10 Idioms- 1st Vocabulary Entry

10 IDIOMS

1. Get one's wires crossed: be confused or mistaken about something.
- I guess Bill got his wires crossed.
- I got my wires crossed and called his home phone instead of his work phone.
2. Can't make heads or tails of something: can't understand something at all find something confusing and illogical.
- “I can't make heads or tails of your e-mail. Were you having problems with your computer?”
- Do this report again. I can't make heads or tails out of it.
3. Be a piece of cake: be very easy.
- "Bob said the test was difficult, but I thought it was a piece of cake."
- No problem. When you know what you're doing, it's a piece of cake.
4. A quick study: someone who learns new things quickly and easily.
- "I'm not surprised. She's a quick study."
- Jane, who is a quick study, caught the joke immediately and laughed before everyone else.
5. An eager beaver: a person who is always willing to volunteer or do extra work.
- Jan is certainly an eager beaver. Any time there's work to be done, she's the first to say she'll help."
- Who's an eager beaver who came in at the weekend to finish this work off?
6. Live from hand to mouth: survive on very little money; have only enough money to pay for basic needs.
- Chuck and Alice are living from hand to mouth since Chuck lost his job.
- When both my parents were out of work, we lived from hand to mouth.
7. Make a mountain out of a molehill: make something seem much more important than it really is.
- “Calm down. There's really nothing to worry about.
You're making a mountain out of a molehill.”
- Come on, don't make a mountain out of a molehill. It's not that important.
8. Shoot the breeze: make relaxed, casual conversation.
- "No, we weren't talking about anything important.
We were just shooting the breeze."
- It was good to shoot the breeze with you, Mary.
9. Zip your lip! : keep something secret; promise not to tell what has just been said.
- "What I told you is really important, so zip your lip!"
- "I've heard enough. Zip your lip!" hollered the coach.
10. Hit the sack: go to bed.
- I'm really tired. I think I'll hit the sack.
- When I hit the sack, I read for a few minutes, and then turn out the light.