To have an axe to grind

Example:

I have an axe to grind with my friend. I lent him $100, and he said he'd pay me back the next day, but it's already been over two weeks. The next time I see him, I'm not going to be in a good mood when we talk.

Meaning: This expression means that someone in the past treated you poorly, and you have a problem with what the did, and you are angry at them.

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To fall for someone

Example 1:

Veronica: I want to tell you something, but please don’t run away.

Charles: Is it pretty bad?  I’m not sure, but okay tell me.

Veronica: I have fallen for you. 

Charles: Really?  I fell for you too.

Example 2:

Nick: I’m not happy that my sister is dating someone I hate.  It’s just not fair.

Every: What?  Your sister fell for that crazy guy from the concert.  Not good.

Explanation:

To Fall For Someone means to fall in love with a person.  In the first example, both Veronica and Charles liked each other and decided to confess.  In the second example, Nick was upset that his sister made poor choice in men, as his friend Emery described him as “crazy guy.”

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To Lose One's Train of Thought

Idiom: To lose one's train of thought means to forget what one was talking or thinking about.

Context #1 – Two students talking after history class

Mitzi: Ms. Cranston is so strange! Did you see what happened today?

Valerie: No, I wasn't in class today. What happened?

Mitzi: So she was in the middle of giving the lecture. A student in the front raised his hand and asked a question. It seemed like the student's question made Ms. Cranston lose her train of thought because after she answered the student's question, she just stood there for like two minutes saying nothing and staring into space. It was so weird!

Valerie: Mitzi, you are new in the class. I had Ms. Cranston last year and she always loses her train of thought when students ask questions. She can't seem to get back to where she was in the lecture.

Mitzi: Really? Wow, that's too bad for her. Maybe we should try to help remind her when this happens.

Valerie: Well, you could try!

Context #2: Two friends are talking about a weekend trip

Cassie: Hi Tabitha. How was your weekend?

Tabitha: Oh, it was great! Tom and I went camping in the woods and we had such a strange experience at night. It was late and we were setting up the tent and getting ready for bed. Tom had just finished putting away our hiking gear when......

Cassie: Wait a minute! Where did you go camping? Was it near here or did you have to drive far?

Tabitha: What? No, it was at Mt. Baldy which is not very far away. Ummmm.....Oh Cassie, don't interrupt. Now I've lost my train of thought. What was I saying?

Cassie: You were saying that you were getting ready for bed and Tom was putting away the hiking gear.

Tabitha: Oh, right. He was putting away the hiking gear when all of a sudden we heard a loud noise and then a growl! We saw a bear right there in front of us and we were so scared. But then the bear just turned around and went back into the woods.

Cassie: Wow! You were lucky!

Explanation: “To lose one's train of thought" means to forget what one was talking or thinking about. In context 1, the teacher, Ms. Cranston, often loses her train of thought (or forgets what she was lecturing about) when students interrupt with questions. In context 2, Tabitha lost her train of thought when Cassie interrupted her with a question.

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A Ripoff

Context #1

Jim: Wow!  Look at the ticket prices for the Jay-Z concert.  The cheapest tickets in the seats way up at the top are over $200!

David: That's a ripoff!

Context #2

Sara: I need to get my oil changed, but the place I went to was going to charge me $100.

Christine: Don't do it!  That's a ripoff!  You should try somewhere else.

Meaning: "ripoff" is a noun, and it is used for any time something is unreasonably expensive.  Sometimes it's because something is just too expensive, and sometimes it's because people are being dishonest and trying to take money from the customers or consumers.

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A miss is as good as a mile

Idiom: A miss is as good as a mile - A near miss is still a miss and is no better than missing by a big margin. In other words, losing is still losing.

Context #1

Timothy: Hi, Samantha. What’s wrong?

Samantha: I feel so bad because my basketball team played for the championship last night and we lost. It was our big chance and we failed!

Timothy: What was the final score?

Samantha: It was 82-83 in overtime. We missed a free throw at the very end and the other team won by a point.

Timothy: Well, it sounds like the game was really close and your team played well.

Samantha: Does the score really matter? A miss is as good as a mile. Losing a game by one point is still losing.

Timothy: I see your point.

Context #2

Sal:  Good Morning, Mr. Smith. I’m so sorry I’m late.

Mr. Smith: This is the third time in a week, and we really needed you today in the meeting. Everyone else from the department was there.

Sal: I only missed the train by one minute! It was pulling out of the station just as I arrived. I almost made it. So then I had to wait another hour for the next train.

