American body idioms

Question 1

I’m all ears

Answer 1

The person is prepared and ready to listen to what you have to say

Question 2

Give me a hand

Answer 2

please help or assist me with something

Question 3

Get it off your chest

Answer 3

share information about something that has been bothering you

Question 4

Pick your brain

Answer 4

to ask questions to find out someone’s thoughts or opinions on a topic

Question 5

Go behind one’s back

Answer 5

to sneak and do something without telling someone who should be aware

Question 6

bundle of nerves

Answer 6

very nervous or anxious about something

Question 7

Green thumb

Answer 7

to be good at gardening; having good skills or luck with growing flowers or vegetables

Question 8

Cry your heart out

Answer 8

Means to cry very hard about something or someone. 
(Ex. I cried my heart out when he broke up with me.)

Question 9

Pat on the back

Answer 9

Means a gesture done to recognize or thank someone. 
(Ex. I gave him a pat on the back for all his hard work.)

Question 10

Pull one’s leg

Answer 10

Means to joke or tease someone. 
(Ex. I was just pulling your leg, I am not giving away your new bike)

Question 11

Sweet tooth

Answer 11

Means to crave something sugary or sweet. 
(Ex. I bought tons of candy because I have such a sweet tooth today)

Question 12

See eye to eye

Answer 12

Means to agree on something. 
(Ex. His dad and him never saw eye to eye on any matters relating to politics.)

Question 13

Look down your nose

Answer 13

Means to act like you are better than someone else. 
(Ex. She is so arrogant and looks down her nose at everyone she meets.)

Question 14

Foot in mouth

Answer 14

Means to say or do something that offends someone else. 
(Ex. He put his foot in his mouth when he called her the wrong name for the second time that day.)

Question 15

Cost an arm and a leg

Answer 15

Means that something is very expensive. 
(Ex. The tires on my car cost me an arm and a leg to get replaced.)

Question 16

Give the cold shoulder

Answer 16

Means to ignore someone. 
(Ex. I could tell she was giving me the cold shoulder since she didn’t even say hello at the party.)

Question 17

Get off my back

Answer 17

Means to tell someone to stop criticizing or telling you what to do. 
(Ex. She told him to get off her back and stop lecturing her on what she wanted to do with her life.)

Question 18

Play it by ear

Answer 18

Means to do something without preparing for it. 
(Ex. We had no plans for the evening so we were just going to play it by ear and see where we ended up.)

Question 19

Cold feet

Answer 19

Means to have second thoughts about something. 
(Ex. The groom got cold feet and didn’t show up for his wedding.)

Question 20

A sight for sore eyes

Answer 20

Means you are happy to see someone. 
(Ex. I haven’t seen my cousin for years and she was a sight for sore eyes when we finally reunited over the summer.)

Question 21

Off the top of my head

Answer 21

Means to spontaneously say something. 
(Ex. Off the top of my head, I would say the answer was one hundred.)

Question 22

Keep your chin up

Answer 22

Means to be hopeful or happy. 
(Ex. I told her to keep her chin up and try out for the team again next year.)

Question 23

Bite your tongue

Answer 23

Means to force yourself not say something. 
(Ex. I had to bite my tongue when she was claiming credit for the team’s hard work.)

Question 24

Drag your feet

Answer 24

Means to do something slowly or reluctantly. 
(Ex. He was dragging his feet over ending the relationship, as he didn’t want to hurt her.)

Question 25

Cross your fingers

Answer 25

Means to hope for a positive result or outcome. 
(Ex. I was crossing my fingers that his test results were fine.)