The Daily Grind
If a student stays up until 3:00 AM studying for their final exams, they are said to be doing this.
What is burning the midnight oil?
This 4-word phrase refers to an obvious, major problem that everyone is choosing to ignore.
What is the elephant in the room?
This "final" item in a series of problems makes a situation finally collapse or become intolerable.
What is the last straw?
To do something that eases tension or makes people feel more comfortable in a new social setting.
What is breaking the ice?
This idiom, often used in sports, means to maintain focus on the most important goal.
What is keeping your eye on the ball?
When you agree with someone completely, you are said to see this way.
What is seeing eye to eye?
If you are feeling slightly ill or not quite yourself, you are said to be under this.
What is under the weather?
If you and another person think in a very similar way, you are said to be on the same one of these.
What is a wavelength?
This phrase describes someone who goes beyond the basic requirements to ensure a project is perfect.
What is going the extra mile?
To take a statement with "this" means to maintain a degree of skepticism and not believe it literally.
What is a grain of salt?
This idiom suggests you have taken on a task that is far too large for you to handle.
What is biting off more than you can chew?
This happens when the person you were just discussing walks into the room.
What is speak of the devil?
If you use every resource, contact, and ounce of energy you have to make an event successful, you are said to be "pulling these out."
What is pulling out all the stops?
This hyphenated term describes a situation that has both positive and negative consequences.
What is a double-edged sword?
When a project fails completely and you must return to the very beginning, you are back to this "square."
What is back to square one?
To give someone this means to believe their story even if you aren't 100% sure they are being truthful.
What is the benefit of the doubt?
In a high-pressure situation, if a person performs better than expected to meet a challenge, they are said to do this.
What is rising to the occasion?
If you intentionally take the opposing side of an argument just to test the strength of the logic, you are playing this role.
What is devil’s advocate?
To "weather the storm" means to do this during a difficult period.
What is survive/endure?
If you have permanently destroyed a relationship so that you can never return to a previous situation, you have "burned" these.
What is burning bridges?