101 American English Idioms

It’s a Zoo Out There:

Cat got your tongue? Can’t talk?
Fishy Strange and suspicious
For the birds Uninteresting and meaningless
Go to the dogs Become run down (in serious need of repair)
Horse around Play around (aimlessly)
Horse of a different color Quite a different matter
Let the cat out of the bag Inform beforehand
Smell a rat Feel that something is wrong
Straight from the horse’s mouth From a reliable source
Take the bull by the horns Take decisive action in a difficult situation
The Body Has Many Uses:
All thumbs Clumsy and awkward
Get in someone’s hair Bother someone
Get off someone’s back Stop bothering someone
Jump down someone’s throat Become angry with someone
Not have a leg to stand on To have no good defense for one’s opinion or action
Pay through the nose Pay too high a price
Play it by ear Improvise as one goes along
Pull someone’s leg Fool someone
Shake a leg Hurry
Shoot off one’s mouth about sth. Express one’s opinion loudly
Stick out one’s neck Take a risk
Tongue-in-cheek Not serious, ironic
Tongue lashing Scolding
Tongue tied Speechless
That’s Not Nice:
(Give a) Snow job Insincere talk
Drive someone up a wall Annoy someone greatly
Feed someone a line Deceive someone
Leave someone high and dry Abandon someone
Sell someone down the river Betray someone
Sell someone short Underestimate s./not give s. the credit he deserves
Spill the beans Reveal a secret
String someone along Lead someone on dishonestly/deceive someone
People Do the Strangest Things:
(Put sth.) On ice Set it aside for future use
Bend over backwards Try very hard
Bite the dust Go down in defeat
Cough up (sth.) Give unwillingly
Fork over hand over / give
Go fly a kite Go away!
Hit the ceiling Become very angry
Hit the hay Go to bed
Jump the gun To be hasty
Kick the bucket Die
Raise a stink Protest strongly
Scratch someone’s back Return a favor
Shoot the breeze Chat informally
Turn someone off Disgust someone
Clothes Make the Man (and Woman):
(Have s.) In stitches (Have s.) Laughing very hard till sides hurt
(Have sth.)Up one’s sleeve Concealed
Dressed to kill Wear one’s finest clothing
Dressed to the teeth Dressed elegantly
Give someone the slip Make a getaway
Keep under one’s hat Keep something a secret
Knock someone’s socks off Enthuse and excite
Lose one’s shirt Lose a great deal of money
Talk through one’s hat Make foolish statements
Wet blanket Dull or boring person who spoils one’s happiness.
When things go wrong:
(Be) In the hole Be in debt
(Be) On one’s last legs (Be) sick and failing
(Have sth.) On the line In danger of being lost
(Have to) Bite the bullet (Have to) endure in a difficult situation
(It’s a) Lemon Something defective
At the end of one’s rope At the limit of one’s ability to cope with the situation
Blow it Fail at something
Eating someone Bothering or worrying someone
Face the music Accept the consequences
Get the ax Be dismissed, fired
Get up on the wrong side of the bed Wake up in a bad mood
Hot under the collar Extremely angry
Out of the woods Out of danger
Out on a limb In a risky position
When things go well:
(Be) Sitting pretty (Be) in a fortunate position
Bury the hatchet Make peace
Come alive Brighten up and become active
Feel like a million dollars Feel wonderful
For a song For very little money
Get away clean Escape punishment
Have the world by the tail Be successful and happy
Kick up one’s heels Celebrate
Make a splash Be successful and attract attention
Paint the town red Carouse and have a good time
Do your best:
(Be) Duck soup (Be) easy, effortless
Get the ball rolling Initiate action
Get the jump on someone Get the advantage over someone
Give it one’s best shot Try hard
Go to bat for someone Help out and support someone
Hang on Persevere
Make ends meet Pay one’s bills
Mind one’s P’s and Q’s Take care in speech and action
Pull strings (with s.) Exert influence (with s.)
Spread oneself too thing Become involved in too many activities
Stick to one’s guns Maintain one’s position
Toot one’s own horn Boast (alardear)
You don’t say:
Money talks Money can influence people
Let sleeping dogs lie Do not agitate a potential source of trouble
Shape up or ship out Behave properly or leave!
If the shoe fits, wear it Admit the truth
Different strokes for different folks Everyone has different interests and tastes
His/her Bark is worse than his/her bite He/she’s not as bad-tempered as he/she appears
Eyes are bigger than one’s stomach Take more food than one can eat
Put one’s money where one’s mouth is Follow through with a stated intention
The early bird catches the worm Arriving early gives one an advantage
People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones One should not criticize when one is equally at fault
All’s well that ends well A successful outcome is worth the effort
 Adjectives and Adverbs

