BE ON TOP OF SOMETHING – to be in control or aware of something Mr. Fatred frowned looking through financial reports: the real spending didn't correspond to the figures on the paper. Of course, he was on top of the leakage because all...

COST AN ARM AND A LEG – to be expensive Peter is standing near a shining shop-window, staring at the most awesome bike he's ever seen in his life. The only problem is that this bike costs an arm and a leg. Even if Peter starts to put his...

OUT OF THE BLUE – to happen absolutely unexpectedly Ganzo was sitting on the sofa with a glass of beer when Terry burst into the room. His younger brother regularly vanished for several days and then appeared out of the blue. PAR FOR THE...

TO HAVE DISASTER WRITTEN ALL OVER IT – to show clearly that something or someone is going to fail or have disastrous results Jillian tries to focus her attention on evidence she found in these 3 weeks. The situation has disaster written...

TO BE A TOP DOG – to be a person or organization with the most power and authority among other people or organizations (1) LANDSLIDE VICTORY – to win in elections with a huge margin (2) “Do you know who Big Pit is?” “Sure thing. He is a...

TO AGREE TO DISAGREE – to decide to not continue arguing because neither of the opponents would change their opinion There are many couples in the world: young, just married couples, who think that their life will be filled with love and...

TO BE AFRAID OF ONE’S OWN SHADOW – to be so timid or nervous that almost everything or everyone can easily scare you Sitting among the boys of my age I suddenly questioned myself: "What is a coward like me doing here? I'm afraid of...

A: “Hey, did you hear the news about Hughie PJ?” B: “No, I actually have no idea who that is.” BELOW THE BELT – unfair, cruel, insensitive (to hit or blow below the belt means to do or say smth cruel or unfair) A: “Really? I’m surprised...

TO LOSE ONE’S TEMPER – to lose patience because of provocation and not be able to control your feelings Two people walked along the shoreline to C city. One of them was a tall man with a rather serious facial expression. He wore white...

TO BE ECONOMICAL WITH THE TRUTH – to not tell the whole truth deliberately, hiding some details The angel and the demon were standing on the high wall dividing Heaven from a seemingly lifeless wasteland. A man and woman who covered their...

TO GET ON LIKE A HOUSE ON FIRE – to become close friends in a short time especially on the base of common interests Friendship is a tricky thing indeed. It’s very fragile and very solid at the same time. And Carry experienced both sides...

TO BE ALIVE AND KICKING – to continue to exist in a good condition or be still active This morning was truly beautiful for the first time in six months. As a person who has recovered from a serious illness, now I understand how good it...

TO BE UP IN THE AIR – to be undecided/unsolved/unsettled. “We can’t keep leaving this problem up in the air anymore,” said Marty, humorlessly. “We need to do something about it.” TO CROSS THAT BRIDGE WHEN ONE COMES TO IT – to solve a...

TO NOT DO THINGS BY HALVES – to do things properly, thoroughly, with effort. A: I knew you didn’t do things by halves, but I never expected to see such a masterpiece! TO GO THE EXTRA MILE – to do more than was required or expected of...

TO KEEP A LOW PROFILE – to avoid being noticed. Henry gave me the key to the apartment. No one knew about it besides him and me. He told me to keep a low profile for a while. TO BE UP TO ONE’S EARS IN SMTH – to be very busy with smth....

TO HAVE A MIND LIKE A SIEVE – to have a bad memory, to forget everything easily. There once lived an absent-minded man on the Swimming Pool Street in London, whose mind was truly like a sieve. TO HAVE SMTH ON THE TIP OF ONE’S TONGUE –...

TO CALL IT A DAY – to stop doing smth when you decide that you’ve done enough. A: Alright, Bobby, I don’t think either of us has any energy left to work on this device today, so let’s call it a day. TO CALL IT QUITS – to decide to stop...

TO GET THE HANG OF SMTH – to learn how to do smth. Mike Klutz was a well-known scientist and there was no question that he was a very smart guy but he could never get the hang of any kind of paperwork. TO GET ONE’S HEAD AROUND SMTH – to...