American Popular Expressions "G"

                              

get a kick out of (something): to think something is funny, amusing, entertaining, or interesting. She got a big kick out of watching her kids perform in the school play.
get a handle on (something): to understand; to figure something out. Valerie is trying to get a handle onhow well her company did last month in sales.
get a load of this: look at this; this is amusing. Get a load of this! There are a couple of buffalo in that field over there. buffalo
(not) get a word in edgewise: to be able to say something in a conversation. (this is almost always used with the negative) This guy I met at a party dominated the conversation so much that I couldn't get a word in edgewise.
get down to brass tacks: communicate plainly; tell the truth or find the essence of a situation. Harold needs to get down to brass tacks and figure out a new strategy for his internet business.
get in on the ground floor: to be a new employee of a big company or organization. Kumar is happy to get in on the ground floor of the company that he works at. Someday he thinks he'll be able to rise into upper management.
get into hot water: to get into trouble; to have a troubled relationship. Simon got into some hot water with his boss when he forgot to turn in important paperwork.
get into the swing of things: to learn how to do something new; to adapt. He started working at his new job a few months ago, and now he's really starting to get into the swing of things.
get off on the wrong foot: to begin a relationship with a bad experience; to have a bad start. Dora got off on the wrong foot with a coworker, so she's trying to repair the damage.
get something off the ground: to start something; to start a business. They're trying to get a new software company off the ground.
get one's act together: to improve one's bad situation; to figure out a challenging problem and move forward for success. Leroy just can't get his act together. He's 42, he still lives with his parents, and he can't find a job.
get (one's) feet wet: to get some experience. Once Beth got her feet wet in the business of entertainment, she decided to become a talent agent.
get on (one's) nerves: to create disturbance; to cause irritation. Driving to work every day in heavy traffic is getting on Matt's nerves.
get on the bandwagon: to become part of a popular movement--usually used for sports and popular activities; to support someone after a series of successes. Also jump on the bandwagon. Now that the home team has won the division title, George is ready to get on the bandwagon.
get out from under something: to eliminate a problem, such as an abundance of work or debt. Once they get out from under all their debt and save some money, Tony and Lisa plan to buy a house.
get someone's goat: to make someone angry. This constant snowfall is starting to get his goat.
get someone out of one's mind: to try to stop thinking about someone. Harold can't get his old girlfriend out of his mind. He still thinks about her a lot.
get something on someone: to find evidence of wrongdoing; to prove criminal activity. The police finally got something onEddie and took him to jail.
get the ball rolling: to get started; to begin a big project. Sam can't wait to get the ball rollingon his next construction project.
get the lead out: move faster; work harder. The coach told his players to get the lead out when he noticed that they weren't taking their practice seriously. "Come on! Get the lead out!"
get something through (one's) head: to understand; to learn from experience. Todd never got it through his head that a life of crime would result in going to prison.
get under (one's) skin: to bother; to cause discomfort; to feel squeamish. It gets under my skin whenever I find bugs in my house.
get up on the wrong side of the bed: to have a bad day; to feel irritable all day. Wendy must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed today. She's mad at everyone, but no one knows why.
give someone a piece of (one's) mind: to express an opinion. Sometimes this is an expression of anger. He gave the person helping him on the phone a piece of his mind after he received a bill for something he didn't order.
give it (one's) best shot: to try one's best; to work hard at a challenge. Bobby knows that becoming a professional basketball player is not easy, but he's going to give it his best shot.
give someone a break: to help someone out; to offer support. We should stop and give this guy a break. It looks like he needs a ride.
give someone the evil eye: to look at someone in a way that creates fear; to stare at someone with malicious intent. Sarah has been giving her old boyfriend the evil eye all night. She's mad because he broke up with her.
give the benefit of the doubt: to believe that what someone says or claims is true. Tom is such a great boss. He's always willing to give his employees the benefit of the doubt.
give someone the finger: to express anger with your middle finger. (Caution: this is a very offensive gesture in the United States.) Someone gave me the finger today while I was driving, so I gave it right back at him.
give the go-ahead: to tell someone it's okay to do something; to permit activity. Okay. Dave is giving you the go-ahead to move your truck.
give the shirt off of one's back: to be very generous; to share past the limit of one's abilities. Jason was the kind of guy who would give you the shirt of his back. It's too bad he passed away.
go fly a kite: (This expression is used when you are angry at someone. It's similar to "get lost" or "go screw yourself.") Fatima's neighbors told her to go fly a kite when she asked them to turn down their music at night.
go jump in the lake: similar to "go fly a kite." This is an expression of anger or irritation. When a homeless man asked Tina for some money, she told him to go jump in the lake.
go in one ear and out the other: not to listen to what someone says. Jerry refuses to believe that riding a motorcycle is dangerous. It just goes in one ear and out the other.
gone with the wind: something disappears very quickly. After paying the rent and other bills, our paychecks are gone with the wind at the end of the month.
goodness gracious: Wow! (This expression is used when someone is surprised, excited, or upset about something. Goodness gracious! That's a tall building.
goody two-shoes: a person who is always on his or her best behavior; a person who is extremely well-behaved. Sometimes this expression is used in a negative manner as an insult. He got mad at another boy who called him a goody two-shoes, so he hit the boy just to prove that he wasn't so good.
go out of one's mind: to feel like someone is losing control or going crazy; this is often used as an exaggeration. She's going to go out her mind if she can't find a new job.
go out of fashion: a style of clothing, behavior, food, language, etc. is no longer popular; also, out of style. Covering a woman's body from head to toe went out of fashion in the United States many years ago. Now women can wear whatever they want to.
go over someone's head: to go beyond a person in authority, such as a supervisor or manager; to talk to a supervisor's supervisor. She decided to go over her boss's head when he refused to listen to her complaints.
go through the roof: to get really mad. His wife went through the roof when he told her he couldn't stop at the store to pick up some groceries.
go to great lengths: to work very hard at something; to try hard. Isabel has gone to great lengths to learn ballet.
the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence: sometimes we envy the things our neighbors have, but it's often the case that their situation is not as good as we think it is.
great minds think alike: to do or think as another person does. When Brian saw that Claudia had bought the same computing device that he had bought, he said to her, "Great minds must think alike."
grind to a halt: to stop completely; to stop a big project. When Mark got hit on the head with a brick, everything ground to a halt. Construction continued after the ambulance came and took him to the hospital.

