idiomE.htm
Collected from various sources by U Kyaw Tun (UKT), M.S. (I.P.S.T., U.S.A.), and staff of TIL (Tun Institute of Learning, http://www.tuninst.net ) for staff and students of TIL Computing and Language Center, Yangon, Myanmar. Not for sale.
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Eidiom-txt-indx.htm
• each to his own • eager beaver • eagle eyes • ear candy • ear to the ground • earful • early bird • ears are burning • ears lowered • ears pinned back • ease up • easy as pie • easy come, easy go • easy pickings • easy street • easy time out • eat crow • eat high off the hog • eat humble pie •
From Magnuson
each to his own -- ears pinned back
Internet link
each
to his own
each to his own -- (See to each his own)
From Magnuson
eager beaver -- a person who wants to work
Joan is the eager beaver in this class. She likes to work.
From Magnuson
eagle eyes -- a person who can see details or errors
We call him Eagle Eyes because he finds so many lost golf balls.
From Magnuson
ear candy -- music that is pleasant, beautiful music
The theme music in the movie Out of Africa is ear candy.
From Magnuson
ear to the ground -- (See
keep your ear to the ground)
From Magnuson
earful -- (See
an earful)
From Magnuson
early bird -- (See
the early bird gets the worm)
From Magnuson
ears are burning -- the "ears"
in your mind hear people talking about you
"How did you know we were talking about you?"
"Because my ears were burning!"
From Magnuson
ears lowered -- (See
have my ears lowered)
From Magnuson
ears pinned back -- told to behave, disciplined
The rowdy kid needs his ears pinned back. Tell him to behave.
From Magnuson
ease up -- eat humble
pie Internet link
ease
up
ease up -- work or play slower,
take it easy on
Ease up on the younger players, eh. Don't work them too hard.
ease up -- not push as much, reduce the pressure,
let up
You can ease up on the gas pedal when we reach 100 km per hour.
From Magnuson
easy as pie -- very easy to do,
a piece of cake
That math problem is easy as pie. I'll show you how to do it.
From Magnuson
easy come, easy go -- if we get things free we do not worry when we
lose them
As Ming was spending his lottery money, he said, "Easy come, easy go."
From Magnuson
easy pickings -- an easy task or job,
a piece of cake
It was a multiple-choice test - easy pickings if you studied.
From Magnuson
easy street -- an easy life, a life with lots of money to spend
Win five million dollars and we'll be on easy street.
From Magnuson
easy time of it -- not much work to do, an easy life
While living with his wealthy aunt, he had an easy time of it.
From Magnuson
eat crow -- admit you were wrong, take back what you said (see
take it back)
When I lost the bet, I had to eat crow - admit I was wrong.
From Magnuson
eat high off the hog -- (See
high on the hog)
From Magnuson
eat humble pie -- admit I did not play well, feel humble after defeat
Ben had to eat humble pie after he finished fourth in the race.
E03. eat it up -- eat you out of house and home Internet link eat it up
eat it up -- finish eating some food, eat all of the food
That's a good boy. Eat it up and then you can go out to play.
eat it up -- believe a story,
eat out of the palm...
The children were eating it up - every word the teacher said.
eat like a horse -- eat a lot,
pig out
Barney eats like a horse. He has a monstrous appetite.
eat my hat/shirt -- be very surprised or shocked if it is true
If the Vancouver Canucks win the Cup, I'll eat my hat!
eat out -- eat at a restaurant, eat at a cafe
On Friday evenings we eat out, usually at a Greek restaurant.
eat out of the palm of your hand -- do whatever you ask, obey you,
win the hearts
If you tell the children a story, you'll have them eating out of the palm of
your hand.
eat that -- believe that,
buy that,
swallow that
After listening to the UFO scientist, my uncle said, "Are we supposed to eat
that?"
eat up -- begin to eat, continue to eat,
dig in
Eat up, folks. We have lots of pancakes.
eat you for breakfast -- defeat you easily,
have you for breakfast
In a game of racquetball he'll eat you for breakfast. He's quick.
eat you out of house and home -- eat all your food,
pig out
Our son's team came to dinner and ate us out of house and home!
