Spill the beans: give information
unintentionally.
e.g. "I told them
that you will be on vacation next week." "It's supposed to be a
secret. Well, you just spilled the beans.
Spitting image: exact image.
e.g. He has a spitting
image of his brother: they are twins.
Bat along: move along smoothly.
e.g. This is not rush
hour, and cars do bat along.
Bone-head: a simple-minded
person
e.g. Don't be a bone-head! Do some thinking!
Blue pencil: censor.
e.g. The committee
will blue pencil whatever
you are going to say.
Hold one's horse: wait a minute; not
immediately.
e.g. Dinner is ready,
but hold your horse;
wait for the host to come down!
In good nick: in good condition.
e.g. If I were you,
I would buy this car; it's in
good nick.
Boil over: become angry.
e.g. Get away
from him: he's boiling over with
rage.
Put one's
thinking cap on: seriously consider.
e.g. Well, I'll have
to put my thinking cap on this
before I can give you an answer.
Rake it in: earn money quickly.
e.g. If you invest
in this, you can really rake
it in.
Bone idle: very lazy.
e.g. She's bone idle: she never does any
household chore.
Bone up on: study hard.
e.g. If you wish to
pass your test, you'd better bone
up on it.
Bowl over: overwhelm.
e.g. I was bowled over by all the
information received at the seminar.
Pooped: exhausted.
e.g. What's the
matter? Everybody looks pooped today.
We haven't even started the work!
Break down on: be a disadvantage
for.
e.g. The new job broke down on me.
Breeze up: becoming
frightened.
e.g. Whenever you
mention terrorist attack, I have the breeze up.
Copyright©
by Stephen Lau
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