Hello again! In this lesson I am going to present you a few idioms connected to parts of the body. So let’s get started!
- all fingers and thumbs – clumsy
E.g. I am all fingers and thumbs whenever I wash the dishes. I always break something.
- to pull someone’s leg- to joke around with someone, to try to fool someone
E.g. John told his little sister that there was a ghost in the wardrobe. It took him an hour to convince her that he was just pulling her leg afterwards.
- stick one’s neck out- take a risk, to expose yourself to danger or failure
E.g. He stuck his neck out for her when he defended her point of view in front of his boss.
- get in someone’s hair- bother or annoy someone
E.g. Mary tried to do the house cleaning but the children just kept getting in her hair so she asked her husband to take them out for a walk in the park.
- shake a leg- hurry, to move faster, to dance
E.g. There are three dance floors in this disco for people who love to shake a leg.
E.g. Our bus leaves in 20 minutes so you had better shake a leg if you want to catch it.
- jump down someone’s throat- become angry with someone, criticize or disagree with someone
E.g. Before you jump down my throat and accuse me of something I didn’t do I think you had better look into the matter thoroughly.
- pay through the nose- pay too high a price
E.g. We have to pay through the nose if we want to park our car in the center of the town at this hour.
- get off someone’s back- stop nagging or criticizing someone
E.g. Most of the teenagers complain about the fact that their mothers don’t get off their back.
- tongue in cheek – to say something jokingly while appearing to be serious
e.g. The man was drunk so he responded to his wife’s questions with tongue in cheek answers.
- shoot your mouth off- to boast or talk too much
E.g. It is poor taste to shoot your mouth off about how much money you make with your new business.
- play it by ear- improvise as one goes along
E.g. I haven’t made any plans for my holiday, yet. I am just going to play it by ear this year. It’s more exciting that way!
- to not have a leg to stand on- to have no support for an argument or a case, to be unable to prove something
E.g. If you sued him you would win for sure. He would not have a leg to stand on when it comes to accusations against you.
Sper că postarea mea v-a fost de folos. 🙂 Pentru meditații la engleza nu ezitați să mă contactați pe Skype la: meditatii-engleza!
