Go in one ear and out the other If you say that something you hear goes in one ear

and out the other,

If I have to listen to something I don't understand, it just goes in one ear and out the other.

Jump to conclusions to guess the facts about a situation without having enough information:

Don't jump to conclusions! Perhaps it was his daughter he was dancing with.

Read between the lines to try to understand someone's real feelings or intentions from what they say
or write:

Reading between the lines, I'd say he isn't happy with the situation.

Put 2 and 2 together to guess the truth about a situation from what you have seen or heard:

"How did you know they were having an affair?" "I'd seen them out together a couple of times, so I just
put two and two together."

Cross your mind If something crosses your mind, you think of it:

It crossed my mind yesterday that you must be short of staff.

Food for thought something worth thinking seriously about:

Thank you for your suggestion – it gave us a lot of food for thought.

A mind like a sieve If you have a memory or mind like a sieve, you forget things very easily.

Come out of your shell If you come out of your shell, you become more interested in other people and
more willing to talk and take part in social activities, and if someone brings you out of your shell, they
cause you to do this:

Derek has really come out of his shell since he started working here.

Keep smn posted to make sure someone knows what is happening, esp. in a situation that is quickly
changing:

The doctors kept me posted about her condition.

The bottom line the idea that a company's performance must be measured not only in relation to
profits, but also to its effect on the environment and society as a whole:

Financial centres' attitudes will only change when triple bottom line issues have a real effect on profits
and dividends.

The icing on the cake something that makes a good situation even better:

I was just content to see my daughter in such a stable relationship but a grandchild, that really was the
icing on the cake.

Make a mountain out of a molehill to make a slight difficulty seem like a serious problem:

You're making a mountain out of a molehill. You wrote one bad essay - it doesn't mean you're going to
fail.
Stick to your guns to continue to have your beliefs or continue with a plan of action, even if other
people disagree with you:

Despite harsh criticism, she's sticking to her guns on this issue.

The tip of the iceberg a small, noticeable part of a problem, the total size of which is really much
greater:

These small local protests are just the tip of the iceberg.

Get off on the wrong foot to make a successful/unsuccessful start in something

Give smn the cold shoulder to intentionally ignore someone or treat someone in an unfriendly way:

I thought she really liked me, but the next day she gave me the cold shoulder.

Hit it off to be friendly with each other immediately:

We had similar ideas about the show, and the two of us hit it off right away.

On the same wavelength Leave smn in the lurch thinking in the same way as someone else:

Luckily, my husband and I are on the same wavelength about how to raise our kids.

Your own flesh and body someone's relation:

I couldn't send him away - he's my own flesh and blood.

Treat smn like dirt Treat smn like dirt

A pat on the back to praise someone for doing something good

I got a pat on the back from (= was praised by) my boss.

A labour of love a piece of hard work that you do because you enjoy it and not because you will receive
money or praise for it, or because you need to do it:

He's always working on his car - it's a labour of love.

Stick your nose into smth to try to discover things that are not really related to you:

I wish he'd stop sticking his nose into my personal life!

Try your hand at smth to try doing something for the first time:

He decided to try his hand at knitting and discovered he was good at it.

My heart isn’t in it

If your heart isn't in it, you do not feel interested or enthusiastic about something:

I tried to look interested, but my heart wasn't in it.

I'm getting a bit tired now - let's call it a day.

From scratch from the beginning, without using anything that already exists:

Ben built the shed from scratch.

Go the extra mile to make more effort than is expected of you:

He's a nice guy, always ready to go the extra mile for his friends

Not lift a finger to not make any effort:

He just watches TV and never lifts a finger to help with the dishes.

Stab smn in the back to do something harmful to someone who trusted you:

He had been lied to and stabbed in the back by people that he thought were his friends.

Pull someone’s leg to try to persuade someone to believe something that is not true, as a joke:

Is it really your car or are you pulling my leg?

A pain in the neck someone or something that is very annoying:

That child is a real pain in the neck.

Make your blood boil to make someone extremely angry:

The way they have treated those people makes my blood boil.

Get cold feet to suddenly become too frightened to do something you had planned to do, especially
something important such as getting married

Give someone the creeps to cause someone to have uncomfortable feelings of nervousness or fear:

Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.

The last/final straw the last in a series of unpleasant events that finally makes you feel that you cannot
continue to accept a bad situation:

Losing my job was bad enough, but being evicted was the final straw.

Be shaking like a leaf to shake in a way that you cannot control because you are very nervous or
frightened:

He had gone completely white and was shaking like a leaf.

She waited to come on stage, trembling like a leaf.

Not see eye to eye If two people see (not see) eye to eye, they agree(disagree) with each other:
My sisters don't see eye to eye with me about the arrangements.

With flying colours If you do something such as pass an exam with flying colours, you do it very
successfully.

The calm before the storm a quiet or peaceful period before a period during which there is great
activity, argument, or difficulty:

I like to get everything done before the guests arrive and relax for a moment in the calm before the
storm.

Castles in the air plans that have very little chance of happening

We do want to adopt a cost-effective, practical approach here, not build castles in the air.

Out of the blue If something happens out of the blue, it is completely unexpected:

One day, out of the blue, she announced that she was leaving.

Bite off more than you can chew to try to do something that is too difficult for you

We bit off more than we could chew in our original reform proposals.

From /out of the frying pan into the fire said when you move from a bad or difficult situation to one
that is worse

Many kids who try to run away from unhappy homes discover that they've jumped from the frying pan
into the fire when they try to live on their own.

A vicious circle a continuing unpleasant situation, created when one problem causes another problem
that then makes the first problem worse:

Many people get caught/trapped in a vicious circle of dieting and weight gain.

In safe hands being cared for or dealt with by someone skilled:

Dr Bailey is doing the operation, so your wife is in safe hands.

Be playing with fire to act in a way that is very dangerous and to take risks

you're playing with fire if you try to cheat on the test.

He's skating on thin ice by lying to the police.

Be on the safe side being especially careful in order to avoid something unpleasant:

I'm sure it won't rain, but I'll take an umbrella (just) to be on the safe side (= to be ready if it does rain).

Take your life in your hands to do something that is very dangerous, especially where you risk death:

Every time you go parachuting you're taking your life in your hands.

Cost an arm and a leg to be extremely expensive

Make ends meet to have just enough money to pay for the things that you need

Tighten your belt to spend less money than you did before because you have less money

It’s not easy to make ends meet with a big family, but somehow we manage.

I've had to tighten my belt since I stopped working full-time.

Twist someones arm If you twist someone's arm, you persuade them to do something.

She had twisted his arm to get him to invite her

Full of beans to have a lot of energy and enthusiasm

I've never known anyone be so full of beans before breakfast.

A shoulder to cry on someone who is willing to listen to your problems and give you sympathy,
emotional support, and encouragement

I wish you'd been here when my mother died and I needed a shoulder to cry on.

Under the weather NOT HEALTHY OR FEELING HEALTHY

I don't think I'll be coming to the party - I'm feeling a bit under the weather.