To earn your keep
The idiom “to earn your keep” means to work in return for food and somewhere to live. It comes from the times when workers, usually on farms, were often given food and accommodation instead...
Category: Usage
What is a “Jubilee”?
“Jubilee” is another word for “anniversary”. “Anniversary” can be used when celebrating something that happened one, two, three, four years ago and so on, but “jubilee” is normally only used when celebrating something that...
To get cold feet
When someone gets cold feet, they become too frightened to do something that they had planned to do. Examples: He was going to enter the London marathon but got cold feet. She got cold...
What does “cheesed off” mean?
“Cheesed off” is an idiom and phrasal verb. If I say that I’m cheesed off, I mean that I’m annoyed, disappointed or bored – or maybe all three! Some examples: I’m cheesed off with...
Full English Breakfast
A “full English breakfast” is usually: Fried or grilled sausages Fried or scrambled eggs Fried bacon Baked Beans Fried tomatoes Fried mushrooms Fried bread Toast It might also include such things as: Hash brown...
Stiff upper lip
When we say that someone has a “stiff upper lip” we mean that they don’t show emotion when things are difficult. The idiom is frequently used in the form “to keep a stiff upper...
Sanction
Sanction is a strange and confusing word because it has two, almost opposite, meanings. ‘To sanction’, as a verb, can mean either to approve or to punish. ‘Sanction’, as a noun, can mean either...
“Cross that bridge when you come to it”
When you tell someone to “cross that bridge when you come to it”, you’re using an idiom to advise them not to worry at the moment about a possible problem in the future. Examples:...
Buck your ideas up!
When you tell someone to buck their ideas up, you’re telling them to do something better, to try harder, to be more energetic, or to hurry. “To buck your ideas up” is a phrasal...
The difference between “politics” and “policy”
Politics is mainly used about activities relating to government (local, national or international) and to people and organisations that want to influence government. Some examples: He entered politics with the intention of improving people’s...