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IDIOM MEANING/SENTENCE
ish About. I'll meet you at 4ish.
a breath of fresh air Refreshing/fun. She's a breath of fresh air.
a change of heart Change my mind. I've had a change of heart.
a blessing in disguise Something bad that turns out good. Losing his job turned out to be a
blessing in disguise.
a dead end That's a dead end job- time to find a new one.
a gut feeling Feeling in my stomach. I have a gut feeling that everything is going to
turn out all right.
a matter of opinion It's a matter of opinion whether eating fried tarantulas is a gourmet
treat.
a piece of cake That test was a snap- it was a piece of cake. (easy)
a rip off You spent $500 for a watermelon! What a rip off! You were cheated.
a pain in the neck A pest. His little brother is a real pain in the neck.
be in hot water Be in trouble. If you tell you boss off, you'll really be in hot water.
in the same boat We're in the same situation. We're all in the same boat- so be cool.
be on the ball Very sharp. Very smart. He's really on the ball.
it's only a matter of time Very soon. It's only a matter of time until his boss realizes that he is
the one stealing money from the till.
be that as it may As things stand. Be that as it may, I think you should re-consider your
decision to move to Antarctica.
up in arms Really angry. His father was up in arms when he learned that he had
crashed his new car.
up in the air Not sure. Plans are up in the air- we haven't decided what to do yet.
Big deal! Not important (sarcastic). Losing an old sock is not a big deal.
cost an arm and a leg Very expensive. His new Ferrari cost an arm and a leg.
cross your fingers For good luck. Cross your fingers that I pass the English exam with
flying colors.
Easier said than done. More difficult than it seems.
Am fed up with Sick and tired of something. I'm fed up with whining friends who have
everything!
from scratch Make from basic ingredients. Her carrot cake was made from scratch.
for the time being For now. For the time being everything is fine at work.
get cold feet Feel too scared to do something. John wanted to ask Maria out but he
got cold feet and decided not to.
get out of the wrong side In a bad mood. He must have gotten up out of the wrong side of the
of the bed bed today.
get the picture Understand. Do you get the picture?
get your act together Get organized/stop wasting time. You better get your act together or
you're going to fail all your classes.
give it a shot Try. Why not try bungee jumping. Give it a shot.
give him a piece of your Get angry and tell someone off. If I were you I would give him a piece
mind of your mind.
give him the cold shoulder Ignore someone. Brett walked right post me without saying a word. He
gave me the cold shoulder.
go all out Do your utmost for someone or something. His parents went all out for
his graduation party.
go up in smoke Evaporate/disappear. His dreams of being a professional athlete went
up in smoke when he broke his leg.
have a chip on your Think you are great. He has such a chip on his shoulder that he hardly
shoulder ever relates to anyone.
had it up to here Can't take any more. I've had it up to here with noisy students!
mixed feelings Positive and negative feelings together. I have very mixed feelings
about her marrying a fisherman.
second thoughts Thinking again about a decision. I'm having second thoughts about
trekking in Greenland this summer.

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throw a fit Get really angry. His mother threw a fit when she heard that he lost
her i-Phone.
I’m all ears. To listen intently. Tell me about your wedding plans- I'm all ears.
in the middle of nowhere Way out in the country. Their ski chalet is in the middle of nowhere.
Just my luck! Bad luck. Just my luck to lose the winning lottery ticket.
keep an eye on Watch carefully. Will you keep an eye on my nephew while I walk the
dog?
bear in mind Keep it in mind. Bear in mind, learning a new language isn't as easy as
it seems.
learn by heart Memorize. You have to learn irregular verbs by heart.
make my day Make my day great. The guy I have a crush on finally called me. He
made my day.
miss the point Don't understand the basic meaning. You are missing the point
entirely.-.
no way Impossible. You got all A's on your exams and you never studied. No
way!
don't have a clue Have no idea. I don't have a clue what the professor was talking
about.
don't have the faintest Don't understand. I don't have the faintest idea what that article was
idea talking about.
on the dot On time. He arrived at 6 o'clock on the dot.
out of sight, out of mind You forget someone you don't see anymore.
out of the blue Suddenly. Guess who called me out of the blue?
play it by ear Make no plans- do things spontaneously. Let's just play it by ear
tonight and see what comes up.