1) Adjectives modify nouns:

a) A large tree
b) A pretty girl

2) Adverbs modify verbs. They tell HOW we do something:

a) He speaks slowly
b) They work rapidly

3) We can form many adverbs by adding “ly” at the end of an adjective:

Adjective: Adverb:
Soft Softly
Careful Carefully
Easy Easily

4) There are some words that can be used both as adjectives and as adverbs without
changing its writing:
fast, hard, late, low.  He is a hard worker / He works hard

5) There are adverbs of MANNER, PLACE and FREQUENCY. If they should appear in
a sentence at the same time, we may follow this order:
manner (way) – place (location) – frequency (time):
He spoke well at the debate this morning
way place time

If we only have one adverb in the sentence, it would take the first place:
He studies everyday

6) When we work with verbs of movement like GO or COME, adverbs of place must be
written after the verb:
He went to the station by taxi

7) Verbs cannot be separated from an object by placing an adverb in the middle. This
must go at the end of the sentence:
Common mistakes: I speak well English / I write quickly my homework
verb object verb object

8) A sentence with several adverbs of frequency or time must follow this order: from
specific information to general information.
He was born at six o’clock on Christmas morning in the year 1990
 Verb, noun and adjective

Many English verbs can be used both as nouns or adjectives. Let’s consider some
examples.

Words that can be used either as verbs Words that can be used either as verbs
or nouns: or adjectives:

Walk: Complete:
Walk along this street (v) Complete all the steps (v)
Let’s have a walk (n) Write a complete answer (a)

Answer: Open:
Answer me, please (v) Don’t open that door (v)
Give me an answer (n) There’s an open space out there (a)

Drink: Close:
I want to drink some water (v) Close that window! (v)
Would you like a drink? (n) Here’s a closed door (a)

Fight: Warm:
Don’t fight it! (v) The baby’s cold. Warm him up! (v)
We had a silly fight the night before (n) It’s a warm room (a)

Brush: Clean:
I brush my teeth every morning (v) I’m going to clean the house (v)
I need a big brush to paint the house (n) Give him a clean mug (a)

Watch: Empty:
Close your eyes. Don’t watch (v) Empty the glass and give it to me (v)
What a beautiful watch you have! (n) Use an empty jar (a)

Kiss: Wet:
Kiss the baby (v) Wet the floor and wash it! (v)
Can I have a kiss? (n) Use a wet towel (a)

Look: Second:
Look! (v) I second that opinion (v)
Take a look at this (n) This is his second chance (a)

Book: Separate:
They booked him at the last minute (v) Separate in two portions (v)
Read this book (n) We sleep in separate beds (a)
 Too – So / Either – Neither

In order to avoid repetition of earlier words or phrases, we use too or so and an

appropriate auxiliary verb.

He speaks English and she speaks English:

 He speaks English and she does too.
 He speaks English and so does she.

I went to New York and John went to New York:

 I went to New York and John did too.
 I went to New York and so did John.

I’ll go there and she’ll go there:

 I’ll go there and she will too.
 I’ll go there and so will she.

We use too and so to avoid repetition in affirmative sentences; we use either and
neither to avoid repetition in negative sentences.

 He doesn’t speak English and she doesn’t either.

 He doesn’t speak English and neither does she.

 I didn’t go to New York and John didn’t either.

 I didn’t go to New York and neither did John.

 I won’t go there and she won’t either.

 I won’t go there and neither will she.

