Read Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook Online
Authors: Gail Brenner
Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook (25 page)
keep one’s cool (v)
♦
You have to know how to
keep your cool
if you want to teach high school.
play it cool (v)
♦ Play it cool,
man. Don’t let anyone see your anger.
(as) cool as a cucumber (adj)
♦
She’s great in an emergency. She can stay
as cool as a cucumber,
and do what needs to be done.
laid back
(adj)
♦
I didn’t get into too much trouble for staying out late. My parents were pretty
laid back
about it, and only said, “Next time, call us!”
[See
laid back
in Chapter 7; see
keeping one’s head
and
keeping a level head
in Chapter 13.]
Nervousness and Anxiety
The idioms in this section describe feelings of worry, anxiousness, or nervousness. A more serious level of anxiety, fear, is discussed in the next section.
A Case of the Nerves
and Related Idioms
If you have
a case of the nerves,
then you feel nervous about something that you did or must do. Here are some other idioms that mean to feel nervous:
have the jitters
or
get the jitters
♦
Good luck in your interview. And don’t
get the jitters;
you’re very qualified for that position.
be jittery
or
feel jittery
♦
Drinking too much coffee makes me
feel jittery.
be on edge
♦
We
were on edge
all week, waiting to hear the results of the biopsy.
be edgy
or
feel edgy
♦ T
hat industrial music really
puts me on edge.
When nervousness or anxiety (nervousness and fear combined) become more severe, you might use one of the following idioms:
a bundle of nerves
♦
I was
a bundle of nerves
before my audition.
bite one’s nails
♦
While the judges decided the winner, we all sat there
biting our nails.
Note:
This idiom refers to the nervous habit of biting the ends of one’s fingernails. It can be used even when people aren’t literally biting their nails.
on pins and needles
♦
We were
on pins and needles
waiting for our son to come out of surgery.
sweating bullets
♦
I was
sweating bullets
over that presentation, but it went well.
Note:
This idiom also implies that the person is sweating a lot from nerves.
worried sick
♦
Where have you been?! We were
worried sick.
[See
have butterflies in one’s stomach
in Chapter 13.]
Driving Someone up a Wall
and Related Idioms
If someone is making you nervous or annoyed with something he or she is doing, then you might say, “Stop that noise! You’re
driving me up a wall!”
or “I’m
climbing the walls!”
Here are some other similar expressions:
drive someone nuts
or
drive someone crazy
♦
On rainy days, the kids just
drive me crazy.
get on someone’s nerves
♦
His constant gum chewing is starting to
get on my nerves.
be in someone’s hair
♦
The kids have
been in my hair
all day, wanting me to do one thing or another.
[See
breathe down someone’s neck
in Chapter 13.]
When a person can no longer tolerate an annoyance, one of the following expressions might describe how he or she feels:
at the end of one’s patience
♦
I’m
at the end of my patience
with your messy habits.
reach one’s limit
♦
She loaned money to her grown kids many times, but finally she
reached her limit.
When you have
reached your limit,
you might say one of the following:
I’m fed up!
I’ve had it!
I’m over it!
That’s it!
Anger
There are varying degrees of anger, and American idioms can express them all. Idioms can describe angry feelings from frustration and slight annoyance to rage. This section includes many of the most common expressions.
Ticked Off
and Related Idioms
When one is annoyed, infuriated, or angry about something, one of the following adjectives can describe the feeling well:
ticked (off)
♦
I just broke my reading glasses. Boy, that
ticks
me
off!
Note:
Also said as
tick someone off.
teed off
♦
His rude comment really
teed me off.
pissed (off)
(vulgar, but common) ♦
My parents were so
pissed
when they found out that I lied to them.
Note:
Also said as
piss someone off.
miffed
♦
He’s
miffed
that I didn’t return his call.
The following adjectives are also used to mean that a person is angry. They all refer to things that are hot.
steamed (up)
♦
I’m
steamed!
I waited all afternoon for the repairman to come and he never showed up or called to reschedule.
burned up
also
burn one up
♦
It
burns me up
to think that those criminals might get off without punishment.
hot under the collar
♦
There’s no use getting
hot under the collar.
Your anger won’t make this line go any faster.
Another idiom that uses a heat metaphor to talk about anger is the verb
see red,
which means to be extremely angry: “If you want to
see red,
just read this article on how the big corporations avoid paying taxes.”
On the Warpath
and Related Idioms
When anger intensifies, it’s often described with idioms that allude to war or gestures of threat:
on the warpath
♦
If the company tries to reduce our health benefits, we’ll be
on the warpath.
up in arms
♦
The neighborhood is
up in arms
over the plan to build a freeway nearby.
