| Idiom | Meaning | Example Sentence |
| at the drop of a hat | without needing any advance notice | My Grandma will babysit for anyone at the
drop of a hat. |
| (have a) bee in one's
bonnet | something that is annoying someone | Milan has had a bee in his bonnet all
day, but he won't tell me what's wrong. |
| below the belt | beyond what is fair or socially
acceptable | His comment about Manfred's handicap was
below the belt. |
| bursting at the seams | not fitting anymore | I ate too much. I'm bursting at the
seams in these jeans. |
| caught with one's pants
down | unprepared | My students caught me with my pants
down on Monday. I forgot about the field trip. |
| (have a) card up one's
sleeve | have a secret or reserve plan | I think Josh has a card up his sleeve
cause he wants me to wear a dress to the fast-food restaurant. |
| buckle down | work extra hard | It's almost exam time, so I need to buckle
down this weekend. |
| burn a hole in one's
pocket | money that one is tempted to spend | Let's go to the mall after school. There's a
hundred dollar bill burning a hole in my pocket. |
| dress to kill, dress to the
nines | dress in nice or sexy clothes | My cousin was dressed to kill on her
birthday. |
| fit like a glove | fit perfectly (tight to one's body) | Anita's prom dress fits me like a
glove. |
| fine-tooth comb | in great detail, extremely carefully | The police looked for fingerprints with a
fine-tooth comb. |
| fly by the seat of one's
pants | do by instinct, not by plan | I had never taught art to kids before. I had
to fly by the seat of my pants. |
| handle with kid gloves |
treat delicately | Please handle my grandmother's tea set
with kid gloves. |
| hand-me-down | used clothing | We buy hand-me-down skates because the
kids' feet grow so quickly. |
| hat trick | three goals scored by one person | The fans cheered when the hockey player got a
hat trick. |
| in one's birthday suit |
in the nude | The swimmers in the lake were in their
birthday suits. |
| keep one's shirt on | try to stay calm | I know you're in a hurry, but please keep
your shirt on. |
| keep something zipped | keep something a secret | We know we're having a boy, but we're
keeping it zipped from the grandparents. |
| off the cuff | said without planning | I didn't have a speech prepared. Everything I
said was off the cuff. |
| pull up one's socks | try harder | Marco will have to pull up his socks if
he wants to make the football team. |
| put a sock in it | stop talking | Put a sock in it! I'm trying to tell a
story. |
| put one's thinking cap
on | think hard in order to solve a problem | I can't remember where the Christmas
decorations are. I'll have to put my thinking cap on. |
| put oneself in someone else's
shoes | imagine what it would be like to be in someone
else's situation | Put yourself in Amber's shoes. She
doesn't even have a car to drive. |
| ride one's coattails | let someone else do all of the work | It was a group project, but everyone rode
Andrew's coattails. |
| roll up one's sleeves | get down to hard work | The celebrities rolled up their sleeves and washed cars for charity. |
| take one's hat off to
someone | recognize or honour someone for something |
I take my hat off to Jim. The doctors
said he'd never walk, and he just ran a marathon. |
| wear one's heart on one's
sleeve | display emotions openly | My Dad's not afraid to cry. He always wears
his heart on his sleeve. |
| wear the trousers | be in charge, make the rules | By the looks of things, the kids wear the
trousers in this household. |