American Idioms 1, A

Question 1

A bit much

Answer 1

More than is reasonable; a bit too much

Question 2

A dead heat

Answer 2

A dead heat is when there is no single

“The horse race finished in a dead heat.”

Question 3

A dog in the manger

Answer 3

A person who selfishly prevent others from using, enjoying

Question 4

A drag

Answer 4

A person, thing, or task that is tedious or boring

“I don’t know who invited this guy to the party. He is a such a drag!”

Question 5

A little leery

Answer 5

Cautious, wary, or uncertain of a given person, place, or thing

“To be honest, I’m a little leery of signing up for this deal; it sounds too good to be true”.

Question 6

A living hell

Answer 6

An extremely unpleasant situation

“She described her marriage to her alcoholic husband as a living hell”.

Question 7

A load of nonsense

Answer 7

Exaggerated, foolish, or untruthful talk;

“Personally, I think the notion of “love at first sight” is a load of nonsense”.

Question 8

A million and one

Answer 8

Very many

Question 9

A notch above

Answer 9

Superior to; higher in quality

Question 10

A plum job

Answer 10

An easy and pleasant job that also pays well

Question 11

A stitch in time saves nine

Answer 11

Fix something quickly, because if you don’t, it will just get more difficult to fix

Question 12

A stone’s throw

Answer 12

A very short distance

Question 13

A storm in a teacup

Answer 13

Unnecessary anger or worry about an unimportant or trivial matter

Question 14

A streak of bad luck

Answer 14

A period of continuous misfortune;

She broke up with him? Wow, the poor guy’s streak of bad luck continues”.

Question 15

A tad bit

Answer 15

A small portion, degree, or amount

“I’m afraid I’ve caught a tad bit of a cold”.

Question 16

A trip down memory lane

Answer 16

Something that causes nostalgia, a nostalgic episode

Question 17

Ace boom-boom

Answer 17

One’s close friend

“Oh, I’m sure he invited Dave—that’s his ace boom-boom”.

Question 18

Ace out

Answer 18

1-to have good fortune 2-To narrowly escape a bad situation; 3-to outmaneuver or outperform someone, often resulting in victory

1-“I aced out at work today when the boss did not assign me that big project” 2-“Jack hit the gas at the right moment and aced out of a car accident” 3-“I’ve been training really hard this year so that I don’t get aced out in the finals again”.

Question 19

Achilles’ heel

Answer 19

A small but fatal weakness in spite of overall strength

Question 20

Acknowledge (the) receipt of (something)

Answer 20

To recognize, often formally, that something has been received, usually an item that has been delivered

“Did you get a notification acknowledging receipt of your package?”

Question 21

Acknowledge the corn

Answer 21

Admit to a mistake, especially a small one; point out one’s own shortcomings, or another’s

Question 22

Acquaint (one) with (something)

Answer 22

To help one become familiar or comfortable with something

“You’ll need to acquaint me with the rules of their culture”.

Question 23

Acquired taste

Answer 23

Something one learns to appreciate only after trying it repeatedly

Question 24

Act high and mighty

Answer 24

Be arrogant, presume that one is better than others

Question 25

**Act of congress**

Answer 25

Hard to get, said of authorization

Question 26

**Act one’s age**

Answer 26

To be mature, not childish

Question 27

**All eyes on me**

Answer 27

When everyone is paying attention to someone, all eyes are on them ## Footnote *"All eyes are on the Germany team after their disappointing recent results".*

Question 28

**All Greek to me**

Answer 28

When something is too difficult or confusing to understand, it's all Greek to you ## Footnote *“I didn't understand today's lecture, it was all Greek to me”.*

Question 29

**All hell broke loose**

Answer 29

When all hell breaks loose, a situation suddenly becomes noisy and violent ## Footnote *"All hell broke loose at the party when James pushed Dan to the floor”.*

Question 30

**All in a day’s work**

Answer 30

When something is unusual for other people but not unusual for you, it’s all in a day’s work ## Footnote “*Being cold and wet is all in a day’s work for British fishermen”.*

Question 31

**All in the same boat**

Answer 31

When you are in the same unpleasant situation as everyone, you are all in the same boat ## Footnote *“There’s no use complaining to me about having to work on Saturday, we’re all in the same boat"*

Question 32

**All in your head**

Answer 32

When you imagine something that is not real ## Footnote *“They were not gossiping about you, it’s all in your head”.*

Question 33

**All or nothing**

Answer 33

When something is all or nothing, you either do it completely or not all ## Footnote *“As Jenny stood on the top of the diving board she knew it was all or nothing. She could either jump off or climb back down”.*

Question 34

**All out!**

Answer 34

When you do something all out, you do it with every possible effort ## Footnote *“We had to work all out to make sure we met our deadline”.*

Question 35

**All over the shop**

Answer 35

When something is badly organized or scattered in many different places, it is all over the shop ## Footnote *“My brother’s room is a mess. His clothes are all over the shop”.*

Question 36

**Any minute now**

Answer 36

Very soon

Question 37

**Any way you slice it**

Answer 37

From whatever perspective, no matter how you

Question 38

**At the eleventh hour**

Answer 38

At the last possible moment or opportunity.

Question 39

**A fool and his money are easily parted**

Answer 39

Fools spend money easily

Question 40

**A leopard can't change his spots**

Answer 40

It's very difficult for a person to change his/her manners, character, way of thinking

Question 41

**A slap on the wrist**

Answer 41

A light punishment

Question 42

**A whole new ball game**

Answer 42

A significant change in circumstances

Question 43

**As thick as thieves**

Answer 43

A very secretive and close relationship between people

Question 44

**As bold as brass**

Answer 44

Daring, brave, bold or overconfident

Question 45

**A bit too much**

Answer 45

Behave in an unfair manner

Question 46

**Apple pie order**

Answer 46

Neat and tidy in the arrangement

Question 47

**Aftermath**

Answer 47

The effects of something traumatic

Question 48

**A voice crying in the wilderness**

Answer 48

To say something that is not popular

Question 49

**Against the grain**

Answer 49

A difficult path to be followed

Question 50

**A burnt child dreads the fire**

Answer 50

Everyone avoids repeating a hurting experience again in life

Question 51

**As different as chalk and cheese**

Answer 51

For two things to be completely different from each other

Question 52

**A trip to the sun**

Answer 52

Something which is very unlikely

Question 53

**Absence makes the heart grow fonder**

Answer 53

To miss and love someone more when they are not around

Question 54

**All good things must come to an end**

Answer 54

Everything that is deemed nice, ends