Table Of Contentldiomaric
American
English
A Step-by-StepW orkbookf or Learning
EverydayA mericanE xpressions
Barbara K. Gaines
KODANSHAI NTtrR NATIONAL
Tokyo.NewY ork.London
In loving memoryo f Gracea nd Dave
and
To aii the negativest hat madea positive.
Speciaal cknowledgmenttso my daughter,B ettina,f or helpingm e
get it all together,i n more ways than one.. . .
and to my mother and father, who deservea medal,i n more ways
thanone....
and to my editor,D ouglasL aFrenier,w ho, becauseh e was on the
ball, madem y work a pieceo f cake.
Distributed in the United Statesb y KodanshaA merica, Inc., and in the United
Kingdom and continental Europe by KodanshaE urope Ltd.
Publishedb y KodanshaI nternational Ltd.,17-14 Otowa l-chome, Bunkyo-ku,
Tokyo 112 8652, and Kodansha America, Inc.
Copyright O 1986b y Barbara K. Gaines
All rights reserved. Printed in Japan.
ISBN-l3: 978 0-87011-756-5
ISBN-l0:0 870II-756-4
ISBN 4 7700-1256-X Gn Japan)
First edition, 1986
15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20
ww w .k od ans h a-i ntl.c o m
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION vll
I. SPENDINGA ND SAVING MONEY
1. Having a Ball 2. Footing the Bill 3. Making Ends Meet 4. Raking It In
5. CaughtS hort 6. An Arm and a Leg 7. A Nest Egg 8. Falling Behind
9, When the ChipsA re Down 10.K eepingO ne'sH ead AboveW ater
11. One for the Books
II. AMBITION, WORK AND SUCCESS 12
12.A n Eager Beaver 13. Bringing Home the Bacon 14. On a Shoestring
i5. A Pep Talk 16. In SeventhH eaven 17.A Brainstorm 18.T he Creamo f
the Crop 19. Pulling Strings 20. In the Swing of Things 21. A Hustler
22. High Off the Hog 23. Getting Down to Brass Tacks 24. Straight from the
Horse'sM outh 25. ComingT hrough with Flying Colors 26. The Black Sheep
III. WHEN THINGS GO WRONG 27
27. In a Jam 28. On the Go 29. RaisingC ain 30. Behindt he 8-Ba11
31. Jack-of-All-Trades3 2. Out on a Limb 33. TwiddlingO ne'sT humbs
34. Play It by Ear 35. Otr the Top of One'sH ead 36. The Rat Race 3?.
Keyed Up 38. Poundingt he Pavement 39. A Hard Nut to Crack 40. Back to
the Drawing Board 41. Passingt he Buck 42. A Songa nd f)ance
IV. FAMILIES, FRIENDSA ND LOVERS
4!-)
43. The Appie of One'sE ye 44. Keepingi n Touch 45. Hitting It Off 46. A
Chip Otr the Old Block 47. SeeingE ye to Eye 48. On the Rocks 49. An 01d
Flame 50. A Wet Blanket 51. A Knockout 52. A Sourpuss
V. AROUNDT HE HOUSE 53
53.A Lemon 54,H igha ndL orv 55.T heB oobT ube 56.S prucinLgp ;7. A
Pad
b.--
VI. CONFLICTSA ND ANNOYANCES
58.H itting the Bottle 59.I n the SameB oat 60.A Piil 61.D ishingI t Out
62. Settlingt he Score 63. The Last Straw 64. A Kick in the Pants 6ir.A Bum
Ticker 66. Turning the Tabies 67. Mudslinging
VII. ADVICE, GOSSIPA ND SECRETS 68
68.A RoadH og 69.A Blabbermouth7 0.A Booku'orm 71.U se Your Noodle
?2. Putting Yourself Out 73. The Lowdown 74' A Heart-to-HearTt alk
?5.W ishv-Wash1?' 6. Goingt o Pieces ??. Hold Your Horses 78.T hrought he
Grapevine ?9. on the Q.T. 80.A Quack E1.A StuffetlS hirt 82.T he lJunr's
Rush 83. Barking UP the Wrong Tree
VIII. ON THE TOWN t l
84. Getting Bombed 85. A Clip Joint 86. A Hit 87' A Nightcap
88. Spine-Chilling8 9. On the House 90.A Has-Been9 1.K nochingO nef or a
Loop
IX. COPINGW ITH CROOKSA ND CHBATS a,
92. Rippedo 1T 93. A GreaseM onkey 94. Free-for-All 95. Putting Tr,voa nc,
Two Together 96.T he RealM ccov 97.A Scam 98.A Rau,D eal 99.G etting
the Ax 100'B l' Hook or b5'C rook
ANSWERST O EXERCISES 10l
GLOSSARY 10-i
INTRODUCTION
Idiomatice xpressionsg ive English its coior and vitality. They are
indispensablteo the daily speecho f the peoplea nd to the languageo f
newspapersa nd books,t elevisiona nd movies.
