English and American Idioms

Give someone or something a wide berth: keep someone or something at a distance
e.g. That dog is very fierce. We’d better give it a wide berth.

e.g. Your Mom is in a foul mood; give her a wide berth.

As plain as day: plain and simple
e.g. The briefing was as plain as day; nobody had to ask any question.

All at sea: confused
e.g. The lawyer was all at sea when he read the two conflicting reports of the incident.

Odd man out: atypical person or thing
e.g. Everybody has a partner, and you are an odd man out because you don’t have one.

Take the bull by the horns: deal with the challenge directly

e.g. This is a very difficult situation, but we must take the bull by the horns.

Accountable for: able to explain why

e.g. You have to be accountable for every decision you are going to make.

Actions speak louder than words: do something about it, not just talking about it
e.g. Show me what you have done! Actions speak louder than words.

Vested interest: a personal stake

e.g. He showed a vested interest in his uncle’s business.

Leave someone holding the bag: leave someone to take all the blame
e.g. The manager was responsible for the bankruptcy, but the assistant manager was left holding the bag.

A little bird told me: somehow I knew

e.g. “How did you know what I did?” “Well, a little bird told me.”

Eat like a horse: eat a lot

e.g. They won’t invite you to dinner next time; just now you ate like a horse.

Above all: most importantly

e.g. Above all, you must have a valid visa if you wish to continue to stay in the United States.

Go for broke: make great effort; risk everything

e.g. To win his re-election, the Mayor would go for broke.

Mind one’s p’s and q’s: pay attention to one’s manners

e.g. When you meet the President, you must mind your p’s and q’s.

Run in the family: a characteristic in all members of a family

e.g. Longevity runs in the family: they all live to a ripe old age.

All at sea: confused

e.g. The lawyer was all at sea when he read the two conflicting reports of the incident.

Act one’s age: behave maturely
e.g. Stop behaving like a teenager! Act your age.

You bet: yes, of course

e.g. “Are you hungry?” “You bet!”

AMERICAN IDIOMS

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Everyday Slang for ESL Learners

In the raw: naked.

e.g. Did you see that man on the street? He was dancing in the raw.

Go down with: be accepted or approved by.

e.g. The President's speech went down with the Spanish community.

Not so dusty: quite good.

e.g. Well the performance was not so dusty; much better than I expected.

Go one better than: surpass.

e.g. He went one better than his sister in playing the piano.

Get out of bed of the wrong side: be irritable.

e.g. Your Mom seems to have got out of bed on the wrong side.

Drive up the wall: irritate intensely.

e.g. Don't drive me up the wall every time I see you.

In the clear: innocent.

e.g. I know you didn't do it; the investigation will put you in the clear.

Gift of the gab: ability to give effective speeches.

e.g. The new Mayor has the gift of the gab: people like listening to him.

Keep one's head above water: stay out of debt or a difficult situation.

e.g. In this economic environment, it is not easy to keep your head above water.

Fine weather for ducks: very wet weather.

e.g. "It's raining cats and dogs." "Fine weather for ducks."

Do one's bit: do one's share of responsibility.

e.g. I've done my bit; I hope it's going to work.

Stephen Lau     

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

FREE BOOK: "Angry No More" 3/30 and 3/31

 

Angry No More

Aging begins as early as late twenties or early thirties, and accelerates as time progresses. Aging causes many problems leading to pain and suffering, and ultimately death. Successful aging requires living in reality.

Unfortunately, many are living in fancy and fantasy, but not in reality. Why not? It is because many commit sins and do evils, thinking they can get away without any accountability as long as they do not break the law and order of their countries. The book of Revelation provides spiritual wisdom for a non-believer to become a believer in order to cope and deal with all the problems of aging. Yes, aging brings about death, but the revelation of aging is eternal salvation.

Learn American Idioms

Get one's own back: to revenge oneself.

e.g. He wants to get his own back for the insult he has received.

Fall from grace: lose favor or popularity.

e.g. Armstrong has fallen from grace because of the doping.

Feel like: have a desire for something

e.g. I feel like eating a hamburger.

Dance to another tune: change to a different attitude or behavior

e.g. If your parents were here, you would dance to another tune.

As easy as pie: very easy

e.g. Cooking a turkey is as easy as pie.

Take something on the chin: get a direct blow

e.g. The bad news was a shock to me; I took it on the chin.

Flip-flop: change sides in an issue

e.g. Politicians who flip-flop too much are unpopular with voters.

Quick on the uptake: quick to understand; smart

e.g. He is quick on the uptake; you don’t need to give him unnecessary details.

All thumbs: awkward and clumsy with one’s fingers

e.g. She will not learn to play the piano because she knows her fingers are all thumbs.

Abide by: accept and follow

e.g. If you wish to become a citizen of the United States, you must abide by U.S. immigration laws.

Everyday American Idioms for ESL Learners

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

American Idioms

Eat like a horse: eat a lot

e.g. They won’t invite you to dinner next time; just now you ate like a horse.

Don’t hold your breath: it might take longer than you think

e.g. At last the law might be passed at the Congress, but don’t hold your breath.

Ins and outs of something: details to do something right

e.g. Take your time; you need to know the ins and outs of this procedure in order to do it right.

