It stands to reason...

 (I couldn't find a good pic for this one.)

Stand to reason

v. phr. 

To seem very likely from the known facts. 

If you have a drivers license, it stands to reason you can drive. 

(I If you have a driver's license, 

you are almost sure to know how to drive) 

Joe is intelligent and studies hard; 

it stands to reason that he will pass the examination. 

(Being smart and a good students, 

Joe is almost sure to pass the examination.)

Spit the dummy

What does this idiom mean?

Spit the dummy.

A.) To vomit.

B.) To refuse something given to you.

C.) To become suddenly angry.

Laugh off 
v. 

To dismiss with a laugh as not important 

or not serious; not take seriously. 

"You can't laugh off a ticket for speeding." 

(You must take a speeding ticket seriously.)

Speak of the devil

"Speak of the devil 

and he appears"

A person comes just when one is talking about them. 

"We were just talking about Bill when he came in the door. 

Speak of the devil and he appears." 

(Bill came when we were talking about him 

and did not expect him.)

Fish food

In 1967, Harold Holt, the Prime Minister of Australia went for a swim at the beach and was never seen again. Theories about his disappearance include kidnapping by a Russian submarine, eaten by a shark or being carried away by the tide. 

That's right. We lost our Prime Minister. He wasn't assassinated, we just lost him. He is recalled in the Australian vernacular expression "do a Harold Holt" (or "do the Harry"), rhyming slang for "do a bolt" meaning "to disappear suddenly and without explanation", although this is usually employed in the context of disappearance from a social gathering rather than a case of presumed death.

We also rather ironically, or perhaps as a joke, dedicated a swimming center to him. The "Harold Holt memorial swimming center"... after the man died in the water. We are strange country...

Hang on

Hang on

v.

 

1. To hold on to something.

 "Bill almost fell off the cliff, 

but managed to hang on until help came."

2. To continue; persist and not give up.

 "Hang on a bit longer and things will improve"

*Similar to the expression "hang in there"

3. To keep something.

"Hang onto that number, 

you might need it in the future."

 4. To wait.

"Could you hang on a moment I forgot my coat."

Special*

Often used as an exclamation to show 

disbelief at another's statement and request clarification.

"Hang on, your telling me you wrestled a bear and won?"

The creeps

the creeps

n., informal

1 An uncomfortable tightening of the skin caused by fear or shock.

Reading the story of a ghost gave Joe the creeps.

(Joe felt uncomfortable while reading the story.)

2 A strong feeling of fear or disgust.

The cold damp lonely swamp gave John the creeps.

(The swamp filled John with horror and fear.)

Hit the road

v. phr., slang

To leave.

"It's getting late, guess we better hit the road."

(It is late, we should leave)

(idiom) Steer clear of ...

steer clear of

v., informal 

To stay away from; keep from going near.  

Fred was angry at Bill, and Bill was steering clear of him. 

(Because Fred was angry, Bill was trying not to meet him.)

HOT HOT HOT!

It's hot! Here are some expressions that use "hot".

"Strike while the iron is hot."

To take advantage of an opportunity before it passes. 

The boss is in a good mood today, 

you should ask him for a raise.

Go on, strike while the iron is hot

"red hot"

Extremely hot

Don't touch that fry pan it's red hot!

"to sell like hot cakes"

To sell very quickly

These new One Direction dart 

boards are selling like hot cakes!

 

"in hot water"

in trouble

I scratched Dad's new car, 

I'm in real hot water now.

 

"Full of hot air"

to speak nonsense, lies

Don't listen to him, he is full of hot air.

"Smoking hot"

very attractive

Wow! Look at her! She is smoking hot!

 

"To have the hots for someone"

To be attracted to someone.

I think she's got the hots for you dude.

 

"Hot off the press"

Very new, freshly made.
Have a cupcake, they are hot off the press.

"Hot under the collar"

Upset, stressed, angry

Now now, calm down. 

Don't get all hot under the collar.

"Hot on the heels of someone"

To be followed closely

Drive faster man, 

the cops are hot on our heels!

"In the hot seat"

To be under pressure, the focus of criticism.

That was a tough interview, 

they really put him in the hot seat.

"to have more ______ than I've had hot dinners."

To have had a lot of something.

He's very popular with the ladies.
He's had more girlfriends than I've had hot dinners.

IDIOM: heavy heart

heavy heart

n. phr.

A feeling of being weighed down with sorrow; unhappiness. 

They had very heavy hearts as they went to the funeral. 

(They felt very sad and unhappy as they went to the funeral.)

Back out

back out

v.,informal

To fail to keep a promise; get out of an agreement. 

She backed out of her engagement. 

(She had promised to marry him, but broke her promise.) 

He agreed to help him with the loan, but backed out. 

(He agreed to lend him money, but he changed his mind.)

P.S The picture at the top is unrelated. 

I couldn't find a picture to represent back out 

so I just but a picture of a bear with no hair instead.

Get away with

get away with

v., informal

To do (something bad or wrong) 

without being caught or punished.

"Some students get away with 

not doing their homework."

(They leave their work undone 

without being caught or punished.)

in case

in case

adv. phr., informal

In order to be prepared; as a precaution; if there is need.

-Usually used in the phrase "just in case". 

The bus is usually on time, but start early, just in case. 

(The bus is usually on time, but you should start 

early so that you will be there if it leaves early.)

You idiom!

FALL BEHIND

verb

To go slower than others and be far behind them.

When the campers took a hike in the woods, 

two boys fell behind and got lost.

(Two boys walked slowly and let the others get very 

far ahead of them; then they could not find the group.)

Why curry ?

This is not a popular idiom at all,
(in fact I've probably only heard it a hand full of times).
I was reading the other day when I came across it
and I thought it was rather unusual.
CURRY FAVOR
v. To flatter someone to get their help/friendship.
Joe tried to curry favor with the new girl in class
by telling her she was the prettiest.
(He tried to make her like him.)
But I wondered why we use the word "CURRY"
so I looked it up but could not find a good answer.
Hmmm... just one of those mysteries I guess.

The verb "To curry" @ Websters online dictionary

Idiom 'Splitting Hairs'

SPLIT HAIRS
v. phr.
To find and argue about small and unimportant
differences as if the differences are important.
"John is always splitting hairs; he often starts
an argument about something small and unimportant."
(John is always arguing about differences
that do not really matter.)

Idiom of the day!

DISH OUT

v.

1.) To serve food from a large bowl or plate.

"Ann's mother asked her to dish out the beans."

(Mother asked Ann to take beans from the

serving bowl and put some on each plate.)
2.) informal; To give in large quantities.

"That teacher dished out so mush homework

that her students complained."

(The teacher gave the students a lot of homework.)

3.) slang; To scold or criticize.

"Jim likes to dish it out, but he hates to take it."

(Jim likes to scold or criticize other people,

but he does not like other people to scold him.)

Idiom of the day!

HEAD ABOVE WATER

n. phr

Out of difficulty; clear of trouble.

"How are your marks at school?

Are you keeping your head above water?"

(Are you getting passing grades?)

"Business at the factory is bad.

They can't keep their heads above water."

(The factory is not making any money.)

Idiom of the day!

CUT CORNERS

v. phr

1. To save cost or effort.

"When John was in college had to cut corners."

(John had little money in college and had to save all he could.)

2. To do less than a good job.

"He cut corners when he built his house, so it fell down."

(He was lazy and used poor materials, so his house collapsed)