AMERICAN IDIOMS STARTING WITH ‘A’

• About time:  Nearly time, high time. ex. “It’s about time you bought a new car!”
• Absence makes the heart grow fonder:  Proverb that means that our feeling for those we love increases when we are apart from them.

 

•  (To) act high and mighty:  To act proudly and arrogantly. ex. “He has been acting all high and mighty ever since he chased away that mouse.”

• Actions speak louder than words: Proverb meaning that’s it’s better to do something about a problem than to talk about it.

• (To) act one’s age: To behave in a more mature way. Frequently said to a child or teen. ex. “Bill, stop throwing rocks! Act your age!”

• (To) add fuel to the fire:  To make a bad problem even worse. ex. “He added fuel to the fire by bringing up old grudges while they were arguing.”

•  (To) add insult to injury: To make a bad situation even worse.

• Against the clock: To attempt to do something “against the clock” is to attempt to do something as fast as possible, usually in order to make a deadline. ex. “They were working against the clock to finish the project.”

 

• All out (adj./adv.): Full-scale; complete. ex: “They said it was only a few skirmishes, but it was an all-out war.”

 

•  All set:  Ready (to go). ex. “All set?”

• All thumbs:  Awkward. Clumsy.

  

• A little bird told me: When someone says “a little bird told me”, it means they don’t want you to know who told them.

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• All in a day’s work: Typical; normal; par for the course. ex. “Talking to famous celebrities is all in a day’s work for some Hollywood reporters.”

 

• (From) all walks of life: (From) all social, economic, and ethnic groups. ex. “People from all walks of life voted for him, but he still lost the presidential election.”

 

•  Apple of someone’s eye:  Someone’s favorite person (and sometimes thing). ex. “Sarah was the apple of Tom’s eye for quite a long time. He was very much in love with her.”

• Armed to the teeth: Heavily armed. ex. “The rebels were armed to the teeth.”

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•  At all hours (of the night): Very late at night, throughout the night. ex. “Her boyfriend would call her at all hours of the night.”

 

• At each other’s throats: Fighting or arguing hard. ex. “They were at each other’s throats. The arguments never stopped.”  Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were at each other’s throats as George and Martha.

 

•  At this stage: At this point. ex. “At this stage, it’s difficult to say who will win the election.”

 

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JANET’S PROFILE

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