Whenevery ou hear a phrasew hosem eaningc annotb e understoode veni f
you know the definitionso f the separatew ords involved,y ou havep robably
encountereda n idiom.M asteringi diomsr equiresa great deal of listening,
-qtudyinl4p,r actice,a nd usage.Y ou cannoti gnore this part of the language:
idiomatice xpressionsa nd more formal grammar shouldb e given equal time.
The lessonsi n this book are designedt o teachy ou the kind of ir-rformal,
everydays peech-includingm any slang words as well as idioms-that is
commonlyu ndersLoodb y all native Americans,n o matter what their level of
education.
There are variousi evelso f idiomaticd ifficulty,a nd eachg roup of lessons
listed in the Tableo f Contentsb eginsw ith the easiestl essonsa nd endsw ith
the more advancedo nes.H owever,y ou may use them in anv order you
desire;e achl essoni s self-contained.
Each lessonb eginsw ith a dialogue,s incei diomsa re best learnedi n
meaningfulv erbal contexts.A vocabularys ectiont hen explainst he idiomsi n
clear,c oncised efinitions(. Wheret he notation" neg." appearsa fter an idiom,
it meanst he idiom is generallyu sedi n the negative.F or exampie,h aue the
heart to (neg.) indicatest he phrase is normally used in a negative statement
such as "I didn't have the heart to tell her." Where alternatew ords are
given in parenthesese, ither rvord may be usedi nterchangeablyF. or
example,d outn the drain (tubes)m eansy ou may say "down the drain" or
"down the tubes."
Two sets of exercisesa re includedi n eachl esson.I n the first, you are
askedt o chooset he correcti diom neededt o completea sentenceI.n the
secondy, ou will substitutea n idiomatice xpressionfo r an italicizedp hraseo r
sentenceB. e sure to choosev erb endingst hat are appropriatet o the subject
and the tense,s uch as I face the music, shef aces the ntusic:,y esterdayt ltey
faced the m.usic.A nswerst o all the exercisesb egin on p. 101.
Idiomsf all into severalc ategoriesa, s indicatedi n the definitrons:
n.):noun idiom.T hesem ay be simplen ouns( pad,.flop),m odifiedn ouns
(eager beauer',b ackseatd ri.uer), or noun phrases( apple of my eye,
short end of the stick).
v.):verb idiom.T here ar:eo ne-wordv erb"s( sltlurgt,. f'rceload)t.w o-u'ord
verbs (r?:po lf, count,o n), and verb phrases( t,hrotri:n th.et ou,el,
Jir.cet ,hem tLsic).
adt'.):adjectiveid iom:c ool, su,antpedg, uttg-ho,h alf-baked.
adv.):36lygrbid iom:o n eusys treet,i n rLn utshell,o ncei n o bLuen toon.
A few idiomsa re completes entencesin themselvesT'.h e r:oasti s clear.
Murn's tlte u:ord.L et bygonesb e bygon.es.
Most idiomsh trvep recisec onstructionsa, nd their whole meaningm ay be
lost if -vouc hanget hem. Learrra nd practicet hem exactl-va s thev are
presentedh ere,a ncll isten carefully to horvn ativeA mericansu se them. You
will soonb e usir-rgth em confldentlyv ourself.
At the end of the book is a completeG lossarv,l isting all the idioms
presentedh ere in alphabeticaol rder.T he Glossaryw ill help 1,'oud iscovert he
meaningo f man1,id iomaticp hrasest hal vou hear for the first time. The
lessonsw ill help you practicet hem in appropriatec ontexts.
Itl.iortatir:t lmericctttE nglish u'ill help anJ,'onrev how ants to havc a
livelier,m ore completev ocabularv,a lthoughs tudentsw rth a formal
backgroundi n English u'ill benefitt he most.T he goai of this book is to
presenta clear expianationo f idiomatice xpressionss o that vou ma),b' ecome
more comfortablea nd familiar with ordinarvA mericans peechp alternsa nd
better able to expressy ourself in dailv life.
vlll
Lesson 1. Having a Ball
Dialogue
Tina: I feel like having a ball. Let's splurge.
Barbara: Forget it. i'm broke.
Tina: Don't worry. I'll pick up the tab. I'm loaded today. I'll treat you.
Barbara: No, we'll go Dutch. I don't like to freeload.
Vocabulary
have a ball v.) enjoy one's self, have a good time
spiurge v.) spend a lot of money for something
broke adj.l having no money
pick up the tab v.) pay the bill
loaded adj.) having lots of money
treat v.) pay for someone else
go Dutch v.) each pay fbr himself or herself
fieeload v.) get things that others pay for
ExerciS e I. Complete the sentencesu ith the correct id.iom.
a) pick up the tab b) broke c) Ioaded d) splurge e) treat fl go Dutch g) freeloads h) have a ball
I don't want przza tonight. Let's go to a fancy restaurant. Let's
I have so much monev todav. I'm
You're going to a party?
