Not be born yesterday

Idiom: I (he/she, etc.) wasn’t born yesterday

Meaning: Something that you say in order to tell someone that a person is not stupid and cannot be easily deceived

Context #1

Selena: Kelly, this place is a mess! I thought you were going to clean everything up and decorate it for the party tomorrow. That is what you told mom.

Kelly: I did! I’ve been cleaning all day long. I only have a few more things to do. Please back me up on this with mom.

Selena: Seriously? She wasn’t born yesterday. She knows you’ve just been sitting around all day watching the whole season of Game of Thrones again!

Kelly: Well, that show is so addicting. I just couldn’t stop.

Selena: We might as well finish up here before mom gets home.

Context #2

Jennifer: Wait a second….Tommy, what is this on your shirt? It looks like pink lipstick.

Tommy: Huh? Oh no. Is that lipstick? Um….let me think. When I was on the bus today, a woman with really high heels stumbled while she was walking down the aisle and her face fell right on my shirt.

Jennifer: You know what? I wasn’t born yesterday. I’m surprised you couldn’t come up with a better story than that, cheater!

Meaning: In Context 1, Kelly claims that she cleaned everything up for her mother, but it is obvious that she hasn’t done anything. Selena tells Jennifer that her mom will not believe her. In Context 2, Jennifer finds lipstick on her boyfriend Tommy’s shirt and asks him about it. When he makes up a crazy story, she tells him she doesn’t believe him and is not stupid by saying “I wasn’t born yesterday.”

Take (someone) for a ride

Idiom: Taking someone for a ride

Meaning: Making a person believe something that is not true

Context #1 – A salesperson is trying to get Kiki to buy a new diet formula

Salesperson: Welcome to Diet World, where you can find the right formula to lose weight in 2016! How can I help you?

 Kiki: Yes, I saw an ad on TV for this new diet pill called “Diet Pill Slim.” The woman in the commercial lost 50 pounds in one week and she looks great. Is that ad for real?

Salesperson: Yes, it may seem too good to be true, but this new little pill really works! I lost 20 pounds in just 48 hours.

 Kiki: Really? Is that even possible? Wouldn’t that be unhealthy?

Salesperson: Not at all. As you can see, I look great and I feel even better! I think you could lose 10 pounds in just one day if you take this pill.

Kiki: Seriously? Do you know what I think? I think that you are just taking me for a ride. It’s impossible for any pill to do that!

Context #2 – Jackie is inviting her friend to come and visit her hometown

Jackie: Oh, Tommy! It’s been really great getting to know you this semester. You know, I’m going back to my hometown for the break. Would you like to come and visit me? It would be really fun and there is just so much to do! It’s much more exciting than LA!

Tommy: Well, aren’t you from a really small town? What would we do for two weeks?

Jackie: Oh my goodness! There is so much to do there! It’s just like party, party, party every night!

Tommy: Really? But I heard that there is a population of 15 people. How could it just be party, party, party every night? While your hometown sounds like a nice place to relax, I really doubt that it is more exciting  than LA. I think you are taking me for a ride!

Jackie: Well, you don’t have to be so snobbish about it. 

Meaning: In the cartoon, the man is literally asking if the woman can give him a ride, but instead she starts to “take him for a ride” by giving him compliments that are not true. In context 1, the salesperson is making really outrageous claims about what the diet pill can do and Kiki doesn’t believe her. She thinks the salesperson is “taking her for a ride” or making her believe something that is not true. In context 2, Jackie is trying to get Tommy to come to her hometown for two weeks by telling him that her small hometown is much more exciting than LA.  Tommy doesn’t believe it.  

White Christmas

Idiom/Expression: White Christmas - a Christmas day when there is snow on the ground. 

There are a lot of people in the United States who associate the holiday season and Christmas with snow, even if they live in a place where it never snows.  There are nostalgic, old time pictures and images on Christmas decorations and cards with snowy Christmas scenes. These snowy images make people think of a simpler time in an ideal world where everything seems perfect. Many people hope for and talk about a white Christmas along with other holiday traditions such as hanging stockings by the fire and decorating a Christmas tree.  In some places, people gamble each year on if there will be snow or not on Christmas day. 

Context #1 – Two roommates are talking about what to do at Christmas time.

Jeff: I really miss New York at Christmas time. When I was a kid, we used to have a white Christmas every year!

Maggie: Wow! You are so lucky! I’ve lived in California my whole life and I’ve never actually experienced snow, except at Disneyland and that was fake snow.

Jeff: Really? That’s too bad. It’s so nice waking up on Christmas morning and looking outside to see everything covered in a blanket of snow! It’s like a picture you see on a Christmas card!

Maggie: Well, Big Bear is not so far away. Why don’t we go there on Christmas day so that I can see the snow for myself and you can get the white Christmas you are missing here in LA?

Jeff: You know, that is a great idea! I guess we will have a white Christmas after all!

One of the most famous Christmas songs in the United States is "White Christmas," written in January of 1940. Many well-known artists have recorded this song and it is still widely played on the radio during the holiday season in the U.S.

