Idioms from A to Z with Example sentences (E)

E................................................. ..............................................

Each and every

- Every (used for emphasis)

I would like each and every one of you to bring your textbooks tomorrow.

Eager beaver

- Person who is always eager to work or do extra work

He is a real eager beaver and is always available to work when we need him.

Earful

- Scolding, a lot of information (often critical)

He really gave his daughter an earful when she came home late.

Early bird catches the worm

- A person who gets up early in the morning has the best chance of success

He always goes to work before his colleagues because he knows that the early bird catches the worm.

(keep/have one’s) ear to the ground

- pay attention to the way things are going or the way people feel and think

He always has his ear to the ground and knows everything that is going on in our company.

Ease off

- reduce in severity or pressure, relax

The president was asked to ease off on his efforts to save money in the company.

Easy come, easy go

- Something that you get easily can be lost easily

He doesn’t care if he loses his job or not. For him everything is easy come, easy go.

Easy does it

Idioms from A to Z with Example sentences (D)

D................................................. .................................

dance to a different tune

- talk or act differently (usually better) because things have changed

He has begun dancing to a different tune now that he knows that his head salesman is thinking of quitting.

dark horse

- a candidate little known to the general public

At first he was a dark horse candidate but he later won the election.

dash off

- do or finish quickly, leave quickly

I will dash off a letter now but then I must go to work.

Dawn on

- become clear

It finally dawned on me as to why he was angry.

Day and night

- Continually

We worked day and night to finish the project before the end of the month.

 Day in and day out

- Regularly, all the time

He goes to that restaurant day in and day out and never gets tired of it.

Dead ahead

- Exactly in front, before

There was a truck dead ahead so we put on the car brakes suddenly.

Dead as a doornail

- Very dead

The man was dead as a doornail as we could see after the accident.

 Deadbeat

- A person who never pays his debts

There is a policy to penalize deadbeat fathers by the local government.

 Dead center

- Exact middle

He was able to hit the target dead center.

Dead duck

- Person or thing in a hopeless situation or condition

He is a dead duck and has no hope of recovering his former position.

Dead end

- The closed end of a road or an impasse

The negotiations between the team and the owners have come to a dead end.

 Deadpan

- With an expressionless or emotionless face

He had a deadpan expression when he told us the story.

 Dead set against something

- determined not to do something

They are dead set against their son going to Europe for a year.

 Dead tired

- Very tired, exhausted

I was dead tired so I went to bed as soon as I got home.

 Dead to the world

- Fast asleep

The little boy was dead to the world when his father took him out of the car.

 Decked out

- dressed in fancy clothes

She was all decked out in her best clothes for the party.

 Deep-six

- throw away, dispose of

I decided to deep-six the videos as I didn’t want them any longer.

Idioms from A to Z with Example sentences (C)

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Calculated risk

- An action that may fail but has a good chance to succeed

They took a calculated risk when they opened the new store but it has been very successful.

Call a spade a spade

- speak bluntly

He was calling a spade a spade when he began to criticize his employee for being lazy.

Call for someone

- come and get someone

Could you please come and call on me before you go to the game.

Call it quits

- Stop, finish

He called it quits and went home for the day.

Call of nature

- The need to go to the toilet

He is answering the call of nature and can’t talk to you for a few minutes.

Call off

- cancel

The game was called off because of the rain.

Call on

- visit someone

I plan to call on my brother when I am on my holidays.

Call on

- ask someone to participate or contribute something

The teacher called on me three times to answer questions in the class.

Call on to the carpet

- call someone before an authority to be scolded or reprimanded

He was called on to the carpet by his boss for losing the major sale.

call someone’s bluff

- Challenge someone to prove what they say is true

I decided to call his bluff and asked him to show me the evidence.

Call the shots

- be in charge, give orders

He is now calling the shots and is in control of the company.

Call up

- Telephone

He said that he would call up his parent’s tomorrow night.

Calm down

- relax

She finally calmed down after the accident.

Cancel out

- destroy the effect of something

The benefits of her exercise were cancelled out by her always overeating.

Can of worms

Idioms from A to Z with Example sentences (B)

B................................................. .....................

back on one’s feet

- Return to good financial or physical health

He is finally backed on his feet after his company went out of business.

Back out

- withdraw from an agreement or promise

The company backed out of the deal with the foreign firm.

