hang on Meaning hold on or hold tightly to wait for a little time or to keep a hold of to hold on to someone or something tightly and not let go to keep pushing or persisting regardless of obstacles to hold something for someone until they are ready to pick it up Example Sentences The child hung on…
Common Idioms
break open Meaning to cause something to open suddenly, especially from within to open something using force Example Sentences The violent storms shook the very foundation of the house and broke open the doors. The heavy rainfall caused the seeds of the flower to break open . Sam broke open the trap…
speak up Meaning raise your voice to talk very loudly or distinctly in order to be heard to express your own opinion or defend someone without fear and with courage Example Sentences Can you speak up because those at the back can barely hear you? Even though Mark’s view was not widely accepted, Matt…
slow day Meaning a day in which not much happens, so it feels like it is taking very long to pass a day in which less than expected has been done not much business has been done Example Sentences The shop did not make a lot of money today, we had a slow day . Very few people came into the restaurant…
carry on Meaning to continue with something to continue with a task until completion to behave enthusiastically and in an uncontrolled manner maybe even due to excessive worry or nervousness to react to a situation more than it is necessary a small bag that passengers try to keep with them at all…
all day long Meaning the whole day, throughout the entire day doing something for a considerably long duration of time representing abundant availability of some item or emotion something continuing for a long time seemingly since always Example Sentences The beggar had to beg all day long before…
head start Meaning having an advantage over someone starting early or before the starting time favorable advantage in the beginning of an event, competition or activity Example Sentences They left early so as to get a head start on the rush hour traffic. His military life gave him a huge head start…
take stock Meaning to think carefully about a situation in order to make a decision to reflect on your life it can also mean to physically count things, for example in a shop Example Sentences Before deciding on which job to take, Peter has decided to take stock in order to make an informed decision…
as simple as that Meaning extremely easy to understand or comprehend not complicated at all so easy and not more difficult than that Example Sentences There can be no exceptions. Every new recruit has to undergo an orientation course, it’s as simple as that . Without enough business, the company…
learning curve Meaning the rate of learning new skills the rate of progress in achieving experience a process of learning something through one’s own mistakes and experiences the time required to acquire some new skill, information, ability or talent a graphical tool to show learning progress of any…
pain in the neck Meaning Anything that is particularly annoying, difficult, troublesome, inconvenient or irritating including a person, place, situation or thing. Example Sentences Mathematics is generally a real pain in the neck for most of the school and college students. His sudden outbursts have…
all the best Meaning a polite way to end a letter or email all of the best, meaning the entire number of the highest quality of something when you are saying goodbye to someone and you are conveying your best wishes Example Sentences We would like to wish you all the best in the year to come. The…
give up Meaning to stop trying to figure something out to stop trying to do something to declare defeat to yield control to someone else to abandon yourself to a feeling to stop doing something (like a bad habit) Example sentences John was so tired of trying to fix the stove that he decided to give…
cheat sheet Meaning a cheat sheet is a sheet containing information a written, or graphic aid that is used by someone when answering questions to which they do not know the answers a guide used to help remember something difficult or complex in IT, it is a reference tool that is used to complete a…
in a huff Meaning to be upset or angry behaving in a bad-tempered way because someone is upset a fit of anger slang for someone who is sulking about something Example Sentences June was very upset because her mother would not buy her a new pair of shoes, so she stormed out of the room in a huff .…
point blank Meaning to fire something at such close range that it cannot be missed to express an issue in a blunt fashion, without trying to soften the meaning frankly or straightforwardly Example Sentences I asked the boy whether he thought that I was pretty, he said “no” point blank , without even…
say what Meaning used when asking someone to repeat what they have said an act of surprise (something you say when someone surprises you) a modern slang word meaning “excuse me” Example Sentences They are going out tonight, even though we told them to stay at home. “ Say what !” Please hand me that…
tighten one’s belt Meaning to save your money to use less of something to spend less money that you used to, because you have less lower your standard of living Example Sentences I have had to tighten my belt since I lost my job at the ice cream factory. My husband has told me to tighten my belt ,…
weak in the knees also, weak at the knees Meaning to be overcome by a strong feeling, usually desire to be caught off guard by something that upsets you affected by a strong emotion while being unable to do something about it to be very nervous Example Sentences The man makes me weak in the knees…
a sight for sore eyes Meaning a way of saying that you are happy to see someone a way of expressing that you think someone is good looking something that you are happy to look at the idiom also means something that is unpleasant to look at (opposite meaning in British version) Example Sentences I…