American Popular Expressions "F"

                          
 

face the music: face reality; to understand the consequences of one's actions. My boss was caught stealing money from our company. Now he's going to have to face the music for what he did.
face to face: to talk to a person directly and in person. We need to meet face to face to discuss this situation. We can't do it over the phone.
fall over backwards: to make a great effort to do something, usually used when trying to help someone. Every day he falls over backwardstrying to please his customers.
fall between the cracks: to become lose or overlooked in a large system. Many kids who fall between the cracks in school eventually drop out.
fall off the wagon: to drink alcohol once again after stopping; to have an alcohol or drug problem that one returns to. Mark stayed sober for three years before he fell off the wagon.
famous last words: a prediction which turns out to be incorrect; a bad guess. "I don't need to wear a helmet when I skate." Those were Todd's famous last words spoken just before he fell off his skateboard, resulting in a serious head injury.
fate worse than death: a bad situation (usually this expression is used as an exaggeration. ) Margaret's eight-year-old daughter thinks that having to eat asparagus at dinner is a fate worse than death.
feast or famine: to have a lot or nothing; either very successful or suddenly unsuccessful. You never know what kind of money you'll make when working on commission. It's either feast or famine.
a feather in one's cap: a great accomplishment. (This expression comes from Native American culture) Being able to provide food and clothing to the needy in his community is a real feather in his cap.
feel it in one's bones: to believe something is true; to trust in one's own beliefs and ideas very strongly. We were meant to be together. I can feel it in my bones.
a few bricks shy of a load: this expression is used to describe someone who is really dumb. She's a few bricks shy of a load.
fight fire with fire: to solve a problem with a similar problem; to address a strong issue with equal strength. If we want to get rid of the criminals in our neighborhood, we're going to have to fight fire with fire.
fight tooth and nail: to fight very hard for something you believe in. People in our community are going to fight tooth and nail to keep the local school open. It might close if it doesn't get more financial support.
figment of one's imagination: something that a person imagines to be true. The monster hiding under his bed turned out to be a figment of his imagination.
fine and dandy: good; sometimes this expression is used sarcastically. Oh, this is just fine and dandy! My PC just crashed again.
first come, first served: the person or people who are the first to arrive benefit by being early, usually used for shopping and eating. There's a big sale at Herman's Department store tomorrow, but you better go early. Supplies are limited, so it's first come, first served.
a fish out of water: to feel out of place. (A fish is supposed to be in the water. When it is out of water for too long, it dies) When Kevin first went away to college, he felt like a fish out of water because he didn't know anyone. Gradually, he made friends and felt more comfortable.
flat as a pancake: very flat We saw a squirrel today that was run over by a car. It was as flat as a pancake.
a fly in the ointment: a problem; a small problem in contrast to everything else being okay. The new building is all set to open, but there's a fly in the ointment; the air conditioning for the building isn't working yet.
follow in one's footsteps: to do as a parent does in the future; to follow someone, a family member or mentor, in a career. Ashok is bound to follow in his father's footsteps as a leader in his community.
a fool and his money are soon parted: a foolish person can be easily tricked into spending money on something stupid. He paid someone five dollars to catch fish from a bucket, but there's only one small minnow in there. A fool and his money are soon parted.
footloose and fancy-free: to be carefree; not to have responsibilities; to be free from any romantic relationships. After his divorce, he felt footloose and fancy-free, so he started going out to a lot of nightclubs.
a foot in the door: to get started in a career; an entry-level position. Valerie finally got her foot in the dooras a fashion designer.
for all intents and purposes: in reality; actually; for every situation that applies here. (this is a popular expression, but it's very hard to use among people who learn English as a second language.) They've been living together for seven years, so for all intents and purposes they're practically married even though they don't have the legal documents for a marriage.
for better or worse: to enter into a situation knowing the outcome could be good or bad; this is often used in wedding vows. She promised to love her husband and be true to him, for better or worse, when they got married. He died after a long ten-year illness, but she always stayed by his side.
for crying out loud: this expression has many meanings. Some people say it when they're angry; some say it when they're happily surprised; some people say it when they're unhappy. Oh, for crying out loud! I haven't seen these old pictures in years!
for goodness sake: This is an expression of surprise, excitement, concern, anger. The meaning can change depending on the situation. This is a popular expression among older people in the U.S. Oh, for goodness sake. This cucumber isn't any good. It's rotten!
for the heck of it: said when doing something without a good reason; to do something without a purpose. A: Why did she dye her hair purple? B: She said she just did it for the heck of it.
from the bottom of one's heart: usually said as an expression of gratitude and thanks. From the bottom of my heart, I'd like to thank everyone who voted for me.
from the cradle to the grave: from the beginning of a person's life to the end of it. Some countries provide health care for their citizens from the cradle to the grave.
full speed ahead: do what you want to do; nothing is stopping you from doing what you want to do. Now that they have enough money to do their cancer research, it's full speed ahead.