Slang and Idioms

By Serena Rivera

Wicked

“The band that played last night was wicked good!”

To be beat

To kick the bucket

Before I kick the bucket, I want to backpack through Europe.

To be caught red-handed

David said that he didn’t steal the cookies, but I caught him red-handed!

To throw someone under the bus

In this image, the blue crayon is throwing the red crayon under the bus.

To freak out

I have a paper due tomorrow that I haven’t started, I’m freaking out!

See eye to eye

Because of our differing political views, we don’t see eye to eye on many issues.

To get cold feet

Richard was going to marry Danielle, but on their wedding day he got cold feet and never showed up to the church.

To have butterflies in one’s stomach

She gets butterflies in her stomach whenever she talks to the boy she likes.

To be on cloud 9

Lucas has been on cloud 9 ever since he received new comic books in the mail.

Let sleeping dogs lie

As difficult as it is to keep quiet on the issue, it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie.

To be in someone else’s shoes

To wear many hats

Lydia wears many hats, she is a mother, sister, friend, chauffer, and teacher.

To feel under the weather

John was supposed to go to work today but he was feeling under the weather.

To wear one’s heart on their sleeve

Elephant in the room

Even though Daniel knew his wife was mad at him, neither decided to acknowledge the elephant in the room; they stayed silent instead.

When it rains, it pours

Robert: Yesterday, I got a flat tire, was late to class, failed my test, and got dumped by my girlfriend.Steven: Wow, when it rains, it pours!

Flake

Laura is such a flake, she is always canceling plans. She’s unreliable; she always agrees to do something but never follows through.

Bromance

Bromance: Two men who are such good friends it almost appears as if they could be in a romantic relationship. (combination of “bro” and “romance”)

Not bad

“Not bad”, although it sounds negative, is actually just another way to say something is “pretty good”.