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The idiom for this week is to “get the hang of” something.  This expression is used when we want to talk about becoming skillful at something after starting to do it for the first time. For example:

I know chess can be hard, but I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it eventually.

I don’t think I’ll ever get the hang of this new computer software. It’s so confusing!

At first, speaking Japanese was really hard for me, but I got the hang of it after a little while.

My grandmother tried to teach my mom how to knit, but she never got the hang of it.

Hey, I’m think I’m actually getting the hang of this new video game! I just scored 10,000 points!

When we use this expression, we use either the past tense (I got the hang of it), future tense (I will get the hang of it) or present continuous tense (I’m getting the hang of it). We can’t use the simple present tense with this expression.

Also, if we use it in the negative, it’s very common to use the word “never”. Therefore, we often say “She never got the hang of it.” or “I’ll never get the hang of it.” However, if we use the present continuous, we don’t use the word “never”. So, we would say “I’m not getting the hang of this.” Note that we use the word “this” instead of “it” because it’s happening at that moment.

I know that English idioms can be hard, but I’m sure you’ll get the hang of using them if you study hard!

Last week I heard someone on a TV show use an idiom that I’d like to write about today. The expression is to be “all ears”. This is used when we want to say to another person that we will listen to them with our full attention. For example:

A: I have something to tell you.

B: Ok, I’m all ears. What is it?

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A: I have some great news for you guys!

B: Really? We’re all ears! What’s your news?

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A: There’s something I have to say to you.

B: Ok, give me just one minute to finish this and then I’m all ears.

So, as you can see, this expression is used as a response to another person’s statement that they want to say something to us. We use it when talking about ourselves or our group. Therefore, we can say “I’m all ears.” or “We’re all ears.”, but we DON’T say things like, “He’s all ears.” or “You’re all ears.” If we say this, it will sound strange.

The idiom for this week is “when push comes to shove”. First of all, it’s important to know the meaning of the word “shove”. It is a verb which means to push someone or something very hard. It is pronounced /shuv/.

We use the idiom “when push comes to shove” when we want to talk about a situation that has become so serious that someone must take action in order to deal with it.

So, with this idiom, the word “push” represents the normal, not so serious situation, and the word “shove” represents the much more serious situation which has developed. So, if the normal situation becomes a serious situation, someone will do something about it. For example:

My friend Henry can be quite lazy, but when push comes to shove, he’ll do his work.

My parents don’t want to give money to me because I’m now an adult, but if push comes to shove, I know they’ll always lend me money.

My sister is a very busy woman, but when push comes to shove, she’ll always make time to talk to me.

My team and I can finish the project by the deadline, because if push comes to shove, we will work overtime.

So, in these examples, the normal situations are: Henry is lazy, my parents don’t lend me money, my sister is too busy to talk to me, my team doesn’t work overtime; however, if the situation becomes worse, then it changes: Henry will do his work, my parents will lend me money, my sister will make time to talk to me, my team will work overtime.

I’m sure you’ve all had the experience of meeting someone for the first time and not liking the person because they say or do something which annoys you. In that situation, you can use today’s idiom: to “rub someone the wrong way”. This is used when talking about people that we don’t like. When giving the reason we don’t like them, we can use this expression. For example:

I don’t like my new co-worker. I don’t know why, but he just rubs me the wrong way.

There’s a new student in my class, and the others don’t like him very much. He really rubbed them the wrong way when he started asking them really personal questions.

Tracy has a very aggressive personality, and she can really rub people the wrong way. I’ve tried to explain that to her, but she doesn’t listen to me.

Ian is always talking about sex, and he can really rub some people the wrong way because of it.

So, with this expression, we can only use it about ourselves or other people, but we don’t use it when speaking directly to someone. Therefore, we DON’T say, “You rub me the wrong way.” It would be very rude to say that, and it also sounds a little unnatural.

We have a few ways in English to talk about being crazy. Today’s idiom, to be “out of one’s mind” is one of them. So basically it means that someone is crazy. However, we don’t usually use this idiom when talking about a person with a serious mental illness; we usually use it when we are shocked by someone’s unusual behavior or idea. For example:

You want me to go bungee jumping with you? Are you out of your mind?!  

I must have been out of my mind when I agreed to make dinner for ten people! It’s so much work!

Matt is out of his mind if he thinks he’ll be able to get into Harvard. He didn’t get very good grades in high school.

My friends like to get up at 5:30 a.m. and go jogging. They enjoy doing it but, personally, I think they’re out of their minds.