Mr. Smith: Well, a miss is as good as a mile. Being late for the train one minute is the same as being late an hour. You still missed it. You need to make a greater effort to be on time.

Sal: You are right. It won’t happen again.

Meaning: A close miss is still a miss, even if it’s only by a small margin. In context 1, Samantha’s basketball team lost the championship by 1 point, but they still lost, so the margin didn’t really matter. In context 2, Timothy only missed the train by one minute, but he had to wait one hour for the next train. Therefore, there was no difference in missing the train by one minute or one hour. He was still late.

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Bite off more than you can chew

Example 1: 

Christina: What's wrong?​ You look so stressed out​!

Adam: I am. I have 4 homework assignments tonight, a math test tomorrow, and I have to memorize my lines for the school play this weekend. Plus, I told my neighbor I would help her paint her house tomorrow!

Christina: Wow, that is too much! I think you bit off more than you can chew. 

Adam: You're right. I shouldn't have accepted so much responsibility, there's no way that I can do it all by myself.

 

Example 2:

Chase: How is your new job?

Austin: It's OK, but I'm a little bit nervous. Today was my first day, and my boss already assigned me 3 important projects. 

Chase: Wow, does he know that you don't have any experience?

Austin: I was afraid to tell her because I wanted to impress her. I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew. 

Chase: Maybe you can ask one of your coworkers for help so you don't have to do all the work by yourself!

Meaning: To try to do more than you are able to do; To try to do something that is too difficult for you.

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Be a sitting duck

Example 1: 

Jin Young: How was your trip last weekend?

Dori: Not so good. Someone broke into my car and stole my bags!

Jin Young: Oh no! What happened?

Dori: Well, I was driving to my hotel, but somehow I got lost. I was in a bad neighborhood, I didn't know how to get around, and my cell phone had no service so I couldn't use my map!

Jin Young: Wow, it sounds like you would be an easy target for a robber.

Dori: Yeah, and then, my car broke down in the middle of the street! I was a sitting duck.  When I got out of the car to try to fix it, the burglar took my bags from my backseat. It was so easy for him!

Example 2: 

During the war, the two armies fought each other by firing weapons across an open field. One night, a soldier started sleepwalking toward the middle of the field. When the sun rose, he was a sitting duck, sitting alone with no weapons in the field!

Meaning: Something that is easy to attack; someone unprotected and vulnerable

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To have a sweet tooth

Context #1

Sara: Would you like a piece of this chocolate cake? It's so good!

Jim: No thank. I really don't have much of a sweet tooth.

Context #2

Cathy: When I was a little I ate too much candy. I had a lot of cavities.

Tom: I think that's pretty normal. Kids usually have a sweet tooth.

Meaning: "to have a sweet tooth" is an expression that means someone likes to eat sweet things like cookies, candy, cake, and other desserts.

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Make Yourself at Home

Idiom: Make Yourself at Home: Make yourself comfortable in one's house and do not be so formal.

Context #1 

A friend is visiting his classmate’s home for the first time

Mark: Hey, Mannie! I’m so glad you came. Please come in and make yourself at home.

Mannie: Hi, Mark. Thank you. Umm…where should I sit?

Mark: Why are you being so formal? Please, sit anywhere you would like. Also, if you want anything to eat or drink, feel free to go into the kitchen and get it.

Mannie: Thanks, again.

Mark: Don’t mention it. My house is your house!

Context #2 

Two roommates talking about a visitor after she left

Cassandra: Thank goodness Sherry is gone! Can you even believe how she acted while visiting our home?

Tabitha: It was so outrageous! She just made herself at home like she owned the place.

Cassandra: Did you see her just open the fridge and take out that bottle of wine without even asking us? She must have poured herself at least two glasses!

Tabitha: Unbelievable. We aren’t inviting her over again. I don’t like it when people we don’t know very well act so casually around us. I mean, we should be good friends before she starts making herself at home and drinking all our wine.

Cassandra: I agree.

Explanation: “Make yourself at home” means for someone to be comfortable in another person’s house and to not act so formally. In context 1, Mark knows Mannie very well from class and encourages him to “make himself at home” and to act in a less formal way. This is typically how we use this idiom. However, in context 2, Cassandra and Tabitha are upset that Sherry, a person they did not know very well, just “made herself at home” or acted really casually in their house. It was not appropriate for Sherry to act this way since she was not asked to make herself at home and she did not know Tabitha and Cassandra very well. 

