American Idioms

Idiom of the day :- Heath Robinson

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

Strange-looking/appearing to be homemade or improvised ( used about machinery/vehicles ) A : Bob’s father wouldn’t buy him a VW for his birthday so Bob built himself a Heath Robinson car out of a bath, a motor bike engine and six bicycle wheels ! He was really pleased with the result. B : But surely it wasn’t as good as a VW car. A : No it wasn’t, but Bob’s father was so embarrassed every time his son drove around in it that he agreed to buy him a proper car ! W Heath Robinson was a British artist who lived from 1872 to 1944. He became famous for his incredible cartoon drawings about inventors and their mad inventions. Today his name has entered the English language to describe any machinery or contraption which looks like part of one of his cartoons.

Idiom of the day :- What’s with (someone)

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

What’s wrong with (someone). ex. “What’s with you? You’ve been acting strange all day!” 

Idiom of the day :- make life miserable for someone / (To) make life miserable for someone

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

To cause someone lots of problems. ex. “Patricia’s boss is making life miserable for her.” 

Idiom of the day :- rob the cradle / (To) rob the cradle

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

To go out with (or marry) someone who is much younger than you are. ex. “Victor’s new wife is 25 years younger than him. Talk about robbing the cradle!” 

Idiom of the day :- Go Bust

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

When a store or company has no money, it goes out of business. Colloquially, itgoes bust. That makes me think of the time Felix sold balloons at the fair. ‘One by one, my balloons broke!’ he said. ‘In no time at all, my business went bust!’ Today, Felix has a much better job working for a large company. ‘There is no chance of it every going bust!’ he said.

Idiom of the day :- A back number

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

An outdated newspaper or periodical is a back number. ‘I’m researching back number newspapers for an article I’m writing.’  the reporter said. A person is a back number when he has lost his influence or his thinking is considered old-fashioned. ‘No one seeks my opinion anymore,’ Neil sighed. ‘I feel like a back number in this office.’

Idiom of the day :- be up to no good / (To) be up to no good

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

To be planning something bad, mischievous, etc. ex. “I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was up to no good.”

Idiom of the day :- In advance

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

Ahead of time. ex. “In the future, could you let me know about these things in advance?” 

Idiom of the day :- Its Anyone’s Call

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

A competition where the outcome is difficult to judge or predict.

Idiom of the day :- A mine of information

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

While searching for material to write a report Maya discovered a book that proved to be a mine of information. Anything — a book, a person — that is a valuable source of information is a mine of information. A dictionary can be a mine of information. ‘My boss is a mine of information too,’ Maya said.