Idioms/American

If you give a ballpark figure or a ballpark estimate, you give a number which you think is fairly close to the actual one.

A done deal is an agreement or a decision that is final.

If an amount is a drop in the bucket, it's a very small portion of the amount that's needed.

If someone has a new lease on life, they have a new enthusiasm for living.

If you're a quick study, you can learn new things quickly.

If you have an ax to grind with someone, you have a problem with them, or a complaint against them, which you'd like to discuss.

If you get an even break, you get a fair opportunity to succeed in your ambition or to achieve your goals.

If you're at loose ends, you feel restless and unsettled because you don't have anything to do.

If someone beats the rap, they avoid being found guilty of a crime.

If you're behind the eight ball, you're in a difficult or dangerous position.

If you can't see the forest for the trees, you can't see the whole situation clearly because you're looking too closely at small details, or because you're too closely involved.

If you know what's going down, you know what's happening in a situation.

If you hit the hay, or hit the sack, you go to bed.

If you jockey for position, you try to get yourself in a good position in relation to others who're competing for the same opportunity or the same goal.

People who try to keep up with the Joneses are people who feel it's important to show that they're as successful as others (such as their rich neighbours, "The Joneses").

If you leave well enough alone, or let well enough alone, you don't try to improve or change something that's already good enough.

You can say "No way!" when you want to strongly reject an offer, a request, or a suggestion.

If something is right down your alley, or right up your alley, it would be perfect for you or ideal for your skills and interests.

If you are the new kid on the block, you are the newest person in a workplace or in an educational institute, or any other place or organization.

If something is done under the table, it's done secretly, usually because it's illegal or unethical.

Journalism in which sensational stories are used to boost sales, or biased reporting is used to change the reader's views on an issue. Both of these are unethical.

If something is given zero tolerance, it won't be accepted even once.

A zero-sum game is a situation in which any gain by one side or person is at the expense of a loss to another side or person involved in the situation.