A bee in her/his/my bonnet

Example 1:

Debbie has been really unhappy recently. I thought she was just busy and maybe a little stressed out. It turns out she’s had a bee in her bonnet about something I said to her last week. She was complaining that she never has money. She goes to school full time, but she still has a lot of free time, so I suggested she get a part-time job instead of going to so many parties. Apparently, she didn’t like that and has been mad at me since then. I was just trying to help!

Example 2:

I really don’t like when people borrow something and “forget” to return it. That has always been a bee in my bonnet.

Explanation:

Imagine wearing a hat (a bonnet) and then imagine a bee inside your bonnet! You would certainly not be comfortable or calm. This expression is generally used to talk about negative feelings. There are a few ways to use a bee in my/his/her bonnet. 

In example 1, Debbie has a bee in her bonnet about something the speaker said. In other words, Debbie is upset/angry about what the speaker said. 

In example 2, the speaker explains that it bothers them when borrowed items are not returned; this is a bee in their bonnet.

Use the verb have to show angry.

Debbie HAS a bee in her bonnet. Debbie is angry.

Use the verb be when talking about something that bothers you.

Littering on the street IS a bee in my bonnet. I don’t like littering. 

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In a daze

Context #1

Jim: Yesterday when we were playing soccer, Mary and I both went to head the ball and we collided.

Sam: Are you ok?

Jim: I was in a daze for a few minutes, but after that I was ok.

Context #2

Bethany: I heard Christine is totally in love with this guy she met at the gym.

Sally: Yeah, I know. She has been walking around in a daze since they met.

Meaning: "in a daze" means to feel a little confused, or not able to concentrate or think clearly.

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To Diss Someone

          

Context #1 – Two guys who like the same girl

Vinnie: Hey, Brad. What's up?

Brad: Oh, hi. I’m just getting ready to go out with my girl.

Vinnie: Nice, dude. Is she in our class?

Brad: Yeah, it's Samantha.

Vinnie: What? Samantha is my girl. 
Brad: Well, not anymore.
Vinnie: No way! She would never go out with a guy who looks like you. You’re so ugly, you have to sneak up on your mirror so you don't scare yourself.

Brad: That's a really bad joke. You are dissing me because you’re just mad that Samantha is with me now.

Vinnie: I’m not joking. If you really want a joke, look in the mirror.

Brad: You can keep dissing me, but Samantha is a with a real man now, Vinnie!

To diss someone: a shortened version of “disrespect,” to purposely disrespect someone, to put someone down, to insult someone    

Context #2 – Two roommates are talking at home

Katrina: What’s wrong Cindy. You look sad.

Cindy: Oh, hey Katrina. I don’t know what to do. This woman at work is dissing me like every day. And I’m not good with a comeback.*

Katrina: Why don’t you tell her to stop? What does she say?

Cindy: She is so subtle about it that I look foolish if I tell her to stop dissing me. She will say things like “Oh no, Cindy, you look so pale today. Are you OK?” She said this to me after I came back from a Hawaii vacation and I looked great with my tan.

Katrina: Well, she is obviously just jealous. Why don’t you diss her back? The next time you see her, get a look of surprise on your face and say something like, “Was anyone else hurt in the accident that did this to you?"

Cindy: Ha, ha, ha!! That would be so funny, but I could never diss someone like that.

Katrina: OK. Well, I guess you will just have to ignore her every time she disses you. Instead, pretend you are talking about her until you have her attention and then just ignore everything she says!

Cindy: Sounds good to me!

Meaning: "To diss someone” is short for “to disrespect someone.” It usually involves insulting someone directly or indirectly. In context 1, Vinnie and Brad are both dating Samantha, so Vinnie starts dissing Brad by insulting his looks. In Context 2, Cindy is being dissed by a woman at work and does not have a good comeback (reply to the critical remark). Katrina gives Cindy an idea of how to diss the woman at work, but Cindy decides to just ignore that person. Please note that dissing someone should not frequently be used in daily situations and people should always be careful. Unless it's a joke, dissing someone could provoke a very extreme reaction in a person.

*Comeback – a quick reply to a critical remark

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To be stoked

Context #1: Marco and Cindy are siblings (brother and sister).

