Idioms

[Lazy cat]

Idioms from Geography
1. dirt cheap: very inexpensive
Eg: She needed money badly. So she has a garage sale in which she sold a lot of her things dirt cheap.
2. down-to-earth: honest and direct, sensible and practical.
Eg: Oleg is always willing to give advice, and his advice is usually valuable. He's down-to-earth.
3. to go downhill: to go down in numbers or in quality, get worse.
Eg: The company is going to go downhill rapidly. It needs to produce and sell more and better products.
4. to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Eg: Sally usually get good grades, but she didn't do well on the last test. Now she is making a mountain out of a molehill.
5. once in a blue moon: almost never, very seldom.
Eg: Katie is so busy that she sees her brother Kevin only once in a blue moon.
6. out of this world: excellent, very wood.
Eg: The ice-cream at that store is out of this world. I'd walk a mile to buy some.
7. out of the woods: out of the trouble or difficult.
Eg: He was very ill, but he's getting better. He's out of the wood.
8. over the hill: getting too old.
Eg: I used to be able to run five miles a day without any problem. Now I have trouble running just two miles. I must be getting over the hill.

summarize
A Down-To-Earth-Town
Nothing much ever happens in our town. But, once in a blue moon, everyone gets excited about something. The town picnic in the middle of summer is the big event of the year. People come to it from all over. But basically Bobtown is a quiet, sleepy old town. Some people say that it's going downhill. Is it true that many citizens have moved away. There are empty houses, and real estate is dirt cheap. But the people who stayed have kept the spirit. Yes, Bobtown is a simple place for simple people. People here are down-to-earth. They're not afraid to say what they think. They don't make a mountain out of a molehill. If a problem comes up, they solve it and don't waste time talking about how bad the situation is. Every election, the same mayor wins by a landslide. She gets all eighty votes.
Fill in the gap:
1. ..................... almost never, very seldom.
2. ...................... getting too old
3. ....................... to get almost all of the votes.
4......................... honest and direct, sensible and practical.
5. ........................ very inexpensive
6. ........................ out of the trouble or difficulty.
7. ......................... excellent, very good.
8. ......................... small part of a large problem
9. ......................... to make a big problem out of a small problem.
10. ........................ in trouble
11. ......................... to go down in numbers or in quality, get worse.

[Lazy cat]

Idioms from colors
1. the black market: the market not controlled by the government, where things are sold in private and often against the law.

Eg: You can go to the bank to change dollars. But if you change money on the black market, you often get more money for each dollar.
2. to feel blue: to feel sad

Eg: I was alone on my birthday and feeling blue. Then Arny called and invited me out, and I felt better.
3. the green light: the okay to start something

Eg: The bank has given us the money. now we have the green light to start the project.

[Lazy cat]

Idioms from colors (tiếp)
4. green with envy: jealous of someone else's good fortune
Eg: I was green with envy when I learned that Luis had won a trip to Europe.
5. in black and white: very clear and easy to understand
Eg: I couldn't believe it, but there it was in black and white, as clear as it could be. The letter said that I had won a trip to Europe.
6. in the black: having money
Eg: He earns a thousand dollars a week. He doesn't have to worry about having enough money. He is always in the black.
7. in the red: owing money, in debt
Eg: I never have enough money to pay my bills. I'm always in the red.

[Lazy cat]

Idioms from colors (tiếp)
8. out of the blue: by surprise, unexpectedly
Eg: The news of the factory's closing came out of the blue. No one was expecting it.
9. the red carpet: special honors for a special or important person.
When the movie star visited, our town rolled out the red carpet. There was a parade and a special dinner inn her honor.
10. red tape: complicated official procedures and forms.
Eg: Every time you want to get a new passport, you have to go through a lot of red tape. It's not easy and it takes a lot of time.
11. a white lie: something that is not true but that causes no harm.
Eg: I didn't feel like going out. So I told a white lie, and I said I didn't feel well.

