Idiomatic Expressions Flood the World!

Name date pd. Idiomatic Expressions Flood the World! Idiomatic Expression Common Interpretations 1. From A to Z. 1. From beginning to end 2. I have an ace up my sleeve. 2. I have a hidden surprise, just in case I need it. 3. Don t air your dirty laundry in public. 3. Don t make your shameful, private (family) business public. 4. You have an albatross around your neck. 4. You are cursed and headed for bad trouble. 5. I m all ears. 5. I m listening with every part of me. I m paying complete attention. 6. He s all thumbs. 6. He s very clumsy and extremely uncoordinated. 7. She s the apple of his eye. 7. She s the most precious sight he sees. 8. He s asleep at the wheel. 8. He s not paying attention to important things. 9. At the drop of a hat, it happens. 9. Without any warning, very quickly and easily it happens. 10. I m at the end of my rope. 10. I m out of patience and power; I can t continue. 11. I have an ax to grind with you. 11. I have a complaint to make and a problem to work out with you. 12. He s like a babe in the woods. 12. He s innocent and helpless. 13. I m back to square one. 13. I have to start all over again. 14. Well, it s back to the drawing board. 14. It s time to design and work out a new plan. 15. Don t be a backseat driver. 15. Don t try to tell the worker how to do his job. 16. I m in the driver s seat, now. 16. I m in charge and in full control. 17. His bark is worst than his bite. 17. His talk is tough; but his actions are not that tough at all. 18. He s barking up the wrong tree. 18. He s following the wrong clues. 19. You have bats in your belfry. 19. Your head s empty; you re dumb Idiomatic Expressions is available @ www.raygosabooks.com 1

20. Batten down the hatches. 20. Secure things and make sure they re safe. 21. Don t beat a dead horse. 21. Don t continue to worry about a situation that s already settled. 22. Don t keep beating around the 22. Don t keep avoiding the point; bush. just say what you really mean. 23. To beat the band. 23. To put on a better performance than the band could put on. 24. Turn your weapons of war into peaceful tools of honest work. 24. Beat your swords into plowshares. 25. Life is not always a bed of roses. 25. Life is not always a comfortable, nice-smelling situation. 26. She has a bee in her bonnet. 26. She is in a really bad mood. 27. I was behind the eight ball. 27. I was in a terrible situation. 28. It came with bells and whistles. 28. It came with a lot of noise and decorations. 29. That s par for the course. 29. That s about all that you can expect to happen. 30. This is my better half. 30. This is my spouse (husband/wife) 31. He was between the Devil and 31. He was in a bad situation, with the deep blue sea. nowhere to turn. 32. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. 32. Beware of the kind gestures of people pretending to be your friend. 33. Don t bite off more than you can 33. Don t try to do a job that s too chew. big for you to handle. 34. Just bite the bullet. 34. Just endure the pain that comes with a choice that you need to make. 35. One day you ll have to bite the 35. One day you ll have to die. dust. 36. Don t bite the hand that feeds 36. Don t attack the person who s you. taking care of you. 37. Bite your tongue. 37. Be quiet; don t dare say that. 38. He s the black sheep of the 38. He s the member of the family family. that doesn t fit in with the rest. 39. Don t be a bleeding heart. 39. Don t be too easily overcome with emotions and sympathy. 40. When the blind leads the blind. 40. When those who don t know try to teach others who also don t know. 41. Don t blow your own horn. 41. Don t brag on yourself! Idiomatic Expressions is available @ www.raygosabooks.com 2

42. Try not to blow your stack. 42. Try not to lose your temper. 43. She s a real blue blood. 43. She s a real aristocrat, a person of pure breeding and culture. 44. It came out of the clear blue. 44. It came out of nowhere. 45. He was born with a silver spoon 45. He was born rich. in his mouth. 46. What s the bottom line? 46. What s the final result? 47. It was a bowl of cherries. 47. It was very easy to do. 48. Break a leg. 48. Give it your all. Try your best. 49. We need to break the ice. 49. We need to get used to each other and begin to feel comfortable. 50. You should try to bring down the house. 50. You should try to put on the best show the audience has ever seen. 51. I m the one that brings home the bacon. 51. I m the one that brings home the money to feed the family. 52. Bug off! 52. Go away! 53. Don t burn the candle at both ends. 53. Don t try to do too much for too long of a time. 54. He s a bull in a china shop. 54. He s big, clumsy and destructive. 55. I must burn the midnight oil. 55. I must stay up very late & work. 56. Never burn your bridges. 56. Never leave in such a way that you can t ever come back. 57. Don t burn yourself out. 57. Don t use up all of your energy and enthusiasm. 58. I had butterflies in my stomach. 58. I was very nervous. 59. Get it by hook or crook. 59. Get it legally or illegally. 60. He made it by the skin of his teeth. 60. He just barely made it; there was no room for error. 61. Let s call it a day. 61. Let s stop working for today. 62. I get to call the shots for everybody. 62 I get to be in charge and make all of the decisions for everybody. 63. He got called to the carpet. 63. He got called to his boss s office and was scolded for misconduct. 64. You can t fight City Hall. 64. You can t beat the government. 65. Think carefully before you call someone s bluff. 65. Think carefully before you force someone to prove that what they re claiming is actually true. 66. He dropped the ball. 66. He didn t do the job he was expected to do. Idiomatic Expressions is available @ www.raygosabooks.com 3

