English Idioms - Mind

absent-minded

- forgetful

Our neighbor is very absent-minded and is always getting locked out of his house.

armed to the teeth

- fully armed, having many weapons

The robbers were armed to the teeth when they robbed the bank.

at or on the tip of one`s tongue

- at the point of being said, almost remembered

My former teacher's name is on the tip of my tongue and I will soon remember it.

bad-mouth

- say bad things about someone

The football players are always bad-mouthing their coach.

beat into one`s head

- teach by telling again and again, drill

I have been trying to beat the history material into the student's head.

beat one`s brains out

- tire oneself out by thinking

I have been beating my brains out all day trying to remember who we should invite to the party.

beat one`s head against a wall

- struggle uselessly against something, not succeed after trying very hard

You are beating your head against the wall trying to figure out what the new boss wants.

big head

- too high an opinion of one's own ability or importance, conceit

He has a big head since he won the speech contest at university.

blow one`s mind

- become wildly enthusiastic over something as if understanding it for the first time in an entirely new light

My friend told me that if I read the new book it would blow my mind.

blue in the face

- very angry or upset, excited and very emotional

He argued with the supervisor until he was blue in the face.

boggle the mind

- stop the normal thinking process by being fantastic or incredible, unbelievable

It really boggles the mind when you think how quickly the Internet began to have a major impact on people's lives.

born with a silver spoon in one`s mouth

- born to wealth and comfort, born rich

The boy was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has never had to work at all in his life.

bonehead

- an unusually dense or stupid person

He is such a bonehead. He never understands what other people are trying to tell him.

brain drain

- the loss of talented and educated people of a country to other countries where conditions are better

There is a brain drain from many countries to the United States where some conditions are very good.

button one`s lip

- stop talking, keep a secret, be quiet

Please button your lip so that we can hear what the speaker is saying.

by the skin of one`s teeth

- by a narrow margin, barely

We were able to catch the train by the skin of our teeth.

by the sweat of one`s brow

- by hard work

He built up the business by the sweat of his brow.

by word of mouth

- orally, from person to person by the spoken word

I learned that there would be a holiday next week by word of mouth.

cat get`s one`s tongue

- one is not willing to talk because of shyness

The cat seemed to have gotten her tongue and she was not able to say anything.

cheek by jowl

- side by side, in close

The boxes were placed in the room cheek by jowl and nothing else could fit in.

cross one`s mind

- be a sudden or passing thought, come to one's mind

It suddenly crossed my mind that the store would be closed all day on Monday.

curl one`s hair

- shock, frighten, horrify

The movie is very realistic and many of the scenes will curl your hair.

foam at the mouth

- be very angry (like a mad dog)

The girl's father was so angry that he was foaming at the mouth.

get through one`s head

- understand or believe

It was difficult to get it through the bank manager's head that I didn't want to borrow any more money.

give someone a piece of one`s mind

- scold angrily, say what one really thinks to someone

I gave the store manager a piece of my mind when I told him about the broken product.

go to one`s head

- make someone too proud, make a person think he or she is too important

I think that his new job has gone to his head and he thinks that he is much better than everyone else.

go to one's head

- make one dizzy

The alcohol quickly went to his head and he had to sit down for awhile.

hair stands on end

- the hair of one's head rises because of fright

My hair stood on end when I saw the large dog run out and begin to bark at me.

have rocks in one`s head

- be stupid, not have good judgement

He must have rocks in his head if he thinks that I am going to lend him any more money.

head above water

- out of difficulty, clear of trouble

My brother has been having a hard time keeping his head above water since he lost his job.

head-hunting

- search for qualified individuals to fill certain positions

The company has been head-hunting for many months in order to try and find a new president.

head-on

- with the head or front pointing at something, with the front facing

There was a head-on crash last night near our house that left three people dead.

head over heels

- upside down, head first

The little boy fell head over heels in love with the girl in his class.

head shrinker

- psychiatrist

When I was a child my next door neighbor was a head shrinker.

hide/bury one`s head in the sand

- keep from seeing, knowing or understanding something dangerous or unpleasant, refuse to see or face something

His father always buries his head in the sand and never wants to deal with any problems.

hold one`s tongue

- be silent, not talk

"Please hold your tongue", the teacher said to the young boy.

in one`s face

- abruptly, unexpectedly

The plan to have a going away party for our boss blew up in our face when we heard he would not attend.

in one`s hair

- bothering one, always annoying someone

My sister's small son is always in her hair when she is making dinner.