Note:
Arms
is used here to refer to weapons.
foam at the mouth
♦
John was
foaming at the mouth
when the guy insulted his wife.
The following similes also mean that one is very mad or furious:
(as) mad as hell
madder than a wet hen
Blow One’s Top
and Related Idioms
Some idioms that mean to express one’s anger verbally allude to things
blowing up
, meaning to explode:
blow one’s top (
or
stack)
♦
He’s going to
blow his top
when he finds out that you destroyed the lab sample.
blow a fuse
♦
Don’t
blow a fuse
just because he broke your CD case. He’ll buy you another one.
hit the ceiling (
or
roof)
♦
Dad
hit the roof
when he saw the dent I made in his car.
A similar idiom is
blow up at someone,
which means to yell at someone in anger: “Why are you
blowing up at me?
I didn’t do it.”
A few other idioms refer to losing control of oneself or one’s senses:
have a fit
or
throw a fit
♦
Boy, she
threw a fit
when she saw the broken lamp.
lose one’s cool
♦
Don’t
lose your cool
just because someone is rude.
lose it
♦
I really
lost it
when the coach yelled at my daughter and made her cry.
get worked up
♦
He used to
get worked up
over little things, but now he’s more easygoing.
come unglued
♦
When the store called to say that my 12-year-old son was caught shoplifting, I
came unglued.
fly off the handle
♦
People will avoid you if you are always
flying off the handle.
A Short Fuse
and Related Idioms
Here are some ways to describe a person who gets angry easily and quickly:
quick to anger
♦
He’s
quick to anger,
so I am always careful around him.
has a quick temper
♦
I know I
have a quick temper,
but I’ll try to control it.
has a short fuse
♦
She
has a short fuse.
It doesn’t take much to anger her.
hot-headed
♦
You are so
hot-headed;
you always get mad so easily.
Fear
The following expressions mean to be fearful, to be afraid. Some idioms refer to the physical expression of fear, such as shaking or trembling, tingly skin, and even wetting or soiling one’s pants.
These idioms mean to be very fearful, and they refer to trembling or shaking with fear:
shake like a leaf
♦
I wasn’t hurt in the accident, but I
shook like a leaf
for an hour afterward.
shake in one’s boots
♦
He’ll be
shaking in his boots
if he ever tries to start a fight with me.
scare the crap out of someone
♦
It
scared the crap out of me
when the hospital called. I thought you had been in an accident.
have one’s teeth chatter
♦
Listening to ghost stories late at night
made our teeth chatter.
scared out of one’s wits
♦
We were all
scared out of our wits
by the tornado.
have one’s hair stand on end
♦
Seeing the face of the murderer on the TV news
made my hair stand on end.
Another expression is
jump out of one’s skin,
which is used when people actually jump a little because they are so scared: “We nearly
jumped out of our skin
when someone banged on the door during the scary movie.”
People use these expressions when something is fearsome and disgusting:
give one the creeps
♦
Spiders
give me the creeps.
I hate them.
♦
That guy
gives me the creeps.
He’s always watching me.
give one the willies
♦
I can’t watch horror movies. They
give me the willies.
make one’s skin crawl
♦
It
made my skin crawl
to touch that snake.
Envy and Jealousy
Envy (the desire for a possession or advantage that someone else has) is often expressed with one of the following idioms, which can be used seriously or lightly:
green with envy
♦
Everyone will be
green with envy
when they see your new sports car.
eat one’s heart out
♦
Gwen: That’s your new boyfriend?! He’s so handsome! Sharon: I know.
Eat your heart out,
honey!
Jealousy (resentment and bad feelings toward someone because of his or her possession or good fortune) is sometimes expressed with the following idioms:
shoot daggers at someone
♦
His old girlfriend was
shooting daggers at me
all evening.
be eaten up with jealousy
♦
She left him for another man and he’s just
eaten up with jealousy.
Resentment and Revenge
An eye for an eye
means “if you hurt me, I’ll hurt you back.” This is revenge, or
getting back at
someone for doing something hurtful to you. Even if you don’t
get back at
someone, you may feel resentful and
hang on to
your anger (stay angry for an extended period of time). This section presents other expressions for conveying resentment and revenge.
Hold a Grudge
and Related Idioms
Resentment — a feeling of anger and indignation from being hurt, injured, or offended by someone — is generally expressed with one of these idioms:
hold a grudge
to remember a past offense and continue to be resentful about it. Also said as
bear a grudge
♦
She’s still
holding a grudge
for something that happened years ago? She should forget it.
♦
The thing I like most about Rebecca is that she never
holds a grudge.
hold something against someone
to be resentful about something ♦
I was a better athlete than my brother, and he’s always
held it against me. ♦
I have apologized for offending you. Please don’t continue to
hold it against me.