67. You can t see the forest for the trees. 67. You can t see the big picture because you re focusing too much on the small things. 68. Don t cast your pearls before 68. Don t offer your valuable things swine. to someone who isn t worthy. 69. Who can cast the first stone? 69. Who is completely innocent? 70. The cat s got his tongue. 70. He s so quiet. He seems to not even have a tongue to speak. 71. You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. 71. You can persuade people easier with sweet words than with sour. 72. He was caught red handed. 72. He was caught doing the crime, the blood still on his hands. 73. He chewed him out. 73. He fussed at him. 74. That s just chicken feed to me. 74. That s just small money to me. 75. One day the chickens will come home to roost. 75. One day the deeds that you re doing will bring about consequences. 76. He has a chip on his shoulder. 76. He s looking for a fight. 77. When the chips are down. 77. When the situation is dire and urgent. 78. They re driving me up a wall. 78. They re making me lose my sanity. 79. That was a close shave. 79. That was a narrow escape. 80. I m clutching at straws. 80. I m trying to hold on to anything. 81. He got cold feet. 81. He got scared. 82. He quit cold turkey. 82. He quit completely, all at once. 83. It costs an arm and a leg. 83. It s very expensive. 84. She s crying crocodile tears. 84. She s crying fake tears. 85. Don t cry over spilled milk. 85. Don t worry about things you can t change. 86. Never cry wolf. 86. Never pretend you re in trouble, if you re not. 87. Don t cut off your nose to spite your face. 87. Don t hurt one thing of yours while trying to hurt another. 88. He can t cut the mustard. 88. He can t handle the hard jobs. 89. They re a dime a dozen. 89. They re cheat and easy to find. 90. This is a dog-eat-dog world. 90. This is an uncivilized, savage world. 91. Don t count your chickens before they hatch. 91. Don t rely on things that you expect to happen. Rely on what is. Idiomatic Expressions is available @ www.raygosabooks.com 4

92. Dot your I s and cross your T s. 92. Take care of all the small details. 93. He s very down to earth. 93. He s very normal and humble. 94. She s dressed to kill. 94. She s dressed to attract and conquer any man. 95. It s just a drop in the bucket. 95. It s not very much at all. 96. He s an eager beaver. 96. He can t wait to begin. 97. It s the eleventh hour. 97. It s very late; time s almost up. 98. You ll have to eat your words. 98. You ll have to admit you re wrong. 99. A little elbow grease may be necessary. 99. You may have to physically work for a while. 100. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry is named John. 100. Every common person that you meet is named John. 101. You may have to eat crow. 101. You may have to humble yourself and admit you were wrong. 102. Let s face the music. 102. Let s deal with the unpleasant consequences of our actions. 103. It s feast or famine. 103. It s all or nothing. 104. He s a real fat cat. 104. He s a real rich guy. 105. Stop fanning the flames. 105. Stop making things worse than they already are. 106. Here s another feather in your cap. 106. Here s another success for you to claim. 107. He was fiddling while Rome burned. 107. He was being nonchalant and very cool while disaster was about. 108. You should fish or cut bait. 108. You should do the job or quit. 109. This should fill the bill. 109. This should satisfy the need. 110. He caught forty winks. 110. He slept for a while. 111. He s full of hot air. 111. He s full of meaningless talk. 112. He was fighting tooth and nail. 112. He was fighting with everything he had. 113. From the word go. 113. From the very beginning. 114. He got his pink slip today. 114. He got fired from his job today. 115. He flew off the handle. 115. He lost his temper. 116. I ll fix his little red wagon. 116. I ll give him exactly what he deserves for the mischief he s done. 117. You don t want to be a fifth wheel. 117. You don t want to feel like you aren t needed. 118. Just get your feet wet, today. 118. Just start to familiarize yourself with everything, today. Idiomatic Expressions is available @ www.raygosabooks.com 5