This expression can be a little strong when used directly with someone. So saying, “Are you out of your mind?” is quite strong. It’s ok to say this with close friends, but please be careful with your intonation. If your voice is very flat or if your intonation goes down, it will sound very negative. However, if your intonation is up and light, it will sound like a joke.

The idiom for this week is to get or have something “down pat”. It is used when we want to talk about repeating something until we know it perfectly or practicing something until we have a very high skill level at it. For example:

I have to memorize this speech until I have it down pat.

I heard that if you want to get an A in Mr. Tanaka’s Japanese class, you have to get the grammar down pat.

I practiced this song on the piano all last week, so I think I have it down pat now.

My daughter’s dance teacher said she couldn’t perform in the dance show unless she gets the dance routine down pat.

I hope you find this expression interesting. If you want to improve your English, my advice (as always) is to memorize sentences until you have them down pat. Then you can change the small details in order to create new sentences. Good luck!  🙂

The idiom for this week is “to be a flash in the pan”. This expression is used when we want to talk about someone or something that is famous and popular at first, but then stops being popular and disappears from public view. It can be used to talk about entertainers, products, TV shows, etc. For example:

I thought the band Mercury Rising was going to be really successful after their first hit, but they turned out to be just a flash in the pan. Nobody listens to their music anymore.

A few years ago at Christmas there was a really popular doll that everyone wanted to buy, but that didn’t last long. It was just a flash in the pan.

The  TV show Roommates was really good and it was very popular, but it was cancelled after its first season. After the first few episodes the writing wasn’t so good, and it became a flash in the pan.

As you can see in the first two examples, we often use the word “just” at the beginning of the expression. It’s not necessary to do this but it’s a very natural way of using this idiom.

The idiom for this week is “to call it a day”. We can also say “to call it a night”. These expressions are used when we want to say it’s time to go home after doing something like working. It can be used for work, but we can also use it in social situations. We usually use “to call it a night” in social situations. For example:

We’ve been working for over ten hours! Let’s call it a day. I’ll see you tomorrow.

I’m really tired now. What do you say we call it a day and continue working on this tomorrow morning?

This party has been really fun, but I think it’s time for me to call it a night. Thank you for inviting me to your party though.

My last train will leave soon, so I should call it a night. Let’s go drinking again sometime!

This idiom is a good way to wrap up an evening and let people know that you want to go home. However, in work situations, only the boss or high level person should say it. It’s NOT appropriate for a person to say, “Let’s call it a day.” to their boss.

Last night, when I was with one of my friends, I found myself using an idiom that’s quite useful: “to get my second wind”. We can also say “to get a second wind”. The meaning of this idiom is that we experience a renewed sense of energy after being tired or sleepy. For example:

I was really tired last night at the nightclub, but I got a second wind at around 1:00 a.m. After that, I was able to dance for another two hours!

A: Are you ok to do the presentation? You looked really sleepy a little while ago.

B: I’m ok now. I got my second wind a few minutes ago.

I’m always sleepy after I eat lunch, but I usually get a second wind at about 2:00 p.m.

Somebody once asked me if this feeling of renewed energy is always natural or if it’s induced by doing something such as drinking caffeine. It’s a good question and, in my opinion, I would say it’s a natural feeling that is not induced by any chemicals. However, when we get more energy after drinking something, we could say something like:

If I’m sleepy at work, I drink some coffee and it always gives me a second wind.

It’s possible to use this kind of expression: for something to give one a second wind. However, again in my opinion, that’s not used so much in English. In these situation, I think more people would use the phrasal verbs: “pick up” or “perk up”. For example:

If I’m sleepy at work, I drink some coffee and that always picks me up.

I was sleepy after lunch, so I drank some Coke and it really perked me up.

I hope that everyone is having a great week!

I hope everyone is having a great Sunday. The idiom for this week is “to be hit and miss”. It is used to talk about either the quality of something or a person’s rate of success at something. When we use this expression, we are saying the the quality of something is sometimes good and sometimes bad, or that someone is sometimes successful at doing something and sometimes not. For example:

The quality of the food at this restaurant is very hit and miss, so I’d rather go somewhere else.

These days, the quality of Jim Harmon’s movies is really hit and miss. He used to make consistently good films though.

Drew Littleton’s game is really hit and miss right now. He used to be a much better golfer.

Chris used to be the top salesman at ABC Company, but nowadays his sales performance is extremely hit and miss.

When we use this expression, it’s very common to add the words “very”, “really”, or “extremely” at the beginning of the idiom. If anyone has any questions, please let me know.