“The team won that game by the skin of their teeth.” By the skin of your teeth – only just achieved something. “I wanted to go to the concert but I missed the boat and now the tickets are sold out.”ġ0. Missed the boat – to miss an opportunity. “Juan doesn’t half beat around the bush, he never just makes a quick point.”ĩ. Beat around the bush – to not get to the point. “James and Stuart are always arguing, they never see eye to eye on anything.”Ĩ. “Director 1: We need this launch to work or the business will fail. You can say that again – to agree on the trueness of something (usually just heard). “I’d take those numbers with a pinch of salt though, you know polls are not always accurate.”Ħ. Take it with a pinch of salt – to not believe it fully. “No, there’s no way I’ve won the lottery, you’re pulling my leg”.ĥ. You’re pulling my leg – to play a joke on someone or to suggest someone is playing a joke on you. “Come on Sally, spill the beans, did you two kiss or what?!”Ĥ. “I’ve already given a counter offer, the ball’s in your court now”.ģ. The ball is in your court – to say the next action is with you. “I’m not coming to work today, I’m feeling a little under the weather”.Ģ. The 10 idioms you should know – Get the English Idioms PDF Hereġ. In this case, the idiom was created to avoid the superstition of giving bad luck to an actor. In other examples, the origin of the phrase was deliberately figurative – such as ‘break a leg’. ‘Bite the bullet’ remains a popular phrase and is now used in a broader range of circumstances than its archaic origins. bite the bullet – but which may be a more unusual or unlikely circumstance today. Often, idioms originate from an original, literal phrase related to a common circumstance – e.g. Some idioms remain close to the literal meaning of the phrase, but become a commonly used expression in a certain circumstance. An idiom’s meaning is not necessarily linked to the words contained in the phrase, but rather, due to its common use over time, has taken on its own meaning as a stand-alone phrase. Īdvanced answer: An idiom is a phrase or expression using figurative language. the literal meaning of the words in the phrase is not the same as the phrase as a whole. The expression has since then turned into a metaphor for accepting injury or an unpleasant situation head-on.Simple answer: What is an idiom? An idiom is a phrase or expression where the meaning of the phrase is not apparent from the words in the phrase. In war times, before modern medicine and effective anesthetics, doctors and nurses gave wounded soldiers bullets on which they were instructed to bite, to ease the pain and focus their attention away from the injury.īiting a bullet, in a literal sense, would divert the soldiers’ attention, so as not to focus on the injury/operation site. It is deciding to face a situation, head-on.Ī person might decide to “bite the bullet” before: “Biting the bullet” is an expression for the mental preparation necessary to undergo a tough task. To “bite the bullet” is to accept a difficult or unpleasant situation, and to decide that you’re going to approach it with strength, rather than weakness. Mary decided to just bite the bullet, and she asked her boss for a raise.
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