The English Language is full of idiomatic phrases. These are phrases that cannot be understood by simply looking up the separate words in a dictionary. The only way to learn these is one by one as you come across them.

horse play: This refers to playing around, not being serious.

e.g. The boys were throwing a ball around and there was a great deal of horse play going on.

Please stop the horse play and start taking things seriously.

a fine kettle of fish: a true mess, a muddle.

e.g. The problems you have caused me are a fine kettle of fish.

What a muddle you are in, the whole thing is a fine kettle of fish.

as the crow flies: in a straight line.

e.g. If you follow the road it is five miles away but just two as the crow flies.

a stiff upper lip: not showing emotion.

e. g. Although he was upset, he kept a stiff upper lip.

a blind alley: a route that leads nowhere.

e.g. The clues the police found got no results. They led them up a blind alley.

He told me where to find the money but his information led me up a blind alley.

a dead cert: an absolute certainty.

e.g. He told me that the horse would win the race because it was a dead cert.

a flash in the pan: an idea, or project that is short lived.

e.g. He wanted to be an astronaut but changed his mind, then he wanted to be a fire fighter but that was a flash in the pan too.

the lion's share: the largest share.

e.g. He said that he had divided the cake fairly but I saw him move the knife across to give himself the lion's share.

bats in the belfry: to be insane, crazy, mad

e.g. Last week she thought she was the Queen but we took no notice because everyone knows that she has bats in the belfry.

not a patch on: not as good as.

e.g. Modern rock bands are not a patch on the ones from the sixties and seventies.

by hook or by crook: by any means, whatever happens

e.g. He was determined that by hook or by crook he would win the game.

a far cry: a long way from

e.g. He said that he didn't mean to do it but that was a far cry from making things right again.

She did her best but it was a far cry from perfect.

Remember these idioms and use them in everyday speech. They will improve the quality of your spoken English and give it richness and texture.

Copyright: Louie Jerome 2008

Louie Jerome is a UK writer, editor and publisher. She is also a teacher of English as a foreign language.

Writer Soup is a monthly internet magazine for writers and readers. http://www.learn-english-now.co.uk