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gain ground
- go forward, make progress The toy company has been
gaining ground in their effort to sell more products.
gang up on someone
- attack in a group, get together to hurt someone The
school children tried to gang up on the boy but he ran away.
gas up
- fill up a gas tank We should gas up tonight before
we leave on our holiday tomorrow.
gee whiz
- used as an exclamation to show surprise or other strong
feelings Gee whiz! Are we really going to go to go to Disneyland for
our holiday?
get a break
- get an opportunity or good deal I got a break when
he sold the car for less than it was worth.
get across
- explain, make something understood I had a hard time
trying to get across to him the importance of taking care of his computer discs.
get a fix on something
- receive a reading of a distant object by electronic
means We were able to get a fix on the island and got the boat safely
to the harbor.
get a grip of oneself
- take control of one`s feelings He finally got a grip
of himself and calmed down.
get after someone
- urge or make someone do something he should do but has
neglected I`ll get after him to fix the computer as soon as he
returns.
get ahead
- advance or be successful She really works hard at
her job in order to get ahead.
get a kick out of
- enjoy I think that my father got a kick out of
seeing his old school friend.
get a load of
- take a good look at, see something Get a load of
that man over there with the four big dogs.
get along
- manage He is able to get along on very little money.
get along
- leave It`s late so I must be getting along now.
get along with someone
- have a good relationship with someone I don`t get
along very well with the new woman I work with.
get a move on
- hurry up Please get a move on. We are already over
three hours late.
get a rise out of someone
- tease, have fun with someone by making him or her
angry We really got a rise out of the teacher when we left the windows
open while it was raining.
get around
- go to different places, move about He really gets
around. He has been to almost every state in the United States.
get around to
- finally find time to do something The apartment
manager finally got around to fixing the bath.
get at
- mean I really don`t know what he was trying to get
at during the meeting.
get away
- succeed in leaving, escape I was able to get away
early from work today so I went shopping for awhile.
get away from it all
- go on a holiday We want to get away from it all this
summer and go and relax somewhere.
get away with murder
- do something very bad without being caught or
punished The child was able to get away with murder while the
substitute teacher was at the school.
get away with something
- do something one shouldn`t and not get caught at
it The criminal got away with the robbery and was never caught.
get a wiggle on
- hurry up, get going Get a wiggle on. We have to
arrive at the party before the other guests arrive.
get a word in
- find a chance to say something when others are
talking The customer couldn`t get a word in while talking to the
salesman so he decided to go to another company.
get a word in edgewise
- manage to break into a conversation I couldn`t get a
word in edgewise so I left the meeting.
get back
- return We got back from London early yesterday
afternoon.
get back at
- do something bad to someone who has done something bad to you,
hurt someone in return for something She is very angry at her
boyfriend and is getting back at him by not answering the telephone.
get behind
- go slow while doing something, be late If you get
behind in the homework you will never be able to pass the course.
get behind (a person or idea)
- support, help They decided to get behind the main
candidate when he promised to cut taxes.
get by
- satisfy your needs or demands (usually related to
money) He is able to easily get by on his salary because he doesn`t
spend a lot of money.
get cold feet
- become afraid at the last minute He got cold feet
and cancelled his plan to go to China.
get cracking
- hurry up, start moving fast, get started We will
have to get cracking on this work if we want to finish it before dinner.
get (someone) down
- make (someone) unhappy, cause discouragement The
long commuting time has begun to get her down so she wants to quit her job.
get down to
- get started on Let`s get down to work so we can go
home early.
get down to brass tacks
- begin discussing the essential matters
immediately Let`s get down to brass tacks and begin to deal with the
business at hand.
get even
- get revenge He seems to want to get even with him
for their past problems.
get-go
- the beginning Right from the get-go I never liked
the way that the new manager acted.
get (someone`s) goat
- annoy someone He has been getting my goat recently
and I am tired of him.
get going
- excite, stir up and make angry Once he gets going he
will never stop complaining.
get hold of (something)
- get possession of When you get hold of a dictionary
could you please let me see it for a few minutes.
get hold of (someone)
- find a person so you can speak with him or her I
tried to get hold of him last week but he was out of town.
get in on the ground floor
- start at the beginning (in hopes of future gain) He
managed to get in on the ground floor of the new company.
get in touch with someone
- contact someone I`ll get in touch with him when I
arrive in New York in August.
get in the swing of things
- adapt to a new environment or situation He got into
the swing of things after the party started.
get it all together
- be in full control and possession of one`s mental
faculties He finally got it all together and applied for the job at
the supermarket.
get it through one`s head
- understand, believe He has got it through his head
that he will get a job easily without really making an effort.