Back to the drawing board

- go back to start a project or idea from the beginning

The boss doesn’t like our idea so I guess we must go back to the drawing board.

Bail someone or something out

- Help or rescue

The government has decided to bail out the troubled bank.

Bank on

- be sure of, count on

You can bank on them to come and help the company.

bark is worse than one’s bite

- Someone isn’t as bad as they sound

Don’t worry if he gets angry - his bark is worse than his bite.

Bark up the wrong tree

- make a wrong assumption about something

The police are barking up the wrong tree in their investigation of that person.

Beat around the bush

- speak indirectly or evasively

Stop beating around the bush and give us your final decision.

beat someone to the punch (draw)

- do something before others

He beat me to the punch and arrived at the interview first.

 (have a) bee in one’s bonnet

- have an idea that continually occupies one’s thoughts.

He has a bee in his bonnet over whether or not to build a new house or not.

 (Do something) behind someone’s back

- Without someone’s knowledge

He is very angry because they borrowed the car behind his back.

Behind the times

- Old fashioned

My aunt is a little behind the times.

be to blame

- be responsible for something bad or unfortunate

He’s not to blame for breaking the computer.

Bend over backwards to do something

- try very hard

If I can, I will bend over backwards to help you get a promotion in the company.

Beside one’s self

- Very upset or excited about something

He was beside himself with joy at winning the contest.

Beside the point

- Not relevant to the subject that you are considering or discussing

"What you are saying is beside the point. We are not talking about salary now."

Bet on the wrong horse

- misjudge a coming event, misread the future

I think that he bet on the wrong horse by putting all of his money into that new stock.

Better off

- be in a better situation than before

He would be better off if he sold his old car and bought a new one.

beyond the pale

- Outside the bounds of acceptable behavior

What they are doing is totally unacceptable and beyond the pale.

bide one’s time

- Patiently wait for an opportunity to occur.

He is biding his time as he waits to become president of the company.

Big shot

- An important and powerful person

He is a big shot in the oil and gas industry.

Birthday suit

- Completely naked, no clothes on

The little boy was running down the street in his birthday suit.

Bite off more than one can chew

- try to do more than one is able to do

I think I bit off more than I can chew by taking on the new assignment.

Bite the bullet

- endure in a difficult situation, face a difficult situation bravely

I have decided to bite the bullet and begin studying for my Master’s degree.

bite the dust

- be killed, break down, be defeated

I think that my car has finally bitten the dust.

Bite the hand that feeds you

- turn against a friend or supporter, repay kindness with wrong

He is biting the hand that feeds him if he continues to criticize and fight against his boss.

Blind leading the blind

Idioms from A to Z with Example sentences

Idioms from A to Z with Example sentences

A..

About to do something

- On the point of doing something

She was about to leave when the phone rang.

About time

- Something that should have happened earlier

It is about time that you returned that book to me.

Absent-minded

- Forgetful

My grandfather is very absent-minded and often forgets his key.

According to Hoyle

- Strictly by the rules, the usual and correct way to do something

According to Hoyle you are not allowed to enter this room but if nobody is here I think it will be okay.

Add up

- seem consistent or reasonable

The things that he said about his boss don’t really add up.

Ahead of time

- Early

We started the meeting ahead of time so we could go home early.

Air one’s dirty laundry (linen) in public 

- make public something embarrassing that should be kept secret

The dinner party became uncomfortable when the host began to air his colleagues' dirty laundry in public.

All along

- all the time

I knew all along that he would not get the promotion.

all at once

- suddenly, without warning

All at once the fire alarm rang so we had to leave the building.

all day long

- The whole day

She has been sitting and waiting for the mail to arrive all day long.

all ears

- Eager to listen to someone

Okay, I`m all ears, please tell me about the party.

all in all

- in summary, after considering everything

We had a few problems but all in all the meeting was successful.

all of a sudden

- suddenly, without advance warning

All of a sudden it became cloudy and began to rain.

all right

- okay, satisfactory

She said that it would be all right for me to bring my friend to the party.

all the time

- continually

She asks for money all the time but I don’t like to give it to her.

all thumbs

- have difficulty fixing things or working with one’s hands, clumsy

He is all thumbs when it comes to fixing things around the house.

an arm and a leg

- (cost) a large amount of money

His new car must have cost him an arm and a leg.

Apple of one’s eye

- One’s favorite

His youngest daughter is the apple of his eye.

As a rule

- Usually, as a habit