The calm before the storm

Idiom: The calm before the storm

Example 1: It was just before the department store was to open on "Black Friday," the biggest shopping day of the year. The store was very quiet, but the sales clerks knew this was just the calm before the storm. As soon as the doors open, there will be hundreds of customers rushing in to try to grab the best merchandise.

Example 2: The sky was dark full of clouds. The weather report said there was a big rainstorm on its way. The calm before the storm lasted only a short while. In just a few minutes, thunder, lightning, and strong winds began to rattle the small village. 

Meaning: The calm before the storm can be used figuratively (as in Example 1) or literally (as in Example 2). This expression describes a period of quiet and calmness before an anticipated period of exciting or chaos. 

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To bomb something

Idiom: to bomb something

Context #1:

Jim: How did you do on the History final exam yesterday?

Chuck: Actually, I think I bombed it!  I didn't study at all.

Jim: What were you thinking? That exam is like one quarter of our overall grade.

Context #2:

Sally: Can you help me study for the Geometry exam that we have next week?

Cathy: Sure! 

Sally: I am having a hard time in this class and I don't want to bomb the exam.

Cathy: No problem.  Let's meet at Starbucks tonight and I'll help you with it.

Meaning: "to bomb something" means to totally fail. It is most often used in an educational context, but it can also be used for such things like job interviews and projects.  

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