keep a stiff upper lip

- be brave, face trouble bravely

We managed to keep a stiff upper lip when the company announced that they would close down our office.

keep one`s chin up

- be brave, be determined, face trouble with courage

My brother is trying to keep his chin up even though he has lost his job.

keep one`s head

- stay calm when there is trouble or danger

Everyone tried to keep their head during the fire at the hotel.

keep one`s mouth shut

- be or stay silent

I tried hard to keep my mouth shut during the salesman's speech.

leave a bad taste in one`s mouth

- make a bad impression, make or feel disgusted

The way that the company treated the workers left a bad taste in our mouth.

let one`s hair down

- act freely and naturally, relax

We were able to let our hair down at the party and have a good time.

lip service

- support for something shown by words but not by actions

The politician paid lip service to the proposal to build a new subway system but he didn't really want one.

long face

- a sad or disappointed look

He had a long face after he was fired from his job.

lose face

- be embarassed or ashamed by an error or failure, lose self-respect

The manager lost face when the person that she hired to help her was useless as a worker.

loudmouth/bigmouth

- a noisy, boastful or foolish talker

My friend is a loudmouth and is always making foolish plans that he never carries out.

make head or tail of something (usually negative)

- find meaning in , understand

I was unable to make head nor tail of our company's plans to restructure our department.

make one`s mouth water

- look or smell very good, make one want to eat or drink something one sees or smells

The smell of the fish cooking in the restaurant made my mouth water.

make up one`s mind

- choose what to do, decide

I have still not been able to make up my mind as to whether or not to return to school.

melt in one`s mouth

- be so tender as to seem to need no chewing, taste very good

The pasta served at the new restaurant melted in our mouth.

off the top of one`s head

- without thinking hard, quickly

I was unable to remember the name of the restaurant off the top of my head.

on/upon one`s head

- on one's self

The little boy brought the anger of his parent's upon his head.

out of one`s hair

- get rid of a nuisance or annoyance

My sister wants to get her daughter permanently out of her hair.

over one`s head

- not understandable, beyond one's ability to understand

The mathematics lectures went over my head during the first few weeks.

pick the brains of

- get ideas or information about something by asking an expert

We picked the brains of the official who was sent to talk about the pollution problem.

put one`s foot in one`s mouth

- get into trouble by saying something embarassing or rude

My colleague put his foot in his mouth when he told everyone that he didn't like the new manager.

put our heads together

- confer, discuss, talk

We put our heads together with the other members of the department to try and find a solution to the problem.

put (something or someone) out of one's head/mind

- try to forget someone or something

I was forced to put my holidays out of my head when we had the emergency problems at our company.

put words into one`s mouth

- say without proof that another person has certain feelings or opinions

My boss was putting words into my mouth when he told me what he thought that I wanted to do.

rack one`s brain

- try one's best to think, make a great mental effort

I racked my brain for over an hour to try and figure out what to do about the problem with the new computer.

ram (something) down someone's throat

- force one to do or agree to something not wanted

The lawyer rammed the settlement down our throats even though we were not happy with it.

save face

- save one's good reputation, popularity or dignity when something has happened to hurt one

The government was unable to save face after they failed to reach an agreement with the union over pension benefits.

say a mouthful

- say something of great importance or meaning, say more by a sentence than the words usually mean

The little boy said a mouthful when he began to talk about the complicated history material.

sink (get) one`s teeth into something

- have something real or solid to think about, struggle with

I was finally able to sink my teeth into the problem and began to find a solution.

slap in the face

- insult

The fact that an extreme candidate won the election was a slap in the face to the moderate voters.

slip of the tongue

- the mistake of saying something one had not wanted or planned to say, an error of speech

I made a slip of the tongue when I told the woman who everyone hates that we would have a party.

split hairs

- find and argue about small and unimportant differences

My boss is always splitting hairs when I try and talk to him about something important.

swelled head

- a feeling that one is very important or more important than one really is

My sister has a swelled head since she got the new job that many people had applied for.

take it on the chin

- be badly beaten or hurt, get into trouble

He was forced to take it on the chin when he got into the fight with the man at the store.

take the words out of one`s mouth

- say what another was just going to say, put another's thoughts into words

He took the words right out of my mouth when he said that he wanted to go and get something to eat.

tooth and nail

- fiercely, fighting as hard as possible

We fought tooth and nail to get the new wing of the hospital opened.

turn the other cheek

- let someone do something to one and not do it in return, not hit back when hit

We were told in school that we should always turn the other cheek when we were attacked by someone.

up to the chin in

- very busy with, working hard at, having very much or many of

She has been up to her chin all morning in work to try and get ready for the party.

use one`s head

- use one's brain or mind, think, have common sense

Sometimes I think that the manager of the video store never uses her head at all when you ask her a question.

