Common Idioms in English
bad-mouth: say unkind, unflattering, embarrassing (and probably untrue) things about someone.
A: “I don’t believe what John said. Why is he bad-mouthing me?”
B: “He’s probably jealous of your success.
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be a piece of cake: be very easy.
A: “Bob said the test was difficult, but I thought it was a piece of cake.””
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be all ears: be eager to hear what someone has to say.
A: “I just got an e-mail message from our old friend Sally.”
B: “Tell me what she said. I’m all ears!”
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be broke: be without money.
“No, I can’t lend you ten dollars. I’m completely broke until payday.”
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be fed up with (with someone or something): be out of patience (with someone or something);
be very tired of someone or something.
“Bill, you’re too careless with your work. I’m fed up with apologizing for your mistakes!”
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be in and out: be at and away from a place during a particular time.
“Could we postpone our meeting until tomorrow? I expect to be in and out of the office most of the day today.”
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be on the go: be very busy (going from one thing or project to another).
“I’m really tired. I’ve been on the go all week long.”
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be on the road: be traveling.
“You won’t be able to contact me tomorrow because I’ll be on the road.”
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be over: be finished; end.
“I can’t see you until around 4 o’clock. My meetings won’t be over until then.”
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be up and running: (for a technological process) be operational; be ready to use .
“Dave’s ESL Cafe on the Web has been up and running since December 1995.”
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be used to (+Ving/noun): be accustomed to; not uncomfortable with.
“It won’t be hard to get up at 5:00 AM. I‘m used to getting up early.”
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beat: exhausted; very tired (adj.).
“This has been a long day. I’m beat!”
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beat around the bush: evade an issue; avoid giving a direct answer.
“Quit beating around the bush! If you don’t want to go with me, just tell me!”
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beat one’s brains out: try very hard to understand or do something.
“Can you help me with this problem? I’ve been beating my brains out with it, but I just can’t solve it.”
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Beats me: I have no idea.
A: “What time’s the party?”
B: “Beats me!”
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before long: soon.
A: “I’m really tired of working.”
B: “Just be patient. The weekend will be here before long.”
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bent out of shape: needlessly worried about something.
“I know you’re worried about your job interview, but don’t get bent out of shape.
You’ll do just fine.”
Adopted from Dave’s ESL Cafe