It's always darkest just before the dawn

Meaning:

• This proverb means that when things are extremely bad, it may signal that they are about to get much better.
• We say this when we want to imply that there is hope, even in the worst of circumstances.

Note: You can also say: The darkest hour is just before the dawn.


Example sentence:

I know you are going through a difficult period of your life but be an optimist : It's always darkest just before the dawn.


Questions for you to answer:

1. When was the darkest hour for you? Can you remember a situation which looked desperate but finally improved?
2. Can you think of any other idioms where light, sun rays or the sunshine represent something positive?
3. How does this proverb relate to Every cloud has a silver lining?

At the drop of a hat

Meaning:

• Immediately; instantly; on the slightest signal or urging
• Suddenly, without any planning and for no obvious reason

Example sentence:

I'd definitely like to join you. Just say the word and I'll be there at the drop of a hat.


Questions for you to answer:

1. Do you usually do things at the drop of a hat or do you procrastinate?
2. How would you describe a person who does what other people want at the drop of a hat?
3. Do you know anybody who does things at the drop of a hat and later thinks about the consequences?

I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Meaning:

• This is something that you say to tell someone that you will not worry about a possible problem but will deal with it if it happens.

Example sentence:

I know this might cause us a lot of trouble and it will be a lot of extra work, but there's no need to worry now; we'll see when the project is launched. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.


Questions for you to answer:

1. Do you often worry about possible problems before they actually happen?
2. What adjectives would you use to describe a person who worries too much about possible problems?
3. How does this idiom relate to "Don't count your chickens (before they're hatched)"?

 

Be as hard as nails

 Meaning:

• When somebody is as hard as nails, they have no feelings or sympathy for other people.

Example sentence:

Why don't you tell your partner about your true feelings? - I can't. She would never understand it because she's as hard as nails.


Questions for you to answer:

1. Do you know anybody who's as hard as nails? What adjectives would you use to describe the person?
2. Do you think it's sometimes necessary to be as hard as nails? In which situations?
3. When did you last have to be as hard as nails, or at least pretend so?  

 

Without/beyond a shadow of a doubt

Meaning:

• If something is true without/beyond a shadow of a doubt, there is no doubt that it is true.
• You are certain of it without the smallest amount of doubt.

Example sentence:

Are you sure this is going to work? It looks suspicious. - Yes, I'm certain - without a shadow of a doubt.


Questions for you to answer:

1. Can you think of any hypotheses that were recently proved without a shadow of a doubt?
2. Are you usually certain of things without a shadow of a doubt or are you rather suspicious and sceptical?
3. Are there any people you can trust without a shadow of a doubt?

Let's get the/this show on the road.

Meaning:

• You say this in order to tell people you want to start an activity or a journey

Example sentence:

Good. It's almost finished and we'll soon be able to get the show on the road. The application should be launched in two weeks' time.

Questions for you to answer:

1. Is there an activity or a journey you'd like to start?
2. Think of a plan of yours (a project, business, presentation). What do you have to do before you get the show on the road?
3. What might prevent you from getting the show on the road?
4. What happens after you get the show on the road?

How do you like them apples?

Meaning:

• This is something that you say when you want to call attention to a small personal triumph, especially when you have done something better than someone else has.
• Or you say this to show you are surprised or disappointed by something that has happened.

Example sentence:

You thought I wouldn't make it but I've just won the prize! So how do you like them apples?


Questions for you to answer:

1. When did you last feel that you did better than someone and wanted to call 'How do you like them apples'?
2. Can you invent a plausible theory about the origin of the phrase? What about this explanation?
3. What's interesting about the idiom from the grammatical point of view?

Fly into the face of danger

Meaning:

• If you fly into the face of danger, you take great risks; you threaten or challenge danger, as if danger were a person.

Example sentence:

Last night I literally flew into the face of danger; I tried to hitch a lift for the first time in my life, even though I'm scared of meeting people I don't know.


Questions for you to answer:

1. Are you the type of person who often flies into the face of danger?
2. When did you last fly into the face of danger? Describe your feelings.
3. Why do you think people deliberately want to experience dangerous situations such as bungee jumping?

Pave the way

Meaning:

• To prepare the way with something for someone
• To make progress or development easier.

Example sentence:

I was very nervous before the presentation but my colleague paved the way with and introduction, which made me feel more relaxed.



Questions for you to answer:

1. Has anybody ever paved the way for your success?
2. When performing, do you feel more relaxed when somebody paves the way with an introduction or do you prefer to start yourself?
3. Do you think parents should pave the way for their children? If yes, how?