Marco: We have only 5 days left before our three month summer vacation.

Cindy: I know! I can't wait for us to go to Hawaii and surf all summer.

Marco: Me too! I'm so stoked about it.

Cindy: So are mom and dad. They are counting the days.

Marco: So are we!!

Cindy: Hahaha! That's true!

Context #2: Rafael and Juan are classmates

Juan: I'm so worried about the third class!!

Rafael: Why?

Juan: What do you mean "Why?" We have a test on 5 chapters!

Rafael: No, we don't.

Juan: Huh?

Rafael: Weren't you in class yesterday?

Juan: No, why?

Rafael: Professor Smith said that he won't test us until Monday, so we have the weekend to study for it.

Juan: Oh man! I'm so stoked about that. I was freaking out.

Meaning - To be very excited about something

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Pass the buck

Context #1:

Bob (Manager): Hi, Frank! I'll be leaving in about 15 minutes, but here is a list of things I need you to do on your shift. Please make sure all employees are on task. If they are not, you need to have a training meeting with them and do all the documentation for that. Also, Jackie needs to be fired, so please take care of that. Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow!

Frank (assistant manager): Uh, Ok Bob. I'll take care of that tonight.

Frank (on the phone with his wife): Honey, I need to find a new job. Bob, the manager has done it again. The company needs to fire an employee and he just passed the buck to me, like he does every time. He is the manager and he always requires me to do the difficult or unpleasant things. I've had to fire 2 people in the last year, and he's had to do it himself. 

Context #2

Teachers talking together during lunch

Teacher 1: I received a warning notice from the Principal this morning.

Teacher 2: What? Why?

Teacher 1: It seems that the parents of one of my students called to complain about me. They claimed that their son Billy isn't getting good scores on his weekly spelling tests because I am not reviewing or teaching him well enough. 

Teacher 2: That's ridiculous! I did my training with you and I know for a fact that you work hard to teach your students everything they need to know! I really wish parents would stop passing the buck to teachers and start spending more time helping their own children. 

Explanation:

To pass the buck is to pass the blame or responsibility of something negative to someone else. It is most often something negative. 

Use the preposition to to indicate who now has blame/responsibility. 

Ex: Bob passed the buck to Frank; Parents tend to pass the buck to teachers.

In context #1, an employee needs to be fired. Firing an employee is generally a negative and difficult thing to do. Bob did not want to do this, so he assigned this task to Frank even though Bob is the manager.

In context #2, a student's parents are not satisfied with their child's test scores and say it's the teacher's fault. NOT the student's fault and NOT the parent's fault. 

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Eye-popping

Idiom: Eye-popping; used as an adjective

Context #1:

Taylor: Did you see the new Christopher Nolan movie?
Jake: Yeah. You?
Taylor: Yeah, and while I didn't really care for the story, the cinematography was eye-popping! I was not expecting it to look that amazing.
Jake: Yeah, I was blown away by how beautiful it was.

Meaning: The expression "eye-popping" means that something is visually shocking or surprising. In the above example, Taylor uses "eye-popping" to say that something was surprisingly beautiful. It can also be used in a number of other ways, such as when someone wears a particularly revealing outfit, as in the next example:

Context #2:

The actress wore an especially eye-popping outfit to the awards show after party. She was wearing a very short shirt and a blouse that was rather low-cut. A few critics called it a scandal, but others said she looked gorgeous.

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Pay it forward

Context #1  

John: Have you heard what people have started doing at the Starbucks drive through?  The person in front is paying for whatever the people behind them have ordered.

Steve: Yeah, I've heard about that happening. I guess people are just trying to be kind to each other.

John: That's right. It's a really cool way to pay it forward.  

Context #2

Jenny: Look someone left their wallet in the classroom.

Christine: What should we do?

Jenny: Let's take it to the school's office. I know they have a lost and found. Maybe they can even find the owner.

Christine:That's a good idea. I'm glad you're doing the right thing and paying it forward.

Meaning: "pay it forward" is an idiom that has come into use relatively recently.  It is used when someone does something kind or morally right knowing that if they do good, then in the future someone else will be kind or do good to them. If you are kind, you will receive kindness in the future. If you do bad to others, something bad will happen to you in the future. 

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