Use of the dictionary

adj. adjective poss.pron. possessive pronoun (mine, yours,

abbr. abbreviation his, hers, ours, yours, theirs)
adv. adverb pref. prefix
Amer. American prep. preposition
Austral. Australian pron. pronoun
Brit. British rel.pron. relative pronoun (who, whose, which,
comb. form combining form that)
conj. conjunction S. Afr. South African
derog. derogatory Scot. Scottish
esp. especially Sing. singular
hist. historical sp. spelling
int. interjection symb. symbol
n. noun usu. usually
N. Engl. Northern England v. verb
n.pl. noun plural var. variant
pl. plural vars. variants
v.aux. verb auxiliary
 Measurements in English

Both metric and non-metric systems of measurements are used in Britain. The choice
depends on the situation. The metric system is always used in a scientific context. In the
USA, the metric system is much less widely used.

Length and height

 We talk about something being a particular measurement long, wide, high, or thick:
The garden is 50 feet long.
He had a three-inch scar on his cheek.
The road rises to 2 288 m above sea level.
The ice was several centimeters thick.

 When we are describing people, we talk about how tall they are:
She’s 1.63 meters tall.

 When we use feet and inches we can say:

He’s only five feet four (inches).
He’s only five foot four.

Distance and speed

 Distance by road in Britain and the USA is measured in miles rather than kilometers:
It is 42 miles to Liverpool.
The signpost said: ‘Liverpool 42’.

 When describing speed, we talk about miles per hour (mph), kilometers per hour
(kph), kilometers per second, etc. In informal English, per is often replaced by a or
an:
She was driving at 75 miles an hour
a speed limit of 50 kph.
a hundred-mile-an-hour police chase.
Light travels at 299 792 kilometers per second.

 In Britain, distance in sport is usually measured in meters:

the women’s 800 meters freestyle.

In the USA, yards and miles are often used:

a six-mile run.

Distance in horse-racing is measured in furlongs or miles:

The Derby is run over a distance of twelve furlongs or one and a half miles.
Dimension
 We often state the size of something in terms of its length and width, and sometimes
also its height and depth. We say by but write “x” between each of the
measurements:
a room sixteen feet by twelve (16ft x 12ft)
a table five foot by three foot by two foot six high (5ft x 3ft x 2ft 6in)
The box measures 800 by 400 by 400 (millimeters) (800 x 400 x 400mm).

Area
 Land used for farming or as part of an estate is measured in acres or hectares:
a house with 10 acres of grounds
a 2000 hectare farm.

 Regions or areas of a country are usually Measured in square miles or square

kilometers:
Dartmoor covers an area of more than 350 square miles.
Population density is only 24 people per square kilometer (24/km2)

 Smaller areas are measured in square yards, feet or meters:

5000 square feet of office space
15 square meters of carpet (e.g. 5m x 3m)

As in the above examples square is used immediately after a number when giving a
measurement of area.

When square follows both a number and a unit of measurement, the number
indicates the length of each of the sides of something. Compare the previous
example with:
a carpet 15 meters square (15m x 15m)

Weight
 We usually buy food that is not packaged, for example at a delicatessen counter, in
pounds and ounces. How ever, when food is in a packet, the weight is usually
measured in kilograms or grams:
Could I have a quarter (of a pound) of smoked ham, please, and half a pound of
Cheddar?
Net weight 175 g (on a packet of biscuits)

Sometimes both metric and non metric weights are shown on packets.

 In Britain, a person's weight is measured in stones and pounds; in America, pounds

only are used:
She weighs 8 st 10 Ib. (Brit)
He's lost over three stone in a year. (Brit)
My brother weighs 183 pounds. (US)

Babies are weighed in pounds and ounces:

The baby weighed 6lb 4oz at birth.
 In Britain, heavy items are now usually weighed in kilograms (informally kilos) or
sometimes pounds. In the USA, pounds are used. Larger quantities are weighed in
tons or tonnes:
a car packed with 140 pounds of explosive
a 40 kg sack of gravel
Our baggage allowance is only 20 kilos.
The price of copper fell by £11 a tonne

Capacity
 In Britain, we buy milk and beer in pints or half pints:
a one-pint carton of milk
Two pints of lager, please.