The first 100 idioms - Revision Test

 

This is a revision test for those who've been learning with me. One click will always take you to the correct answer.

 

 

A bird's-eye -----

A blue-eyed -----

A bone of -----

A drop in the -----

A ----- ceiling

A ----- of cake

A ray of -----

All along the -----

All in ----- piece

As the -----is bent, so is the tree inclined

Backseat -----

Be as fresh as a -----

Be ----- comfort

Be dead in the -----

Be ----- the soup

Be like a fish out of -----

Be like watching ----- grow

Be on ----- nine

Be ----- the ball

Be on the expensive -----

Be on the wrong -----

Be the bee's -----

Beat about the -----

Beauty is in the eye of the -----

Better (to be) ----- than sorry

Blossom ----- something

Bottle up -----

----- the ice

Brick and -----

Build ----- in the air

Burn the candle at both -----

Can't see the ----- for the trees

Charity begins at -----

Church ain't out till they ----- singing

Clip someone's -----

Close/shut the ----- on something

Dig some ----- up (on someone)

Dump work ----- someone

Every cloud has a silver -----

Everything's coming up -----

Face the ----

----- blue

Fine feathers make fine -----

----- peanuts

Frame -----

----- the axe

Go ----- the roof

Hang someone out to -----

Have ----- (in one's stomach)

It is better to wear out than to ----- out.

Katie bar the -----

Know something like the palm of one's -----

Let things -----

Light at the end of the -----

Little ----- have big ears

----- hay

Mouse that has but one ----- is quickly taken

Nip something in the -----

No matter how you ----- it...

Not be the only pebble on the -----

On ----- legs

One step at a -----

One's sunset ------

Out ----- the blue

----- a barrel

Paper over the -----

Peg someone ----- something

Pretend/say that black is -----

Pull the ----- on somebody

Reinvent the -----

Rose-tinted -----

Run into a stone -----

Run off in all -----

Say something in a ----- way

Scrape the bottom of the -----

----- red

See the glass (as) -----empty/full

Sell somebody ----- the river

Shake a -----!

Shed ----- on

Someone's train of -----

Spring to -----

Stand up and be -----

Stone the -----!

----- at nothing

Take care of number -----

The bigger they are, the harder they -----.

The ----- is always greener on the other side

The sky is the -----

There is no royal ----- to learning

There's no rose without a -----

There's safety in ------

Think the sun rises and ----- on someone

----- the wire

Up hill and down -----

Wake up and smell the -----

Window of -----

Wine and ------(somebody)

Wouldn't want to be in someone's -----

Zero -----

Blossom into something

Meaning:

• If ideas, concepts or people blossom into something, they develop into something (usually positive).

Example sentence:

Time passes so quickly. I haven't seen your little son for quite a while but it seems he's blossomed into a handsome young man.



Questions for you to answer:

1. What should parents do to help their children to blossom into independent and autonomous people?
2. What should politicians do to make their country blossom into a prosperous economic power?
3. Has any of your ideas blossomed into something very successful?
4. Can you think of a place that has recently developed into something amazing?

Face the music

Meaning:

• If you have to face the music, you have to receive punishment and accept the unpleasant results of your actions.

Example sentence:

Ok. You're trying to tell me that you've just destroyed your father's brand new car. I'm afraid you'll have to tell him and face the music.


Questions for you to answer:

1. When did you last have to face the music? How did you feel?
2. How would you describe someone who's never willing to face the music?
3. Do you believe that small kids should always face the music for what they do?
4. Why is it sometimes difficult to face the music?

Not be the only pebble on the beach

Meaning:

• You say this to tell somebody that he or she is not the only person who is important in a situation or in a group.

Example sentence:

I'm fed up with you wanting to be in the centre of attention all the time but don't forget; you're not the only pebble on the beach.


Questions for you to answer:

1. What adjectives would you use to describe a person who thinks he or she is the only pebble on the beach?
2. What adjectives would you use to describe someone who's the opposite?
3. Do you have a similar idiom in your native language?

Someone's train of thought

Meaning:

• This is someone's pattern of thinking or sequence of ideas; what one was just thinking about.
• It's a series of connected thoughts.

Example sentence:

I'm sorry but I'm not following your train of thought now. What do you mean? Can you be more exact?


Questions for you do answer:

1. Have you recently been puzzled by someone's train of thought? When was it?
2. Is there anybody who usually has a totally different train of thought and that's why you don't understand them?
3. What happens if somebody interrupts your train of thought?
4. Can you read somebody's train of thought from their facial features?
5. What helps you keep your train of thought when you are working on a demanding task?

