Monday, June 24, 2013

Idioms from esl-lab

"in a pickle" = a difficult situation
"You'll find yourself in a real pickle if you don't have enough water during an emergency."


"hang loose" = relax or stay calm
"Tell the people to hang loose until help arrives."


"wacky" = silly or foolish
"My brother had the wacky idea of packing twenty bottles of ketchup in his emergency kit instead of water."

"call someone up" = call
"Please call me up if you aren't busy this weekend. I'll have my cellphone with me."

"a thousand apologies" = say one is very, very sorry
"Hey, Steve. A thousand apologies for not calling you up earlier. My cellphone battery died.

"buckle down" = start to work hard
"If you don't buckle down and save money, you'll never be able to afford college."

"hand to mouth" = with barely enough money to live
"My father lived hand to mouth while he was trying to finish college."

"lie through one's teeth" = lie so you don't get in trouble
"The man lied through his teeth even though he was guilty of the crime."

"rip someone off" = cheat someone
"I decided to hire a lawyer because the salesman ripped me off."

SHAPE UP OR SHIP OUTEither improve one's performance (or behavior) or leave. (Used as a command
John was late again, so I told him to shape up or ship out.

CHASE RAINBOWSTo waste your time trying to get or achieve something impossible (usually in continuous tenses)
 I don't think my parents ever believed I'd make it as an actor. I think they thought I was just chasing rainbows

MAKE A MONKEY OUT OF SOMEONEMAKE A FOOL (OUT) OF SOMEONE
Watch out as you go! Don’t make a fool of yourself!

YOU ARE THE APPLE OF MY EYE(S)

HE DRINKS LIKE A FISH

LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG
 Finally, he let the cat out of the bag. He felt relieved although the police arrested him immediately


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