|
Idiom |
Definition |
Usage |
| each and every |
absolutely every |
I want each and
every one of you to bring your textbooks tomorrow. |
| eager beaver |
person willing to do
extra work |
At work, he is an
eager beaver. |
| ear to the
ground |
paid attention to
everything |
He kept his ear
to the ground and knew about the changes before
everyone else. |
| ease off |
reduce |
The president was asked
to ease off some of the new company rules. |
| easy come, easy
go |
unimportant |
For him, losing his job
was easy come, easy go. |
| easy does it |
Slowly |
Easy does it
is the best way to learn to drive a car. |
| easy-going |
relaxed |
She has a very
easy-going management style. |
| easy grader |
lenient when grading |
My friends said she's an
easy grader. |
| easy mark |
likely victims |
The elderly are an
easy mark because they usually carry cash. |
| eat away at |
bother |
The problem really began
to eat away at him. |
| eat away at |
destroy |
The mildew began to
eat away at the window frame. |
| eat crow |
admit to the mistake |
He was forced to
eat crow. |
| eat dirt |
accept insults |
He made the senior
manager eat dirt because of the way he was
mistreated. |
| eat humble pie |
admit to the mistake and
apologize |
He was forced to
eat humble pie. |
| eat like a bird |
very little |
I know that you usually
eat like a bird. |
| eat like a horse |
a lot |
I know that you usually
eat like a horse. |
| eat like a pig |
a lot |
I know that you usually
eat like a pig. |
| eat one's words |
admit he was wrong |
He was forced to
eat his words after his boss found the mistake. |
| eat out |
eat in a restaurant |
She like to eat
out three or four times a week. |
| eating someone |
bothering |
I do not know what is
eating her today. |
| egg someone on |
push him |
She likes to egg
him on to fight more when they have an argument. |
| eke out |
just barely make |
He was able to
eke out a living with the restaurant. |
| elbow grease |
effort and strength |
You need to use a lot of
elbow grease to get the kitchen cleaned. |
| elbow room |
space |
They moved to the
country in order to have a little more elbow room. |
| end in itself |
the main purpose or goal |
For some people
traveling is an end in itself and the
destination is not important. |
| end of one's
rope |
last of his ideas |
He is at the end
of his rope regarding what to do about his job. |
| end up |
finally be |
I knew that she would
end up at the dessert counter. |
| even so |
nevertheless |
He always works hard but
even so he has no money saved. |
| every dog has
his day |
everyone will have a
chance or turn |
You should know that
every dog has his day. |
| every other |
on each alternate |
She has to work
every other Saturday evening. |
| every so often |
occasionally |
You should send email
every so often. |
| every Tom, Dick
and Harry |
the average person |
He is not the same as
every Tom, Dick and Harry. |
| eyes are bigger
than one's stomach |
desire for the food is
greater than what she can actually eat |
Every time she orders
food, her eyes are bigger than her stomach. |
| eyes in the back
of one's head |
the ability to know what
is happening behind her
|
She has eyes in
the back of her head. |
| eyes pop out |
surprise |
Watch her eyes
pop out when she sees all this money. |
In
this lesson you will learn American English idioms beginning with
the letter E. You will learn the definition and study the usage of
each idiom.
