Idioms for every day
If you say the same thing over and over again, someone might tell you that you sound like a broken _______.
(broken) record
If you barely have enough money to pay the bills, you can barely
get by
Get very angry
Blow up
My old car is just too unreliable. I am going to have to ______ ______ and buy a new one.
break down
I go to the gym to ____ ____.
work out
If you really want to say something but you know it will get you into trouble, you mind remind yourself to bite _____ _________.
(bite) your tongue
If you are trying hard to get promoted and earn more money, you are trying to
get ahead
Get your emotions under control
Calm down, chill out
I need to talk to my boss about a raise. It's a difficult subject to _______ ___.
bring up
I need to _____ ______ the amount of sugar I eat if I want to lose weight.
cut down
He always says things that are factually inaccurate. I don't like the way he bends ___ ________.
(bends) the truth
He committed a terrible crime and he shouldn't be allowed to ____ ______ with it.
get away
Lose emotional control. because very excited or nervous
freak out
I hope I don't _____ _____ my old boyfriend at the party. It would be very awkward.
bump into
To cancel a planned event
Call off
When my son gets angry about something silly, I tell him not to get _____ out of _______.
bent out of shape
Catherine pulled a lot of all nighters this semester and is exhausted. It would do her good to ____ _______ for a few days.
get away
When you don't open up and express your emotions, you are ________ ____ your feelings.
bottling up
My husband is very stubborn. He doesn't like to ____ ____ and admit he was wrong.
back down
To eagerly begin a pursuit or activity
dive into
If you don't study at all, you might have to _____ ____ music and realize you might fail the course.
face the music
I'm tired of waiting around. Let's ____ _______.
get going
After my divorce, I just couldn't function normally. I ____ _______.
fell apart
To support or defend someone. When the class was making fun of me, only the teacher and my best friend ________ ___ ____.
backed me up
The opposite of the phrasal verb stick to
give up