Everyday Colloquial Expressions

The following are some common everyday colloquial expressions for ESL learners: . 

Good hunting: good luck in your enterprise.

e.g. "I'm going to invest in gold." "Good hunting!"

Go easy with: use sparingly.

e.g. Go easy with your hard-earned money.

Darned sight more: a lot more.

e.g. "Do you think he should put more effort on this?" "A darned sight more!"

Pooped: exhausted.

e.g. I was pooped after working for nine hours in the yard.

Hard at it: busy.

e.g. "Are you working on the project?" "You bet! I'm hard at it."

Not so dusty: quite good.

e.g. Well the performance was not so dusty; much better than I expected.

Are you with me?: understand or agree with me.

e.g. I've been explaining this for an hour. Are you with me?

Bang out: reveal.

e.g. If you go into politics, you must be prepared to let all your secrets bang out.

Deliver the goods: do what is expected or required.

e.g. The new employee seems to deliver the goods -- very hard working and conscientious.

Half-baked: silly.

e.g. What do you take me for? A fool half-baked!

Guinea-pig: person used as a subject for tests or investigations.

e.g. I wouldn't like to be a guinea-pig in this scientific research, if I were you.

Good for you: well done!

e.g. "I aced my test." "Good for you!"

Beat hollow: be superior to.

e.g. She is bossy, beating everyone hollow.

Jump down one's throat: criticize or scold severely.

e.g. The boss jumped down my throat for not completing the project on time.

Excuse my French: pardon my bad language.

e.g. Ladies, please excuse my French; he really made me mad.

Back to square one: back to where one started.

e.g. We're back to square one: no deal.

Hit the roof: explode with anger.

e.g. When he heard the bad news, he hit the roof.

Jump on: blame or criticize strongly.

e.g. You jumped on him every time he opened his mouth.

Gift of the gab: ability to give effective speeches.

e.g. The new Mayor has the gift of the gab: people like listening to him.

Keep one's head above water: stay out of debt or a difficult situation.

e.g. In this economic environment, it is not easy to keep your head above water.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau