Idiom #20: Get your head in the game

Get your head in the game

Meaning: To concentrate/focus.

Example:

• Aiko: Hey, Mark let's play basketball again!
• Mark: Ok, but I have to teach class in 15 minutes.

5 minutes later: Mark: 5 points, Aiko: 56 points

• Aiko: Come on Mark! Get your head in the game!
• Mark: I'm trying!
• Aiko: You have to stop worrying about class.
• Mark: Ok...

a dog concentrating very hard

Origin: This is a sports idiom, but of course you can use it outside of sports. If you are playing a basketball game, don't think about school, or cute girls/boys, or dinner. If you do, your body is in the game, but your mind (your head) is somewhere else.

You can see this idiom used in the video below!

High School Musical 1

Questions? Comment below please!

Idiom #19: Hit the nail on the head

Hit the nail on the head

Meaning: to do the right thing exactly; to exactly describe a situation.

Example:

• Mary: I want to go to Japan!
• Shelly: Is it to visit all our friends?
• Mary: Yeah, that's important, but...
• Abby: I bet it's to see some CUTE guys!!!
• Mary: ... *silent* ...
• Shelly: I think you hit the nail on the head Abby.

hammer hitting a nail on the nail's head

some cute Japanese guys

Origin: In English, the top of a nail is called a "head". To say that you hit the nail on the head means that you did something really, really great! Or, in Abby's case, you said the exact truth. :)

Feel free to comment below. Until Next time~

Idiom #18: Eyes are bigger than your stomach

Eyes are bigger than stomach

Meaning: someone wants more food than they can eat

Example:
At McDonald's

• Taka: I'll have 5 cheeseburgers, 2 large fries, 1 drink, and 1 ice cream!
• Taito: You can't eat all of that!
• Taka: Yes I can. I haven't eaten breakfast yet.
• Taito: Hmmm...I think your eyes are bigger than your stomach.

awww...cute!

Extra Info: This is usually used to scold someone who usually cannot finish all of their food. This has been used for a long, long time. Some people also use "belly" instead of "stomach".

Questions? Post them below!

Idiom # 17: Suit Yourself

Suit yourself

Meaning: Do whatever you want (I don't mind).

Example:

• Victor: Hey Taito, I'm going to the mall. Do you want to come?
• Taito: Really? Oh...um...I don't know. I kind of want to watch TV...
• Victor: You can watch TV any time! Let's go!
• Taito: Ah...but...um...
• Victor: Yes? No? I have to leave soon.
• Taito: Um...well...ah...maybe, no...
• Victor: Ok, suit yourself! I'll go without you!

I get my suits from China

Origin: In the old days, if someone said "suit yourself" it would mean to put on your own clothing (that you own) instead of going to a tailor and getting a new one made.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Leave a post!

Idiom #16: Between a Rock and a hard place

Between a rock and a hard place

Meaning: You are in the middle of two or more hard choices.

Example:

• Mary: Shelly, I'm between a rock and a hard place!
• Shelly: Why? What's wrong?
• Mary: I have plans to go to Japan next month, but...
• Shelly: But...!?
• Mary: One of my good friends just told me she's getting married next month too!
• Shelly: Oh no!!! Those are two hard choices huh?!

help me...

Origin: Some people say "between a rock and a hard spot"; they both mean the same thing. "Rocks" are hard, and of course, "hard places" are hard! Please imagine yourself in this situation. You want to get out, but wherever you go is "hard" and maybe "hurts".

Questions? Comment below!

Idiom #15: In the nick of time

In the nick of time

Meaning: at the last possible time/moment

Example:

• Victor: Where is Taito? I've been waiting for 10 minutes!

5 minutes later...

• Victor: Ahh! I can't wait any longer, I have to go!
• Taito: I'm here!!!!
• Victor: Ah, you came in the nick of time. One more minute and I would have left.
• Taito: I'm sorry!!!

woah, time!

Origin: A nick or notch is a small cut made into something. Nicks used to be used to keep score or count something. Nicks are precise and small; So to say "in the nick of time" means that an event happened at a precise or exact time.

a nick in a stick

Comment below if you have a question, please!

Idiom #14: Bite the dust

Sorry I haven't been "on the ball" recently, but here's today's phrase:

Bite the dust

Meaning: To fail; to lose; to die

Example:

• Mark: Oh no, I think this old car is about to bite the dust...
• Mami: What!? Why? How old is this car?
• Mark: I've had it for 5 years.
• Mami: Nooo, it's too young to die!

Ouch!

Origin: This phrase comes from the days of the cowboys. If a rider fell off his horse, he was said to have "bit the dust". And of course the cowboy would find himself with a mouth full of dust/dirt/sand. The words were made even more famous when Queen used it in their song "Another One Bites the Dust". You can watch it here below!

Questions? Suggestions? Comment below please!