Get lost!
- go away She told her younger brother to get lost so
she could finish her homework.
get mixed up
- become confused I`m sorry but I got mixed up with
the dates. That`s why I came today.
get off
- come down from or out of (a bus or train etc.) We
decided to get off the train at the station next to our regular station.
get off easy
- escape a worse punishment The criminals got off easy
even though they robbed the bank.
get off one`s back
- leave someone alone and not bother them I wish that
the supervisor would get off my back.
get off one`s butt
- get busy, start working He should get off his butt
and try and get a job so he will have some money.
get off on the wrong foot
- make a bad start I got off on the wrong foot with
him and our relationship never really recovered.
get off the ground
- make a successful beginning, go ahead His new
business never really got off the ground so he must look for another job.
get one`s dander up
- become or make angry You shouldn`t talk to him early
in the morning or you will get his dander up.
get one`s feet wet
- begin, do something for the first time He has
managed to get his feet wet in the publishing business and is ready to start his
own business now.
get one`s own way
- cause people to do what you want He always gets his
own way with his younger brothers.
get one`s rear in gear
- hurry up, get going Let`s hurry up and get our rear
in gear before it is too late to go to a movie.
get on in years
- to advance in age He is getting on in years and is
not very healthy.
get on one`s high horse
- behave with arrogance He is back on his high horse
and has started giving orders to everyone.
get on one`s nerves
- irritate someone His constant complaining is
beginning to get on my nerves.
get out of bed on the wrong side
- be in a bad mood I think that she got out of bed on
the wrong side this morning as she hasn`t said a word to anyone yet.
get out from under
- escape a situation that one doesn`t like I would
like to get out from under my boss always watching my work.
get out of hand
- lose control The going away party was beginning to
get out of hand so they asked everyone to leave.
get out of the way
- be no longer an obstacle He was unable to get out of
the way of the truck and was injured.
get over something
- overcome a difficulty, recover from an illness or
shock She has been having a lot of trouble getting over her father`s
death.
get (something) over with
- finish, end He wants to get his exams over with so
that he can begin to relax again.
get ready
- prepare yourself First I must get ready for work,
then I will help you.
get rid of something
- give or throw something away, sell or destroy something, make
a cold or fever disappear I bought a new television set so I had to
get rid of the old one.
get set
- get ready to start We are working hard to get set
for her wedding ceremony.
get the ax
- be fired He got the ax last week and now has no job.
get the ball rolling
- start something Let`s get the ball rolling and start
working.
get the better of (someone)
- win against, beat, defeat He got the better of me
and won the tennis match.
get the feel of
- become used to or learn about something After you
get the feel of the new computer it will be very easy to use.
get the goods on someone
- find out true and often bad information about
someone I think that I have finally got the goods on him and will have
to talk to the police as soon as possible.
get the message
- understand clearly what is meant I told him three
times but I don`t think that he really gets the message.
get the sack
- be fired or dismissed from work I told him that if
he doesn`t change his work habits he will get the sack from his job.
get the show on the road
- start working on something Let`s get the show on the
road and begin work for the day.
get the worst of
- be defeated or beaten, suffer most He got the worst
of the deal when the salesman sold him the used car.
get through
- succeed in passing an exam or ordeal She has been
having trouble gettting through her final exams.
get through to
- be understood by, make (someone) understand I tried
talking to her but I couldn`t really get through to her.
get to
- have a chance to, be able to I didn`t get to see her
last year but maybe I will have a chance this year.
get to first base
- make a good start, succeed I tried to meet the sales
manager of the company but I couldn`t get to first base.
get to the bottom of
- find out the real cause The government is trying to
get to the bottom of the financial problems in the company.
get to the heart of
- understand the most important thing about
something We were in the meeting for three hours trying to get to the
heart of the matter.
get under one`s skin
- bother someone, upset someone She always gets under
my skin although I don`t really know why I don`t like her.
get up
- get out of bed, get to one`s feet I decided to get
up early today so that I would be able to go fishing with my friend.
getup
- fancy dress or costume What was that strange getup
that she was wearing the other day?
get-up-and-go
- energy, enthusiasm, drive He has lots of
get-up-and-go and it is difficult to follow him around.
get up on the wrong side of the bed
- be in a bad mood He got up on the wrong side of the
bed this morning and won`t talk to anyone.
get up the nerve
- become brave enough I tried to get up the nerve to
ask him about the new job.
get what`s coming to one
- receive the good or bad that one deserves He got
what was coming to him when he was sent to jail for two years.
get wind of
- hear about something I got wind of the company
expansion from my friend.
get wise to something/somebody
- learn about something kept secret He finally got
wise to the fact that they were stealing his money.
get with it
- pay attention, get busy I told him to get with it or
he would get in trouble with the boss.