Rose-tinted glasses

Meaning:

• If someone looks at something through rose-tinted glasses, they only see the pleasant parts of it. They see the things in a more positive light than they really are.

Example sentence:

Wake up and stop looking at your boyfriend through rose-tinted glasses. He's not what he pretends to be.


Questions for you to answer:

1. What happens if someone finally takes off rose-tinted glasses?
2. Have you ever looked at somebody/something through rose-tinted glasses?
3. How does this idiom refer to see the glass half full?

Be as fresh as a daisy

Meaning:

• To be full of energy and enthusiasm, to feel well, rested, and alert

Example sentence:

How can I possibly feel as fresh as a daisy at four o'clock in the morning? All I want is SLEEP!



Questions for you to answer:

1. What usually makes you feel as fresh as a daisy?
2. Can you remember a moment when you didn't feel as fresh as a daisy but you desperately needed to?
3. Do you know anybody who looks as fresh as a daisy all the time, regardless of the circumstances?

There's safety in numbers

Meaning:

• If people do something difficult or unpleasant together, they are stronger.

Example sentence:

You could work on the project on your own but it a really difficult task; it's better to ask your colleagues to help you out. You know, there's safety in numbers.

 

Questions for you to answer:

1. Would you feel safer watching a horror at the cinema with lots of other people or alone at home?
2. Can you think of any animal species that behave as if they knew there's safety in numbers?
3. Do you prefer working on difficult tasks in big teams because you think there's safety in numbers?
4. In which situations is this idiom particularly relevant?

Be like a fish out of water

Meaning:

• If you are/feel like a fish out of water, you feel awkward because you are not familiar with a situation or because you are very different from the people around you.

Example sentence:

I shouldn't have gone to the party. I didn't like the people and there was nobody to talk to - I was like a fish out of water.


Questions for you to answer:

1. Are you an introvert or extrovert? Do you often feel like a fish out of water?
2. When were you last like a fish out of water?
3. How would you help somebody who's feeling like a fish out of water? Do you know any good icebreakers?
4. What should one do not to be like a fish out of water?

See red

Meaning:

• If you see red, you are very angry.

Example sentence:

Her mother saw red when Jane told her about her bad grades at school.



Questions for you to answer:

1. Why do you think red colour is associated with anger? What other feelings is it associated with?
2. How do people behave when they see red?
3. What usually makes you see red?
4. When did you last make somebody see red?

Get the axe

Meaning:

• If a person gets the axe, they lose their job.
• If a plan or a service gets the axe, it is stopped.

Example sentence:

Did you hear about John? He got the axe yesterday. It's bad because his wife's expecting a baby. He must find a new job as soon as possible.


Questions for you to answer:

1. What should one do not to get the axe?
2. How do people feel when they get the axe? Try to come up with as many adjectives as possible.
3. There are many synonymous expressions for this idiom? Do you know any?

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Meaning:

• The more power or success a person has, the harder it is for them when they lose it.

Example sentence:

Did you hear about Smith? He was dismissed last week. He just packed and left the company without a penny. --- Really!? And he thought this could never happen to him, 'the big boss'. You know, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.



Questions for you to answer:

1. Can you think of a similar proverb starting with Pride goes ....
2. Have you ever fallen really hard?
3. Can you think of famous people (historical figures) whose lives illustrate this proverb?  

Go through the roof

Meaning:

• To increase quickly, to a very high level

Example sentence:

Try to sell your house now! The prices have gone through the roof so if you want to make hay, don't hesitate a second.


Questions for you to answer:

1. Would you say that the divorce rate has gone through the roof in the past few years?
2. Can you think of any products whose prices have recently gone through the roof?
3. Can you think of a film whose ratings went through the roof immediately after it was released?

One step at a time

Meaning:

• When you do something one step at a time, you do it slowly and gradually.

Note: You can also say step by step or a step at a time.


Example sentence:

Don't be impatient. It is important for us to move forward one step at a time.


Questions for you to answer:

1. Do you believe that positive change is the most effective if it comes slowly and gradually - one step at a time?
2. Do you usually do things one step at a time?
3. When learning something new, do you like tutorials that tell you how to do things one step at a time?
4. In which situations is it important to take things one step at a time? 

Be like watching grass grow

Meaning:

• If you say that watching an activity is like watching grass grow, you mean that it is very boring.

Example sentence:

I tried to concentrate on their performance but it was so boring; it was like watching grass grow.



Questions for you to answer:

1. Have you recently seen a film that was so boring that watching it was like watching grass grow?
2. Some people would say that watching golf is like watching grass grow. Do you agree?
3. Do you think that watching grass grow can be an interesting activity? Check out http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/HowTo:Watch_Grass_Grow

No matter how you slice it...

