestyle has come home to roost. The expression probably originates from the idea of a bird leaving and then returning to its roost, the perch on which a bird rests. It is usually used to refer to something bad happening to someone who has demonstrated some bad behavior in the past.

Sentence examples: 1. During the war each household was allotted a small amount of sugar and butter each month. If you wanted more, you had to buy it on the black market. 2. There is a growing black market for consumer goods that are difficult or impossible to find here.

Sentence examples: 1. The girl fell out of the tree but didn’t break any bones. She just had a black and blue knee. 2. James came out of the meeting black and blue, since he had made so many mistakes preparing the report without consulting his boss.

Sentence examples: 1. Bruce practiced law in a small law firm, then taught law at a university, then gave up teaching and is practicing law again. He has come full circle. 2. We started with a small, two-bedroom house, butas the family grew, so did the size of the houses we moved into over the years. Now that the children are grown and have left home, we’ve come full circle and are moving back into a small house. The expression suggests that in creating a full circle, one returns to the starting point.

Sentence examples: 1. James was a convicted thief who had spent years in jail. He didn’t want his son to follow in his footsteps. 2. The daughter had always admired her mother’s work helping the poor. From an early age she was determined to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Compare to: chip off the old block The someone in the expression is traditionally, but not necessarily, a parent.

Sentence examples: 1. The planning stage of the project was complete and we got the green light to start construction. 2. The boss gave them the green light to order all the equipment they needed. Synonym: give/get (someone) the go-ahead This expression comes from the green light on a stop light, which indicates that cars can move forward.

Sentence examples: 1. Sarah may be the smallest child in the class, but when it comes to defending herself, she can hold her own. 2. We didn’t think Mark was very good at speaking, but he really held his own in that debate.

Sentence examples: 1. When another soccer player tripped Mary and the referee didn’t notice, Mary lost her cool and shoved the other girl back. 2. I know you think Tom stole your idea, but you can’t lose your temper in this meeting. Don’t lose your cool. Synonym: lose (one’s) temper Antonym: keep one’s cool

Sentence examples: 1. This book is no longer available in the library. It’s out of circulation. 2. Mrs. Winter took her husband’s sudden death very hard, and she doesn’t have the will to get out and get on with life. She’s taken herself out of circulation. The expression is usually used to describe a social situation (sentence 2) but probably originated with printed material (sentence 1).

Sentence examples: 1. The young man was so naive that he believed whatever anyone told him. It was easy to pull the wool over his eyes. 2. The children told their mother they were going to school when in fact they planned to go to the movies. They managed to pull the wool over her eyes. Compare to: song and dance; cock-and-bull story; snow job; fall for (something)

Sentence examples: 1. Cindy met Roger three weeks ago and fell madly in love with him. She’s been in seventh heaven ever since. 2. We’ve been in seventh heaven knowing that we’re going to have a baby. Synonyms: on cloud nine; walking on air

Sentence examples: 1. Mark criticized Pam’s clothes and in return she criticized his haircut. It was tit for tat. 2. I didn’t wash the dishes for you yesterday, and today you didn’t take out the trash for me. I guess it’s tit for tat. Synonym: give (someone) a taste of his own medicine; fix (someone’s) wagon The expression may describe insults (sentence 1) or some harmless error (sentence 2).

Sentence examples: 1. This latest scandal in the government is only the tip of the iceberg. I’m convinced that there is much more corruption than what has been uncovered so far. 2. The police arrested the man they thought was guilty of the robbery. While they had him in jail, they began to uncover information that linked him to many of the robberies that had taken place over the last few years. This latest robbery was just the tip of the iceberg. The expression suggests that while only the top of an iceberg may be visible, the larger and more dangerous portion of it is hidden from view under the water.

Sentence examples: 1. I wish you wouldn’t talk during the movie. The noise really sets my teeth on edge. 2. That woman always pretends like she’s giving me a compliment, but I think she’s insulting me. It sets my teeth on edge. Synonyms: rub (someone) the wrong way, get (someone’s) dander/hackles up, get (someone’s) goat, bug

Sentence examples; 1. When Tim went into his supervisor’s office, he thought he was going to get a raise for a job well done. He had the rug pulled out from under him when the boss fired him instead. 2. Anne pulled the rug out from under her parents when she told them that she was not going to medical school and had decided to get married instead. Compare to: knock/throw (someone) for a loop The expression suggests the feeling of shock a person would have if a rug was literally pulled out from under him or her.

Sentence examples: 1. Erica didn’t expect James to propose marriage so quickly. For her, the proposal came out of a clear blue sky. 2. Spencer hadn’t sent his resume out, so when somebody called him for a job interview, the offer came out of a clear blue sky. Synonym: out of the blue

Sentence examples: 1. The army drill sergeant shouted at his troops to stand straight, pull in their stomachs, put their heads up and pull their shoulders back. Then he yelled, “Look sharp.” 2. The boss used to be a pretty sloppy dresser, but now he wore stylish slacks, silk ties, nice shoes, and top- quality jackets. He really looked sharp.