(not a) ghost of a chance
- very little, (not even) the smallest chance He
doesn`t have a ghost of a chance to finish the book in time for his class.
gift of the gab
- be good at talking He has a real gift of the gab and
is great at parties.
give (someone) a hard time
- make trouble for someone, tease She was giving her
boyfriend a hard time about his new haircut.
give-and-take
- sharing, giving and receiving back and forth between
people You must be willing to give-and-take if you want to have a good
marriage.
giveaway
- an open secret, a sale where items are sold very
cheap His speech was a giveaway. Now I know that he is planning to
retire.
give away
- give something to someone I decided to give away my
bicycle because I didn`t need it anymore.
give away
- let (a secret) become known I tried to stop her
before she gave away my plans to go to Mexico for a holiday.
give a wide birth to
- keep away from, keep a safe distance from I usually
give a wide birth to my boss when he is angry.
give chase
- chase or run after someone or something The police
gave chase to the man who robbed the store.
give free rein to
- allow to move about or to do something with
freedom He was given free rein in his new job to do what he wanted.
give ground
- move back, retreat, stop opposing someone He refused
to give ground on his plans to change the system of office management.
give in
- give someone his own way, stop opposing someone The
company gave in to the union`s demand for more money.
give it to
- punish, scold He really gave it to his son when he
came back late with the car.
give off
- send out, let out, put forth The garbage was
beginning to give off a bad smell because of the hot weather.
give oneself away
- show guilt, show one has done wrong She gave herself
away when she said that she hadn`t seen her boyfriend but he had already said
that he had met her earlier.
give oneself up
- surrender, stop hiding or running away The robbers
gave themselves up when the police surrounded the house.
give oneself up to
- let oneself enjoy, not hold oneself back from He
gave himself up to enjoy the party although he was feeling sick.
give one`s right arm
- give something of great value I would give my right
arm to be able to go to Italy with the rest of the group.
give or take
- plus or minus a small amount I think that he is
about 45 years old give or take 5 years.
give out
- give to people, distribute We gave out more than 600
free baseball caps at the shopping center.
give out
- fail We went hiking last week but my legs gave out
so we had to return early.
give out
- be finished, be gone We went on a week-long
backpacking trip but our food gave out after only three days.
give out
- let escape She gave out a loud yell when she saw the
big spider.
give pause to
- cause one to stop and think His problems should give
you pause to think a little more carefully about what you do.
give rise to
- be the cause of something The problems with the
heating system gave rise to a lot of other problems that we had to solve.
give someone a hand
- help someone with something Please give me a hand to
move this piano.
give someone an inch and they will take a
mile
- if you give someone a little they will want more and more,
some people are never satisfied If you give him an inch he will take a
mile so you shouldn`t give him any more money.
give someone a piece of your mind
- scold or become angry with someone When I met her
yesterday I really gave her a piece of my mind.
give someone enough rope and they will hang
themself
- give someone enough time and freedom to do what they want and
they will make a mistake or get into trouble and be caught Don`t worry
about trying to control him. If you give him enough rope he will hang himself.
give someone one`s word
- make a promise or assurance He gave me his word that
he would meet me at the library.
give someone the ax
- fire an employee (usually abruptly) He gave the new
employee the ax because he was always late.
give someone the benefit of the doubt
- believe someone is innocent rather than guilty when you are
not sure I gave him the benefit of the doubt but I still think that he
is a liar.
give someone the cold shoulder
- be unfriendly to someone He gave her the cold
shoulder at the party.
give someone the eye
- look or stare at someone (especially in a cold or unfriendly
way) The man in the store began to give me the eye so I left.
give someone the green light
- give permission to go ahead with a project He has
been given the green light to begin work on the new housing plan.
give someone their due
- give someone the credit that they deserve You have
to give him his due. He has successfully saved the company from bankruptcy.
give someone the slip
- escape from someone The bank robbers were able to
give the police the slip at first but they were soon caught.
give the devil his due
- be fair (even to someone who is bad and who you
dislike) I don`t like to work with him at all as I think he is lazy.
