MY MINI IDIOM BOOK

A collection of idioms

My Mini Book Of Idioms – A Collection of Idioms
for Redong Reads Project

RELP E-Book Publications.
First published in 2015 by Mia Antasha E-Book Publication
© Mia Antasha 2013.

Designed and compiled by:
Mia Antasha
SK (Felda) Redong, 85000 Segamat.
Tel: (07) 9291900
Fax: (08) 9291900
Email: [email protected]

The contents of this publication were collected from free educational resources from the
Internet, edited, and published into e-book for Redong Reads Project.

This e-book is dedicated to: Syaf Elias

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CONTENT ... PAGES
Animal Idioms ... 4
Body Idioms ... 8
Colour Idioms ... 12
Clothing Idioms ... 15
Food Idioms ... 19
Geography Idioms ... 23
Sports Idioms ... 26

3

Animal Idioms

Here are some common idioms based on animals. Each entry includes
the meaning of the idiom and shows the idiom in context in an
example sentence.

IDIOM MEANING EXAMPLE SENTENCE

ants in unable to sit still or Lisa had ants in her
one's pants
remain calm out of pants the day before her
nervousness or interview.
excitement

(the) birds sex education I learned about the birds
and the and the bees when my baby
bees brother was born.

cat nap a short sleep I'm going to have a cat

nap while you're cooking
dinner.

cat's got said about someone It looks like the cat's got
one's who doesn't speak your tongue, Lucy. Are you
tongue (usually due to always this quiet?
shyness)

chicken to decide not to do I was going to take a ride on
out Geoff's motorcycle, but
something out of fear I chickened out when he
(usually just before)
gave me a helmet to wear.

clam up become quiet Arthur clammed up when I
suddenly asked him about his family.

copy cat a person who does the My sister is such a copy cat.
same thing as First she bought the same

someone else car as me, and now she's
applying to my school.

4

IDIOM MEANING EXAMPLE SENTENCE
dog days very hot days
I sleep in the basement
dropping dying/giving up during the dog days of
like flies quickly August.

eager a person who is My roses are dropping like
beaver excited about doing flies in this early frost.
certain work
Ever since he got his new
fishy odd, suspicious drill set my husband has
been an eager beaver
have a cow get extremely upset around the house.
(often over something
minor) I knew something fishy was
going on when I saw all of
hold your wait and be patient my friends' cars in my
horses mom's driveway.

holy cow! Wow, I'm surprised! My teacher had a cow when
she realized nobody had
horse play roughly done the homework.
around
get the greatest Hold your horses! I'll be
get the percentage done in the washroom in a
lion's minute.
share
Holy cow! I can't believe
you ate everything on your
plate.

If you're going to horse
around, please go outside.

My aunt got the lion's
share of the inheritance.

5

IDIOM MEANING EXAMPLE SENTENCE

in the dog in trouble with another I don't think Marsha is
house person coming out tonight. She's
still in the dog house for
forgetting Aaron's birthday.

kill two get two things done at If you pick the groceries up
birds with once when you drop George off
one stone
for his shift, you will kill two
birds with one stone.

kitty diagonal direction The gas station is kitty
corner corner to the library.

let the cat reveal a secret Who let the cat out of the
out of the bag about the surprise
bag party?

(a) little I heard something A little bird told me that you
bird told (usually secretive or are thinking of quitting your
me unknown) from job.
someone (not named)

make a go straight for My grandma made a
beeline something beeline for the smoking
room as soon as she got off

the airplane.

monkey silly/unintelligent Our one-year-old is saying
see, people tend to copy bad words now. I told my

monkey do each other's actions husband, "Monkey see,
monkey do!"

nest egg money saved for the We have a nest egg that we
future might have to use if Jim

goes on sick leave.

6

IDIOM MEANING EXAMPLE SENTENCE
pig out eat a lot of something
I pigged out on pancakes so
raining raining heavily I don't have room for lunch.
cats and
dogs I forgot my umbrella, and it
was raining cats and dogs.
rat race fierce, competitive
struggle for power, I'm ready to leave this rat
position etc race and retire in Mexico.

smell a rat begin to suspect I asked my brothers not to
trickery etc tell my parents that I went
out, but I could smell a
straight directly from the rat as soon as I opened the
from the original source door.
horse's
mouth I know Jenny is pregnant,
because I heard it straight
take the face a challenge or from the horse's mouth.
bull by the danger boldly
horns If you really think you
deserve a promotion, you'll
until the for a very long time have to take the bull by the
cows come horns.

home I could eat pizza and ice-
cream until the cows come
home.

