| Idiom |
Meaning |
Example Sentence |
| (on) cloud nine |
extremely happy |
Andrea was on cloud nine when she bought her new car. |
| dig deep |
look hard for information |
I had to dig deep to find my old report cards. |
| dirt cheap |
very inexpensive |
The clothes at the thrift shop are dirt cheap. |
| down to earth |
natural or real (personality) |
Lucile is really down to earth for a woman with so much money. |
| fair-weather friend |
a person who is only a friend in good times |
I can't talk to Nancy about my boyfriend problems. She's only a fair-weather friend. |
| a field day |
a very enjoyable time |
The kids had a field day at the water slide park. |
| go downhill |
get progressively worse |
My grades started going downhill when I got a part-time job. |
| go with the flow |
continue in the same way as others |
Nobody trained me at work. I just went with the flow. |
| hit the hay |
go to sleep |
I'm exhausted. I think I'll hit the hay early tonight. |
| hit the road |
leave |
It's getting late. We had better hit the road. |
| keep one's head above water |
have just enough money to live |
It's hard to keep my head above water with all of these medical bills. |
| know which way the wind blows |
know how things will turn out |
Who knows which way the wind will blow? I just hope Jesse gets one of the jobs he's applied for. |
| make a mountain out of a molehill |
make a small problem seem big |
The car only got a tiny dent. You're making a mountain out of a molehill. |
| out of the woods |
clear of danger |
The doctor said my heart is doing better, but I'm not out of the woods yet. |
| over the hill |
past middle age |
I knew I was over the hill when I started needing glasses to read. |
| rain on someone else's parade |
ruin somebody else's happiness |
Whenever I had a dance recital, my older brother always rained on my parade. |
| stick-in-the-mud |
a loner or person who won't join in |
They didn't bother inviting Charles to the party because he's alway a stick-in-the-mud. |
| (as) quick as lightning |
very fast |
Wow! Your shower was as quick as lightning. |
| the tip of the iceberg |
a small part of a large problem |
The lost tickets were just the tip of the iceberg. |
| take a raincheck |
accept at a later date |
I'd love to go out for dinner, but can I take a raincheck? |
| under the weather |
ill |
I was feeling under the weather so I went back to bed. |
| up the creek |
in trouble |
If my Dad finds out I had a party I'll be up the creek. |
| win by a landslide |
win by a lot of points |
The skiier in the green coat won by a landslide. |
| (get) wind of something |
overhear something about someone or something (often gossip) |
My Dad has a new girlfriend. I got wind of it over dinner tonight. |