CHANEL NUMBER 1: BODY PARTS IDIOMS/EXPRESSIONS (I)

BRIGDING THE GAP

mouth the words

to form words with the lips without making any sound:

It looks to me as if the singers are only mouthing the words .

thumb a lift

to stand near the edge of a road and hold out your hand with the thumb raised as a signal for a vehicle to stop and take you somewhere:

thumb a lift to We thumbed a lift to London.

face up to sth

deal with sth

head for somewhere

go to somewhere

toe the line

to do what you are ordered or expected to do:

toe the party line Ministers who wouldn't toe the party line were swiftly got rid of.

foot the bill

to pay the cost of something:

His parents footed the bill for his college tuition.

elbow your way to

to push someone rudely with your elbows so that you can move or have more space:

elbow your way to He elbowed his way to the front of the crowd.

shoulder the blame/burden/etc.

to accept that you are responsible for something bad or difficult:

It is women who mainly shoulder responsibility for the care of elderly and disabled relatives.

have (got) to hand it to someone

If you say you have (got) to hand it to someone you mean that they have been very successful or skilful:

I mean you've got to hand it to her, she's brought up those three children all on her own.

the back of beyond

a place far away from any big town:

They live in some village in the back of beyond.

not have the heart to do something

to feel unable to do something because you feel it would be unkind:

She asked me to go with her and I didn't have the heart to refuse.

pick sb’s brains

to ask someone who knows a lot about a subject for information or their opinion:

I was picking Simon's brains about which computer to buy.

put on a brave face

to behave as if a problem is not important or does not worry you:

She seems all right but I think she's just putting on a brave face.

play it by ear

to decide how to deal with a situation as it develops, rather than acting according to plans made earlier:

We can't make a decision yet. Let's just play it by ear.

be down in the mouth

to be sad

put your foot in it

to say something by accident that embarrasses or upsets someone:

I really put my foot in it – I asked her if Jane was her mother, but she said Jane is her sister.

set foot in somewhere

to go to a place:

He refuses to set foot in an art gallery.

keep a straight face

to manage to stop yourself from smiling or laughing:

She tried to keep a straight face but, unable to contain herself, burst into laughter.

stick your neck out

to take a risk

save/lose face

to keep people's respect for you and avoid embarrassment:

We need to navigate a middle way through the crisis that allows all sides to save face.

to make yourself seem stupid or cause other people to stop respecting you:

He thinks he would lose face if he admitted the mistake.

chin up

something you say to someone in a difficult situation in order to encourage them to be brave and try not to be sad:

Chin up! It'll soon be the weekend.

by the skin of sb’s teeth

If you do something by the skin of your teeth, you only just succeed in doing it:

He escaped from the secret police by the skin of his teeth.

stomach

to be able to accept an unpleasant idea or watch something unpleasant:

He can't stomach the idea that Peter might be the next chairman.

a pain in the neck

someone or something that is very annoying:

a real pain (in the neck) That child is a real pain in the neck.

thumb through

to turn the pages of a book, magazine, or a document quickly and only read small parts of it:

"Have you read the report?" "Well, I thumbed through it quickly while I was eating breakfast."

down at heel

wearing old clothes, or in a bad condition, because of not having much money:

She had a decidedly down-at-heel appearance.

He worked in a down-at-heel café.

on account of

because of (formal)

get your back up

to annoy someone:

Just ignore him - he's only trying to put your back up.