E04. eat your fill -- eh Internet link eat your fill
eat your fill -- eat until you are satisfied, eat as much as you can
Eat your fill. You won't have another meal till we get home.
eat your heart out -- envy my prize, wish that you had one
When Kurt won the Porsche, he said, "Eat your heart out, guys."
eat your words -- regret what you said, admit you were wrong
regret what you said, admit you were wrong
eating you -- (See what's eating you)
edgy -- nervous, cranky,
touchy
You're kind of edgy today. Did you sleep well last night?
eff 'im [B] -- fuck him, tell him to
fuck off,
the F-word
I've had enough of his lack of responsibility! Eff 'im!
egg me on -- encourage me, tell me to do it
I didn't want to steal the exam, but they egged me on.
egg on my face -- embarrassed, outsmarted
I made a deal with Jake and ended up with egg on my face.
ego trip -- feeling of self importance, feeling superior
If you tell him he played well, he'll go on an ego trip.
eh -- you understand, you know what I am taking about
There were three boys but only two girls, eh.
E05. eighty-six it -- even a blind pig can find an acorn Internet link eighty-six it
eighty-six it -- take it off the list, it is one too many,
smithwright it
Our menu has too many entrees. Let's eighty-six the beef stroganoff.
eke out a living -- earn or grow enough to survive
On the small farm we were able to eke out a living.
elbow room -- room to move among people, space in a crowd
On the streets of Hong Kong there wasn't much elbow room.
electronic superhighway -- a computer network,
Internet
We can find more information on the electronic superhighway.
end justifies the means -- See the end justifies the means)
end of the line -- (See the end of the line)
end up -- where you stop or finish, the end of a journey
We often end up sleeping at Ty's house. His mom doesn't mind.
enough is enough -- it is time to stop, enough already
"Enough is enough!" she said after my sixth piece of pie.
even -- we do not owe each other,
a wash,
call it square
I owe you $20, but I gave you a haircut, so we're even.
even a blind pig can find an acorn -- if you keep looking and trying
you may succeed
"Hey, Bill. Think you'll ever get that car started?" "Maybe. Even a blind pig
can find an acorn."
E06. even keel -- everything old is new again Internet link even keel
even keel -- (See keep an even keel)
even so -- regardless, no matter
"He doesn't need the money." "Even so, I must repay the loan."
even-steven -- equal work or achievement, evenly matched
After one lap, Karim and I were even-steven. We were tied.
even up -- equal parts, equal pieces for each person
They split the profits even up - 50% to each partner.
every cloud has a silver lining -- every bad thing has its perks, bad
luck is never entirely bad
Mark missed his bus, but when he came in late he found that the class had
written a math test.
every trick in the book -- every method or device, every way of doing
it
If you want to find boys, Keiko knows every trick in the book.
every walk of life -- every occupation, all lifestyles
People from every walk of life attend our church.
everything but the kitchen sink -- almost everything,
the whole works
We put everything in his truck, everything but the kitchen sink!
everything from soup to nuts -- a lot of food or things, a variety of
groceries
His shopping cart was full. He had everything from soup to nuts.
everything old is new again -- fashions and trends are repeated or
revived
Hey, if miniskirts are back, everything old is new again!
E07. ex -- eyes glaze over Internet link ex
ex -- former wife or husband; girlfriend or boyfriend
His ex got the Mercedes; he got the truck.
exit stage left -- departure,
gonzo,
out of here (outa here)
When that bull got loose, I did an exit stage left!
expand your horizons -- experience or discover new ideas or goals or
cultures
Travel, read, discuss - expand your horizons!
eye candy -- something that is nice to look at, a beautiful object
She was eye candy. I've never seen a more beautiful car!
eye for an eye -- (See an eye for an eye)
eye of a needle -- (See the eye of a needle)
eye of the storm -- (See the eye of the storm)
eye to eye -- (See see eye to eye)
eyeball this -- look at this,
check this out,
peep this
Eyeball this, guys! My hair is curly!
eyes glaze over -- eyes express disbelief or "I've heard this before"
When I told him I'd pay the rent next week, his eyes glazed over.
E08. eyes peeled -- eyes peeled Internet link eyes peeled
eyes peeled -- (See keep your eyes peeled)
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