1. a piece of cake:

something very easy or simple to do

2. in hot water:

in trouble

3. be in two mind about (something):

to be unable to come to a decision about something

4. there is nothing els for it:

there is only one thing to do, there is no choice

5. in seventh heaven:

extremely happy or pleased, delighted

6. like the wind:

very quickly

7. live from hand to mouth:

to have enough money to supply only what is really needed for survival, to be very poor

8. be dead to the world:

to be deeply asleep

9. put heads together:

to discuss something

10. stand on one's own two feet:

to be independent

11. lose touch with (someone):

to stop communication with someone

12. lose one's voice:

to be unable to speak because of having a sore throat, etc

13. Not (someone's) cup of tea:

not something that someone likes or prefers

14. eat like a bird:

to eat very little

15. feel at home:

to feel very relaxed, as if one is in one's own home

16. have something on:

to be busy, to have another engagement

17. be dying for (something):

to want something very much

18. have a long face:

to look sad or disapproving

19. get the green light:

to receive permission to begin doing something

20. walk in air:

to feel very happy

Out to Lunch

If someone is “out to lunch” it means that they are “clueless” or just “have no idea what they doing or thinking”.

So if someone is “ridiculously wrong and completely clueless about some topic, or many topics” we can say they are “out to lunch“.  It’s almost like their brain is taking a mental vacation or “lunch break”.

Examples

1.  Her husband is cheating on her and she has no idea at all.  She’s so out to lunch.  Its sad to watch.

2.  There is no way that little restaurant will succeed.  It is in a terrible location and almost no customers will find it.  The owner is really out to lunch.  I hate to say it but I’m guessing it will fail in 6 months or less.

This is a simple but very useful slang English term that native speakers use all the time.

If something is a “No brainer” it means that it’s a “very easy decision“.  It means that you do not need to think hard about the choice at all because the proper decision should be so obvious.  A decision that is a “no brainer” should be common sense to any reasonable person.  Some examples will of course help.

1.  Let’s go to the Italian restaurant today because everything on the menu is half price for only today.  We can go to the other restaurant another day.  This is a no brainer.

2.  Why don’t you date Jamie instead of Kate?  Jamie is much more beautiful and she’s a lot friendlier as well.  It should be a real no brainer.

Ticking Time Bomb

This is an interesting term that native speakers often use.  It is “Ticking time bomb“.

A “ticking time bomb” basically means a situation that can happen at any time; something bad that will happen.  ”Ticking” is the sound of an old watch or an old clock.  Some “bombs” can be set with a clock or a timer to explode at a time.  If you didn’t make the bomb, you won’t know exactly when it will explode, but you know that it will explode at some point in time if nothing is done to stop it.

An example of how this phrase is actually used is something like this:

“That man smokes too many cigarettes, drinks too much alcohol, eats too much junk food, and never exercises.  His doctor is worried about his heart and told him that he’s basically a ticking time bomb unless he changes his lifestyle.”

- That means that basically he will get sick and/or die from heart problems sometime in the future unless he makes some healthy changes.

Another good example:

“Many experts say that the economy is like a ticking time bomb.  It’s ok now but it’s going to fail badly sometime in the near future.  We just don’t know exactly when.“

This phrase is used when talking about buying clothes.

If you buy something “off the rack” it means that you are buying it directly from the store.  It means  that no one is making a special size made for you.

We all buy a lot of our clothing “off the rack”.  We always buy T-shirts off the rack, and in fact, we buy most of our clothes in this way.

The type of clothing that is sometimes not purchased “off the rack” would be things like men’s suits.  If you want a suit, pants, and button down shirt to fit you perfectly, it’s highly unlikely you will find this in a store.  Everyone’s shoulders are slightly different, chest size is different, pants length is different, etc.

When you get something like a suit, or a dress, made perfectly for your exact body, it is called getting “tailor made” clothing.

Sometimes, certain people will get quite lucky and find something that fits them almost perfectly “off the rack”.

Obviously, clothes that are purchased “off the rack” are generally less expensive than tailor made clothing because no person needs to make the clothes special for you.  But… It’s also true that clothes you buy “off the rack” will sometimes be extremely expensive because they are made from a very expensive brand.

Here is a little conversation to let you know how it’s used:

Tony:  Hey, nice looking suit.  Where did you get it made?

Mark:  I actually just bought it off the rack at a store I was walking past last week.

This is a great term in spoken English.  If you “go all out” it means that you put a 100% effort into something.  You tried your absolute best.  It doesn’t mean you succeeded, but it does mean you tried as hard as you possibly could.

Examples

1.  Our soccer team went all out yesterday.  We didn’t win, but the coach was still happy with us because of our effort.

2.  I am so tired because I went all out at the gym today.

3.  My foot is still hurting a little bit.  I will play basketball with you guys but I don’t think I’m going to be able to go all out.

4.  I went all out for Valentine’s day this year.  I bought my girlfriend nice flowers, took her to a fancy restaurant, and bought her diamond earrings.

“Taking something out of context” is a great phrase and it’s a bit of a “high level” phrase.  If you can use this well, you are really proving that your English kicks ass.

The “context” in which you say something is the situation in which you say it.  Context is things like where, when, to whom, what were the other factors going on when you said it.

When you take what someone said “out of context“, you are just saying a part of the story, usually to make the person look bad.  It doesn’t give the full story.

For example, if I said, “I am from Canada.  I love Canada in the summer time but I don’t like the cold winters.  I’ve been travelling around the world for the last few years and I’ve been really having a great time.  Sometimes I even wonder if I want to go back to Canada at all.  In reality, however, my family and friends are living there and I do want to see them when I am finished travelling.”

Someone who didn’t hear me say that whole story could tell someone that I said, “Sometimes I even wonder if I want to go back to Canada at all.”  While it is totally true that I said that, if you tell someone ONLY that part, then it gives them the wrong feeling of the story.  That would be totally taking what I said out of context.  It makes it sound like I don’t want to go back to Canada.  That would be untrue.  The real point was that I was having a great time travelling.

Unfortunately, our newspapers and TV stations in every country do this all the time.  We show the good stuff in our own country and show bad stuff in the other parts of the world.  We mislead people by taking things out of context and showing only part of the story.

Straight Laced

That means, I will try to make it useful (sweet) without writing too much.  If you can learn something new in a couple minutes.  GREAT!

Today’s phrase is “straight laced“.  It’s a very useful slang phrase and it’s used to describe a person.

If someone is “straight laced” it means that they are really “traditional”.  Someone who is “straight laced” would NEVER get a tattoo for example.  They probably won’t drink much alcohol.  They probably don’t party much.  They probably don’t like “dirty jokes”.  They are just a bit traditional and old fashioned.

It’s not always a bad thing to be straight laced, and often it can be a good thing.  It just depends how and when it’s used.

It simply means to be very traditional and to not do things that many people would think are too “open”.  I am sure you can imagine this type of person.

Do you think a straight laced person would jump out of an airplane or date 2 women at the same time?  NO WAY!  They are too “straight laced“!

Look the Other Way

If you “look the other way” it means that you “pretend that something didn’t happen” or you “pretend that you didn’t notice something”.  We often use this phrase with police officers or people who are in a position to get someone in trouble for something.  The following examples will certainly help!

1.  I know that policeman saw me driving WAY too fast.  He was nice enough to look the other way and not make me pay a fine.

2.  It’s illegal to drink alcohol if you are under 19 years old in certain countries.  Some countries are very strict about this, and some countries just tell their police officers to look the other way if they see it, just as long as the young person who is drinking is not causing any serious problems.

3.  My teacher definitely saw me cheating on my test, but he was too lazy to do anything about it so he just looked the other way so he didn’t have to make a big deal about it.  I’m a lucky guy

If something is “off the charts” it means that it is too big to even measure, or “unusually large in some way”.

If a person weighs 250 kg, you could say that their weight is “off the charts“.  It’s “too big to measure” or “too big for a normal scale to measure”.

It doesn’t have to be ONLY about physical size either.  Anything that is FAR bigger or FAR smaller than normal is “off the charts“.

It can mean “great”, “terrible” or something else extreme.  The meaning is always obvious and it depends on the context of where it’s used.

Examples will certainly help give you a clear idea of how this is used in real spoken English.

1.  Her singing is amazing.  It’s off the charts.  (She is an unbelievably great singer)

2.  I can’t believe how stupid he is.  It’s just off the charts!  (He is very very stupid)

3.  His strength is off the charts.  He’s the strongest person I’ve ever seen.

Hat trick: A term mostly used in games like football, cricket, hockey and rugby. It is used when someone achieves three successes one after another. These could be three wickets, three goals etc.

• If he wins this election, it will be a hat trick for him! Three consecutive terms in office!

Ball in your court: A phrase used to show that the decision has to be taken by you. The word 'your' can be replaced with 'his', 'her', 'my' etc.

• The manager told the employee curtly, “Either accept the terms and conditions or leave, the ball is in your court”.

Still in the game: This phrase is used when someone is in a difficult situation but can make a comeback.

• We may not be out of the crisis yet, but that just means we have to work harder. Don’t lose hope, we’re still in the game!

Pack a punch: This phrase is taken from the sport of boxing and is used to describe a strong influence.

• His talk packed a punch and enthralled the audience.

Whole new ball game: This term is used to depict something different or completely unheard of.

• I come from a sales background, so management is a whole new ball game for me!

Jump the gun: Athletes begin a race after a gun shot. The phrase is used when someone starts before the appropriate time (or before the gun is fired)

• I asked her to marry me after two dates. I guess I may have jumped the gun.

Keep your eye on the ball: A phrase used in games like cricket, football etc where the focus of the game is the ball. To keep your eye on the ball means to stay alert and ready for action.

• The teacher saw the student looking distracted and yelled, “if you want to do well in my class you'd better keep your eye on the ball”.

Photo finish: Used commonly in sports like racing, photo finish is used to describe a situation when two contestants finish the race at almost  the same time; it is difficult to gauge who crossed the line first. The term originated from the practice of taking a photo at the finish line.

• The race between Amir and Anil was so close that it was a deemed a photo finish which required examining a picture of the two runners as they crossed the finish line.

Quick off the mark: The phrase is used for someone who is alert and hence, quick to start or do something.

• The policemen were quick off the mark and arrived at the scene of crime barely five minutes after the phone call.

A sticky wicket: The phrase originated from the game of cricket and is used to describe a tricky situation.

• The minister found himself on a sticky wicket when asked about the rampant corruption.

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