Definition of IDIOM
Definition: An idiom is an expression whose meaning is not the literal meaning of its words.
Examples:
1. To work like a dog = To work very hard
2. (To) not have a clue = To know nothing about
3. (To) not sleep a wink = To be awake all night.
12 English Idioms with the word “Head” that you can use everyday. It’s time for some more idioms and I’d like to dedicate this post to some common expressions we use with the word “head”. They are, in fact, idioms that are used very often in both spoken and written English.
I. I always keep my head.
Meaning: I never lose control of my emotions.
2. It never entered my head.
Meaning: I never even thought about it.
3. I brought matters to a head.
Meaning: I made sure something had to be decided.
4. My head is in the clouds.
Meaning: I’m not a practically minded person.
5. I can’t make head nor tail of this.
Meaning: I don’t understand it at all.
6. I’m in way over my head.
Meaning: I’m involved so far that it’s out of my control.
7. I could do it standing on my head.
Meaning: I find it really easy.
8. The fame has completely gone to my head.
Meaning: I’ve let my feelings get out of control.
9. He’s off his head.
Meaning: He’s gone mad or he is completely drunk (depending on the context)
10. She likes to keep her head down.
Meaning: She avoids attracting attention.
11. They’re still scratching their heads over the results.
Meaning: They’re finding it hard to understand the results.
12. That joke just went over my head.
Meaning: I didn’t understand the joke.
💣 BLEW ME AWAY:
Meaning: when something blows you away, you’re extremely impressed by it.
Example:
The exhibition just blew me away. I’d never seen so many beautiful paintings before.
☁️ BLOW SMOKE:
Meaning: to exaggerate or say things that aren’t true to make you seem better/ more knowledgeable than in reality.
Example:
I’m not blowing smoke. I have honestly read War and Peace by Tolstoy.
🐺 CRY WOLF:
Meaning: to call for help when you don’t need it.
Example:
Do you think Peter is in trouble or is he just crying wolf?
UP A GUM TREE:
Meaning: If you're up a gum tree, you're in trouble or have a serious problem.
For examples:
My mate Bruce is up a gum tree. He got a sheila up the duff and now she's twisting his arm to get hitched. (see Note 2 below)
The company is up a gum tree because they broke some laws about polluting the environment, and they'll probably get closed down.
Note
1. This idiom is similar in meaning to "up the creek without a paddle".
2. This can be translated as follows: "My friend Bruce is in trouble. He caused a woman to become pregnant and now she's pressuring him to marry her."
Variety
This idiom is typically used in Australian English but may be used in other varieties of English too.
PULL A RABBIT OUT OF A HAT:
Meaninng: to do something unexpected that may have seemed impossible
Example:
I thought we were going bankrupt, but my partner pulled a rabbit out of his hat and we landed a major contract.
LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED:
Meaning: to do everything you can to achieve your goal
Example:
I’ll leave no stone unturned until I find out who did this.
GET IT OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM:
Meaning: to do something you’ve wanted to do for a long time and don’t want to postpone any longer
Example:
I wasn’t sure how she was going to react, but I had to get it out of my system, so I told her I had found another woman.
DEFER
Defer means “to choose to do (something) at a later time.”
Example:
She deferred her master’s program for a year so that she could travel the world.
Health is better than wealth
Meaning: being free from illness is better than being rich.
Note
Health (noun) = wellness; freedom from illness | wealth (noun) = great riches; many valuable possessions; much money
Step into the breach
Meaning: You do someone else's work when one is unable to do it
Example:
Gail's sudden illness meant that Kathy had to step into the breach
I was persuade to step into the breach temporarily when he became too ill to continue