7

Body Idioms

Here are some common idioms based on the human body. Each entry
includes the meaning of the idiom and shows the idiom in context in
an example sentence.

IDIOM MEANING EXAMPLE SENTENCE
all ears fully listening
Give me a minute to
break a leg good-luck finish my work and then
I'll be all ears to hear
cold feet nervous just before a about your project.
big event
Today's the big game,
cost an arm be very expensive eh? Break a leg!
and a leg
My sister didn't get cold
cry your cry very hard feet until she put her
heart out wedding gown on.

face the meet, stand up to These cakes are
music unpleasant delicious, but they cost
consequences, for an arm and a leg.
(my) flesh example criticism or
and blood punishment I cried my heart
get out when my best friend
relative moved away.

tell someone your I stayed out all night.
When I eventually got
8 home I had to face the
music from my wife.

I have to hire Mia. She's
my own flesh and blood.

Thanks for listening to

something problems me complain about my
off one's boss. I just needed
chest to get this off my chest.

give a hand, help (someone) do I can give you a
lend a hand something hand when you move if
you like.

have one's be unaware or Amy has her head in the
head in the
clouds unrealistic about clouds if she thinks she's
something going to pass her exams
without studying.

head over deeply in love My brother is head over
heels heels for his new
girlfriend.

head start an earlier start The kids gave Anthony

a head start in the
bicycle race because he
was the youngest.

in over one's taking on a task that you I was in over my
head can't handle head when I agreed to
babysit the triplets and
the dogs.

keep an eye take care of, watch in I'll keep an eye on the
on order to protect dinner while you're on
the phone.

keep one's try to be cheerful Keep your chin up. I'm
chin up sure you'll make some
friends soon.

learn by memorize I learned my
heart, know
by heart multiplication tables by
heart in the year 4.

9

let one's hair relax, have fun Go to the cottage and let
down your hair down this
weekend.

(my) lips are promise to keep a Don't worry, I won't tell
sealed secret your mother how much
you spent. My lips are
sealed.

makes my makes me very angry It makes my blood
blood boil boil when people don't
tie up their dogs.

neck of the nearby location or I heard that they might
woods region be opening a post office
in our neck of the
woods soon.

(an) old hand an experienced person My uncle's an old
hand at car repair. He'll
know what the problem
is.

over my not unless I'm dead and My daughter wants a
dead body can't stop you tattoo. I told her she'd
get one over my dead
body.

pat on the recognition or a thank- The party organizers
back you deserve a pat on the
back for a job well done.

play do something without a We don't know if the
something plan weather will be good
by ear enough for camping.
We'll have to play it by

ear.

10

pull one's leg joke or tease someone I was just pulling your
leg. I'm not really a
police officer.

rule of basic rule (not always The rule of thumb is that
thumb followed) the students wear black
pants and white shirts.

see eye to agree The couple don't see eye
eye
to eye on how to train
their pets.

(by the) skin just barely I passed my exam by
of one's teeth the skin of my teeth.

stick your help someone a lot, I stuck my neck out for
neck out with possible bad Bessie when she was
consequences for thrown out of her house.

oneself

sweet tooth a love of sugar or sweet I need three spoonfuls of
things sugar in my tea. I have
a sweet tooth.

thick in the not very intelligent I'm a bit thick in the
head head when it comes to
reading a map.

wash one's stop dealing with an I'm washing my hands
hands of issue or problem of Mary's addiction. She
something is going to have to get

some professional help.

11

Colour Idioms

Here are some common idioms based on colour and colours. Each
entry includes the meaning of the idiom and shows the idiom in
context in an example sentence.

IDIOM MEANING EXAMPLE SENTENCE
beet red
dark red (usually My sister's face turned beet
to describe face) red when I caught her
singing in front of a mirror.
black and blue bruised and
beaten We found the poor
guy black and blue near
black and straight forward, the train tracks.
white very clear
The rules we gave the kids
black out faint were black and white. No
answering the phone or the
black sheep the odd or bad door.
member of the
I always black out at the
group sight of blood.

born with a born into a rich My oldest brother was
silver spoon in family the black sheep in our
one's mouth family. He dropped out of
school at fifteen.
catch red catch someone in
handed Keiko hasn't worked a day
the act of doing in her life. She was born
something wrong with a silver spoon in her
mouth.

The kids were caught red
handed stealing chocolate
bars.