Still you have to give the devil his due because he always gets the job done.
give it your best shot
- try very hard Although he didn`t have enough
experience he decided to apply for the job and give it his best shot.
give to understand
- make a person understand by telling him very plainly or
boldly I was given to understand that I could rent an apartment very
easily here.
give up
- abandon, stop He has decided to give up his plan to
work in Hong Kong for a year.
give up the ghost
- stop working, die My old car finally gave up the
ghost so I must buy another one.
(don`t) give up the ship
- (don`t) stop fighting and surrender, (don`t) stop trying or
hoping to do something Please don`t give up the ship and quit this
company. I am sure you still have a useful role to play.
give voice to
- tell what one feels or thinks He has begun to give
voice to his feelings about the new office building.
give way
- collapse, fail The dam gave way and the water
flooded the farmland below.
glad hand
- a friendly handshake, a warm greeting The politician
spent the morning glad handing the people at the shopping center.
gloss over
- try to make what is wrong or bad seem right or not important,
hide The accountant tried to gloss over the money that they lost last
year.
go about
- be busy with, start working on He has been going
about his business all morning although he is feeling sick.
go after
- try to get The police decided to go after the people
who were speeding near the school.
go ahead
- begin to do something, not wait Let`s go ahead and
start now. We can`t wait for him any longer.
go along
- move along, continue He invented the story as he
went along.
go along
- agree, co-operate They went along with his idea
about having a party on the weekend.
go ape
- become very excited or behave in a crazy way He went
ape when he heard about the money that I had spent.
go around
- go from one place or person to another We decided to
go around from one shop to another until we found a good present.
go around in circles
- without getting anywhere, uselessly He has been
going around in circles for weeks now and still hasn`t made any progress with
his essay.
go at
- fight with, attack, argue When I entered the room
they were going at it loudly.
go at it hammer and tongs
- fight with great strength or energy, have a bad
argument They were going at it hammer and tongs when the police came
to their house.
go back on
- turn against, not be faithful to He promised not to
go back on his word about the discount tickets.
go broke
- lose all of one`s money His company went broke so he
quickly lost his job.
go Dutch
- two people each pay for themselves We always go
Dutch when we go on a date.
go for
- try to get, try for I have decided to go for the new
job at the computer center.
go for broke
- risk everything on one big effort, try as hard as
possible They are going for broke trying to win the new contract.
go from bad to worse
- get worse, deteriorate Things are going from bad to
worse in the company.
go-getter
- a person who works hard to become successful, an ambitious
person He is a go-getter. He always works hard and has lots of money
because of that.
go great guns
- do something very fast or very hard,
successfully The workers were going great guns fixing the building
when I saw them this morning.
go halves
- share equally We have decided to go halves on buying
a new computer.
go haywire
- become damaged, stop working properly At first
everything was going well but later all the plans began to go haywire.
go in for
- decide to do (something), take part in He is going
to university and has decided to go in for medicine.
going for (someone)
- in one`s favor She should do very well as she has
many good things going for her.
go into orbit
- lose one`s temper, become very angry He went into
orbit when he heard about the missing money.
go jump in a lake
- go away and quit bothering someone She asked me to
borrow some money but I told her to go jump in a lake because she never paid me
back before.
golden opportunity
- excellent and rare opportunity The heat wave was a
golden opportunity for the ice cream seller to make money.
good deal
- good quality and a cheap price You can usually get a
good deal on stereos at that discount store.
Good grief!
- used to show surprise (good or bad) Good grief! It`s
6:00 and I have not finished this job yet.
good riddance
- used when you lose something and you are happy about
it Good riddance he said when the computer broke down and he had to
buy another one.
good riddance to bad rubbish
- used to show you are glad that someone or something has been
taken or sent away Good riddance to bad rubbish! I never liked him and
I am glad that he has finally left.
good sport
- person who loses well He is a very good sport and
never complains about losing.
go off
- leave, depart He went off on a trip and he never
even bothered to phone and say good-bye.
go off
- explode, be ignited The firecracker went off in his
hand before he had a chance to put it down.
go off
- begin to ring or buzz The fire alarm started to go
off just as we entered the building.
go off half-cocked
- act or speak before being ready He always goes off
half-cocked when he is at a meeting.
