| Idiom | Meaning | Example Sentence |
| apple of one's eye | a person that is adored by someone | Baby Jessica is the apple of her father's eye. |
| (have a) bun in the oven | be pregnant | I don't think Jan will come to the bar because she has a bun in the oven. |
| bad egg | a person who is often in trouble | I don't want my little brother hanging around with the bad eggs on the street. |
| big cheese | very important person (VIP) | I thought I was just going to interview the secretary, but they let me talk to thebig cheese himself. |
| bread and butter | necessities, the main thing | Just explain the bread and butter of your report. You don't have to go into details. |
| bring home the bacon | earn the income | My husband has had to bring home the bacon ever since I broke my leg. |
| butter someone up | be extra nice to someone (usually for selfish reasons) | We'll have to butter Angie up before we tell her the news about the broken vase. |
| (have one's) cake and eat it too | want more than your fair share or need | Rick wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to be single but he doesn't want me to date anyone else. |
| carrot top | person with red or orange hair | Simon is the first carrot top I've ever gone out with. |
| cheesy | silly | I love reading cheesy romance novels because I don't have to think. |
| cool as a cucumber | very relaxed | I thought I was afraid of flying, but I was cool as a cucumber all the way to England. |
| cream of the crop | the best | We hired the cream of the crop to entertain us at the Christmas party. |
| (don't) cry over spilled milk | get upset over something that has happened and cannot be changed | The mirror is broken and we can't fix it. There's no need to cry over spilled milk. |
| cup of joe | cup of coffee | Let's stop for a cup of joe before we head to work. |
| (not my) cup of tea | something you enjoy (usually used negatively) | Opera isn't exactly my cup of tea. |
| egg someone on | urge someone to do something | The gang tried to egg us on but we didn't want to fight. |
| freeze one's buns off | be very cold | I froze my buns off at the ice rink. |
| full of beans | have a lot of (silly) energy | The kids were full of beans after the circus. |
| gravy train | extremely good pay for minimal work | The unionized grocers have been enjoying the gravy train for twenty years. |
| (have something) handed to someone on a silver platter | receive without working for something | The professor's daughter had her college diploma handed to her on a silver platter. |
| hard nut to crack | difficult to understand (often a person) | Angelo is a hard nut to crack when something is bothering him like this. |
| hot potato | a controversial or difficult subject | Choosing a location for our new store is a hot potato right now. |
| in a nutshell | simply | In a nutshell, I'm having a bad day. |
| nuts about something, someone | like a lot | I'm nuts about classical music these days. |
| out to lunch | crazy or mad | Harry has been out to lunch ever since he lost his job. |
| one smart cookie | a very intelligent person | Your daughter is one smart cookie. She reads much higher than her grade level. |
| peach fuzz | small amount of hair growth | Except for a bit of peach fuzz, the baby came out bald. |
| piece of cake | very easy | The exam was a piece of cake. |
| put all of ones eggs in one basket | rely on one single thing | Even though I'm majoring in Art, I'm taking a maths course because my Dad says I shouldn't put all of my eggs in one basket. |
| souped up | made more powerful or stylish | The car was souped up with shiny rims and a loud stereo. |
| sell like hot cakes | bought by many people | The new Harry Potter books sold like hot cakes. |
| spice things up | make something more exciting | I wanted to spice things up in the office, so I bought some red and gold paint. |
| spill the beans | reveal the truth | On Monday, I'm going to spill the beans about my travel plans. |
| take something with a pinch (grain) of salt | don't consider something 100% accurate | Take Mandy's advice with a pinch of salt. She doesn't always do her research. |
| use your noodle | use your brain | You're going to have to really use your noodle on this crossword puzzle. It's an extra difficult one. |
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Food Idioms
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Control Idioms
the power to direct or manage someone or something. (*Typically: get ~; have ~; give someone ~.) I have no control over Mary. I can't stop her from running away. Who gave you control over what goes on in this house?
