Food phrases

We love to talk about food, so I guess it's not surprising that we have a lot of idioms that are based on food. 

If someone seems a bit lazy, spends too much time sitting around, watching TV, you might say he's a couch potato. 

You may know that Americans say "Awesome!" all the time to mean "Great!" or "Super!" 

Sometimes we (especially those of us who are a little older) say "Hot dog!". 

When someone takes your picture, don't be surprised if, just before the flash, he tells you to, "Say cheese".

If someone tells you about a surprise party for one of your friends, be careful not to spill the beans. You don't want to spoil the surprise. 

When we think something is really easy to do, we say, "That's a piece of cake." There's another phrase that means the same thing--"easy as pie"--but I don't hear it very often any more. 

The best students in the class are called "the cream of the crop". You could also use this to describe the best futbol players in Europe, or any other small group that you feel is the best compared to others like them. 

Talking with him about my problem gave me some food for thought (some ideas to consider). 

The issue of global warming is a real hot potato. Many people are passionate in expressing their opinions. 

He thinks he knows a lot, but most of the time he's wrong. You might say he's "out to lunch". 

I don't think his kind words are sincere. He's just trying to butter me up before he asks me for a favor. 

Well, that's a good taste of idioms based on food. I hope you don't think I'm nutty as a fruitcake!

Do you believe in luck?

Some call it luck. Some say it's just chance. What do you think? In any case, there are lots of English phrases that use the word "luck". 

Do you feel lucky? Are you willing to take a risk? 

I'm going to ask my boss for a raise. "Lots of luck" is all my co-workers would say. They didn't think I had a chance. 

I really lucked out when I got this job. It's been much better than I expected. I could have taken the a position with that other company that went bankrupt. I guess it's just the luck of the draw. 

Poor John. He's really down on his luck. After he lost his job, then his wife left him. 

You're a little late to the party, but lucky for you there's still some ice cream left. 

I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. Better luck next time! 

For those of you who know me, you could probably guess that I don't believe in luck. I think God has a plan. And I'm thankful that his plan for my life included meeting you.

Giving up

We have lots of ways to say we're finished: 

I will try once more, but if it doesn't work, I'm going to throw in the towel. 

We'll plant one more bush, and then we'll call it a day. 

It's never going to happen. You might as well give up. 

If his grades don't improve this semester, he will probably drop out of school. 

He was so frustrated, he finally threw up his hands and said, "I quit!" 

If he's late for work again, I think the boss will give him the ax. 

He was hoping for a raise, but instead he got a pink slip (he was fired). 

I hope you don't give up trying to improve your English. Every day is another opportunity to learn and to practice what you know.

Hang in there

What are you doing? Nothing, just hanging around. 

What are you going to do tonight? Nothing much, I'm just going to hang out with some friends. 

Wait! Don't hang up yet. I want to tell you something. 

Hang on a minute. I'll be right there. 

He's been sick for a long time. We're not sure how much longer he can hang on. 

You've had that sweater for years. How long are you going to hang on to it? 

The issue of health care hangs in the balance while the Senate prepares to vote. 

Hang in there--don't give up!

Gut

Gut may be a funny-sounding word to you. It's slang for "stomach". We use it literally and in idioms. 

He knocked the wind out of me when he hit me in the gut. 

Here's an idiom that I hear frequently at work: My gut says that we should go ahead with our plans. It means you decide based on instinct when you've considered the situation logically but you're still not sure what to do. 

In a different usage, we say, "That took a lot of guts (courage) to face that mean person." 

"No guts, no glory" is similar. If you don't have courage, you won't get the results you want. 

What does your gut tell you?

Circle

Circle—an interesting word. The pronunciation is strange—the first “c” sounds like an “s” but the second “c” sounds like a “k”. 

We used to say, "I'll get back to you" (for example, when I have more information, or it's time for the next step, I'll let you know). Now we say, I'll circle back around." 

How many people are in your circle of friends? 

Some days aren't very productive. It seems like I'm going in circles. 

He was in a vicious circle. 

He was upset because he wasn't losing weight, so he started to eat more. Of course that only made him gain more weight and get more upset. 

She's hard to understand because she talks in circles. I hope you don't think I'm writing in circles!

Now can you talk about circles without going in circles?

The pesky past tense

I had been writing this blog for several weeks when I decided to post some entries using phrasal verbs. Before that I wrote in a more journalistic style. Today I thought I would write some sentences with examples of past tense verbs. If I have written anything you don't understand, please let me know. Maybe you can show me how I could have written it more clearly. 

When did you start reading this blog? I hope that you learned something and had a good time doing it. 

If you have read my posts, you know that I went to Switzerland in September. Have you ever been there? 

When I was growing up, I lived on a farm. We had lots of animals. It was a good experience, but I knew I didn't want to stay there. When I got married, I moved to the city. That was 35 years ago.

Eye

At the airport she asked me, "Would you keep an eye on my bags while I go to the restroom?" 

My doctor wants me to keep an eye on my diet. 

When I was young, my mom always knew what I was doing, even when I didn't think she was watching. I thought she must have eyes in the back of her head! 

I've done this so many times that I can do it with my eyes closed. 

My wife and I enjoy romantic songs, like "I Only Have Eyes for You" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You". 

I need a new car. I've got my eye on a Toyota. 

After he told the audience about his emotional experience, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. 

We often argue because we don't see eye to eye on most subjects. 

Can you look me in the eye and tell me you didn't do it? 

I have to be careful on Thanksgiving. With all that food, it's easy to eat too much because my eyes are bigger than my stomach. 

I was sitting at my desk looking at my computer, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw my boss coming towards me.

Run

Did you ever run across an old photo when you cleaned out your desk? 

Who will run against Donald Tusk for President? 

I hope that after the election you won’t want to run away from home! 

Are you tired, feeling run down? 

Maybe you worked too hard when your boss asked you to run down all those phone numbers. 

If you have a dog, I hope he stays out of the street. I wouldn’t want him to get run down by a bus. 

Some people are so negative. Every time they speak they have to run down someone else. 

It’s fun for me to visit Poland. I always run into some very interesting people. 

Before you run off, would you like to have a drink? 

With a fast copier, you can run off hundreds of copies in no time. If you make too many copies, you might run out of paper. 

And I’ve run out of time, so I have to run!

I hope we run into each other again soon!