Tuesday, May 11, 2010

idioms and examples

bad-mouth: say unkind, unflattering, embarrassing (and probably untrue) things about someone.

A: "I don't believe what Bob said. Why is he bad-mouthing me?"
B: "He's probably jealous of your success."

be a piece of cake: be very easy.

A: "Bob said the test was difficult, but I thought it was a piece of cake.""

be all ears: be eager to hear what someone has to say.

A: "I just got an e-mail message from our old friend Sally."
B: "Tell me what she said. I'm all ears!"

be broke: be without money.

"No, I can't lend you ten dollars. I'm completely broke until payday."

be fed up with (with someone or something): be out of patience (with someone or something);
be very tired of someone or something.

"Bill, you're too careless with your work. I'm fed up with
apologizing for your mistakes!"

be in and out: be at and away from a place during a particular time.

"Could we postpone our meeting until tomorrow? I expect to
be in and out of the office most of the day today."

be on the go: be very busy (going from one thing or project to another).

"I'm really tired. I've been on the go all week long."

be on the road: be traveling.

"You won't be able to contact me tomorrow because I'll be on the road."

be over: be finished; end.

"I can't see you until around 4 o'clock. My meetings won't be over until then."

be up and running: (for a technological process) be operational; be ready to use .

"Dave's ESL Cafe on the Web has been up and running since December 1995."

be used to (+Ving/noun): be accustomed to; not uncomfortable with.

"It won't be hard to get up at 5:00 AM. I'm used to getting up early."

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