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ENGLISH IDIOMS & IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS
(idioms used in
everyday conversational English, with their meaning)
BACK - BODY - SHOULDERS - SPINE
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Idiom |
Meaning |
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Back - Belly |
| Get off my back! |
To tell somebody to get off your
back means to ask them to stop
finding faults or criticizing you. |
Have your back
to the
wall |
If
you have your back to the wall, you are in serious difficulty.
"With his back to the wall, the supplier had to accept the deal." |
| Keep your
back covered |
If you do something in case a problem arises later
for which you
might be blamed, you keep your back covered.
"You'd better make a
copy of that letter to keep your back covered." |
| Stab
in the back |
If someone stabs you in the back, they betray you by doing
something
harmful to you when you thought you could trust them.
"His best friend stabbed him in the back by voting against him." |
| Go belly up |
If a business or project goes belly up, it is
unsuccessful or goes
bankrupt.
"The restaurant went
belly up before the end of the first year." |
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Body |
| Over my
dead body |
This expression is used when you absolutely refuse to allow
someone to
do something.
"Mum, can I get my nose pierced?" "Over my dead body!" |
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Shoulders |
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A chip on the shoulder |
If someone has a chip on their
shoulder, they feel resentful
because they feel they are being treated unfairly, especially because
of
their background, their sex or their colour. |
Give someone the
cold
shoulder |
To give somebody the cold
shoulder means to deliberately ignore
them.
"After giving my opinion, he gave me the cold shoulder." |
| Old head on
young shoulders |
This expression is used to refer to a child or young person who
thinks and
expresses themselves like an older more-experienced
person.
"When she heard Emily warning her little brother to stay out of trouble,
her
mum thought : "That's an old head on young shoulders". |
| Rub
shoulders |
If you rub shoulders with someone, you have an
opportunity to
meet and talk to a person who is wealthy, famous or
distinguished.
"In her job in public relations, she sometimes rubs shoulders with
famous people." |
| Shoulder
surfing |
The practice of looking over somebody's shoulder when they are
using a computer, cash dispenser or other electronic device in order
to obtain personal information (identification, account number,
password, etc.) is called
shoulder-surfing. |
Put
your shoulder to the
wheel |
If you put your shoulder to the wheel, you start putting
a lot of
effort into a difficult task.
"We'll have to put our shoulders to the wheel to get the store ready
for
the opening day." |
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Spine |
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Send a shiver down one's spine |
If something sends a shiver down your spine, it makes you feel
anxious, nervous or excited.
"That song always sends a shiver down my
spine." |
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