In the USA, beer is sold in 12-ounce cans or bottles. Milk and juice are sold in pints,
quarts or gallons. Note that American fluid ounces and pints are slightly smaller than
British ones.

 Wine is sold in centiliters or liters. Other bottled drinks may also be sold in liters.
 In Britain, many other liquids are sold by the liter:
half a liter of cooking oil
5 liters of paint

In the USA, fluid ounces or gallons are used:

2 gallons of paint

 Petrol and diesel used to be sold in gallons in Britain but they are now sold in liters.
In the USA, gallons are used

 Small amounts of liquid are usually measured m milliliters in a scientific context, or

as fluid ounces in cookery:
100 ml sulphuric acid
Add 8 fl oz milk and beat thoroughly
Numbers
Something marked with the stated number:
How numbers are spoken She played two nines and an eight (= playing
Numbers over 20 cards marked with these numbers).
21 twenty-one A set or group of the stated number: The
22 twenty-two teacher divided us into fours (= groups of 4). You
32 thirty-two can buy cigarettes in tens or twenties (= in
99 ninety-nine packets containing 10 or 20).

Numbers over 100 Numbers and grammar

101 a/one hundred (and) one Numbers can be used as:
121 a/one hundred (and) twenty-one
200 two hundred Determiners: Five people were hurt in the
232 two hundred (and) thirty-two accident.
999 nine hundred (and) ninety-nine The three largest companies in the US.
Several hundred cars.
Note: In British English the “and” is always
used: two hundred and thirty-two. But in Pronouns: We invited a lot of people but only
American English it is often left out: two twelve came/only twelve of them came.
hundred thirty-two. Do exercise five on page nine.

Numbers over 1000
1001 a/one thousand (and) one
1121 one thousand one hundred (and) twenty-one
2000 two thousand
2232 two thousand two hundred (and) thirty- two
9999 nine thousand nine hundred (and) ninety-nine
Nouns: Six cam be divided by two and three.
Three twos make six.
Weights and measures
The words in dark type are the ones that are
most commonly used in general speech.

Ordinal numbers METRIC

20th twentieth Units of length
21st twenty-first 1 millimetre = 0.03937 inch
25th twenty-fifth 10 mm = 1 centimetre = 0.3937 inch
90th ninetieth 10 cm = 1 decimetre = 3.937 inches
99th ninety-ninth 10 dm = 1 metre = 39.37 inches
100th hundredth 10 m = decameter = 10.94 yards
101st hundred and first 10 dam = 1 hectometre = 109.4 yards
225th two hundred (and) twenty-fifth 10 hm = 1 kilometre = 0.6214 mile
Dates Units of weight
1624 sixteen twenty-four 1 milligram = 0.015 grain
1903 nineteen-oh-three 10 mg = 1 centigram = 0.154 grain
1987 nineteen eighty-seven 10 cg = 1 decigram = 1.543 grains
10 dg = 1 gram = 15.43 grains =
What numbers represent 0.035 ounces
Numbers are often used on their own to show: 10 g = 1 decagram = 0.353 ounce
10 dag = 1 hectogram = 3.527 ounces
Price: It cost eight seventy-five (= 8 pounds
10 hg = 1kilogram = 2.205 pounds
75 pence or 8 dollars 75 cents: £8.75 or
1000 kg = 1 tonne = 0.984 (long) ton
$8.75).
Time: We left at two twenty-five (= 25 minutes (metric ton) = 2204.62 pounds
after 2 o’clock).
Age: She’s forty-six (= 46 years old). He’s in Units of capacity
his sixties (= between 60 and 69 years old). 1 millilitre = 0.00176 pint
Size: This shirt is a thirty-eight (= size 38). 10 ml = 1 centilitre = 0.0176 pint
Temperature: The temperature fell to minus 10 cl = 1 decilitre = 0.176 pint
fourteen (= -14º). The temperature was in the 10 dl = 1 litre = 1.76 pints
mid-thirties (= about 34-36º). 10 l = 1 decalitre = 2.20 gallons
The score in a game: Becker won the first set 10 dal = 1 hectolitre = 22.0 gallons
six-three (= by six games to three: 6-3). 10 hl = 1 kilolitre = 220.0 gallons
Metric measures
(With approximate non-metric equivalents)

