Casual English: 100 Common Idioms
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Casual English: 100 Common Idioms |
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Learn everyday expressions and speak casually. | Sign in |
| Idioms |
Definition |
Sense |
Example |
| out of ______ mind |
to be thoughtless or momentarily crazy |
neutral--usually humorous |
My brother's out of his mind! He has no money, but he
bought a new sports car. |
| pan out |
to work out, to become better |
neutral to positive |
He has been trying to get promoted. I hope his
ambitions pan out,
and he achieves the career he wants. |
| pull the plug |
to end, to terminate; from the idea of pulling
out the plug and having the light go off |
negative |
We had to pull
the plug on that project because the early
forecasts showed that the company would lose money. |
| read between the
lines |
to understand the ideas that are not stated, to
see the subtle points |
neutral to negative |
I
know that this work contract seems good to you, but you
need to read
between the lines. To me, it sounds like they
will want you to work a
lot of overtime without compensation. |
| shell out |
to spend money |
negative |
I love my new house, but I had to shell out $1,000
to the moving company and another $500 to the repair crew. |
| sell for a song |
to give a product for little or no money |
neutral to negative |
His website is fabulous, but he sells it for a song.
He should charge a subscriber fee. |
| talk a mile a minute |
to talk quickly |
neutral |
She was so excited--she was talking a mile a minute! He was angry with me, and he was talking a mile a minute. |
| throw in the towel |
to give up |
neutral to negative |
I wanted to run the marathon, but after 3 weeks
of training, I had to throw in the towel. My knees were hurting! |
| two-faced |
to behave in one way toward one person and in a
different (usually opposite) way toward another |
negative |
I
know that John is your friend, but I don't like him. He's
so two-faced!
Even though he's nice to you, I'm sure he says bad things
about you to
other people. |
| wise guy |
sarcastic (can be a male or female) |
neutral |
Yeah, very funny. Stop being such a wise guy. |
100 Common Idioms Class |
Idioms 1-20 Main Page |