American Idioms

What does the idiom, be in hot water mean?
When you are in hot water, you are in trouble.

• I was in hot water when I lost my passport when I was traveling in Europe.
• You are going to be in hot water if you come to work late again.

 

What does not my cup of tea mean?  In American English, we tend to speak directly, except when we have to say something negative. If you don’t like something, an indirect and more polite way to mean “I don’t like it” is to say, “It’s not my cup of tea.” Keep in mind that we generally use this idiom when we talk about something that we don’t like and thus, we say, “it’s not my cup of tea.” It would be funny to say “It’s my cup of tea” if you like something.

Football is not my cup of tea, so I never watch it.

Jenny said that going to a classical concert is not her cup of tea.

What does bang into mean? Bang into means to collide or hit. When something or someone bangs into another thing, we can use, bang into.

• I banged into a lamp post when pulled out of the parking space.
• Somebody was texting while walking and banged into me on the street.

What does Make a Bundle mean? The idiom Make a Bundle means to make or earn a lot of money. When someone makes a lot of money, they get a lot of money.

• My uncle made a bundle selling stuff on an online auction.
• These days, a lot of people are making a bundle as YouTubers.

What does clean out mean? The phrasal verb clean out means to empty a space and get rid of things that you no longer need or want.

• I finally got around to cleaning out the garage.
• My desk drawers are a mess. I really need to clean them out.

What does get away mean? Get away has a few different meanings, but in this English lesson, the meaning we will look at is “to take a vacation.” We also use the noun, getaway. Keep in mind, GET is an irregular verb and the three forms of GET are GET, GOT and GOTTEN.

• Jenny said she is going to get away for a few days this weekend.
• We had a nice getaway last month in Vermont.

Quiet As A Mouse
What does as quiet as a mouse mean? 
A person who is as quiet as a mouse doesn’t speak very much. In other words, that person is very quiet.

• At the party, Jenny was as quiet as a mouse. I wonder what happened.
• Tommy was as quiet as a mouse during the meeting.

I’m In A Pickle 

Do you know the meaning of the idiom, To Be In A Pickle? To Be In A Pickle means to be in trouble or to be in a difficult situation. A pickle is a sour food, so if you are in trouble or having a serious problem, that’s a “sour” situation. Let’s see some examples about how to use To Be In A Pickle.

• I lost my passport when I was traveling in Europe. I was in a pickle!
• Bob realized that he had double booked some of his appointments. He was totally in a pickle.

Crack Down On
What does crack down on mean? 
Crack down on means to enforce the rules, laws, or regulations.

• In my town the police crackdown on drinking and driving.
• Recently my boss has decided to crack down on the lateness policy.

What does by the book mean? 
When you do something by the book, you follow the rules exactly. We usually use by the book to show that someone is not flexible about using the rules.

• When it comes to the vacation policy, my boss always goes by the book.
• The teacher is very strict and grades each term paper by the book.

What does drop into mean? 
Dropped into means to visit a place for a short amount of time. You can use drop into in both Business and personal situations.

• I usually drop into the coffee shop on the way to work.
• I’m going to drop into Jack’s office for a few minutes.

What does sick and tired mean? 
When you are sick and tired of something, it means that you are no longer interested or happy about that thing; so much so that you feel annoyed or irritated by it.

• I am sick and tired of the train delays in this city.
• Everyone in the office is sick and tired of working overtime every day.

Bookworm
What does bookworm mean? 
A bookworm is a person who loves to read very much. A bookworm is always reading and probably, a bookworm spends a lot of time in the library and bookshops.

• Jane is a bookworm. Her house looks like a library!
• Because Bob is bookworm, it’s easy to find a birthday present for him.

Come Up
What does come up mean? When something comes up, it happens unexpectedly. We generally say that “something” comes up or “something” came up.

• Sorry, something came up and I can’t go to the party.
• Something came up and the boss cancelled the meeting.

Break Something In
What does break something in mean?  When you break something in, you use it until it become soft and comfortable. We usually use break something in when we talk about clothes.

• It took me a week to break in my new shoes.
• Jack broke in his new baseball glove this season.

What does THROW YOURSELF INTO SOMETHING mean? 
When you throw yourself into something, you do that thing with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.

• I always throw myself into my work.
• Jack threw himself into his studies and became a successful accountant.

What does COME OVER! mean? 
COME OVER and GO OVER are casual ways to say visit…usually for people, but its also possible to use come over for places.

• Hey Jack! What time should I come over?
• The party is tomorrow, so why don’t you come over around 6?

What does IT’S NOT A BIG DEAL! mean? 

When someone makes a request, and you are ok to accept that request, you can say, sure! It’s not a big deal (or) it’s no big deal.

What does CALL ON mean? 
CALL ON is a formal way of saying, “visit someone.” We usually use CALL ON in a business situation, but it is also possible to use CALL ON in personal situations as well.

• We called on a few clients this morning.
• Are you going to call on those customers when you go to the conference?

What does At The Crack Of Dawn mean?
The idiom, at the crack of dawn, means at a very early time in the morning. If you wake up at the crack of dawn it means that you wake up very early.

• You can hear many birds singing at the crack of dawn.
• I always wake up at the crack of dawn!

What does DRESSED TO KILL mean? 
When you are dressed to kill, you’re wearing very fancy, stylish, and maybe even sexy clothing.