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or illegal

golden the perfect chance The models' conference
opportunity was golden opportunity for
me to sell my beauty
products.

grey area, something without Writing personal email in
gray area a clear rule or the office is a grey area that

answer needs to be discussed at
the next meeting.

the green light permission The builders were given
the green light to begin the
tower.

green with very jealous I am green with envy over
envy Julio's new wardrobe.

(have a) green be skilful in the You can tell by her flower
thumb garden garden that Sheila has
a green thumb.

have the blues be sad or I always have the
depressed blues during the winter
time.

in the dark unaware Antoine left his wife in the
dark about their
honeymoon destination
until they got to the airport.

in the red in debt When we were in the
red we almost had to sell
the house.

once in a blue very rarely We only go out for

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moon dinner once in a blue
moon.

out of the blue unexpectedly I got a phone call from a
long lost cousin out of the
blue last week.

red tape official or There is still some red
bureaucratic tasks tape to deal with in terms of

the inheritance.

red eye an airplane flight I caught the red eye so that
that takes off after I would see the sunrise
midnight over the mountains.

roll out the red treat someone like When relatives come to
carpet town my grandmother rolls
royalty out the red carpet.

rose coloured unrealistic view Paula imagines Hollywood
glasses with rose coloured glasses.

see red be very angry I saw red when that guy
grabbed my sister's purse.

tickled pink very pleased and My mom was tickled
appreciative
pink when my father
brought roses home for
her.

true colours real self Suzanne doesn't show
her true colours when we
have guests over.

white lie an innocent lie to We told Grandma that her

protect another cake was delicious, which
person's feelings was actually a white lie.

14

with flying with distinction I passed my road test
colours with flying colours.

Clothing Idioms

Here are some common idioms based on clothes and clothing. Each
entry includes the meaning of the idiom and shows the idiom in
context in an example sentence.

IDIOM MEANING EXAMPLE SENTENCE

at the drop of without needing My Grandma will babysit for
a hat any advance anyone at the drop of a hat.
notice

(have a) bee something that is Milan has had a bee in his
in one's annoying someone
bonnet bonnet all day, but he won't
tell me what's wrong.

below the belt beyond what is fair His comment about
or socially Manfred's handicap
acceptable was below the belt.

bursting at not fitting anymore I ate too much. I'm bursting
the seams at the seams in these jeans.

caught with unprepared My students caught me with
one's pants my pants down on Monday. I
down forgot about the field trip.

(have a) card have a secret or I think Josh has a card up his
up one's reserve plan sleeve because he wants me
sleeve to wear a dress to the fast-
food restaurant.

buckle down work extra hard It's almost exam time, so I

15

need to buckle down this
weekend.

burn a hole in money that one is Let's go to the mall after
one's pocket tempted to spend school. There's a hundred
dollar bill burning a hole in
my pocket.

dress to kill, dress in nice or My cousin was dressed to
dress to the sexy clothes kill on her birthday.
nines

fit like a fit perfectly (tight Anita's prom dress fits me
glove to one's body) like a glove.

fine-tooth in great detail, The police looked for
comb extremely fingerprints with a fine-tooth
carefully comb.

fly by the seat do by instinct, not I had never taught art to kids
of one's pants by plan before. I had to fly by the
seat of my pants.

handle with treat delicately Please handle my
kid gloves grandmother's tea set
with kid gloves.

hand-me- used clothing We buy hand-me-
down down skates because the
kids' feet grow so quickly.

hat trick three goals scored The fans cheered when the
by one person hockey player got a hat
trick.

in one's in the nude The swimmers in the lake
birthday suit were in their birthday suits.

16

keep one's try to stay calm I know you're in a hurry, but
shirt on please keep your shirt on.

keep keep something a We know we're having a
something secret boy, but we're keeping it
zipped zipped from the
grandparents.

off the cuff said without I didn't have a speech
planning
prepared. Everything I said
was off the cuff.

pull up one's try harder Marco will have to pull up
socks his socks if he wants to make
the football team.

put a sock in stop talking Put a sock in it! I'm trying to
it tell a story.

put one's think hard in order I can't remember where the
thinking cap to solve a problem Christmas decorations are.
on I'll have to put my thinking
cap on.

put oneself in imagine what it Put yourself in Amber's
someone would be like to shoes. She doesn't even have
else's shoes be in someone a car to drive.

else's situation

ride one's let someone else It was a group project, but
coattails do all of the work everyone rode Andrew's

coattails.

roll up one's get down to hard The celebrities rolled up
sleeves work their sleeves and washed
cars for charity.