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Make a Mountain out of a Molehill

Idiom: To make a mountain out of a molehill – to make something seem bigger in importance than what it really is; to exaggerate the importance of something that is not very important

Context #1 

Two co-workers are talking during their break

Dan: What’s wrong, Juan? You look upset.

Juan: Oh, I’m OK. It’s just Bob, my boss is visiting from head office today. He took me into the conference room for a private 30-minute meeting and practically yelled at me the entire time.

Dan: Really? I can’t imagine why since you are the perfect employee.

Juan: He said that I had too many papers on my desk and that I need to put them away so that my desk doesn’t look so messy.

Dan: Seriously? That’s so crazy. Well, you know Bob, he always makes a mountain out of a molehill.

Juan: Yes, he does. What small thing will he find the next time he visits?

Context #2  

Two roommates arguing

Samira:  Umm, Polly. Look at this mess!

Polly: What mess? What are you talking about?

Samira: The cushions on the sofa are crooked and the blanket is not even folded!

Polly: You are making a mountain out of a molehill, Samira! The cushions don’t have to be perfectly straight all the time and blanket doesn’t always need to be folded. That’s not natural when you have people using the sofa every day.

Samira: Well, it just takes a few minutes to straighten everything out.

Polly: That’s just weird. I live in the normal world, so I’m leaving everything like this.

Meaning: To make a mountain out of a molehill means to exaggerate the importance of something that is not important at all.  In context 1, Juan, a model employee, is upset because his boss yelled at him for leaving a few papers on his desk (something not important to his job). In context 2, Samira is demanding that the cushions on the couch always be straight and the blanket always folded. Polly thinks that is asking too much, or that Samira is exaggerating the importance of the situation.

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Horse of a different color

Example 1:

Jason: I was looking to ask May out on Friday. What do you think?

Freddy: Finally, you keep talking about her but you never actually do anything about it.

Jason: It’s not so much that I am afraid of asking her out; it’s her brother I’m worried about. That’s a horse of a different color. He’s always intimidating people asking his sister out.

Freddy: Yeah, good luck with that.

   

Example 2:

Alexa: Do you think we should go to Europe like we planned? Or should we go to Asia?

Axel: Whoa, going to Asia? That’s a horse of a different color. I think you should really consider where you really want to go because Europe and Asia are two very different places.

Explanation:

A horse of a different color means that something or someone are completely different things or choices. In the first example, Jason was trying to explain May and May’s brother as completely different people with different personalities to deal with. Although the two people are siblings, they are different in many ways.  In the second example, it seems that Alexa was initially thinking about visiting Europe, but after further consideration, she began to wonder about Asia. Axel explains that they are completely different places and that she should really consider the choices before making a decision. 

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10 Uses of "Hot"

In honor of the weather in Los Angeles this week, here are ten different ways Americans use the word "hot."

1. at a very high temperature; capable of burning

Wife: Be careful near the stove! It's hot. I just cooked something.

Husband: Thanks for the warning! I wouldn't want to burn myself.

2. at a temperature higher than normal

Mom: Your forehead is so hot!

Son: Does that mean I don't have to go to school?

Mom: With a fever like that, you have to go back to bed.

3. spicy

Mina: I love Thai food. I'm going to order "drunken noodles" very hot.

Tim: I can't eat anything too spicy. Can we order it medium?

4. intense emotion

Robert: Wow! Did you see Tina yell at that guy in the parking lot?

Michelle: Yeah! I didn't realize she had such a hot temper.

5. popular

Ingrid: Did you get Beyoncé tickets?

Todd: I couldn't. She's so hot right now, they sold out instantly.

6. causing a lot of new interest

George: How was Coachella?

Kimberly: It was amazing. And I saw the hottest band early Saturday afternoon. Everyone was talking about their performance the rest of the day. I think they're going to be huge in a couple years.

7. stolen

Jason: So Steve just called me from jail. He got arrested.

Karen: Really? What happened?

Jason: He was with a friend who was driving a hot car.

Karen: Did Steve know it was stolen?

Jason: I don't think so. Want to go with me to bail him out of jail?

8. attractive

Karla: Your trainer is so hot! He's gorgeous!

Hailey: Why do you think I've been coming to the gym so much lately?

9. attracted to

Hailey: Remember my trainer?

Karla: The gorgeous one? How could I forget?

Hailey: Turns out, he's hot for me too. We're going on a date tonight.

Karla: I'm so jealous! Have fun!

10. very good (often used with "not" in a negative way)

Nicole: How are you feeling?

Eric: Not so hot. I think I'm going to take today off work and go to the doctor.

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