• Jenny was dressed to kill at the party last night.
• Those guys are dressed to kill. I guess they are going to a wedding.

What does TO BE BACKED UP mean? 
When something is backed up it is very crowded or congested. We usually use TO BE BACKED UP when we talk about transportation systems.

• The highway is always backed up during a holiday.
• Because of an accident, the trains were backed up this morning.

What does CUT IT OUT mean? 
CUT IT OUT is a direct way to tell someone, HEY! STOP DOING THAT! This phrase is very direct, so it’s best not to use it to your boss or teacher!

What does DOG-TIRED mean? 
When you are dog-tired, you are very exhausted, physically and mentally.

• I am so dog-tired from working overtime.
• I am too dog-tired to go out tonight, so I’m not going to Jack’s party.

What does CHEW THE FAT mean? 
CHEW THE FAT means to chat…you know, to have a casual conversation.

• We were chewing the fat last night at the bar.
• It was nice to chew the fat with you today.

What does Call It A Day mean? 
Call it a day means to finish doing some kind of work.

• After spending two hours working in the garden, I decided to call it a day.
• It’s 8:00pm. Let’s call it a day.

What does BURN someone UP mean? 

When something or someone BURNS YOU UP, it means that thing or that person makes you very angry.

• The delayed trains in this town really burn me up!
• People who walk and text burn me up!

What does POP UP mean? 
When something pops up, it happens unexpectedly.

• A meeting popped up in my office today.
• Someting popped up and I have to leave the office early today.

What does BURN THE MIDNIGHT OIL mean? 
When you burn the midnight oil, you stay up late for work or study.

• I was burning the midnight oil to finish my project.
• Students usually burn the midnight oil before exams.

DEAL WITH
When you deal with something, you handle it or work on it. Deal with gives us the nuance that the thing we are handling or doing is difficult or unpleasant.

• Jen has a leak in her bathroom and she has been dealing with it all day.
• I have several reports I need to deal with today.

YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN! We use the phrase “You can say that again!” in a conversation to mean, “I agree” or “I think so too!” Jen: Studying English here is fun! Kay: You can say that again! How about you? Have you used this in your English conversations?

PICK UP THE TAB
Pick up the tab means to pay for a meal in a restaurant.

• The boss always picks up the tab when we have dinner after a meeting.
• It’s your birthday, so I’ll pick up the tab!

TALK INTO
When you talk someone into something you convince them to do that thing.

• I talked my mom into baking an apple pie!
• Jack said that it was impossible to talk his wife into going to Las Vegas.

What are you racking up these days
RACK UP
Rack up means to collect or gather something, like points in a game, frequent flier miles, and so on.

• Jen racked up 10 points in the first 5 minutes of the game.
• I rack up a lot of frequent flyer miles.

RUN BY When you run something by someone, you tell them something in order to get their opinion or feedback. Let’s run this meeting schedule by the boss before we send it out. Can I run something by you? I’m thinking of… How about you? What have you run by someone recently?

What does To Have A Green Thumb mean? Here is a one-point lesson to help you learn this English!
To Have A Green Thumb is an idiom in American English. Someone who has a green thumb is good with plants and gardening.

• My mom has a green thumb. You should see our tomato garden.
• Jenny has a green thumb. Her flowers look so beautiful.

LIKE THE BACK OF YOUR HAND
When you know something like the back of your hand, you know that thing very well.

• I know NYC like the back of my hand.
• Fabrizio knows cars like the back of his hand!

How about you? What do you know like the back of your hand?

BAWL OUT Bawl out means to scold or reprimand someone. The boss bawled out Jack because he came to the meeting late again. Your wife is going to bawl you out if you come home drunk. How about you? Have you bawled out anyone recently? Has anyone bawled you out? 

MULL OVER
When you mull something over you consider it very deeply and carefully over a period of time.

• When I asked the boss for a day off, he said he needed to mull it over.
• I’m mulling over buying a new house.

SHOOT THE BREEZE
Shoot the breeze means to have a casual conversation…just chatting. Keep in mind, SHOOT is an irregular verb and the three parts are shoot…shot…shot.

• Let’s hang out in the park and shoot the breeze.
• I was in the kitchen shooting the breeze with my friend Paul.

How about you? When was the last time you were shooting the breeze?

FILL IN
FILL IN has a number of different meanings, but for this lesson we will focus on the meaning which is “to inform.”

• Let me fill you in on what happened at the meeting yesterday.
• Can you fill me in on what you did in class? I was absent last week.

IN A DOG’s AGE
In a dog’s age means in a very long time. If you haven’t done something in a dog’s age it means you haven’t done that thing in a very long time.

• I haven’t seen my friend Jim in a dog’s age.
• We haven’t had good sushi in a dog’s age.

How about you? What is something that you haven’t done in a dog’s age?

A PAIN IN THE NECK
Something that is a pain in the neck is troublesome or bothersome. You can use a pain in the neck for things or people.

• Going through security at the airport is a pain in the neck.
• My boss is a pain in the neck. He always makes me work overtime.
• The traffic in this town is a pain in the neck.

How about you? What is a pain in the neck for you these days?

WIPED OUT
When you are wiped out, you are very tired or exhausted.

• Jim is wiped out because he went hiking last weekend.
• Everyone was wiped out after the meeting.
• I worked 70 hours last week. I am totally wiped out.

How about you? When was the last time you were wiped out?