IDIOM ARCHIVE:
JANUARY 2008
IDIOM: "Variety is the spice of life."
IDIOM: 'Shake a leg'
IDIOM: 'Tie the knot'
IDIOM: 'When it rains, it pours'
IDIOM: 'Word of mouth'
IDIOM: 'Up for grabs'
IDIOM: 'Haste makes waste'
IDIOM: 'Beat about the bush'
IDIOM: 'Add fuel to the fire'
IDIOM: 'Birds of a feather flock together'
IDIOM: 'an Old Flame'
IDIOM: ‘know your way around’
IDIOM: 'In the loop'
IDIOM: 'Feather in your cap'
Jan 31, 2008
IDIOM: 'Feather in your cap'
EXPLANATION: A success or achievement that may help you in the future is a feather in your cap.
It`s an achievement that you can be proud of. Origin: based on the custom in some American Indian cultures of wearing a feather to as a symbol of bravery in war.
eg. „An order for 28 new aircraft is quite a feather in Boeing's cap.”
Jan 30, 2008
IDIOM: 'In the loop'
EXPLANATION: If you're in the loop, you are fully informed about what is happening in a certain area or activity. It also means to have the special knowledge or power that belongs to a particular group of people.
eg.„You can tell she's in the loop. She always knows about policy decisions before the rest of us.”
-of the loop:
eg.“I've been out of the loop since I changed jobs. I didn't realize Wendy and Bob had gotten engaged.”
Jan 29, 2008
IDIOM:‘know your way around’
EXPLANATION: 1.’know your way around’ (somewhere) = to be familiar with a place. 2.’know your way around’ (something) = to have knowledge about how something works. 3. 'My way or the highway' = This idiom is used to say that if people don't do what you say, they will have to leave or quit the project, etc.
eg. „He'd be a good guide for tourists because he really knows his way around the city”.„You don't have to know your way around a slide rule to enjoy these exhibits.”
Jan 28, 2008
IDIOM: 'an Old Flame'
EXPLANATION: An old flame is a person who you had a romantic relationship with in the past. It's very difficult to forget old things, especially the first love = 'Old flames die hard'
eg. "I bumped into an old flame of yours in Oxford on Saturday".
Jan 25, 2008
IDIOM: 'Birds of a feather flock together'
EXPLANATION: This idiom means that people with similar interests will stick together. We know that birds are of the same type when they have the same feathers; they are of a feather. Birds flock when they join together in groups with other birds. Just as birds "of a feather" often flock with other birds of the same "feather", so do people who are like each other spend time together.
eg: "Look. The volleyball players are eating together at the same table again, as always."
Jan 24, 2008
IDIOM: 'Add fuel to the fire'
EXPLANATION: If people add fuel to the fire, they make a bad situation worse.
You add fuel to the fire when you do something that makes a bad situation worse. A conflict between two people is like a fire, with both people adding "fuel" to the fire. Adding "fuel" (such as wood or gas) to a burning "fire" makes the flames burn even higher and brighter. Sometimes you get involved because you want to help, but your involvement only makes the problem worse, adding fuel to the fire.
eg: "When those two are fighting, I don't get involved. It only adds fuel to the fire."
Jan 23, 2008
IDIOM: 'Beat about the bush'
EXPLANATION: If someone doesn't say clearly what they mean and try to make it hard to understand, they are beating about (around) the bush. When you ask questions or hint at things without being clear about what you mean, you are beating around the bush.
eg. "Why don't you just come out and say what you want to say? Stop beating around the bush."
Jan 16, 2008
IDIOM: 'Haste makes waste'
EXPLANATION: This idiom means that if you try to do something quickly, without planning it, you're likely to end up spending more time, money, etc, doing it. "Haste makes waste" says that when we act too quickly ("haste") we are more likely to make mistakes and end up with poor results ("waste"). "Haste makes waste" also says that it is better to do things carefully than to do them quickly and carelessly. The results that we end up with when we do things carelessly are often useless and sometimes costly.
eg: "Most spelling mistakes are the result of going too fast and not checking your work; haste makes waste."
Jan 15, 2008
IDIOM: 'Up for grabs'
EXPLANATION: If something is up for grabs, it is available and whoever is first or is successful will get it. Something which is up for grabs is free to be taken by anyone. You must act quickly if you want to get the thing that is up for grabs, because it could be grabbed by anyone.
eg: "I don't want my baseball glove. It's up for grabs."
Jan 14, 2008
IDIOM: 'Word of mouth'
EXPLANATION: If something becomes known by word of mouth, it is because people are talking about it, not through publicity. When you say that you heard something word of mouth, you are not being specific about whose mouth you heard it from; just that you heard it from another person. We do rely on what other people tell us, so word of mouth is one important way that we learn things. If something is "only" (or "just") word of mouth then you might not know where the "word" really started or how it changed as it went from "mouth" to "mouth".
eg. "I've heard that they finally arrested that guy, but that's only word of mouth."
Jan 11, 2008
IDIOM: 'When it rains, it pours'
EXPLANATION: This idiom means that when things go wrong, a lot of things go wrong at the same time. When there is a lot of rain all at once we say that it is pouring. Some people say, It never rains, but it pours; the meaning is the same as When it rains, it pours.
eg. "Sometimes we have no customers for two or three hours, then suddenly we get 20 people all at once."
Jan 10, 2008
IDIOM: 'Tie the knot'
EXPLANATION: When people tie the knot, they get married. When you tie "a" knot you wrap two pieces of rope around each other in a certain way so that they will not come apart. When you tie "the" knot you make a promise that you will stay together with one person whom you love.
eg: "After dating for five years, we finally decided to tie the knot."
Jan 8, 2008
IDIOM: 'Shake a leg'
EXPLANATION: If you shake a leg, you are out of bed and active. To get up and go somewhere you need to first move ("shake") one ("a") leg, then the other leg, then get going. To "shake a leg" is to get up and get going. We say "shake a leg" when we are waiting for someone and we want them to go faster.
eg. "They are waiting outside in the car; let's shake a leg!"
Jan 7, 2008
IDIOM: "Variety is the spice of life."
EXPLANATION: something that you say which means life is more interesting when it changes often and you have many different experiences. Variety is the spice of life means that life is more interesting when you try to do things in different ways. Variety is like the spice which adds flavor to life. Just as a cook uses different spices to create the flavors in a great meal, a person who tries different experiences will have a great life.
eg. "We were planning to go to Mexico on our vacation, like we did last year, but we decided to go to Egypt instead. Variety is the spice of life."