 Meaning:

• This means that no matter what your perspective is, no matter how you try to describe something, the result is the same.

Example sentence:

No matter how you slice it, what they did is not acceptable and they should be punished.



Questions for you to answer:

1. Try to come up with a synonymous expression for no matter how you slice it.
2. Complete the sentences:

No matter how you slice it, the world will always ....
No matter how you slice it, bullying is ...
No matter how you slice it, people never ...
No matter how you slice it, the Beatles ...

Frame words

Meaning:

• If you frame your words, ideas, remarks or comments, you express them in a particular way.

Example sentences:

It was a difficult subject to talk about so it was difficult for me to frame the words properly.



Questions for you to answer:

1. When do you have trouble framing words?
2. When did you last fail to frame your comments properly?
3. Can you sometimes tell what people want to say before they actually frame the words?
4. Have you ever been so moved that you could hardly frame the words?

Feel blue

 Meaning:

• When you feel blue, you feel sad.

Example sentence:

There's no particular reason to feel blue. He'll come back soon and everything will be OK again.



Questions for you to answer:

1. When did you last feel blue?
2. When do you usually feel blue?
3. What do you do when somebody feels blue?
4. How does be on cloud nine relate to 'feel blue'?

Scrape the bottom of the barrel

 Meaning:

• If you scrape the bottom of the barrel, you select from among the worst or choose from what is left over.

Example sentence:

He'll have to scrape the bottom of the barrel if he wants to find a job. The situation is not ideal - many people are unemployed.



Questions for you to answer:

1. When did you last have to scrape the bottom of the barrel?
2. When do you generally have to scrape the bottom of the barrel?
3. Would you have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find a good English course at the beginning of September?
4. Do you think that there are always the worst things at the bottom of the barrel?

Stand up and be counted

 Meaning:

• To state one's support or express one's opinion publicly
• To express your opinion although it might cause you trouble

Example sentence:

I thought you'd have the courage to stand up and be counted.


Questions for you to answer:

1. When did you last stand up and were counted?
2. Do you admire people who stood up and were counted during difficult and dangerous periods of our history? Can you give examples?
3. How does this idiom relate to the bury one's head in the sand idiom?

Stop at nothing

Meaning:

• If you stop at nothing, you are willing to do anything to get what you want or to achieve something,
• You are willing to do things at any cost - even if they are dangerous or harm other people

Example sentence:

She's so ambitious! She'll stop at nothing to get what she wants.


Questions for you to answer:

1. Do you know any people who'll stop at nothing to achieve what they want?
2. Would you say you stop at nothing when you set yourself a goal?
3. What are the adjectives to describe someone who stops at nothing?

Be in the soup

 Meaning:

• Be in trouble or a difficult situation

Example sentence:

I shouldn't have listened to you! Now we're in the soup up to our ears.



Questions for you to answer:

1. When were you last in the soup?
2. What is the first thing you do when you find yourself in the soup?
3. What actions and deeds can get a young person into the soup?

Pull the plug on somebody

Meaning:

• To put an end to someone's activities or plans.
• To do something which prevents an activity from continuing, to stop giving money

Example sentence:

If you don't finish the project on time, I'll pull the plug on you and hire somebody else.


Questions for you to answer:

1. What should people do to pull the plug on possible health risks?
2. Has anyone recently pulled the plug on your plans?
3. How does this idiom relate to clip one's wings?

Dump something on someone

Meaning:

• To give someone an unpleasant or difficult job to do instead of doing it yourself
• To make someone responsible for a job or a problem, without any warning

Example sentence:

My boss just dumps all the extra work on me.



Questions for you to answer:

1. How do you react when somebody dumps some work on you?
2. Why do some people dump their problems on someone instead of dealing with them themselves?
3. Do you let people dump their problems on you?

Brick and mortar

Meaning:

• This expression describes the physical presence of a building or other structure.
• It is used to contrast institutions with physical presence and those that operate via the Internet.

Example sentence:

The divergence between brick and-mortar businesses and online businesses has expanded recently.


Questions for you to answer:

1. Do you think that brick and mortar schools will exist in the future?
2. Do you prefer brick and mortar stores or online shops?
3. Do you think it's more convenient to run a brick and mortar business or an online one?
4. If you wanted to make hay, would you start a brick and mortar business or online business?  
5. Are online and brick and mortar mutually exclusive?

