Expressions in English

EXPRESSION	MEANING and examples
a botched job	something which has not been done properly
	That fence is terrible, it's crooked and some of the posts are not firmly in the ground. It is really a botched job.
Sleep on it.	Think about it at least until tomorrow


and Bob's your uncle	and then there is no problem.
	You just turn it like this, press the button, and Bob's your uncle.
pearls of wisdom	wise advice
to throw light on sth.	explain / provide information to clarify
to be struck dumb to be lost for words	to be so surprised or impressed that one cannot say anything
	When he heard that his 90 year old father was getting married, he was struck dumb.
to be speechless with admiration	as above but specific
to be dumfounded	to be very surprised, incredulous
	You know that very stupid boy who never did any work? Well he's passed all his exams. Never! Well, I'm dumbfounded!
a one horse town	a very small place with not much happening
	After London, this place seems a one horse town.
a do-gooder	someone who acts for what they believe to be the good of others and is often categorised thus with the derogatory meaning of an interfering person.
for good	for all time / forever
a good for nothing	useless, worthless person
to hold good [impersonal]	to remain true or valid; to remain in force.
	The rule still holds good.
to make good [intrans]	to succeed in life
	He had a bad start in life but he made good.
to make good [trans]	legal promise to repair or replace (a defect or deficiency)
	The company shall make good any defects in this appliance.
once and for all	for the last time [usually saying sth.]
	Now, I am telling you this once and for all. Don't ask me again.
on the off chance	in the hope that circumstances will be favourable but with no pre-arrangement
	I just called on the off chance, so I am lucky to find you in.
like a ferret up a drainpipe	very fast
Between you and me and the gatepost	confidentially
	Between you and me and the gatepost he's looking for another job.
That's all hog wash!	all rubbish.
	You don't believe all that, do you? It's all hog wash.
Hold your horses!	Slow down! Usually when s.o. is getting carried away by an idea that really needs thinking about.
	Hold your horses! We haven't discussed it yet.
That's a tough row to hoe.	That is really a difficult situation to be in.
I didn't come in on the turnip truck!	I am not as stupid as you seem to think I am.
I wasn't born yesterday.	ditto
You're not so green as you're cabbage-looking.	You are cleverer than I thought.
I could eat a horse!	I am very hungry.
As like as two peas in a pod	Exactly the same as each other in appearance.
	Have you seen Mrs Smith's twins? They're as like as two peas in a pod
Knee-high to a grasshopper	Very young and small.
	Oh, you have grown! I haven't seen you since you were knee-high to a grasshopper.
To buy a pig in a poke.	To let yoursef be cheated by buying sth. that is no good.
Madder than a wet hen	In a furious temper.
It's raining cats and dogs	It is raining very hard.
It's pouring	ditto
He looked like a pig on ice	very uncomfortable [American]
in two shakes of a lambs tail	Very quickly
	It won't take long. I'll fix it for you in two shakes of a lamb's tail.
There's more than one way to skin a cat	There are other solutions to the problem.
	I am not defeated yet. There's more than one way to skin a cat.
as plain as a pikestaff	obvious
	How did you guess? Easily. It's as plain as a pikestaff.
Beating around the bush	Trying to prevaricate, to avoid telling the whole truth.
	Come on now. Tell me everything and stop beating around the bush.
To jump to conclusions	To assume sth. without sufficient evidence or to quickly.
	He must have killed her! Well, you don't know that. We shouldn't jump to conclusions.
Climbing the walls	Being frantic because one can't cope.
	If I had to stay at home with a baby all day every day, I'd be climbing the walls in less than a week.
To swallow your pride	To agree to sth. that you do not wish when you feel you deserve better.
	You'll just have to swallow your pride and accept the other job.
to eat humble pie	To admit one is wrong and apologise abjectly.
Passing the buck	shifting the blame or responsibility to s.o. else.
To throw your weight around	To take advantage of your authority or to give orders when you do not really have the authority.
	I wish so-and-so wasn't coming. He always thinks he knows best and he's sure to start throwing his weight around.
To drag one's heels.	Not to act sufficiently promptly
	Stop dragging your heels and get that job done!
Pushing your luck	Taking further risk when this might not be advisable
	I'm going to ask the boss for another rise since he was so willing to give me the last one. Don't you think that's pushing your luck a bit?
To make a mountain out of a molehill	To exaggerate
To hit the nail on the head	To be exactly right
Wading through paperwork	Doing a lot of form-filling etc [usually a backlog]
To bend over backwards	To try harder to accommodaye s.o. than you really feel you have to
	He is so ungrateful! And after I bent over backwards to help him.
To jump on the bandwagon	To espouse a cause just because it is currently popular
	Do you think he is really interested in homeless people or is he just jumping on the bandwagon?
To balance the books	To make the profit and loss columns in the accounts come out right
To run around in circles	To indulge in a lot of rather ineffective activity
To blow your own horn	To boast about your own ability
	He doesn't need your praise; he is quite capable of blowing his own trumpet.
To pull out all stops	To make every possible effort
To add fuel to the fire	To make matters worse [usually when there is an argument or row between others
To open a can of worms	To broach a subject which will cause some serious problems to come to light
To put your foot in your mouth	To say something really stupid
To start the ball rolling	To make the first move so that things will start happening
To pick up the pieces	To make things righ [usually after s.o. else has caused the problem]
	He just does whatever he likes without thinking about the consequences and it's me that always has to pick up the pieces.
To call it quits	To agree to finish some kind or dispute
Couldn't carry a tune in a bucket	Is very unmusical. To carry a tune = to hold a tune in your head.
He could talk dogs off of a meat truck	He's very persuasive.
Ain't got the sense God gave a goat	He has no common sense. Ain't = is not [ungrammatical English and American ]

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