119. This is the straw that broke the 119. This is the tiny amount of extra camel s back. weight that was added to the heavy weight that broke the camel s back. 120. Here s some food for thought. 120. Here s something for you to think about. 121. So that I ll feel better, I need to say something I ve been holding in. 121. I need to get something off my chest. 122. Charlie gave up the ghost. 122. Charlie died. 123. Go fly a kite. 123. Go away and leave me alone. 124. Helen went bananas last night. 124. Helen went insane last night. 125. We may as well go for broke. 125. We may as well risk everything. 126. Don t be a goody-two-shoes. 126. Don t try to be perfectly good. 127. Throw a monkey wrench into the works. 127. Deliberately sabotage an operation. 128. That s Greek to me. 128. That s something I don t at all understand. 129. Just read the handwriting on the wall. 129. Just watch the evidence, signals, signs, and clues. 130. He has a screw loose. 130. He s crazy. 131. Get off your high horse. 131. Stop being so arrogantly proud. 132. You can t have your cake and eat it too. 132. You can t have things both ways. You must choose one. 133. You must handle him with kid 133. You must handle him gingerly. gloves. 134. Hang in there, buddy. 134. Don t give up, buddy. 135. He s the head honcho. 135. He s the boss. 136. It s time to hit the hay. 136. It s time to go to bed. 137. That s highway robbery! 137. That price is too high! 138. He hits below the belt. 138. He doesn t fight fair. 139. That soup really hit the spot. 139. That soup was very satisfying. 140. She s hanging by a thread. 140. She s barely holding on. 141. Hold the fort till I return. 141. Take care of things till I return. 142. Hold your horses. 142. Be patient. 143. Don t be so hot under the 143. Don t be so easily angered. collar. 144. Ignorance is bliss. 144. You don t worry about what you don t know about. 145. He jumped down her throat. 145. He verbally attacked her. 146. It s time to hit the road. 146. It s time to leave. Idiomatic Expressions is available @ www.raygosabooks.com 6

147. He s in a pickle, now. 147. He s in a bad situation. 148. We re in the same boat. 148. We re in the same bad situation. 149. She loves the limelight. 149. She loves being on stage. 150. Walter s in the doghouse. 150. Walter s in trouble with his boss, spouse, or friend. 151. Everybody jumped on the bandwagon. 151. Everybody joined the large group of people who were leading. 152. Don t jump the gun. 152. Don t start before it s time. 153. Keep a stiff upper lip. 153. Don t start to cry. 154. Try to keep a straight face. 154. Try to keep from smiling or giving away our ploy. 155. Let s keep up with the Joneses. 155. Let s get everything that our neighbors, the Joneses, get. 156. Keep your chin up. 156. Don t drop your head in sadness and despair. 157. Mr. Jacobs kicked the bucket. 157. Mr. Jacobs died. 158. I m barely keeping my head 158. I m barely surviving. above water. 159. He killed two birds with one stone. 159. He accomplished two things with one action. 160. He s knee-high to a 160. He s very short. grasshopper. 161. He killed the goose that lays the golden eggs. 161. He destroyed his money making opportunity. 162. Knock on wood. 162. Keep bad luck from coming. 163. Keep your shirt on. 163. Calm down and be patient. 164. It s a labor of love. 164. It s hard work; but, it s something I love to do. 165. He laid an egg. 165. He failed in his attempt. 166. I lost my shirt. 166. I lost all the money I had. 167. Leave no stone unturned. 167. Search everywhere. 168. Lay your cards on the table. 168. Tell the whole story; don t leave anything out. 169. Let the chips fall where they may. 169. Let the consequences come, whatever they are. 170. He sat there like a bump on a log. 170. He sat there lazily and stupidly, and didn t move at all. 171. Living high on the hog. 171. Living an easy prosperous life. 172. He speaks with a forked tongue. 172. He tells clever, deceitful lies. Idiomatic Expressions is available @ www.raygosabooks.com 7

173. He s been raising Cain all day. 173. He s been creating confusion and chaos all day. 174. There s light at the end of the tunnel. 174. I can see an end to this bad situation I m in. 175. Sell it: lock, stock, and barrel. 175. Sell the whole thing, every piece of it. 176. They lowered the boom on him. 176. They brought down strong consequences on him. 177. Don t lock the barn door after the horse is out. 177. Don t try to prevent things after they ve already happened. 178. Fish rot from the head down. 178. Problems in an organization or family usually start at the top. 179. We must make ends meet. 179. We need to be able to pay all the bills. 180. Don t make waves. 180. Don t create problems. 181. I make no bones about it. 181. I don t hesitate or pretend; I just say it as it is. 182. Mind your P s and Q s. 182. Be careful with the little details. 183. Throw a rock into a group of dogs; the ones that yelp are the ones you hit. 183. Guilty people usually tell on them-selves as soon as pressure is applied. 184. Don t pass the buck. 184. Don t pass the responsibility on to someone else. 185. This stuff is over your head. 185. These things are too hard for you to understand. 186. Mum s the word. 186. Keep completely silent about this whole matter. 187. She s no spring chicken. 187. She s not young any more. 188. This is not my cup of tea. 188. I don t like this. 189. He s nutty as a fruitcake. 189. He s completely crazy. 190. His name is mud. 190. He has a bad reputation. 191. This is old hat to me. 191. This is something that I m used to dealing with. 192. It s no skin off my nose. 192. It won t hurt me at all. 193. I ve been on pins and needles. 193. I ve been worried and anxious. 194. Once in a blue moon it comes. 194. Very seldom, it comes. 195. Nothing ventured; nothing gained. 195. You can t make a profit if you re not willing to take a risk. 196. Do it on the double. 196. Do it at twice the speed. Idiomatic Expressions is available @ www.raygosabooks.com 8