go off the deep end
- give way to emotion He went off the deep end when he
saw the picture in the paper.
goof off
- fool around, not work or be serious He has been
goofing off all afternoon and has not got any work done.
go on
- continue The game went on for about an hour after I
left.
go on
- talk for too long He started to go on about his
problems so I finally left.
go on
- put on, fit on The top of the jar wouldn`t go on so
I threw it away.
go (someone) one better
- do something better than someone else, do more or be better
than someone I decided to go him one better and buy a bigger present
for my girlfriend.
go one`s own way
- go or act the way one wants He has decided to go his
own way and will start his own business next year.
go out of one`s way
- make an extra effort She went out of her way to help
me when I visited her in October.
go out the window
- be abandoned, go out of effect The school dress code
went out the window when the new principal took over.
go out with (someone)
- date or be dating someone She went out with him for
two years before they got married.
go over
- examine The accountant will come to go over the
books tomorrow.
go over well
- be liked, be successful I am sure that the party
will go over well. You have done a lot of preparation for it.
go overboard
- do something in excess He really went overboard with
the birthday party.
go steady
- go on dates with the same person all the time, date just one
person My sister has been going steady with the same person for two
years.
go straight
- become an honest person, lead an honest life He was
in prison for awhile but has recently decided to go straight.
got a thing going
- be engaged in a pleasureable activity with someone else as a
partner (in romance or business) He has a thing going with computer
repairs and is making a lot of extra money.
go the whole hog
- make a thorough job of something They really went
the whole hog in their efforts to welcome the foreign visitors.
go through
- examine or think about carefully, search The police
went through his house to look for a gun.
go through
- experience, suffer, live through He has been through
many hard times since he lost his job.
go through
- be allowed, pass, be agreed upon The law finally
went through Congress last week.
go through changes
- be involved in changing circumstances She has been
going through many changes since her divorce.
go through with
- finish, do as planned or agreed He has decided to go
through with his plans to go back to school.
go to one`s head
- become conceited He new position has really gone to
his head and he won`t speak to us any longer.
go to pieces
- lose your self-control She went to pieces when she
received the letter about her father`s death.
go to pot
- deteriorate The business has really gone to pot
since he became president.
go to rack and ruin
- reach a very bad state of repair The building has
gone to rack and ruin since the new owners took over.
go to town
- work fast or hard, do something with much
energy They really went to town last night and finished painting the
bedroom.
go up in smoke/flames
- burn or be destroyed by fire, fail, not come true
(dreams) His plans to open a new restaurant have gone up in smoke
since he lost his job.
go without saying
- be so easy to see that it doesn`t have to be
mentioned He is a hard worker so it goes without saying that his boss
is very happy with him.
grasp at straws
- try something with little hope of succeeding, depend on
something that is useless in a time of trouble He is grasping at
straws. He will never find enough money to pay next month`s rent.
grass is always greener on the other side
- a place or thing that is far away or different seems better
than what we have or where we are She is always moving or changing
jobs as she thinks that the grass is always greener on the other side.
gravy train
- job that gives one a lot of money compared with what you
do The cleaning contract was really a gravy train. We only worked for
3 hours but we got paid for 8 hours.
grease one`s palm
- give money or pay for some special favor We had to
grease the border guard`s palm in order to enter the country.
greasy spoon
- a small, cheap eating place with basic but not-so-good
food We had to go to a greasy spoon for breakfast as all the other
restaurants were closed.
green
- be inexperienced or immature He is a little green
and doesn`t know the job very well.
green thumb
- skill in making plants grow He has a real green
thumb and has a beautiful garden.
green with envy
- very jealous, full of envy The little girl was green
with envy when she saw her friend`s new bicycle.
grind to a halt
- slow down and stop (like a machine when it is turned
off) The city ground to a halt when the power went off for five hours.
ground floor
- the first or best chance - especially in a
business The video store was a good investment so I was happy to get
in on the ground floor.
gum up
- cause not to work, ruin something, make something go
wrong The computer printer seemed to have become gummed up just as I
was about to print my resume.
gun for someone
- look hard for a chance to harm or defeat someone My
supervisor has been gunning for me for a long time but I don`t really know why.
gun for something
- try very hard to get (prize or promotion etc.) He
has been gunning for the new sales job for a long time.
gung-ho
- enthusiastic, full of eagerness She is really
gung-ho about her new job at the library. 
Idiom Quizzes - G
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