Down-To-Earth

Idiom:  Down-To-Earth; used as an adjective.

First Example:  

“All the boys in Judy’s class love the new girl, Sabrina.  Unlike the other girls who only think about celebrity news and gossip, Sabrina is a very friendly and down-to-earth girl who often values true friendship with others.”

Meaning:  Down-To-Earth refers to people who have a sensible and practical character and/or personality.  In the example above, Sabrina is very popular amongst the boys in her class because she has a very sensible personality and values friendship above celebrity gossip.  This idiom can apply to any person who has a very practical and sensible personality.  This idiom is most often used as an adjective when describing sensible people.

Here is another example:

Second Example:

“Everybody in the company admires the new General Manager, Henry.  Thanks to his leadership and down-to-earth approach to solving problems, every employee was able to get a bonus this year.”

Meaning: In this case, the idiom, Down-To-Earth, serves to describe Henry’s practical and sensible decision-making ability.  Because Henry has a very practical approach to solving problems, the company was able to provide their employees with a bonus for the year.  In this example, the idiom is being used as an adjective.

This idiom is from the book "The Idiom Adventure – Fluency in Speaking and Listening," which is used as supplementary material in LSI’s Intermediate Conversation classes.

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