Food
My plate is full.
I have too many tasks or I am too busy.
Don't cut corners, take your time!
Don't do something poorly to save time or money.
Cutting corners comes from a physical association with rounding a corner instead of taking a proper route to arrive at a destination.
They're dressed to the nines.
They're dressed very well.
Some believe that this saying originated from tailors using nine yards of material to make a suit.
I'm just trying to wrap my head around it.
I'm just trying to understand.
The ball is in your court.
You decide what happens.
This phrase comes from tennis where you must take action when the tennis ball is in your court.
I quit cold turkey.
I stopped abruptly.
The phrase "quit cold turkey" evolved from the 19th-century phrase "talk turkey" meaning to be straightforward.
You're passing this class by the skin of your teeth.
You're just barely passing the class.
"By the skin of my teeth" was first seen in the Old Testament of the Bible.
He went from rags to riches.
He went from poverty to wealth quickly.
I am getting cold feet.
I am getting nervous. I have doubts about what I am about to do.
There's many different ideas about the origins of cold feet; however, the most substantiated is from the german idiom kalte Füße bekommen which was often said to avoid losing money at a poker table.
I call the shots.
I am in charge.
Calling the shots first originated as a phrase in Scotland in the 1500s when people in curling would call the shots. Later, it was used in the military by marksmen and later in billiards.
That's not my cup of tea.
That's not something I enjoy.
It costs an arm and a leg.
It was very expensive.
"An arm and a leg" meaning expensive originated after WWII when many soldiers lost limbs, and therefore, some referred to the price fo the war as "an arm and a leg." Overtime, it came to mean expensive.
We are cut from the same cloth.
We are similar to each other.
Let me pick your brain.
Let me ask you questions about something.
He's being paid under the table.
He is being paid without documentation.
Under the table alludes to those who would exchange money under the table so that other people could not see for bribes. Additionally, during prohibition and during WWII when many things were not for sale, bootleggers would keep a stash of illegal goods "under the table."
He's a bad egg.
He is not a good person.
You're going to learn the ropes.
You're going to understand how to do new things.
This phrase is of nautical origin; meaning that all new recruits had to learn how to tie knots and use the ropes to sail. These introductory lessons became known as learning the ropes.
It's another notch on your belt.
It's another achievement.
I'm just pulling your leg.
I was just kidding.
The origin of pulling one's leg refers to Victorian London during which thieves would pull at their victim's legs to steal from them.
You're on thin ice.
You're in a risky position.
Football is my bread and butter.
Someone's unique area of expertise.
"Bread and butter" derives from peasant's food staples during the Middle Ages.
Quit badgering me.
Stop bothering or nagging me.
Just fly by the seat of your pants.
Just make decisions as you go along.
To "fly by the seat of your pants," stems from literal flying. Aviators used to fly by "the seat of their pants" when they did not have navigation systems and lost communication with their team.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
What you have now is worth more than what you could have later.
This originated in medieval falconry where one would want to hold the bird in their hand.
This levels the playing field.
This makes things fairer.
This phrase alludes to a football pitch, where an unlevel surface would create an unfair game.