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ENGLISH IDIOMS & IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS
(idioms used in
everyday conversational English, with their meaning)
ARMS - ELBOW
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Idiom |
Meaning |
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Arms |
| Arm of the law |
This expression refers to the extent to which
the authority or power
of the law extends.
"He fled to South America hoping to escape the arm of the law." |
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Chance one's arm
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If you chance your arm, you decide to do something even
though
there is little hope of success.
"Tony knew there was little hope of getting into Harvard but
he decided
to chance his arm anyway." |
| Cost an arm and
a leg |
If something costs an arm and a leg,
it is very expensive!
"The new house cost us an arm and a leg, but we have no regrets." |
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Give your right
arm |
If you say "I'd give my right arm for that", you mean
that you want
it a lot and would do almost anything to obtain it.
"I'd give my right arm to have a apartment on Central Park." |
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Up in arms |
If you are up in arms
about something, you are very angry.
"The population was up in arms over the demolition of the
old theatre." |
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At arm's length |
If you keep someone at arm's length, you do not
allow yourself to
become too friendly with them.
"It's not easy to become friends with Sophie; she tends to keep
everyone
at arm's length." |
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Elbow |
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More power to your elbow! |
This is said to express praise or encouragement to someone for doing
something.
"I've left my job and I'm going to work free-lance from now on."
"Well,
more power to your elbow!" |
| Use elbow
grease : |
If you
use elbow grease, you need energy and strength to do
physical
work such as cleaning or polishing.
"It took a considerable amount of elbow grease to
renovate the house." |
| Elbow
room |
If you need
some elbow room, you need more space to move.
"We shared a small office where neither of us had enough elbow room." |
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