what are you up to Meaning another way to ask someone, what are you doing? used to inquire what someone is doing at a point in time an informal way to refer to the activities of someone Example Sentences Seeing me going from room to room with no apparent method, my friend couldn’t help but ask what…
all set Meaning to refer a state of being ready for an event to be prepared for an occurrence for something to be finished or to refer to a situation that has been handled Example Sentences After putting the luggage in the trunk, we were all set to go on our vacation. John put on his helmet and he…
pass away Meaning die to refer to someone dying in order to avoid upsetting someone with the news of the death to stop existing or to go extinct Example Sentences Martha let us know that our grandfather passed away two nights ago. I didn’t take the news of my mom passing away too well. We didn’t…
high up Meaning to have an important standing in society a higher-ranking person in any organization, group or society to be regarded as an influential person in an organisation Example Sentences With the way he barked orders at the workers, everyone got the impression that he is high up in the…
none of your business or, none of my business Meaning used to tell someone not to get involved in whatever you have going on to refer to a private information that you do not want to share with someone else Example Sentences My mother in law was not pleased when we politely told her that the…
at the same time Meaning used to refer to two or more things occurring together to refer to another alternative to be considered in addition to that which has already been mentioned all at once; simultaneously Example Sentences My mother has the ability to make me laugh and cry at the same time . In…
means to an end Meaning a necessary action carried out just to achieve a goal something that is done just for the sake of producing an adequate result Example Sentences Her working as a public defender was not due to her passion for the job but solely as a means to an end . Marilyn chose to marry…
as different as chalk and cheese Meaning for two things to be completely different from each other to have nothing in common with someone or something else to lack similarity when compared with someone or something Example Sentences Despite James and John being identical twins, their characters were…
shades of grey Meaning refers to a situation where things are not really clear when things are vague or have very sketchy details a state of uncertainty where things are ambiguous Example Sentences Tina’s story to the police on how she got mugged was different shades of grey as it was not…
a necessary evil Meaning something unpleasant that must be done in order to achieve a goal or objective something displeasing that must be accepted just to achieve a desired result anything bad that has to be carried out or condoned in order to achieve something good Example Sentences Mike saw his…
finishing touch also, final touch Meaning something that is added to ensure that something else is made complete a minor change that completes something else or makes it perfect the last elements finishing a work final touch ups enhancing or ending a work Example Sentences Mike was sure he would ace…
treasure trove Meaning a priceless or valuable discovery an assortment or store of precious or wonderful stuff anything of immense value to the person who makes the discovery Example Sentences After his mother’s death, David found a treasure trove when he found her collection of music records.…
it’s high time Meaning to refer to something that is already overdue but must be started immediately the appropriate or right time to do something without delay or very shortly a long-awaited occasion; a suitable point in time; or past the appropriate time Example Sentences After months of being…
heart goes out to Meaning to feel sympathy for someone when they are distressed used to show a feeling of compassion for someone else during difficult times Example Sentences Following the aftermath of the hurricane, my heart goes out to all the residents of New Orleans. My heart goes out to all the…
blowing smoke Synonyms | Variants blows smoke in your face blows smoke in your eyes Meaning to intentionally misinform or deceive when someone is just making plans without an intention to follow through to conceal the secret behind the stereotyped situation to cheat someone and trying to look…
a burnt child dreads the fire Meaning everyone avoids repeating a hurting experience again in life when you are once beaten by someone or something, you always avoid getting intact with that thing again a person becomes more cautious when he or she gets hurt with something and secure him for the…
speak too soon Meaning to say something with the belief that it will be right and then it is later found out to be untrue to make an assumption regarding a situation only to be proven wrong afterwards Example Sentences I was certain Nina would fail at her task and said so boldly. When she…
drive crazy Meaning to upset someone to the point where they lose focus to annoy someone and cause them to be distracted Example Sentences He drives me crazy with the lazy way he executes all his tasks. Leo’s constant nagging certainly drives me crazy . The fact that I couldn’t understand what was…
go after Meaning to catch up to someone after they have gone to chase or pursue something or someone with the intention of catching up to them or stopping them to pursue somebody or something Example Sentences Leo has decided to go after his dreams with all that he has. Seeing that she was upset…
stay up Meaning not go to sleep to remain awake late into the night to be awake past the time you were meant to go to sleep or to be awake past your scheduled bedtime Example Sentences Mom made sure we stayed up to welcome our dad home after months of him being on military tour. It’s not a good idea…
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