I don't have any money. I'm
You pay for your meal. I'll pay for mine. We'll
This dinner was good. You don't have to pay. I'll
She always eats dinner with us, and never invites us to eat at her house. She alwavs
8. Don't pay for that. I will. I'll
Exercise II. Reurite the phrases in italics, using the proper idiomatic expression.
1. They always get others to paS,for them..
2. I want to pay for you.
;1. We wrll eoch pay our own bill.
-1.S ometimes I speruda lot of mone)' on clothes.
5. After payday, I always haue a lot of money.
6. Who paid the chech?
i. When I go to a party, I usually haue a good time.
r. After I pay all my bills, t haue no money.
Lesson 2. Footing the Bill
Dialogue
Florence: I'm always running out of food.
Tina: Why don't you pick up someo dds and ends at the store?
Florence: BecauseI 'm fed up with having to foot the bill. I don't like to throw my money down
the drain.
Tina: Have everyonec hip in.
Florence: No, just skip it.
Vocabulary
run out of' v.) finish the supply, use up
pick up v.) obtain, get
oddsa nd ends n.) miscellaneousit ems
fed up with adj.) disgustedw ith, had enougho f
foot the bill v.) pay
down the drain (tubes) ad;. or adv.)w asted,l ost
chip in v.) contribute,g ive jointly
skip v.) forget, passo ver
Exercis e I. Completet he sentencews ith the correcti diom.
a)ruus out of b) pick someu p c) down the drain d) oddsa nd ends e) fed up with f) footing the
bill gt chip in h) skip
1. She doesn't like cooking every night. She's it.
3 Everl'body occasionally bread and milk.
3 He goes to college and lives at home. He doesn't have a job yet. His father is
+. I bcught a pair of shoest hat don't fit me. I wore them onceb ut my feet hurt. I can't wear them
anvmore. That was money
5. Susanu 'anted to so to the moviesb ut John was too tired. She told him to it.
6. I'm almost packed for vacation. I only need suntan lotion, toothpaste and other
, , I don't have enough money to buy that color TV. How much do you have? If all of us
, we can buy it.
8. I don't have anv bread.I have to
ExerCiSe II. Rewrite the phrases in italics, using the proper idiomatic expression.
1. We used all the milk yesterday.
2. I must get a loaf of bread.
3. I'm disgusted with ndtng the subways.
4. Whenever they went fbr dinner, he had to pay.
5. If you gamble, it's money wasted.
6. We're buying her a gift and asking everyone to contribute.
7. We need some miscellaneous tterns for the party.
8. Forget it!
2 SPENDING AND SAVING MONEY
Lesson 3. Making Ends Meet
Dialogue
Barbara: You're a clotheshorse.
Harriet: I know. I love dressing up.
Barbara: Do you shop around a lot for bargains?
Harriet: I'm lucky. I work for a department store and I get a discounto n merchandise.
Barbara: That's great becausee verything is sky-high.
Harriet: Yes, it's difficult making ends meet.
Barbara: We have to cut corners.
Harriet: Me too. I've cut down on luxuries.
Vocabulary
clotheshorse n.) a conspicuously weli-dressed person
dress up v.) wear one's best clothes
shop around v.) look in many stores
great adj.) terrific, wonderful
sky-high adj.) expensive
rnake ends meet v.) balance one's budget, meet one's payments
cut corners v.) limit one's buying
cut down on v.) use less. reduce
Exercis e I. Complete the seruterucewsi th the correct idiom.
a) shop around b) great c) clotheshorse d) dress up e) sky-high fl cut down on g) make ends
meet h) cut corners
1. She'sl ooking for a particular dress.S he can't find it so she has to
2. She'st oo fat. She has to food.
3, I have to save some money so I won't be eating in a restaurant for a while. I have to
4. A lot of rich peopleI ive in that building. The rent is
5. You're getting a raise.T hat's
6. I made $300b ut I spent $400.I can't
7. She dressesv ery well. She's a
8. Your clothesl ook terrible. We're going out to dinner. Why don't you take a bath and
ExerCise II. Rewrite the phrasesi n italics, using the proper id.iomatic expression.
1. I'm looking for a television.
2. Rents in New York City are uery expensiue.
3. That's a terrific idea.
4. I got all my debtsp aid this month.
5. I'm spendinga ll my money.I must limit my buying.
6. He must reducet he number of cigarettesh e smokes.
7. She is always uery well dressed.
8. Wheneverc ompanyc omest o their house,t he children must wear their bestc lothes.
SPENDING AND SAVING MONEY 3