[Lazy cat]

Idioms from food
1. the apple of one'eye: someone's favourite person.
Eg: The baby is the apple of her grandfather's eye. He thinks that she is wonderful.
2. baloney: suspicious, not right or honest.
Eg: His speech about the importance of helping the poor is baloney. He wouldn't even give his best friend a dime.
3. to cream someone: to totally beat someone in a game.
Eg: Our baseketball team really creamed its opponent. Our team won by a score of 120 to 60.
4. fishy: suspicious, not right or honest.
On our return home, we found the front door openm and we suspected that something fishy was going on.
5. to go bananas:: to go crazy
Eg: She went bananas when she heard she had won the first prize in the talent contest.
6. in a pickle: in trouble
Eg: Bill was in a pickle. After filling his car with gas, he could not find the money to pay.
7. a lemon: something that does not work, usually an electrical appliance or mechanical item.
Eg: The new tape player I bought was a lemon, and I'm going to take it back to the store for a new one.
8. nuts: very crazy, very upset.
Eg: Tony must be nuts to pay over a hundred dollars for a shirt.
9. peach: a very nice person.
Eg: When I was sick last week, Susan visited me and bought groceries for me. She is a peach.
10. peanuts: a very small amount of money.
Eg: Rose buys used clothes at secondhand stores, and she gets nicelooking clothes for peanuts.
11. a piece of cake: something that is very easy to do.
Eg: The math test was a piece of cake for Erik.
summarize
A real Lemon
The used car I bought for three hundred dollars was a lemon. My friends said I was nuts to believe the baloney the seller gave.The seller said that the car was like new, with only ten thousand miles on it. She called it reliable transportation at a very low price. She said she was really selling it for peanuts.
Starting the engine of the car was a piece of cake. I just turned the key no problem. However, soon I was in a pickle: the brakes didn't work! The owner of the Cadillac I hit went bananas when he saw the damage to the front of his car. He started shouting at me and wouln't stop. Now I have to pay him two thousand dollars to repair his car. But my friend Nina was a peach. She took my car to the garbage dump so that I didn't have to see it again.

[Lazy cat]

Idioms from Numbers
1, at first sight: after a quick look, before really thinking about one's feeling about.
Eg: I don't know what to think about the new boss. At first sight, she seems okay, but I may change my mind later.
2, forty winks: a short sleep, a nap.
Eg: I sometimes take forty winks on Saturday afternoon, so that I can continue working around the house afterward.
3, in a seventh heaven: extremely happy.
Eg: Maxwell was in seventh heaven when he learned he had gotten the job.
4, of two minds: having trouble making decision.
Eg: Betty was of two minds about her future: Should she study to be a teacher or an actress?
5. second nature: easy and natural to someone.
Eg: Learning to golf is second nature to some people. They can hit the ball well with no problem the very first time.
6. second to none: the very best.
Eg: The food in that restaurant is second to none. You really get the best meals there.
7. six of one, half a dozen of the other: no difference, either choice okay.
Eg: We can either stay at home or go to the movie. I don't care. For me, it's six of one, half a dozen of the other.
8. sixth sense: a special feeling for something, or a special understanding of things.
Eg: Lisa has a sixth sense for directions. She always knows which road to take to get where she wants to go.
9. on cloud nine: extremely happy.
Eg: Juanita was on cloud nine when she graduated from college at the top of her class.
10. on second thought: changing one's mind after thinking more about something.
Eg: You know that large screen TV I was going to buy? On second thought, I decided to keep my old TV for a while.
11. to put two and two together: to finally understand something, to come to a conclusion about something.
Eg, We saw our neighbours putting suitcases into theirs car. So we put two and two together and concluded that they were going away on a trip.
Summarize
To Go Fishing, or Not to Go Fishing
For some people, fishing is so enjoyable that it puts them in seventh heaven. For others, fishing is a good time to relax and catch forty winks. I'm of two minds about it. At first sight, fishing seems like funs. But, on second thought, I just don't like to handle a fish when I catch it. To many people who like fishing, it's second nature to look at a river or a lake and know where the fish are. They have sixth sense that helps them do this. Soon they're catching fish, while I'm still trying to put the worm on the hook.
Exercises
1. ........................., I thought the price was a bargain, but now I'm not so sure.
2. Arthur never needed piano lessons. For him, playing was just ...........
3. American jeans are the best in the world. They're ............................
4. Hiroshi is .................. about whether he wants to continue school or get a job.
5. ......................., I've changed my mind, and I don't want the extra cheese on my burger.
6. Bert finally ..................... He had forgotten to plug in the computer.
7. Avril has been .................... since she passed her exams.
8. Lin needed a short rest, so she took .........................
9. My .......................... tells me that it's going to rain and that I'll need my umbrella today.
For me, it's ........................... We can go either for Chinese food or for Italian food.

[gracy67]

Thanks for this nice collection of idioms. I am just wandering how you find all these idioms. I have not heard of most of these, so thanks for the new information!