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hello this video is one of a series

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we've devoted to English idioms many

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students of English master the grammar

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well but when they arrive in an

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english-speaking country they find they

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don't understand what's being said why

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because they've never learned English

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idioms what is an idiom an idiom is an

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expression in which words do not have

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their literal meaning if I say I heard

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something through the grapevine I don't

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mean I'm pressing my ear to an actual

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grapevine I mean I heard a piece of

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gossip idioms are often funny and they

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may be quite poetic do you need to look

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up an idiom try our idioms website

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idioms and slang calm let's get started

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English idioms

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I've locked the door there as safe as

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houses as safe as houses means very safe

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I've been in seventh heaven ever since I

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got engaged then in seventh heaven means

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extremely happy if you have problems

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call me 24/7 it doesn't matter if I'm

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sleeping 24/7 means at any time if you

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keep asking him about his ex-girlfriend

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they'll be on thin ice be on thin ice

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means in a risky situation if you think

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I'm going to climb that rickety ladder

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you're all wet all wet means completely

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mistaken

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it'll be a cold day in July when our

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team wins the championship we're

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terrible a cold day in July means it's

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never going to happen it's been raining

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cats and dogs all day

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I'm afraid the roof is going to leak

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raining cats and dogs means rain heavily

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Jeff smokes like a chimney I worry about

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his health smokes like a chimney means

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smoke a lot

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Jim is a straight arrow a straight arrow

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means an honest trustworthy person Kevin

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says he was completely in the dark about

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the CEOs plans to sell the company in

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the dark means unaware

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let me just put my face on and they'll

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meet you at the restaurant in 15 minutes

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put my face on means apply cosmetics

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let's come back soon before the heavens

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open the heavens open means start to

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rain heavily

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let's go out and soak up some Sun soak

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up some Sun means enjoy the Sun maybe

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you could take a hike while we discuss

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salaries take a hike

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means go away my colleague was looking a

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little green around the gills when he

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came to work today green around the

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gills means sick

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my grandfather was as pale as a ghost

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when he entered the hospital as pale as

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a ghost means extremely pale my

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grandmother is 92 years old but she

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still sharp as a tack sharp as a tack

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means mentally agile my mother is back

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on her feet after being sick for two

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weeks healthy again back on her feet

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means healthy again

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my uncle is very sick and has one foot

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in the grave one foot in the grave means

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near death never in a million years did

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I think that I would actually win the

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lottery never in a million years means

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absolutely never New Year's Eve is just

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around the corner

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have you made party plans yet just

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around the corner means occurring soon

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news of the new president was music to

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my ears

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she's terrific music to my ears means

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good to hear

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nine times out of ten your first choice

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turns out to be the right one nine times

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out of ten means almost always once in a

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blue moon you see the aurora here but

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it's not like farther north once in a

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blue moon means very rarely passing this

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quiz will be like shooting fish in a

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barrel I've studied a lot like shooting

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fish in a barrel

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means very easy please come in and make

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yourself at home make yourself at home

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means make yourself comfortable

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she said he's out of the house of

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correction house of correction means

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prison she's a dead ringer for her older

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sister a dead ringer means similar in

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appearance she's no spring chicken but

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she's still very good-looking no spring

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chicken means not young sure come into

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the office and we can get the documents

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you need chop chop chop chop means

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quickly

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English idioms

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take your time on the exam you don't get

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a bonus for finishing quickly take your

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time means don't hurry teamwork and

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training will carry the day carry the

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day means be successful I wanted to

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speak up during the meeting but I held

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my peace held my peace means was silent

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Tom stole cameras when he worked here

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I'll hire him back when hell freezes

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over when hell freezes over means never

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that's a worthless investment he's

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throwing his money down the drain

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throw money down the drain

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means waste money the boxer is ready to

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call time on his long career call time

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means end the project

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failed we're back to square one back to

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square one means back to the start the

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restaurant is open around the clock

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around the clock means at all times

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the sales manager was at death's door

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after his heart attack at death's door

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means very near death wait until you try

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the new Yamaha scooters they'll knock

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your socks off knock your socks off

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means amaze you we better hit the road

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before traffic gets even worse

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hit the road means leave we should seize

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the day

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while prices are low that won't last

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forever

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seize the day means take an opportunity

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we were going to leave without you but

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you got here just in the nick of time in