Context #2 – Following are the lyrics from the song “White Christmas.” Read along while you watch the video.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

 Meaning: In context 1, the two roommates decide they want to go out of town to a place where it is snowy so that they can have a white Christmas. In the lyrics for the song “White Christmas,” the singer is nostalgic for the Christmases of the past filled with sleigh bells, children, and snow.  He wishes everyone a Christmas like the happy ones he remembers.

Bah! Humbug!

 

Idiom: Bah! Humbug!    

Meaning: An expression used to show a negative attitude or disgust about the Christmas season. This expression was made famous by the fictional character Ebinizer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens novel 'A Christmas Carol.'

Context: Watch the following video and read along. Donald Duck is trying to wish his uncle, Ebinizer Scrooge, a Merry Christmas. But his uncle really hates Christmas and wants it to be just a regular day.

Scrooge: It’s just another work day and any jackanapes* who thinks else should be boiled in his own pudding!

Donald: Ohhhhh!!

Mickey: But sir, Christmas is a time for giving. A time to be with one’s family.

Scrooge: I say, “Bah! Humbug!”

Donald: I don’t care! I say, “Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!”

Mickey: Well said, Master Fritz! (clapping his hands)

Scrooge: Cratchit (name of Mickey)! What are you doing?

Mickey: Ah, ha ha,  I was just trying to keep my hands warm, sir.

Scrooge: Humph! And what are you doing here, nephew?

Donald: I’ve come to give you a wreath and invite you to Christmas dinner.

Scrooge: Well, I suppose you are going to have plump goose with chestnut dressing? 

Donald: Yep!

Scrooge: And will you have plumb pudding and lemon sauce?

Donald: Yah, by golly!

Scrooge: And candied fruit with spice sugar cakes?

Donald: Yah! Will you come?

Scrooge: Are you daft**, man! You know I can’t eat that stuff! Here’s your wreath back. Now out, out, out!!!

Donald: Ahhhhhh!

Scrooge: Bah! Humbug!

Donald: (opens the door, puts the wreath on the door knob) Merry Christmas!!

Scrooge: And a bah, humbug to you!

*Jacknape: Someone unimportant but disrespectful in manner

**Daft: Silly or Foolish

Explanation: In this scene, Donald Duck is trying to wish his uncle a Merry Christmas, but his uncle response “bah, humbug,” an expression of disgust about the Christmas season. Instead, he rejects his nephew’s Christmas dinner invitation and gift and throws him out of the office. When Donald comes back and tries one more time to say “Merry Christmas,” his uncles responds with bah, humbug, instead of a Christmas greeting.

to tighten one's belt

Idiom: to tighten one's belt (used as a verb)

                    
First Example:

            Tim: Do you want to go to lunch?

            Sally: I brought lunch, but thanks for the invite.

            Tim: Wow! You never bring lunch!

            Sally: Well, Justin lost his job, so we're gonna have to tighten our belts until he finds something new.

            Tim: That's too bad. I hope he finds a new job soon.

Meaning: The expression "to tighten one's belt" means to spend less money. The idiom is most often used when the person is spending less because he or she now has less many, as in the example. Here, Sally explains that her husband Justin lost her job, so she can't go out for lunch.

Second Example:

            Father: Kids, we've decided to buy a new house.

            Son 1: Awesome! Will I get my own room?

            Son 2: I want my own room too!

            Mother: Yes, you'll both get your own rooms.

            Father: But, the mortgage on the new house is more expensive, so we're going to have to tighten our belts. 

            Mother: That means no pizza or going to the movies for a while.

            Son 1: That's OK! I can't wait to see my new room! 

Meaning: In the second example, the father uses the example to explain that the family will have less money because of a larger mortgage payment (so they are making the same amount of money but have more expenses now). Notice that the idiom is commonly used with the modal "have to" (seen in both examples).

to break even

Idiom: to break even (used as a verb)

                    
First Example:

            Manager: I'm sorry, but we won't be able to give that raise you asked for.

            Employee: That's too bad. Can you explain why?

            Manager: Well, the rent for the building went up, and we lost a couple clients. Unfortunately, we barely broke even the last two months.

            Employee: Wow, I didn't realize it was that bad.

            Manager: Well, hopefully this new client will work out and we'll be bringing in more income starting next month.

Meaning: The expression "to break even" means to spend the same amount of money as was earned. In the example, the manager explains that the employee won't be getting a raise because the company "barely broke even," meaning that the company spent what they had earned and had no profits.

Second Example:

            Chris: How was the casino?

            Tania: It was so much fun! You should have come!

            Chris: Did you win any money?

            Tania: Yeah! I made enough to pay for the plane tickets and hotel room, so I basically broke even.

            Chris: Wow, so a free vacation! 

            Tania: Yeah! It would have been nice to make money, but it was still a surprise to break even and still have so much fun.

Meaning: In the second example, Tania "broke even" on her trip, making enough money at the casino to pay for her travel and accommodations. 

Heavy Hitter

Heavy Hitter

Example 1:

Oprah Winfrey is considered a heavy hitter in her field.

Example 2:

Carlos: I’m excited to have Wendy working with us!!

Hoyeon: Why?

Carols: Have you seen her resume? She’s a real heavy hitter!

Meaning: someone who has achieved a lot and is very powerful