Metric Non-metric
Length 10 millimetres (mm) = 1 centimetre (cm) = 0.394 inch
100 centimetres = 1 metre (m) = 39.4 inches/1.094 yards
1000 metres = 1 kilometre (km) = 0.6214

Area 100 square metres (m2) = 1 are (a) = 0.025 acre

100 ares = 1 hectare (ha) = 2.471 acres
100 hectares = 1 square kilometre (km2) = 0.386 square mile

Weight 1000 milligrams (mg) = 1 gram (g) = 15.43 grains

1000 grams = 1 kilogram (kg) = 2.205 pounds
1000 kilograms = 1 tonne = 19.688 hundredweight

Capacity 10 millilitres (ml) = 1 centilitre = 0.018 pint (0.21 US pint)

100 centilitres (cl) = 1 litre (1) = 1.76 pints (2.1 US pints)
10 litres = decalitre (dal) = 2.2 gallons 82.63 US
gallons)

Non-metric measures
(with approximate metric equivalents)

Non-metric Metric
Length 1inch (in) = 25.4 millimetres
12 inches = 1 foot (ft) = 30.48 centimetres
3 feet = 1 yard (yd) = 0.914 metre
220 yards = 1 furlong = 201.17 metres
8 furlongs = 1 mile = 1.609 kilometres

Area 1 square (sq) inch = 6.sq centimeters (cm2)

144 sq inches = 1sq foot = 0.836 sq metre
9 sq feet = 1 sq yard
4840 sq yards = 1 acre = 0.405

Weight
437 grains = 1 ounce (oz) = 28.35 grams
16 ounces = 1 pound (lb) = 0.454 kilogram
14 pounds = 1 stone (st) = 6.356 kilograms
8 stone = 1 hundredweight (cwt) = 50.8 kilograms
20 hundredweight = 1 ton = 1016.04 kilograms

British Capacity
20 fluid ounces (fl oz) = 1 pint (pt) = 0.568 litre
2 pints = 1 quart (qt) = 1.136 litres
8 pints = 1 gallon (gal) = 4.546 litres

American capacity
16 US fluid ounces = 1 US pint = 0.473 litre
2 US pints = 1 US quart = 0.946 litre
8 US pints = 1 US gallon = 8.785 litres
Clothing sizes

Men Shirts
U.S. 14 14½ 15 15½ 16 16½ 17
Metric. 36 37 38 39 41 42 43
Pants
28 30 32 34 36 38
71 76 81 86 92 97
Jackets and coats
32 33 34 36 38 40 42 44
81 84 86 92 97 102 107 112
Shoes
7 8 9 10 11 12
40 41 42 43 44 45
Women Blouses, dresses, jackets, and coats
U.S. 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Metric. 36 38 40 42 44 46 48
Shoes
5 6 7 8 9 10
35 36 37 38 39 40
EXERCISES
COMPLETE THESE SENTENCES
1. There are feet in a meter
2. There are inches in a foot
3. There are yards in two meters
4. There are meters in 5 feet
1 inch …………….2.54 centimeters
1 foot …………….30.48 centimeters
1 yard ……………91.44 centimeters
1 mile …………….1.609 meters
1 kilometer ……….1.000 meter
5. There are yards in a mile
6. There are inches in a yard
7. There are feet in a mile
8. There are yards in 6 feet

ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS

1.-How high is the ceiling of your house?
2.-How thick is the blackboard?
3.-How tall are you?
4.-What's your height?
5.-How wide is your classroom?
6.-What's the length of the blackboard?
LIQUID MEASURES
COMPLETE THESE SENTENCES 16 ounces (o.z) (1 pint) …….1/2 liter
1.-The drawer is 0.60 meters long
1 quart (2 pint)……………...1 liter
It’s______________feet in length
2.-The box is 10 inches deep 1 gallon (4 quarts)………….4 liters
It’s_______________centimeters in depth
3.-The building is 180 meters high
It’s_______________yards in height
4.-The table is 80 centimeters wide
It’s______________inches in width