*out of control
1. Lit. [of something, such as a machine] not responding to direction or instructions. (*Typically: be ~; go ~.) The computer is out of control and making funny-looking characters all over the screen. My CD player is out of control and only makes screeching noises.
2. and *out of hand Fig. acting wildly or violently. (*Typically: be ~; get ~.) Watch out, that dog is out of control. The kids got out of hand again.
See also: out
*under control
Fig. manageable; restrained and controlled; not out of control. (*Typically: be ~; bring someone or something ~; getsomeone or something ~; have someone or something ~; keep someone or something ~.) We finally got things under control and functioning smoothly. The doctor felt she had the disease under control and that I would get well soon.
bring someone or something under one's control
to achieve dominion over someone or something. The dictator was at last able to bring the army under his control. Harry could not bring Ron under his control. Walter could not be brought under Lily's control.
See also: bring
control the purse strings and hold the purse strings
Fig. to be in charge of the money in a business or a household. I control the purse strings at our house. Mr. Williams is the treasurer. He controls the purse strings.
exercise power over
someone or something and exercise control over someone or something; exercise influence over someone or something to have someone or something under one's control or influence. The dictator exercised power over the island for many years. See if you can exercise some control over your appetite. I wish I could exercise some influence over the committee.
in control of someone or something
1. in charge of someone or something. Who is in control of this place? I am not in control of her. She works for another department.
2. to have someone or something mastered or subdued; to have achieved management of someone or something. You should be in control of your dog at all times. The attendant was instructed to be in control of his patient at all times.
rage out of control
to become uncontrollable. The fire raged out of control and threatened the residential area. If we didn't do something quickly, the fire would be raging out of control.
take control of someone or something
to get the power and right to direct someone or something. I will take control of him and see that he does what I want. Will you take control of the Wilson project?
See also: take
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
out of control
unable to be managed or limited The weeds in the garden are out of control.
Word Part Frequecies
Most Commonly-Used Prefixes
This list, compiled by White, Sowell, and Yanagihara (The Reading Teacher, 42, p. 306), has the
twenty most frequently-used prefixes. In fact these prefixes make up 97% of all prefixed words.
Rank/Prefix Meaning
1. un not
2. re again
3. in, im, il, ir not
4. dis away from
5. en, em in
6. non not
7. in, im in
8. over above
9. mis not
10. sub under
11. pre before
12. inter between
13. fore in front
14. de apart from
15. trans across
16. super above
17. semi half
18. anti against
19. mid middle
20. under too little Frequently-Used Roots
Root Meaning Origin Example
aud hear Latin auditorium
mis send Latin mission
astro star Greek astrology
ped foot Latin pedal
bio life Greek biology
phon sound Greek telephone
dict say Latin predict
port carry Latin import
geo earth Greek geography
scrib, scrip write Latin scribble, scripture
meter measure Greek thermometer
min little, small Latin minimum
spect see Latin inspect
mit, mis send Latin transmit, mission
struct build, form Latin instruct
Adapted from Stahl, S.A. and Shiel, T.G., Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning
Disabilities, 8, 223-241
Most Commonly-Used Suffixes
Suffix Meaning Examples
_s, _es plural or verb tense cats, pushes
_ed past verb tense, past participle helped, had helped
_ing verb tense or noun form indicating on-going action was going, listening
_ly how, when, where, or under what conditions slowly
_er, _or one who writer, actor
_er comparative adjective bigger
_tion, _ion, the process or act of notion, onion,
_sion, _ition, tension, partition,
_ation decoration
_able, _ible able to be comparable, invisible
_al, _ial related to mortal, partial
_y consisting of or inclined toward rainy
_ness state, quality, condition, degree brightness
This list was adapted from the research compiled by Cooper 2000.