Idiom Quizzes - Mind

    Choose an idiom at the bottom to replace the expression in the brackets below:

  1. He has had a (high opinion of himself) since he got his new job.

    (a) bonehead (b) big head (c) head-on (d) long face



  2. The platter of food in the front window (made me want to eat it).

    (a) put my foot in my mouth (b) melted in my mouth (c) said a mouthful (d) made my mouth water



  3. He was (arguing about something unimportant) when he began to talk about the transportation costs for the material.

    (a) splitting hairs (b) turning the other cheek (c) saying a mouthful (d) keeping his chin up



  4. My grandfather is very (forgetful) and often forgets his keys.

    (a) tooth and nail (b) blue in the face (c) absent-minded (d) head over heels



  5. My uncle (faced his problems bravely) when the bank tried to close down his business.

    (a) kept a stiff upper lip (b) let his hair down (c) had rocks in his head (d) buttoned his lip



  6. The name of the new book was (at the point that I could almost remember) but I still couldn't remember it.

    (a) by the skin of my teeth (b) going to my head (c) at the tip of my tongue (d) holding my tongue



  7. It really (seems unbelievable) as to the amount of money he lost in his business.

    (a) buttons your lip (b) boggles the mind (c) leaves a bad taste in your mouth (d) says a mouthful



  8. That man is a (stupid person) and doesn't understand anything that I tell him.

    (a) slap in the face (b) head shrinker (c) swelled head (d) bonehead



  9. I was able to make it to the train (just barely).

    (a) by the skin of my teeth (b) foaming at the mouth (c) cheek by jowl (d) blue in the face



  10. He is a hard worker and built up his business (by his own hard work).

    (a) beating his head against a wall (b) by the skin of his teeth (c) by the sweat of his brow (d) head over heels



  11. I heard about the new store (from my friends).

    (a) by word of mouth (b) in my face (c) head over heels (d) out of my hair



  12. It would (shock you) to learn how much my friend spends on food each month.

    (a) go to your head (b) curl your hair (c) bury your head in the sand (d) put your heads together



  13. You should try to (forget) that you lost your wallet and credit cards.

    (a) take it on the chin (b) use your head (c) make up your mind (d) put it out of your mind



  14. We met this morning and (talked) to see what to do about the broken furnace.

    (a) rammed everything down our throats (b) put our foot in our mouths (c) put our heads together (d) put words in our mouths



  15. I spent the morning (asking questions of) the electrician to see how the electrical system in our house functioned.

    (a) picking the brains of (b) racking the brains of (c) splitting hairs with (d) turning the other cheek of



  16. My sister brought her baby over to get the child (to stop bothering her).

    (a) by the skin of her teeth (b) armed to the teeth (c) out of her hair (d) beat into her head



  17. I can't really (understand) the reason that my friend quit his job.

    (a) pick the brains of (b) make head nor tail of (c) bury my head in the sand of (d) keep a stiff upper lip of



  18. That man is a (boastful and foolish talker) so nobody likes him.

    (a) swelled head (b) bad-mouth (c) loudmouth (d) big head



  19. The mayor gave (his support) to the new proposal but he didn't really like it.

    (a) lip service (b) word of mouth (c) cheek by jowl (d)head over heels



  20. I had to (keep silent) although I disagreed with everything that the man said.

    (a) hide my head in the sand (b) let my hair down (c) make up my mind (d) hold my tongue



  21. I was able to keep (out of difficulty) during the severe economic conditions in our company.

    (a) off the top of my head (b) my head above water (c) saving face (d) taking it on the chin



  22. The car salesman must (be stupid) to think that I would buy such an expensive car.

    (a) turn the other cheek (b) have rocks in his head (c) use his head (d) say a mouthful



  23. It (came to my mind) that if I left work early I could probably get to the station and meet my boss before he left.

    (a) made up my mind (b) left a bad taste in my mouth (c) crossed my mind (d) has rocks in my head



  24. I argued until I was (very angry and upset) but it never solved anything of course.

    (a) curling my hair (b) buttoning my lip (c) born with a silver spoon in my mouth (d) blue in the face



  25. I tried to remember my doctor's name (without thinking too hard) but I couldn't remember it.

    (a) off the top of my head (b) blowing my mind (c) boggling my mind (d) by word of mouth