Idioms/Body

You will have egg on your face if you've said or done something wrong, and it's made you feel embarrassed or stupid.

You can say your hands are tied if you're prevented from doing something that you'd normally have the power or the authority to do.

If your heart goes out to someone, you feel great sympathy for them.

If your heart is in the right place, you try to do the right thing, even if things don't always work out for the best.

If your heart isn't in something you're doing, you don't really want to do it.

If you're having a bad hair day, everything seems to be going wrong for you.

If you have a gut feeling, you sense something about a person or a situation, without knowing why, but you're sure what you sense is true.

If you have a head start, you start something ahead of others or with an advantage over others.

If you get a kick in the teeth, something bad happens to you or you feel that you've been treated poorly.

If you give someone a knuckle sandwich, you punch them.

You can say someone is a pain in the neck if they annoy you, or something is a pain in the neck if you don't like doing it.

You've given someone a pat on the back if you've told them they've done something well, or done a good job.

You can say something is a shot in the arm if it gives a person or an organisation renewed energy or enthusiasm.

If something or someone is a sight for sore eyes, you are glad to see them.

If you have a skeleton in the cupboard, or in the closet, you have a secret in your past which could damage you if it became known.

If someone gives you a slap on the wrist, they give you a mild punishment for making a mistake or doing something wrong.

If you make a slip of the tongue, you make a small mistake when speaking.

You can say a weight is off your shoulders if you no longer have to worry about something or deal with something difficult.

An Achilles' heel is a weakness that could result in failure.

You can say something's an eye-opener if it's made you realize something you hadn't been aware of before.

If you do something behind someone's back, you do it without letting them know about it.

If you bite your tongue, or hold your tongue, you force yourself not to say something you really want to say.

If someone breaks your heart, they cause you a lot of emotional pain by ending a romantic relationship, or by deeply hurting you in some other way.

If something becomes well-known by word of mouth, it becomes well-known because people are telling each other about it, and not because of advertising or other marketing tools.

If someone is caught red-handed, they are caught in the act of doing something wrong such as cheating or stealing.

If you come to your senses, you see things clearly and begin to act sensibly after a period of confusion and unwise behaviour.

If you dig your heels in, you stubbornly resist something or refuse to change.

If you drag your feet, or drag your heels, you do something slowly because you don't really want to do it.

If you have your ear to the ground, you know what's really going on in a situation.

If something is easy on the eye, it is pleasant to look at.

If something needs elbow grease, it needs a lot of hard physical work.

If someone has eyes like a hawk, they have very good eyesight and they notice everything.

If people meet face to face, they meet in person in the real world.

If you are feeling the pinch, you're finding it harder to survive on your income.

If you're still finding your feet, you're still adjusting to a new place or a new situation.

If you get it off your chest, you tell somebody about something that's been bothering you and you've been thinking about a lot.

If you get off on the wrong foot, you start something poorly, or begin with a mistake.

If someone goes over your head, they go to someone with more authority than you in order to get something that you would normally grant, possibly because they think you won't give it to them.

If you grease someone's palm, you pay them a bribe.

Something that someone has said is hard to swallow if it's difficult to believe.

If you have a heart-to-heart with someone, you have an honest talk and share your feelings with each other.

If you have your hands full, you're busy.

If someone has their head in the clouds, they are out of touch with the everyday world and can be unrealistic or naive as a result.

You can say "heads will roll" if people are going to lose their jobs after making a mistake.

You can hold your head high, or hold your head up high, if you feel proud of something.

If you say "it's written all over your face", you're saying that the expression on someone's face is showing their true feelings or thoughts.

If you have itchy feet, you feel the need to go somewhere different or do something different.

If two people or things are joined at the hip, they're so closely linked as to be almost inseparable.

If someone jumps down your throat, or jumps all over you, they strongly criticise you or scold you.

You jump out of your skin when something suddenly shocks you and your whole body jumps.

If you keep an eye on someone, you make sure you know what they're doing.

If you keep your nose clean, you stay out of trouble by making sure you don't do anything wrong.

If you lend someone a hand, you help them.

If you let your hair down, you enjoy yourself by doing whatever you feel like doing and not worrying about what other people might think.

If you lose face, your status falls and you aren't respected as much as you were.

If you lose your head, you become very angry about something.

You can say there's more to something than meets the eye if it's more complex, more important or more interesting than it seems at first.

If something is music to your ears, it's just what you want to hear.

If two competitors are running neck and neck in a race, they are almost level.

If you have nerves of steel, you are very brave and not many things make you scared or nervous.

If you give someone information off the top of your head, you do so from memory, without checking beforehand.

You can say "on the one hand" before describing one of two contrasting ideas, options, or opinions, and then say "on the other hand" before describing the other one.

If you say you're on your last legs, it can mean you're close to exhaustion, or it can mean you're close to death. If a thing is on its last legs, it's close to breaking or wearing out.

If you pay through the nose for something, you pay more than the usual price for it.

If you pick somebody's brains, you ask them for detailed information or ideas about something.

If you play it by ear, you don't plan ahead but you do whatever seems best at the time depending on the situation.

If you pull someone's leg, you play a joke on them by saying something that isn't true.

If you put someone's nose out of joint, you upset them by not treating them with as much respect or consideration as they think they deserve.

If you put your foot in it you say or do the wrong thing and usually make matters worse.

If you put your foot in your mouth you say or do the wrong thing and usually make matters worse.

If you rack your brains, or rack you brain, you try hard to remember something or think of a solution to a problem or a puzzle.

If you see eye to eye with someone, you totally agree with them about something.

If you shoot yourself in the foot, you harm yourself in some way by doing something stupid or making a silly mistake.

If someone sticks out like a sore thumb, or stands out like a sore thumb, everyone notices them because they're not the same as the people around them.

If someone or something is having teething problems, or teething troubles, they're having problems during the early stages of something.

If you've got the gift of the gab, or the gift of gab, you have the natural ability to talk in a way that people find entertaining or persuasive.

If you have the upper hand, you have the advantage or you're in the stronger position in a contest or a conflict.

If you are up in arms, you are angry about something that you think is unfair or wrong.

If you're up to your neck in something, or up to your eyeballs in something, you've got too much of it and it's become a problem.

If you vent your spleen, you express your anger.

If you vote with your feet, you show your opinion of something by acting in a certain way, such as by buying something if you like it, or by not buying it if you don't like it.

If you show something warts and all, you show it exactly as it is without trying to hide any of its faults or weaknesses.

If you wash your hands of something that you were involved in, you decide to stop being involved in it after losing your interest or belief in it.

If you go weak at the knees, you feel an emotion so strongly that it makes you feel unstable on your feet.

If you wear your heart on your sleeve, you show your emotions openly and you don't try to hide your feelings.

If someone is wet behind the ears, they don't have much experience of life.

If you work your socks off, or work your tail off, you work very hard.

If someone is yellow-bellied, they are not brave, or they are cowardly.

Someone is young at heart if they still feel young even though they're getting old.

If you say "young blood", you mean young people who have fresh, new ideas and lots of energy.