People Expressions
all things to all men and all things to all people
Fig. [for someone or something] liked or used by all people; [for someone or something] everything that is wanted by all people. You simply can't be all things to all people. The candidate set out to be all things to all men and came off looking very wishy-washy.
assimilate with some people
to join or mix in with people and become accepted by them. It's easy for Karen to assimilate with new people. I want to assimilate rapidly with the other people in my class.
See also: assimilate, some
choose between two people or things
to choose one from a selection of two persons or things in any combination. For dessert, you can choose between chocolate and vanilla ice cream. I am unable to choose between promoting John and hiring one of the others.
draw people or things together
to pull people together; to pull things together. She drew her toys together in preparation for leaving. She drew together all the people she wanted to talk to.
gather someone into something and gather someone in
to assemble or bring people into something or some place. The hostess gathered the children into the house just as the storm hit. She gathered in the children. Harry gathered them in before the storm.
See also: gather
Idle people have the least leisure. and Idle folk have the least leisure.
Prov. If you are not energetic and hardworking, you will never have any free time, since you will have to spend all your time finishing your work. My grandmother always told me not to dawdle, since idle people have the least leisure.
interpose someone or something between people or things
to put someone or something between people or things, in any combination. I do not wish to interpose Randy between the twins. We will not interpose our own standards between these two warring factions.
keep people straight (in one's mind)
Fig. to correctly distinguish one person from other people. The twins look exactly alike. Not even their mother can keep them straight.
lot of someone or something and lots of people or things
a large number of people or things; much of something. I got a lot of presents for my birthday. I ate lots of cookies after dinner.
See also: lot
number of things or people
some things or people, in an indefinite amount. I subscribe to a number of different magazines. A number of people are here now.
people something with someone
to provide population for something or some place, using someone or some kind of people. The government decided to people the frontier with a variety of races. The island had been peopled with marooned sailors.
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
Prov. You should not criticize other people for having the same faults that you yourself have. Jill: Richard sure was drinking a lot at the office party. Jane: I noticed you had quite a few cocktails yourself. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
put people or things together
to join or combine people or things. We will put Sam and Trudy together at the dinner table. Let's put all the crystal goblets together.
put people's heads together
to join together with someone to confer. Let's put our heads together and come up with a solution to this problem. Mary and Ted put their heads together, but failed to provide anything new.
some people (just) don't know when to quit and some people (just) don't know when to give up; some people (just) don't know when to stop
1. You, or someone being talked about, should stop doing something, such as talking, arguing, scolding, etc. (often directed toward the person being addressed.) Bill: I hate to say it again, but that lipstick is all wrong for you. It brings out the wrong color in your eyes, and it makes your mouth larger than it really is. Jane: Oh, stop, stop! That's enough! Some people just don't know when to quit. John: Those bushes out in the backyard need trimming. Sally: You keep criticizing! Is there no end to it? Some people don't know when to stop!
2. Some people do not know when to slow down and stop working so hard. Jane: He just kept on gambling. Finally, he had no money left. Sally: Some people don't know when to quit.
split people up
to separate two or more people (from one another). If you two don't stop chattering, I'll have to split you up. I willhttp://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/people have to split up that twosome in the corner.
tell people or things apart
to distinguish one from another. I can't tell Bob and Bill apart. I find it easy to tell apart Bill and Bob. The two cakes look different, but in taste, I can't tell this one and that one apart.
throw people together
to bring or put two or more people together. The crisis threw complete strangers together, and they became fast friends before it was over. They were thrown together by fate.
wedge someone or something (in) between people or things
to work someone or something into a tiny space between people or things. The usher wedged us in between two enormously fat people, and we were all very uncomfortable. They wedged in the package between Jane and the wall. We had to wedge Timmy between Jed and the side of the car.
yoke people or things together
to connect two people together with a yoke; to connect two animals together with a yoke. Todd yoked the oxen together for the parade. Sam yoked Fred and Tom together so they could pull the load.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Reference: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/people
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
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