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Every Saturday I’ll give you a couple of idioms to learn. An idiom is a saying or phrase whose meaning cannot be taken from the literal meanings of the words.

make a mountain out of a molehill:    make something that is unimportant seem important

Example:

Every time the baby gets the sniffles, Karen rushes off to the doctor with him.  She needs to relax, rather than keep making a mountain out of a molehill.

monkey business:    unethical or bad activity, mischief

Example:  

I understand why Hank is so willing to ignore all the monkey business his nephew is involved in, but doesn’t he realize it will ruin his business?

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Every Saturday I’ll give you a couple of idioms to learn. An idiom is a saying or phrase whose meaning cannot be taken from the literal meanings of the words.

look a gift horse in the mouth:    complain if a gift is not perfect

Example:  

So what if you had to ride in the back of the pickup truck?  At least you didn’t have to walk – don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

look like the cat that swallowed the canary:    look very self-satisfied, look as if one just had a great success

Example:  

She looks like the cat that swallowed the canary – I heard she’s planning on divorcing her husband, and suing to get her hands on his wealth.

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Every Saturday I’ll give you a couple of idioms to learn. An idiom is a saying or phrase whose meaning cannot be taken from the literal meanings of the words.

live high on the hog:    have the best of everything

Example:  

After barely getting by for years, Steve won the lottery and has been living high on the hog ever since.

lock the barn door after the horse has been stolen:    be careful or try to make something certain after it is too late

Example:  

After the scandal broke, the politician tried to minimize damage to his reputation by promising to make all his campaign finances public.  That’s like locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen, as far as I’m concerned.

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Every Saturday I’ll give you a couple of idioms to learn. An idiom is a saying or phrase whose meaning cannot be taken from the literal meanings of the words.

let sleeping dogs lie:    don’t make trouble if you don’t have to

Example:  

I know you’re tempted to step in and bail your son out, but it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie.  He’ll have to learn the hard way.

let the cat out of the bag:        tell something that is supposed to be a secret

Example:

Bob and Mary weren’t planning on telling anyone yet that they were going to have another child, but their son let the cat out of the bag.

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Every Saturday I’ll give you a couple of idioms to learn. An idiom is a saying or phrase whose meaning cannot be taken from the literal meanings of the words.

kangaroo court:    a self-appointed group that decides what to do to someone who is supposed to have done wrong.

Example:  

Tom has no hope for true justice – that kangaroo court will take one look at the manufactured evidence and convict him on the spot, I fear.

lead a dog’s life:    work hard and be treated unkindly

Example:  

Cinderella led a dog’s life when her stepmother and stepsisters came on the scene.

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Every Saturday I’ll give you a couple of idioms to learn. An idiom is a saying or phrase whose meaning cannot be taken from the literal meanings of the words.

in a pig’s eye:    hardly, unlikely, not so

Example:  

Bob pay for dinner?  In a pig’s eye!  If I were you, I’d take some money, because you’ll no doubt have to pay your own way.

in the doghouse:    in disgrace or disfavor

Example:  

Marty couldn’t make it to our weekly poker game.  He’s in the doghouse because he didn’t take care of his “honey-do” list last weekend.

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Every Saturday I’ll give you a couple of idioms to learn. An idiom is a saying or phrase whose meaning cannot be taken from the literal meanings of the words.

horse sense:    wisdom in making decisions

Example:  

It doesn’t take much horse sense to see that kids need to run and play outside more, instead of spending most of their time staring at a video game.

horse trade:    hard and skillful bargaining

Example:  

Jack is so good at horse trading that he was able to get the travel agent to give us three extra nights at the resort for free.

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Every Saturday I’ll give you a couple of idioms to learn. An idiom is a saying or phrase whose meaning cannot be taken from the literal meanings of the words.

horse around:    rough or noisy play

Example:  

The lifeguard kicked out the boys who were horsing around on the diving board.

horse of a different color:    something totally separate and different

Example:  

You’re planning on going to State U. instead of Harvard?  That’s really a horse of a different color.

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Every Saturday I’ll give you a couple of idioms to learn. An idiom is a saying or phrase whose meaning cannot be taken from the literal meanings of the words.

hold one’s horses:    wait, be patient

Example:

I know you’re hungry, but you’ll have to hold your horses – supper won’t be ready for another half hour.

holy cow:    used to express strong feelings like astonishment, pleasure or anger

Example:

Holy cow, you guys are making so much noise I can’t think!  Turn it down, ok?

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Every Saturday I’ll give you a couple of idioms to learn. An idiom is a saying or phrase whose meaning cannot be taken from the literal meanings of the words.

go whole hog:    do something completely or thoroughly

Example:

Once Andrew decides to take up a project, he goes at it whole hog.  That’s what I appreciate about him.

hit the bull’s-eye:    reach the main point, get to the heart of a matter

Example:

The newspaper really hit the bull’s-eye with their editorial criticizing the governor’s plan to raise taxes.

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