read between the lines Understand what is not stated. If you read between the lines, you'll
realize that he is trying to dump you.
safe and sound Fine. The Boy Scouts returned safe and sound from their camping
adventure in Yellowstone National Park.
see eye to eye Agree. He doesn't see eye to eye with his parents at all.
slipped my mind Forgot. I meant to call you last night, but it slipped my mind.
small talk Chitchat. It's important to be able to make small talk when you meet
new people for the first time.
the last straw The thing that ruins everything. When my boss asked me to cancel my
wedding to complete a project- I said that's the last straw and I quit!
time flies Time goes fast. Time flies when you are having fun.
you can say that again You agree emphatically. Kanye West is a great singer.
You can say that again!
you name it Everything you can think of. This camp has every activity you can
think it- like swimming, canoeing, basketball and you name it.
she's a doll Someone really great. Thanks for helping me out. You're a doll.
full of baloney Not true. She's full of baloney- she doesn't know what she is talking
about.
like 2 peas in a pod Very similar. His 2 brothers are like peas in a pod.
a piece of cake Very easy. My math test was so easy- a real piece of cake.
sounds fishy Suspicious. Doubling your money in an hour sounds fishy to me.
a frog in my throat Can't speak clearly. Ahem! Sorry I had a frog in my throat.
smell a rat Something is suspicious. The policeman didn't believe the witness- in
fact, he smelled a rat.
cat got your tongue Silent for no reason. What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?
tongue in cheek Being ironic. I meant that tongue in cheek. I was kidding.
all thumbs Clumsy. He couldn't put that simple table together- he's just all
thumbs.
get off my back Leave me alone. Bug off! Get off my back!
spill the beans Tell a secret. Hey, don't spill the beans. It's a secret.
hit the ceiling Blow up. His dad hit the ceiling when he saw his dreadful report card.
go fly a kite Get lost! Oh leave me alone! Go fly a kite!
in stitches Laughing a lot. We were all in stitches when we heard the latest joke.

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feel like a million dollars Feel great. I just slept for 15 hours- I feel like a million dollars.
my head is killing me. Something hurts. My head is killing me- I should take an aspirin.
that's out of the question Impossible. Me? Stand up and sing and dance in front of the whole
school- out of the question!
I’m beat Very tired.
beats me Don't know. What's the capital of Outer Mongolia? Beats me!
hands down No comparison. Hands down Mykonos is the world's most beautiful
island.
goody-goody Behaves perfectly. I can't stand Matilda- she's such a goody-goody
and no fun at all.
pain in the neck A big problem. Washing dishes is a pain in the neck.
like pulling teeth Very difficult. Trying to get 2 year olds to cooperate is like pulling
teeth.
for crying out loud Oh no! For crying out loud- let me finish this book- will you?
out of this world Fantastic! My vacation to Hawaii was out of this world!
cost an arm and a leg Very expensive. A Rolls Royce costs an arm and a leg.
go figure Try to guess why. Our English teacher gives us 5 tests a week and this
week- no tests at all. Go figure.
I had a blast/a ball A great time. I had a blast/ball at Sandy’s slumber party.
win-win situation Both sides win. Selling their old stock of i-Phones 4s was a
win-win situation- they got rid of -to them- useless phones- and we
bought –phones very cheaply.
the sticks Way out in the country. Who would want to live in the sticks- what
would you do for excitement?
break the ice Start a conversation. Talking about the weather is a good way to
break the ice when you meet someone new.
give me a break Leave me alone! Come on! Give me a break! I've been working all day
long- and I just want to play a little bit of Angry Birds..
like talking to the wall A waste of time. Dealing with many teenagers is like talking to a wall-
they won't even respond to your questions.
see eye to eye Agree. I hardly ever see eye to eye with my parents.
It's about time It's time. It's about time you started your homework- it's midnight!
sleep like a log Sleep soundly. Last night I slept like a log and didn’t hear the
thunderstorm at all.
easy as pie Super easy. The English test was as easy as pie.
blabbermouth Someone who tells secrets. Don’t tell Sophie your secrets or the whole
town will know them.
don't bug me Don’t bother me. Don’t bug me- I’m busy.
cool as a cucumber Very calm. The policeman was cool as a cucumber when he persuaded
the man not to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.