17

take one's hat recognize or I take my hat off to Jim. The
off to honour someone doctors said he'd never
someone for something walk, and he just ran a
marathon.
wear one's display emotions
heart on one's openly My Dad's not afraid to cry.
sleeve He always wears his heart on
his sleeve.
wear the be in charge,
trousers make the rules By the looks of things, the
kids wear the trousers in this
household.

18

Food Idioms

Here are some common idioms based on food and foods. Each entry
includes the meaning of the idiom and shows the idiom in context in
an example sentence.

IDIOM MEANING EXAMPLE SENTENCE

apple of one's a person that is Baby Jessica is the apple of her
eye father's eye.
adored by
someone

(have a) bun be pregnant I don't think Jan will come to the
in the oven bar because she has a bun in
the oven.

bad egg a person who is I don't want my little brother
often in trouble hanging around with the bad

eggs on the street.

big cheese very important I thought I was just going to
person (VIP) interview the secretary, but
they let me talk to the big
cheese himself.

bread and necessities, the Just explain the bread and
butter main thing butter of your report. You don't

have to go into details.

bring home earn the income My husband has had to bring
the bacon home the bacon ever since I
broke my leg.

butter be extra nice to We'll have
someone up someone to butter Angie up before we
(usually for tell her the news about the

selfish reasons) broken vase.

19

(have one's) want more than Rick wants to have his cake and
cake and eat your fair share eat it too. He wants to be single
it too or need but he doesn't want me to date
anyone else.

carrot top person with red Simon is the first carrot top I've
or orange hair ever gone out with.

cheesy silly I love reading cheesy romance

novels because I don't have to
think.

cool as a very relaxed I thought I was afraid of flying,
cucumber but I was cool as a
cucumber all the way to
England.

cream of the the best We hired the cream of the
crop
crop to entertain us at the
Christmas party.

(don't) cry get upset over The mirror is broken and we
over spilled something that can't fix it. There's no need
milk has happened to cry over spilled milk.
and cannot be
changed

cup of joe cup of coffee Let's stop for a cup of
joe before we head to work.

(not my) cup something you Opera isn't exactly my cup of
of tea tea.
enjoy (usually
used
negatively)

egg someone urge someone The gang tried to egg us on but
on to do something we didn't want to fight.

20

freeze one's be very cold I froze my buns off at the ice
buns off rink.

full of beans have a lot of The kids were full of
(silly) energy beans after the circus.

gravy train extremely good The unionized grocers have
pay for minimal been enjoying the gravy
work train for twenty years.

(have receive without The professor's daughter had
something) working for her college diploma handed to
handed to something her on a silver platter.
someone on a
silver platter

hard nut to difficult to Angelo is a hard nut to
crack understand crack when something is

(often a person) bothering him like this.

hot potato a controversial Choosing a location for our
or difficult new store is a hot potato right
subject now.

in a nutshell simply In a nutshell, I'm having a bad
day.

nuts about like a lot I'm nuts about classical music
something, these days.
someone

out to lunch crazy or mad Harry has been out to
lunch ever since he lost his job.

one smart a very Your daughter is one smart
cookie
intelligent cookie. She reads much higher
person than her grade level.

21

peach fuzz small amount of Except for a bit of peach fuzz,
hair growth the baby came out bald.

piece of cake very easy The exam was a piece of cake.

put all of rely on one Even though I'm majoring in
one’s eggs in single thing Art, I'm taking a maths course
one basket because my Dad says I
shouldn't put all of my eggs in

one basket.

souped up made more The car was souped up with
powerful or shiny rims and a loud stereo.
stylish

sell like hot bought by many The new Harry Potter
cakes
people books sold like hot cakes.

spice things make something I wanted to spice things up in
up more exciting the office, so I bought some red
and gold paint.

spill the reveal the truth On Monday, I'm going to spill
beans the beans about my travel
plans.

take don't consider Take Mandy's advice with a
something something pinch of salt. She doesn't
with a pinch 100% accurate always do her research.
(grain) of salt

use your use your brain You're going to have to
noodle really use your noodle on this
crossword puzzle. It's an extra
difficult one.

22

Geography Idioms

Here are some common idioms based on geography and weather.
Each entry includes the meaning of the idiom and shows the idiom in
context in an example sentence.