197. Don t open a can of worms. 197. Don t mention something that people will start to argue over. 198. He s not out of the woods, yet. 198. He s not out of danger, yet. 199. Out of sight, out of mind. 199. What you don t see, you don t think about. 200. He was travelling off the beaten path. 200. He was travelling down unusual pathways. 201. He s out on a limb. 201. He s in a dangerous situation. 202. Out of the mouth of babes. 202. Sometimes, an innocent child will speak a cold, hard truth. 203. He s on the ropes. 203. He s in deep trouble, about to be defeated. 204. Get off the fence. 204. Stop vacillating; make up your mind. 205. Mrs. Jones is over the hill. 205. Mrs. Jones is very old. 206. We need to pass the hat. 206. We need to collect some money. 207. A penny for your thoughts. 207. Please tell me what you re thinking so deeply about. 208. We were as poor as a church mouse. 208. We had almost nothing, not even food. 209. Ants accusing roaches of being bugs. 209. We often criticize others for being what we are. 210. Put up or shut up. 210. Stop talking, and do something. 211. He pulled a fast one on us. 211. He tricked us. 212. She s playing the field. 212. She s dating many different guys. 213. Don t be penny-wise and pound-foolish. 213. Don t be smart in small things, and dumb in large ones. 214. Don t pull punches. 214. Don t pretend to fight. Fight! 215. Pull out all the stops. 215. Don t hold anything back! 216. She s pulling your leg. 216. She s kidding around with you. 217. People who live in glass houses shouldn t throw stones. 217. People, vulnerable to attack themselves, shouldn t attack others. 218. Don t let him pull the wool over 218. Don t let him fool you. your eyes. 219. He pulled the rug out from under me. 220. Put a cork in it. 220. Stop talking. 219. He set me up, and made sure I would fail. Idiomatic Expressions is available @ www.raygosabooks.com 9

221. You should put your foot down. 221. You should make a decision and force everyone to follow it. 222. Don t put all your eggs in one basket. 222. Don t risk everything you have at one time. 223. He s fast on the draw. 223. He can attack very quickly. 224. Can t I take a rain check? 224. Can I purchase this later for today s price? 225. It s raining cats and dogs. 225. The rain is really coming down. 226. You must learn to read between the lines. 226. You must learn to figure out what s being implied and suggested. 227. I hate all of this red tape. 227. I hate all this legal paperwork. 228. He read him the riot act. 228. He yelled at him & scolded him. 229. He s the real McCoy. 229. He s not fake in any way. 230. It s just a red herring. 230. It s just something designed to deliberately mislead. 231. I knew right off the bat. 231. I knew from the very beginning. 232. I got the red carpet treatment. 232. I got treated like royalty. 233. This is a red letter day. 233. This is a day to be remembered. 234. He whispered sweet nothings into her ear. 234. He whispered nice words in her ears that had no real meaning. 235. You ve become a stumbling block to our long range plans. 235. You ve become a hindrance to our long range plans. 236. Don t be so mule headed. 236. Don t be so stubborn. 237. I ve been stringing him along. 237. I ve been misleading him for a while, keeping him interested. 238. There are no strings attached. 238. There are no extra requirements 239. He s been stretching the truth. 239. He s been exaggerating. 240. I had to stew in my own juice. 240. I had to suffer in my situation. 241. The little dog stole the show. 241. The little dog was the best performer in the show. 242. He only got a slap on the wrist. 242. He only got a light punishment. 243. Bob has a silver tongue. 243. Bob is a loquacious speaker. 244. Let s not split hairs. 244. Let s not argue over fine details. 245. Just take a shot in the dark. 245. Just take a wild guess. 246. He s sharp as a tack. 246. He s dressed very nicely. 247. He wants to settle a score. 247. He wants to get revenge. 248. She stabbed him in the back. 248. She betrayed his trust. 249. Tom has a short fuse. 249. Tom gets angry very quickly. 250. Thriller was a smash hit. 250. Thriller was a great DVD. Idiomatic Expressions is available @ www.raygosabooks.com 10

Idiomatic Expressions is available @ www.raygosabooks.com 11