Idioms (5 of 6)

Idioms are fixed expressions with nonliteral meaning; a natural way of using a language; or a stylistic expressions of person or group.

Here are some examples of Idiomatic Expressions (5 of 6):

• a hard or tough act to follow- somebody or something that sets a standard difficult to reach by others who come later
• catch somebody in the act- to see or meet somebody just as he or she is doing something, especially something wrong
• clean up your act- to improve your behavior
• get in on the act- to join in something in order to share in its success or profit (informal)
• get your act together- to do something to become more organized
• a tower of strength- somebody who is reliable and supportive
• a walking dictionary or encyclopedia- somebody who is very knowledgeable
• a whole new ball game- a completely new or different set of circumstances
• a wolf in sheep’s clothing- somebody who looks harmless or pleasant but is in fact dangerous or unpleasant
• cry wolf- to give a false alarm or cry for help too many times, so that when help is really needed, no one will give it
• keep the wolf from the door- to be enough to prevent hunger or starvation
• throw somebody to the wolves- to abandon somebody to be destroyed by enemies in order to save yourself
• a man of his word or a woman of her word- somebody who keeps his or her promise
• be as good as your word- to do as promised
• be the last word in something- to be the best, greatest, most fashionable, or most up-to-date instance of something
• eat your words- to admit humbly that you were wrong or mistaken
• abolish differentials- make uniform: level, level up or down
• above somebody’s head- too difficult for somebody to understand
• be head and shoulders above somebody- to be notably superior to somebody
• be off your head- to be mentally disturbed
• give somebody his or her head- to relax control or supervision of somebody
• go off your head- to become completely irrational
• go to somebody’s head- to make somebody conceited or overconfident; to make somebody dizzy or lightheaded; Ex: The champagne went right to my head.
• abreast of the times- progressive or up-to-date
• give and take- practice of compromise
• hale and hearty- physically strong and fit
• sick and tired- thoroughly bored or annoyed with someone or something
• slow but sure- slow but good/correct
• beer and skittles- fun and pleasure
• bread and butter- means of earning money; making a living
• to and fro- one way and then the other; up and down
• forgive and forget- be prepared to be reconciled
• hit and miss- inexact; random; sometimes good and sometimes bad
• blow by blow- including all the details, events; in order
• bring home the bacon- to earn the money on which a family lives (informal)
• save somebody’s bacon- to save somebody from serious trouble, punishment, injury, or danger