IDIOM MEANING EXAMPLE SENTENCE

(on) cloud extremely happy Andrea was on cloud
nine
nine when she bought her
new car.

dig deep look hard for I had to dig deep to find
information my old report cards.

dirt cheap very inexpensive The clothes at the thrift
shop are dirt cheap.

down to earth natural or real Lucile is really down to
(personality) earth for a woman with so
much money.

fair-weather a person who is only I can't talk to Nancy about
friend a friend in good times my boyfriend problems.
She's only a fair-weather
friend.

a field day a very enjoyable time The kids had a field day at
the water slide park.

go downhill get progressively My grades started going
worse
downhill when I got a part-
time job.

go with the continue in the same Nobody trained me at
flow way as others work. I just went with the

flow.

23

hit the hay go to sleep I'm exhausted. I think
I'll hit the hay early
tonight.

hit the road leave It's getting late. We had
better hit the road.

keep one's have just enough It's hard to keep my head
head above money to live above water with all of

water these medical bills.

know which know how things will Who knows which way the
way the wind turn out wind will blow? I just hope
blows Jesse gets one of the jobs
he's applied for.

make a make a small The car only got a tiny
mountain out problem seem big dent. You’re making a

of a molehill mountain out of a molehill.

out of the clear of danger The doctor said my heart is
woods doing better, but I'm
not out of the woods yet.

over the hill past middle age I knew I was over the
hill when I started needing
glasses to read.

rain on ruin somebody else's Whenever I had a dance
someone happiness recital, my older brother
else's parade always rained on my

parade.

stick-in-the- a loner or person who They didn't bother inviting
mud won't join in Charles to the party
because he's always a

stick-in-the-mud.

24

(as) quick as very fast Wow! Your shower was
lightning as quick as lightning.

the tip of the a small part of a large The lost tickets were just
iceberg
problem the tip of the iceberg.
take a rain
check accept at a later date I'd love to go out for
dinner, but can I take
under the a rain check?
weather
ill I was feeling under the
up the creek weather so I went back to
bed.
win by a
landslide in trouble If my Dad finds out I had a
party I'll be up the creek.
(get) wind of
something win by a lot of points The skier in the green
coat won by a landslide.

overhear something My Dad has a new
about someone or girlfriend. I got wind of
something (often it over dinner tonight.
gossip)

25

Sports Idioms

Here are some common idioms based on sport and sports. Each entry
includes the meaning of the idiom and shows the idiom in context in
an example sentence. Sports idioms generally originate from a
specific sport such as baseball or sailing. Over time these phrases
have come to mean something that can be used in everyday life.

IDIOM MEANING EXAMPLE SENTENCE
SPORT OF

ORIGIN

across the equal for everyone Ten percent raises were
board given across the board.
cards

at this stage in at this time Nobody knows who is
the game going to win the election at
any sport
this stage in the game.

the ball is in it's your decision "Do you think I should
your court or responsibility to accept the job offer?"
tennis do something now "Don't ask me. The ball is in
your court now".

bark up the you've got the I think you're barking up
wrong tree wrong person or the wrong tree by blaming
hunting
idea Matt for the missing money.

blind-sided to not see George blind-sided Eric
American
football something coming with his fist at the bar.

blow the win easily If you wear that dress to the
competition beauty pageant you are
away going to blow the
any sport
competition away.

26

call the shots make the decisions While our boss is on
billiards vacation, Bob will call the
shots.

chip in help by donating The staff members chipped
gambling money or time in 5 dollars each to buy
Jody a birthday gift.

down to the right at the end It's coming down to the
wire
horse racing wire to get these done on
time.

front runner one of the people Angela is a front runner for
track who is expected to the new supervisor
win position.

get a head start before all They gave the walkers a
start others head start in the run for
horse racing
cancer.

get into the be comfortable It will probably take a
full swing doing something month of working at my
tennis after some time new job before I get into
the full swing of things.

get off the escape, have The child got off the
hook responsibility hook for stealing because
fishing
removed the security camera was
broken.

give try for a while You should give Nadine a
before giving up
something or fair shake before you
someone a fair decide she isn't good
shake enough for the job.
gambling

get a second have a burst of I was exhausted after 3
wind energy after tiring kilometres of running, but

27

sailing I got a second wind after I
passed the beach.

give it your try your hardest Give it your best shot and
best shot you may just make it to the
hunting finals.

give one a run try one's hardest to I know the other team is
for one's defeat another expected to win, but
money
horseracing person let's give them a run for
their money tonight.

go overboard do or say more You can't believe
sailing than you need to everything Janice says
about Rick. She tends to go
overboard when she's
complaining about him.

go to bat for defend someone Andy is asking for a salary
someone increase, and I'm going
baseball to go to bat for him if the
boss says no.

have the upper have a better The Blues have the upper
hand chance of winning hand in the tournament,
cards or succeeding because none of their
players is injured.

hit below the do or say Amanda was hitting below
belt something that is the belt when she called
martial arts very unfair or Adrian an unfit father.
cruel

hit a snag come up against a The renovations were going
boating problem along great until we hit a
snag with the carpet

installation.