SOLID MEASURES
1 ounce ……………………28 grams
1 pound (16 Ounces) ……...450 grams
1 kilogram …………………2.2 pounds
ANSWER
1. How long is the classroom?
2. How wide is it?
3. How long is your English book?
the blackboard?
the notebook?
the door?
the window?

4. How wide is the blackboard?

the door?
the window

5. How deep is the pool?

the drawer?
the hole?

6. How many inches are there in a foot?

7. How many meters are there in a mile?

ANSWER
l. How much do you weigh?
2. What's your weight?
3. How heavy is your desk?
4.How much milk do you drink every day?
5.How heavy is your teacher's desk?

COMPLETE

Oliver weighs 90 kilos. His weight is ……… grams

..……. pounds
That piece of meat weighs 3.60 kilos. Its weight is ……… grams
……… pounds
That girl weighs 112 pounds. Her weight is ………. kilos
………. grams
 CURRENCY

Here you see British new money. It was officially changed to decimal currency on the 15th of
February, 1,971.
Britain's new decimal currency substitutes the old system of counting coins, coming from the
Anglo Saxon times.
According to the decimal currency the pound (£) is divided into 100 new pennies, there are three
bronze coins (½, 1, and 2 new penny) and three cupro-nickel coins [the 5, 10 and 50 new penny),

U.S have eleven different paper bills but some of them are not very common. The half dollar is
not commonly found. (50 cents.) A one hundred bill is not very common either. Then we have
these coins.

Half dollar A quarter A dime A nickel A penny

50 cents 25 cents 10 cents 5 cents one cent
 QUOTATIONS

 Learn a new language and get a new soul.

 He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything.
 It is by logic that we prove, but by intuition that we discover.
 Fears are educated into us and can, if we wish, be educated out
 I don't know who my grandfather was. I am much concerned to know what his grandson will be.
 Blessed is the person who is too busy to worry in the daytime, and. too sleepy to worry at night
 The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.
 Good character, like good soup, is made at hone.
 You may find the worst enemy or best friend in yourself.
 The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his
own.
 Worriers spend a lot of time shoveling smoke.
 One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.
 To feel that one has a place in life solves half the problem of contentment.
 It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.
 Love at first sight is easy to understand. It's when two people have been looking at each other for
years that it becomes a miracle.
 Life is short and we never have enough time for gladdening the hearts of those who travel the
way with us. Oh, be swift to love! Make haste to be kind.
 Macho doesn’t prove mucho.
 Each day comes bearing its gifts, untie the ribbons.
 You can’t turn back the clock. But you can wind it up again.
 Who of us is mature enough for offspring before the offspring themselves arrive? The value of
marriage is not that adults produce children but that children produce adults.
 There's a time when you have to explain to your children why they're born, and it's a marvelous
thing if you know the reason by then.
 As soon as a man is born he begins to die.
 Nothing is ours but time.
 Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done. God may have been waiting for
centuries for somebody ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing.
 So little done, so much to do.
 If necessity is the mother of invention, discontent is the father of progress.
 The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.
 Vitality shows not only in the ability to persist but in the ability to start over.
 Never lose sight of the fact that old age needs so little but needs that little so much.
 The best-educated human being is the one who understands most about the life in which he is
placed.
 If you had your life to live over again, you’d need more money.
 Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough.
 Sometimes the best helping hand you can get is a good, firm push.
 An open mind collects more riches than an open purse.
 Some people would do anything to be able to do nothing.
 Praise: something a person tells you about yourself that you suspected all along.
 Praise is like champagne; it should be served while it is still bubbling.
 The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
 When fear advances, logic backs away.
 If youth only knew; if age only could.
 Never close your lips to those to whom you have opened your heart.
 No one is ever old enough to know better.