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the nick of time means just in time

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we're going to pull the plug on our

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operation in Taiwan it's just not

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succeeding pulled the plug on means

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terminate when I found out Tom crashed

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my car I hit the roof hit the roof means

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become very angry

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when I said I would move to New York she

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offered me the job on the spot on the

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spot means immediately when my mom

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bought me a computer I was on cloud nine

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on cloud nine means very happy you all

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look tired let's call it a day call it a

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day means stop working you don't have to

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do this totally by the book by the book

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means follow instructions exactly you're

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going to jump down from that ledge are

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you out of your gourd out of your gourd

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means crazy

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your days are numbered if you keep

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driving while drunk your days are

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numbered means you will die soon okay

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I'll come to the party Friday but

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Saturday it'll be time to hit the books

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hit the books means study

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I have to get up at 5:00 tomorrow

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morning it's time to hit the hay hit the

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hay means go to bed I'll be out of town

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this weekend but I'll be in touch when I

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get back Sunday night in touch means in

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contact social media are great for

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finding old friends with whom you've

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lost touch lose touch means fall out of

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contact the name Susan Thompson rings a

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bell I think she worked here let me look

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it up rings a bell

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means sounds familiar I was just making

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a suggestion don't get all bent out of

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shape over it get all bed

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out-of-shape means become angry Bob is a

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110 proof conservative I've never seen

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him vote for a Labour candidate 110

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proof means very strong

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don't bother Joseph when he's in his

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cups

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he's very irritable in his cups means

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drunk give me a beer I'm having one for

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the road one for the road means a final

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drink before leaving

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you

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English idioms

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a few years ago hugs were all the rage

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but now you don't see them so much all

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the rage means very fashionable a

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ballpark figure

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for the cost of the new stadium would be

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one hundred and fifty million dollars

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ballpark figure means a rough estimate

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after losing his queen the chess player

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threw in the towel and resigned threw in

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the towel means gave up after work I

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drove home hell for leather but I still

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missed my daughter's birthday party hell

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for leather means very fast can you guys

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please be quiet your chin music is

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distracting me from my work chin music

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means meaningless talk

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Cindy was on cloud nine after her

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boyfriend proposed to her on cloud nine

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means extremely happy

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cutting-edge musical styles often

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originated in Britain cutting-edge means

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innovative did you have a good vacation

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not really I was sick as a dog

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the whole time sick as a dog

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means extremely ill don't lend her money

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I trust her about as far as I can throw

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her as far as I can throw her means only

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slightly Francesca

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hit it out of the park with her speech

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today it was fabulous hit it out of the

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park means succeeded brilliantly he got

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home from the party all in one piece all

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in one piece means safely he never made

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a will to the best of my knowledge to

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the best of my knowledge means as far as

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I know higher coal prices put the brakes

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on industrial activities in the second

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quarter put the brakes on means slow

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down

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his diet went out the window during the

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holidays went out the window means

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disappeared

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I can't drive I had one too many have

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one too many means drink too much

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alcohol

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I don't want to live in the city but I

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enjoy visiting once in a while once in a

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while

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means occasionally I have been feeling

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on top of the world since I quit my job

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feel on top of the world means feel very

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happy I have a million and one ideas a

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million and one means many I heard

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through the grapevine that Yvonne and

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amber are going out is it true through

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the grapevine means

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via gossip I listen to the music every

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day come rain or shine come rain or

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shine means regularly I stayed up all

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night studying for that exam and then it

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turned out to be a breeze be a breeze

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means be very easy I wouldn't want a

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nine-to-five job nine-to-five job is a

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routine job

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I put in my two cents at the meeting to

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put in my two cents means say your

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opinion I'd buy that car in a New York

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minute if I had the money in the New

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York minute means very quickly I tell

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you if you were going around the bend

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around the bend means crazy I'll be

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pushing up daisies before my daughter

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decides to get married pushing up

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daisies means dead I'll call you back in

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an hour

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the speaker is almost finished and I'm

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on deck on deck means next I'll eat

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dinner on the fly and meet you at 8:00

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on the fly means while traveling

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I'm glad you dropped by it's been a

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month of Sundays since I saw you last

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month of Sundays means a long time I'm

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late for my best friend's wedding put

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the pedal to the metal put the pedal to

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the metal means drive as fast as

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possible

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you

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[Music]