Body parts
"pull someone´s leg"
to fool, joke or tease someone - Don't worry about what he said. He's just pulling your leg.
"under the weather"
not feeling well - My boss has been under the weather all week and has not come to work during that time.
"all the rage"
very fashionable - A few years ago Uggs were all the rage, but now you don’t see them so much
"ballpark figure"
a rough estimate - A ballpark figure for the cost of the new stadium would be $150,000,000.
"A cold day in July"
never happens - It’ll be a cold day in July when our team wins the championship. We’re terrible.
"a rule of thumb"
a basic rule - A good rule of thumb is to add the ingredients when the water starts to boil.
"Run in the family"
To be a common family characteristic - The serious illness runs in the family of my friend.
"at the drop of a hat"
suddenly - Jacob is unpredictable. He won’t leave the office for weeks, but then he’ll take off for New York at the drop of a hat.
"take a hike"
go away - Maybe you could take a hike while we discuss salaries.
"Come hell or high water"
no matter what happens - Come hell or high water, we will be in New York for the meeting tomorrow morning.
"tongue-in-cheek"
To be joking with a straight face - He said that he was a huge fan of the president, although I suspect it was tongue in cheek.
"Sick and Tired of"
Extremely annoyed by something that occurs repeatedly - I’m sick and tired of the way Neil always tries to get other people to do his work.
"knock your socks off"
amaze you - Wait until you try the new Yamaha scooters. They’ll knock your socks off!
"on deck"
next - I’ll call you back in an hour. The speaker is almost finished, and I’m on deck.
"on cloud nine"
extremely happy - Cindy was on cloud nine after her boyfriend proposed to her.
"knuckle sandwich"
punch someone - Did he kiss his girlfriend? Oh yes and in return he gave the bloke a knuckle sandwich.
"Get a charley horse"
To develop a cramp in the arm or the leg - The swimmer got a charley horse while he was swimming.
"old hat"
old-fashioned - The carmaker’s sales declined because many consumers found their designs old hat.
"sink or swim"
fail or succeed - I’ve helped him as much as I can in that class. Now he’s going to have to sink or swim.
"rain on your parade"
Spoil someone´s plans - I’m sorry to rain on your parade, but the park is closed tomorrow, so we can’t have our picnic there.
"elbow grease"
If something needs elbow grease, it needs a lot of hard physical work - It might take some serious elbow grease, but you can get your house painted by the end of the week.
"Break out in a cold sweat"
To perspire from fever or anxiety - I usually break out in a cold sweat when I have to make a speech.
"Excused Boots"
Allowed to avoid mandatory tasks - Susan was excused boots for the party cleanup because she has an exam tomorrow.
"threw in the towel"
give up - After losing his queen, the chess player threw in the towel and resigned.
"raining cats and dogs"
rain heavily- It’s been raining cats and dogs all day. I’m afraid the roof is going to leak.