English, baby!

if they say...

Date: Sep 17 2007

Author: Alexxx

Lesson

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
all ears	fully listening	Give me a minute to finish my work and then I'll be all ears to hear about your project.
break a leg	good-luck	Today's the big game, eh? Break a leg!
cold feet	nervous just before a big event	My sister didn't get cold feet until she put her wedding gown on.
cost an arm and a leg	be very expensive	These cakes are delicious, but they cost an arm and a leg.
cry your heart out	cry very hard	I cried my heart out when my best friend moved away.
face the music	meet, stand up to unpleasant conseqences, for example criticism or punishment	I stayed out all night. When I eventually got home I had to face the music from my wife.
(my) flesh and blood	relative	I have to hire Mia. She's my own flesh and blood.
get something off one's chest	tell someone your problems	Thanks for listening to me complain about my boss. I just needed to get this off my chest.
give a hand, lend a hand	help (someone) do something	I can give you a hand when you move if you like.
have one's head in the clouds	be unaware or unrealistic about something	Amy has her head in the clouds if she thinks she's going to pass her exams without studying.
head over heels	deeply in love	My brother is head over heels for his new girlfriend.
head start	an earlier start	The kids gave Anthony a head start in the bicycle race because he was the youngest.
in over one's head	taking on a task that you can't handle	I was in over my head when I agreed to babysit the triplets and the dogs.
keep an eye on	take care of, watch in order to protect	I'll keep an eye on the dinner while you're on the phone.
keep one's chin up	try to be cheerful	Keep your chin up. I'm sure you'll make some friends soon.
learn by heart, know by heart	memorize	I learned my multiplication tables by heart in the fourth grade.
let one's hair down	relax, have fun	Go to the cottage and let your hair down this weekend.
(my) lips are sealed	promise to keep a secret	Don't worry, I won't tell your mother how much you spent. My lips are sealed.
makes my blood boil	makes me very angry	It makes my blood boil when people don't tie up their dogs.
neck of the woods	nearby location or region	I heard that they might be opening a post office in our neck of the woods soon.
(an) old hand	an experienced person	My uncle's an old hand at car repair. He'll know what the problem is.
over my dead body	not unless I'm dead and can't stop you	My daughter wants a tatoo. I told her she'd get one over my dead body.
pat on the back	recognition or a thank-you	The party organizers deserve a pat on the back for a job well done.
play something by ear	do something without a plan	We don't know if the weather will be good enough for camping. We'll have to play it by ear.
pull one's leg	joke or tease someone	I was just pulling your leg. I'm not really a police officer.
rule of thumb	basic rule (not always followed)	The rule of thumb is that the students wear black pants and white shirts.
see eye to eye	agree	The couple don't see eye to eye on how to train their pets.
(by the) skin of one's teeth	just barely	I passed my exam by the skin of my teeth.
stick your neck out	help someone a lot, with possible bad consequences for oneself	I stuck my neck out for Bessie when she was thrown out of her house.
sweet tooth	a love of sugar or sweet things	I need three spoonfuls of sugar in my tea. I have a sweet tooth.
thick in the head	not very intelligent	I'm a bit thick in the head when it comes to reading a map.
wash one's hands of something	stop dealing with an issue or problem	I'm washing my hands of Mary's addiction. She is going to have to get some professional help.