“Let that sink in” The idiom “let that sink in” is used to encourage someone to take the time to think about and understand something that has been said. The idea is that by thinking about a fact more deeply, the thought or idea sinks into someone’s mind (enters slowly) and hopefully stays. Examples You might say to your football teammates, “We’ve lost the... »
take something with a pinch of salt to not automatically believe something, not immediately assume that someone is telling the truth You should take what she says with a pinch of salt – she’s always exaggerating. Photo: PSC1121-GO »
to bite off more than you can chew to undertake more than you can manage Dave really shouldn’t have taken out such a big mortgage. He’s really bitten off more than he can chew, I think. »
When something is an uphill task or an uphill struggle, it’s a difficult thing to do. This is usually because of obstacles put in your way by other people. When you face an uphill task, you feel that however hard you try, the task will not get any easier. Image: CatOrTwo Example The company is facing an uphill task in its efforts to expand into China. The Chinese authorities refuse to allow ... »
Apple pie, meat pie . . . Pies are popular in British cuisine: we eat apple pies, mince pies, chicken and mushroom pies, and many other kinds. We have them during the day; we can have them for dinner. We eat them alone; we eat them with side dishes. The pie tradition goes back a long way and I suppose that explains why we have so many idioms centred around pies. We’ll have a look at five of ... »
The number of categories for English idioms is seemingly endless. We have weather idioms, where we might hear that it’s raining cats and dogs; colour idioms (such as ‘green as the grass’ or ‘blue in the face’); animal idioms; money idioms … the list goes on. Food, being as popular as it is, also provides its fair share of idioms. The big cheese and the top banan... »
Quick idioms Many users on Speakspeak have contacted me and asked for more examples and explanations of idioms. So here goes – let’s look at some idioms containing the word quick. 1. as quick as a flash, as quick as lightning Someone who is as quick as a flash (or as quick as lightning) is simply very fast. As soon as a seat on the bus became free, he sat down in it – as quick as a flash. 2.... »