Casual English: 100 Common Idioms
| www.speakmethod.com |
||
|
Casual English: 100 Common Idioms |
|
| Return to Class |
Learn everyday expressions and speak casually. | Sign in |
| Idioms |
Definition |
Sense |
Example |
| keep an open mind |
to
remain aware of many viewpoints or differing ideas |
positive |
Our
new methods are unusual, so please keep an open mind. They are proven
effective! |
| look before you leap |
to
consider the results before taking action |
neutral |
Jack
is very creative, but he doesn't always look before he leaps. He often
wastes time. It's good idea, but remember to look before you leap! |
| make a killing |
to
make a lot of money |
positive |
That
cell phone company made
a killing on their latest model. |
| nervous wreck |
to
be very nervous, so much so that people can see the nervous
habits |
negative |
I
was a nervous wreck when
I
gave my presentation in Spanish. My lip was twitching and my
hands
were shaking--I was so embarassed! |
| not out of the woods |
not
out of danger (the woods often represent danger in fairy
tales) |
negative |
I
think that our research
project is doing well, but we're not out of the woods yet. If we
don't
get additional funding, we might have to stop working and
lose our data. |
| pull the wool over one's eyes |
to
fool a person (by making the other person blind to the
truth) |
negative |
That
young executive pulled
the wool over my eyes! I thought he was my
assistant, but he was
play-acting to see what kind of person I am. |
| rip off |
something
that is not worth the money spent, also "rip one off" means
to cheat a person |
negative |
This
purse is such a rip
off! It costs $200 and there are no pockets. I feel stupid, but the man on the street corner ripped me off. He sold me a hotdog, but it tasted so bad, I couldn't eat it. |
| sick and tired of |
frustrated
by |
negative |
I'm
so sick and tired
of my mother-in-law. She always pushes me to make money, and
yet she never had a job of her own. |
| take it easy |
to
relax |
positive |
After
three weeks of hard work, I plan to take it easy tomorrow. I'll go to
the park or watch a movie. |
| there's nothing new under the sun |
most
creative ideas have been used by someone in the past |
negative |
She
thinks she has a novel
idea that is completely new. I told her that there's new under the sun,
and she should read more books. |
100 Common Idioms Class |
Idioms 21-40 Main Page |