28

hold all the expected to win or The children hold all the
aces succeed aces when it comes to the
cards father-son baseball
tournament.

the home almost the end I think Alice's pregnancy is
stretch in the home stretch.
horse racing

hot shot (big a person who Even though Luke only
shot) thinks they are the placed 20th in the ski race,
hunting best he thinks he's a hot shot.

jump the gun start too early I guess I jumped the gun by
track buying Pam and Steve a
wedding gift. They called
off the engagement.

keep one's try not to fall We are so busy during the
head above behind in work or tourist season I can
water other duties barely keep my head above
swimming water.

learn the understand new The first week on the job
ropes things you will just be learning the
sailing ropes.

let her rip go ahead now Okay, here are the keys to
boating your new car. Let her rip!

level playing everyone has an The spelling bee is a level
field equal chance
any field sport playing field because all of
the kids are in grade nine.

long shot a very difficult Jim thinks we can afford the
hunting thing to house, but I think it's a long

accomplish shot.

29

make the cut be chosen to be I didn't get a second
any sport part of a team or interview, so I'm pretty sure
group I won't make the cut.

neck and neck to be in a close tie George and Stan are neck
horse racing and neck in the hockey
with someone pool. Either of them could
win the money.

no sweat no problem I told Lily it was no sweat for
any sport us to babysit next weekend.

not playing not having full I think Jerry was still drunk
with a full brain capacity at work on Sunday because
deck (of cards) he wasn't playing with a full
cards deck.

not up to par not good enough I'm afraid your resume isn't
golf
for a job or up to par for the
position engineering position.

to be off base not making a fair You were way off
baseball or true remark base when you said Bill
needed to lose weight.

on target doing the right We are on target to meet
darts thing to succeed our budget this month.

on the ball ready and able The new receptionist is
baseball really on the ball when it
comes to answering the

phone.

out in left field nowhere near All of the students laughed
baseball being true, when Joe gave an answer
nowhere near that was out in left field.

doing something
correctly

30

out of not as good as I'd like to date Maria, but
someone's someone I'm afraid I’m out of her
league league.
team sport

par for the an expected Waiting in line is par for the
course circumstance course at Christmas time.
golf

plenty of other there are many I know you still love Jack,
fish in the sea other men and but remember there
fishing women to date are plenty of other fish in
the sea.

race against there is almost no It's a race against time to
time time left to find a kidney donor for my
track accomplish cousin.
something

settle a score get even with a My brother wants to settle
with someone person after a the score with that guy who
any sport previous battle stole my wallet.

shot in the a guess I was lucky to win the quiz.
dark All my answers were shots
hunting in the dark.

skate on thin do something You're skating on thin
ice risky, take a ice by not sending in your
skating chance college application before
now.

start the ball begin something Please can everyone be
rolling seated so we can start the
ball sports ball rolling.

step up to the do the honourable It's time you stepped up to
plate thing, take the plate and apologized for

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baseball responsibility your mistake.

take a rain accept at a later Sorry, I can't go to the
check time movies today, but I'd love
baseball to take a rain check.

take sides choose a person or I hate to take sides, but I
any sport group to support think Jerry is right about the
paint colour.

take the bull accept the Even though this new job
by the horns challenge and try will mean relocating, I think
bull fighting your hardest you should take the bull by
the horns for once.

take the wind make someone I think I took the wind out of
out of one's feel deflated Angela's sails when I told
sails her she was a terrible
sailing
singer.

throw in the give up If they don't accept our offer
towel this time we are going
boxing to throw in the towel and
look at houses elsewhere.

time out break Let's take some time out and
any sport grab a coffee.

three strikes you only get three The school's no smoking
and you're out chances policy is three strikes and
baseball you're out.

two strikes you only have one Nancy is going to be fired
against chance remaining in no time. She already
baseball has two strikes against her
for coming in late.

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under the illegally I don't have a work visa, so
table easy victory they have to pay me under
gambling the table.

win hands The other team was missing
down half of its players. We won
gambling hands down.

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