A blue-eyed boy

 Meaning:

• A man who is liked and admired by someone in authority
• A favourite person

Note: You can also say 'a fair-haired boy'


Example sentence:

Martin was a blue-eyed boy, literally and metaphorically. All the teachers liked him.



Questions for you to answer:

1. Is/was there a blue-eyed boy in your class?
2. Do you think that blue-eyed boys are also liked by their peers?
3. What might be the origin of this idiom - why are blue-eyed (and fair-haired) boys liked?
4. Are there any similar idioms about girls? What about Prom Queen, for example?

Make hay

Meaning:

• To make the most of one's opportunities while they have the chance.
• To turn something to one's advantage.

Note: In the first sense above, 'make hay' is short for the proverb 'make hay while the sun shines'.



Example sentence:

Sell your house now when the prices are high. Make hay while you can.


Questions for you to answer:

1. What branches of industry are making hay right now?
2. Do you dream of making hay some day?
3. Do you know anybody who made hay and became very rich?
4. Do you think this idiom is similar to window of opportunity ?

Take care of number one

Meaning:

• If you take care of number one, you take care of yourself.

Example sentence:

Don't be surprised he is so selfish. He's always been taught to take care of number one and not the others.



Questions for you to answer:

1. Is taking care of number one a bad thing?
2. Do you know anybody who only takes care of number one?
3. How does this idiom relate to 'Charity begins at home'?

 

Backseat driver

Meaning:

• An annoying passenger who tells the driver how to drive.
• Someone who tells others how to do things.

Example sentence:

Oh dear! Another backseat driver here. Thanks but I don't need your advice on how to cook lunch.


Questions for you to answer:

1. Have you ever been accused of being a backseat driver?
2. Who's the worst backseat driver you know?
3. Why are backseat drivers so annoying?
4. Can a backseat driver be useful?

Over a barrel

Meaning:

• This expression is used when you are in a situation in which you have no choice about what to do.
• It refers to the position of helplessness and being under someone else's control.

Example sentence:

I didn't want to participate but my brother got me over a barrel and I finally surrendered.



Questions for you to answer:

1. What do people have to do to get you over a barrel?
2. What do companies do to get potential customers over a barrel?
3. How do you feel when somebody gets you over the barrel?

Be on the expensive side

Meaning:

• When you say something is on the expensive side, you believe it's a little bit too expensive.

Example sentence:

Let's go to the café opposite the museum. - I'd rather not. It's a bit on the expensive side and I'm broke at the moment.



Questions for you to answer:

1. Have you ever had to refuse to go somewhere because it was on the expensive side?
2. Have you ever been on a holiday that was a little on the expensive side?
3. Do you think that it's worth buying things that are on the expensive side? Why?
4. Do you own anything that is on the expensive side?

 

 

Out of the blue

Meaning:

• This adverb describes an event that occurs unexpectedly, without any warning or preparation

Note: We rarely see a thunderbolt striking out of a blue sky on an average sunny day. This blue stands for the blue sky.


Example sentence:

We were sitting on the beach drinking fruit cocktail while out of the blue a huge wave appeared on the horizon.


Questions for you to answer:

1. Do you like to meet long-unseen friends who appear out of the blue?
2. Do you mind changing plans out of the blue?
3. Would you accept a job if somebody offered it to you out of the blue?

Charity begins at home

Meaning:

• Family members are more important than anyone else; you should take care of family and people close to you before you worry about helping others.

Example sentence:

It's nice of you that you want to help your neighbours in the garden but don't forget: charity begins at home.


Questions for you to answer:

1. Do you know anyone who spends hours helping others but neglects the family?
2. Do you think it's necessary to teach children that charity begins at home?
3. On the other hand, isn't it selfish, under certain circumstances, to be generous to your family before helping others?

Let things slide

Meaning:

• If you let things (something) slide, you ignore the things, even though you are supposed to do them; you fall behind in the doing of your work.

Example sentence:

You shouldn't worry about the problem. Let it slide for the time being. You'll catch up.



Questions for you to answer:

1. Do you tend to let things slide when you're too busy?
2. Do you feel hopeless if you let things slide?
3. Do you believe that it's better to let things slide under certain circumstances?

Katie bar the door

Meaning:

• You use this idiom when you want to tell somebody they should prepare immediately for an advancing threat.
• This is a warning of the approach of trouble.

Example sentence:

Well, if you really want to accuse the teacher, Katie bar the door. This might get you into real trouble.



Questions for you to answer:

1. You could imagine a whole story behind this idiom. You can try....
2. Have you ever come across the line "Catherine, keep the door!" which is probably the origin of the idiom?
3. This Katy isn't a fictional character. Can you find out more about her?