Has had its day: no longer popular

e.g. This bulky lawn mower has had its day. We need to get a new one.

Run in the family: a characteristic in all members of a family

e.g. Longevity runs in the family: they all live to a ripe old age.

You bet: yes, of course

e.g. “Are you hungry?” “You bet!”

Easy does it: go carefully and slowly

e.g. This TV set is heavy, so easy does it.

In nothing flat: in exactly no time at all

e.g. Don’t worry! I’ll get you to the airport in nothing flat.

All at sea: confused

e.g. The lawyer was all at sea when he read the two conflicting reports of the incident.

Alive and kicking: living and healthy; okay

e.g. I had been sick for some time, but now I am alive and kicking.”

e.g. “How are you?” “Well, alive and kicking.”

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Download Your FREE BOOK!

 

Click here to get your FREE book.

Life is made up of 4 phases: Development Phase; Transitional Phase; Consolidating Phase; and Aging Phase. In each of these phases, you have your "freedom" of choice to do whatever you want to do, but your "freedom" always comes with a your "bondage" that may shackle you for the rest of your life. The explanation is that your freedom of choice might not make you do all the right and righteous things even though you might not have broken the laws of your country. In other words, all humans sin because they are living in their flesh, irrespective who they are and where they come from.

The only way to break the bondage of sin is through God's grace, which is His forgiveness. You still have your freedom, but it is tied to the bondage of God--which is your "accountability" to His mercy.

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This is a love story in ancient China, about a cock wedding with the presence of a cock instead of the bridegroom.

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Click here to get your novel.

Prepositional Phrases

CHECK

Check out: leave; pay bills.

e.g. We are going to check out the hotel at noon.

Check up on: investigate.

e.g. The account will check up on the sum of money unaccounted for.

RUN

Run down: hit with a vehicle

e.g. The old man was run down by the bus.

Run down: stop functioning

e.g. My lawn mower is running down; I need to get a new one.

Run into: meet by accident

e.g. Yesterday, I ran into an old friend that I had not seen for decades.

Run out of: not have any more of something

e.g. Hurry! We're running out of time!

KNUCKLE

Knuckle down: get busy doing something.

e.g. Come on! Knuckle down! We don’t have much time left.

KISS

Kiss off: kill (slang).

e.g. The man kissed off his rival with a gun.

DANCE

Dance on air: be very happy.

e.g. When she heard the good news, she was dancing on air.

Dance to another tune: change one,s manner, act very differently.

e.g. What I,m going to tell you will make you dance to another tune.

PREPOSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

NEW BOOK: Depression No Depression

 

This is my NEW BOOK on DEPRESSION.

We are living in a world of depression. Every day many are diagnosed with depression, and many even commit suicide as a way out of depression. 

But depression is all in your mind--your "thinking" mind--how it perceives and interprets all your life experiences. So, to avoid and or heal your depression is to "change" the way you think.

But how?

Use human wisdom--more specifically TAO wisdom, the ancient wisdom from China more than 2,600 years ago. But human wisdom may need spiritual wisdom to live in reality.

Many are not living in reality, but only in fancy and fantasy. That explains why there are so many crimes, sins and evils committed in society. Many have "no accountability" to their conscience or to God; instead, they think it is human right to do whatever they want to do, given that they have the gift of "free will."

If you "live in reality with accountability", you will have no depression.

Depression No Depression

Stephen Lau

FREE BOOK - Living in Reality

 

"Living in Reality" is accountability.

Here is a hypothetical illustration of "accountability":

You were one of the last two persons at a bar. You were sitting close to each other. The person finished his drink and left the bar, leaving some cash for the bartender, who, at that moment, was away with your credit card. You grabbed the tip left on the table by the man who had just left, and then placed it toward you. The bartender returned with your credit card, looked at the money right in front of you, and said: “Thank you.” 

Did you do anything "wrong"? 

If you had intended not to give the bartender any tip anyway, what you did had not "changed" the scenario—the bartender would still have said: “Thank you” with or without your tip, and she would have received the same amount of tip. 

What is important in that hypothetical illustration is the accountability. The reality of one minor misbehavior with no accountability will often lead to many more serious ones with no accountability. 

The "No-Accountability" Mindset 

In this world, many have developed their own “no accountability” mindset based on their own beliefs, their own justifications, and their own rationalizations. They simply have no accountability to the law and order, not to mention to God. 

For example, the laws are made to be broken because some of the lawmakers themselves do not comply or even obey the law they have created. That explains the prevalence of crimes committed in society. For example, the police are not to be obeyed, because the police are corrupt, and often racially biased. For example, the Church is not to be trusted because there are so many sexual scandals among priests. So, pastors and priests are not to be trusted and accountable to. For example, God is neither fair nor just: there is so much discrepancy between the abundant and the lack; between the good who suffer and the bad who prosper and are seemingly blessed. So, why should there be accountability to God? The thinking mind: “I am not the only one with no accountability; I am just one of the many. So, what is wrong with that?”

But, if you are a true believer, you will believe in your accountability to God, and you will live your life quite differently from an unbeliever.

Get this FREE BOOK to find out how to become a believer.

Stephen Lau