Английский - Идиомы

When it's time to leave one place to go to another, we say ‘let’s hit the road’. I’m going to my favourite country… Belgium. Well, come on then. It’s time to hit the road.

If we want to describe a type of music, or person or even an organisation that is not extreme we can say they’re ‘middle-of-the-road’. I used to love metal. These days I prefer something a little more middle-of-the road.

If we want to talk about something that’s far in the future, we say ‘it’s a long way down the road.’ I’m not sure if we're ever going to get there. No, Belgium still seems to be a long way down the road.

If someone wastes time trying to create something that has already been made, we say they’re ‘reinventing the wheel’. We've had a lot of experience with disasters, and don't have to reinvent the wheel every time something happens.

If someone is not doing their job, or not taking their responsibilities seriously, we say they're asleep at the wheel. Why was our government asleep at the wheel when the crisis began?

If something goes wrong or fails we can say ‘the wheels have come off’

If something is very obvious and easy to see, we say 'It sticks out a mile'. When I took Colin to work with me that time, we really stuck out a mile.

If we really don't want to get involved with something, we can say, 'I'd run a mile'. Ah, my boss. He wants me to wear more 'normal' clothes. But if he tried to get me to dress like that, I'd run a mile.

If you want to say that someone who's been given a little bit of freedom then tries to take much more, you can say 'Give them an inch and they'll take a mile'.

If someone is in control of a situation or in charge of something, we can say they're 'in the driver's seat'. Huge consumer demand for electricity has put energy companies in the driver's seat.

If someone tries to take control of a situation that they are not responsible for, we can say they're a backseat driver. Mike's a real backseat driver and I find it so irritating.

We call someone who drives at an annoyingly slow speed, a Sunday Driver. Come on you idiot, get outta the way! Last thing I need's a Sunday driver! Aah!

If we miss an opportunity to get involved in something because we waited too long, we say 'I missed the boat'. I sent off my university application at the last minute and nearly missed the boat.

If something is very easy and there are no problems, we can say 'It's plain sailing' The roads were busy as we drove out of town but after that it was plain sailing all the way to the coast.

If we are in the same bad situation as other people, we say 'we're in the same boat'. Oh well, at least I'm not alone. Yes, we're in the same boat.

If you decide not to drink alcohol for a period of time, we say you’re ‘on the wagon’. No, I don't care for a cocktail. I'm on the wagon.

If you start to do something after it has become successful or popular we say you’re jumping on the bandwagon. Publishers jumped on the CD-ROM bandwagon even though they didn't know if they could sell CD-ROMs.

When someone starts drinking alcohol after a period of not drinking it, we say they’ve fallen off the wagon. He’s back to watching TV again. Fell off the wagon I guess.