about to :   "The plane is about to take off." ready to, going to

agree with :  "This food doesn't agree with me.  It makes me sick."  suit, have a good effect

ahead of time :  "I will help you with your work if you let me know ahead of time." before, in advance

all at once :  "The car accident happened all at once." suddenly

bad actor :  "The horse is a bad actor.  It kicks anyone who goes near." always misbehaving

bad blood :  "There was bad blood between the two men." an unfriendly feeling, hate

be against :  "He was against his son's plan to buy a car." He was opposed; didn't agree.

be back :  "I'm going to the store.  I'll be back in an hour." return; come back; get back

be out of :  "I wanted to buy some of my favourite cookies, but the store was out of them." not have; lack; run out of

be out of pocket :  "The company paid for his trip to learn more about his job so he wouldn't be out of pocket." spend money of one's own

beside the point :  "What he liked or didn't like was beside the point." having little or nothing to do with the matter being discus

bet your boots on :  "You can bet your boots that our team will win." depend on it, be sure

better late than never : "We don't mind if you were late because of car trouble. Better late than never." It is preferable to arrive late than not arrive at all.

between the devil and the deep blue sea :  "He was between the devil and the deep blue sea." between two equal dangers

break the heart of :  "The mother's heart was broken when her daughter died." crush with sorrow or grief

bring on :  "Poor nutrition can bring on bad health." cause

bring up :  "She brought up three sons and a daughter." raise

by hook or by crook :  "He will try to get elected by hook by crook."  in any way possible

call back :  "My friend called me up on the phone while I was out. I called him back as soon as I got the message." to return a telephone call; respond

call off :  "They called off the search for the lost person after many days."  cancel

call up :  "I will call you up when I am in your city." call on the telephone

close call :  "While I was coming here  I had a close call. I was nearly hit by a car."  narrow escape

close shave :  "He had a close shave when he almost fell off the ladder." narrow escape

come down with :  "I think I'm coming down with a cold." to get an illness

crazy about :  "The children are crazy about ice cream."  really like it

cut corners :  "When he lost his job he had to cut corners to save money."  save money by reducing costs

cut it out :  "He was teasing his little sister, so I told him to cut it out." stop it, knock it off
day in, day out  "His job is boring. He does the same thing, day in, day out."  every single day

do (something) over: "He had to do his essay over again because he did not include some important information." to repeat, to do again

do without :  "Sam did without a car for many years. He used the city bus instead." to live without something

drop in the bucket :  "The amount of his wages that he put in his savings account was drop in the bucket."  a very small amount compared to the rest

drop out of :  "A few teenagers drop out of high school these days." to stop attending

eager beaver :  "Martha and her husband like to eat out every Friday night."  to eat at restaurant

eleventh hour :  "He came to help them at the eleventh hour."  The latest possible moment.  Time just before it is too late

feeling blue :  "She's feeling blue because her mother died." feeling bad

few and far between : "The people who can buy a Rolls Royce are few and far between ."  rare

figure out :  "They couldn't figure out what was meant." think out, understand, to work out

for good :  "I have decided to stay here for good."  always; indefinitely

for good measure : "When he bought a new car, they filled his gas tank for good measure."  as something extra; something not expected

to get (a problem) off  one's chest : "He has a big problem with one of the people at work.  He told me all about it and got it off his chest."  to talk openly about

get on :  "He got on the bus and rode to Calgary."  to enter (a bus, plane, train)

get one's goat : "The spoiled child got her goat because he wanted everything he saw."  annoy, make angry

get out of : "Why don't we get out of the car and take a walk through those beautiful trees?"  to leave (a car or  truck)

give the time of day : "He was very busy and wouldn't give the salesman the time of day."  to pay attention to (negative)

give up :  "The boy could not lift the heavy weight and finally gave up."  stop trying

give up :  "After many years he decided to give up smoking."  to stop a bad habit

give up the ghost :  "The dog was very sick and finally gave up the ghost."  die

go places :  "He's really going places."  achieve success; advance rapidly

go through :  "She really liked to use tomatoes in her cooking.  She goes through a lot of them every month."  to use up

go to one's head :  "When he won the game it went to his head."  become conceited

hang on :  "Hang on a minute and I'll find the doctor's telephone number."  to wait, be patient; to hold on

hang up :  "If no one answer the telephone, then we hang up."  put the telephone receiver back in place