"Break the ice", To chill a drink quickly, To prepare for a winter storm, To start a conversation in a social setting, To end a friendship abruptly, "Let the cat out of the bag", To reveal a secret accidentally, To admit you were wrong, To perform a magic trick, To let a problem get out of control, "Barking up the wrong tree", Being louder than necessary, Trying to help someone who doesn't want it, Forgetting where you hid something, Following a mistaken line of thought, "Kill two birds with one stone", To be unnecessarily cruel, To solve two problems at once, To finish a task ahead of schedule, To take a huge risk for a small reward, "Cry over spilled milk", To be sensitive to criticism, To waste time on minor chores, To worry about something that can’t be fixed, To complain about a lack of resources, "Straight from the horse's mouth", A rumor heard in the hallway, A very blunt or rude comment, Advice given by an elder, Information from the highest authority, "Butterflies in your stomach", Feeling hungry for a snack, Feeling nervous or anxious, Feeling physically ill from excitement, Feeling lightheaded or dizzy, "The elephant in the room", A guest who wasn't invited, A very important person in the group, A major problem everyone is ignoring, A messy workspace, "Wild goose chase", A fast-paced competition, A traditional outdoor game, A confusing set of instructions, A hopeless search or pursuit, "Under the weather", Feeling sick or unwell, Stuck in a bad storm, Being depressed or sad, Not having enough money, "Burn the midnight oil", To stay up playing games, To waste expensive electricity, To work late into the night, To start a project at the last minute, "Cut corners", To be very precise with a task, To simplify a complex math problem, To take a faster route to work, To do something poorly to save time or money, "Back to the drawing board", To ask for an expert's opinion, To start over after a failure, To improve your artistic skills, To find a cheaper way to finish a project, "Call it a day", To set a date for a meeting, To celebrate a small victory, To wake up early, To stop working on something, "Get your foot in the door", To be physically blocked from leaving, To be pushy or aggressive, To get a small start in an organization, To learn the layout of a building, "Bite off more than you can chew", To take on a task that is too big, To eat too much at dinner, To be overly ambitious but successful, To speak without thinking, "Keep your chin up", To show off your confidence, To pay attention to the teacher, To stay positive in a tough situation, To ignore someone you dislike, "Go the extra mile", To do more than is expected, To travel for a vacation, To win a long-distance race, To make a long-term commitment, "In the red", Being caught doing something wrong, Being extremely angry or frustrated, Losing money or being in debt, Being the center of attention, "The ball is in your court", You have won the argument, You are being blamed for a mistake, You are the best player on the team, It is your turn to make a decision, "Beat around the bush", To look for something lost, To be very thorough in an explanation, To avoid saying what you mean, To hesitate before taking action, "Take it with a grain of salt", To be very thirsty, To add more detail to a story, To be suspicious of a meal, To not take something too seriously, "Speak of the devil", To tell a scary story, When someone appears as you mention them, To criticize someone behind their back, To predict something bad will happen, "Pull someone’s leg", To joke with or tease someone, To help someone who is falling, To convince someone to do a favor, To distract someone from their work, "Best of both worlds", To be a world traveler, To have two different jobs, To enjoy the advantages of two different things, To win two awards at once, "Get out of hand", To drop a heavy object, To finish a project quickly, To refuse to help someone, To lose control of a situation, "The last straw", The final item on a grocery list, The end of a summer vacation, The final problem in a series of problems, The most important part of a plan, "Wrap your head around something", To wear a headband or hat, To understand something complex, To think about something for too long, To change your mind about an issue, "Miss the boat", To forget a scheduled appointment, To be afraid of the water, To miss an opportunity, To fail a test you didn't study for, "By the skin of your teeth", To be very brave, To be in need of a dentist, To barely succeed at something, To work extremely hard, "Break a leg", To fail miserably, To quit a job, Good luck (before a performance), To push yourself too hard physically, "Cost an arm and a leg", To be very expensive, To be physically demanding, To be a fair trade for hard work, To be a painful experience, "Give someone the cold shoulder", To help someone cool down, To tell someone a harsh truth, To ignore someone on purpose, To be rude to a stranger, "On the tip of my tongue", About to say something rude, Tasting something strange, Almost remembering a word or name, Having a secret you want to share, "Rule of thumb", A general or approximate guideline, A strict law that must be followed, A way to measure small objects, A technique for gardening, "See eye to eye", To stare at someone in anger, To be suspicious of someone, To be the exact same height, To agree with someone, "Keep an eye on someone", To mimic someone's behavior, To watch someone carefully, To look for someone in a crowd, To give someone a stern look, "Off the top of my head", A hat being blown away, Something that is very obvious, From memory, without much thought, A crazy or wild idea, "Cold feet", To be unprepared for winter, To regret a small purchase, To be physically exhausted, To be nervous about a big commitment, "All ears", To be very loud, To be confused by instructions, To be listening very carefully, To be interested in gossip, "A piece of cake", A small portion of a larger task, A reward for hard work, Something very easy to do, A shared responsibility, "Blessing in disguise", A secret admirer, A lucky break that you didn't earn, A religious ceremony, A good thing that seemed bad at first, "Under the radar", To fly a plane low to the ground, To go unnoticed or stay hidden, To be protected from danger, To follow the rules strictly, "Spill the beans", To make a mess in the kitchen, To give away free food, To reveal a secret, To tell a lie to get out of trouble, "Through thick and thin", Through good and bad times, Through a dense forest, Between two different choices, Growing older and wiser, "Burn bridges", To build a new path, To start a fire as a signal, To destroy relationships or paths back, To take a risk with your career, "Sit on the fence", To be relaxed and comfortable, To watch a game from the sidelines, To be stuck in a difficult place, To be undecided on an issue, "Hit the hay", To go to sleep, To work hard in the garden, To be angry at someone, To find something you lost, "The icing on the cake", The most difficult part of a project, A sugary snack after a meal, Something extra that makes a good thing better, The final step in a recipe, "Once in a blue moon", Every single month, Very rarely, Only when you are lucky, During a specific time of year, "A Pyrrhic victory", A victory won by deception or cheating, A landslide victory that leaves no doubt of the winner, A success that is so costly it is as bad as a defeat, A victory achieved in a sporting event at the last second, "To tilt at windmills", To support renewable energy and green initiatives, To fight imaginary enemies or wasted causes, To be extremely lucky in high-stakes business, To travel without a specific destination in mind, "Steal someone's thunder", To take the attention or praise away from someone else, To predict a weather event correctly before it happens, To shout louder than a competitor during a debate, To reveal a secret about a friend to make yourself look good, "To go pear-shaped", To get into better physical condition through exercise, To become more expensive over a long period of time, To go wrong or fail spectacularly, To change one's mind frequently and without reason, "A stalking horse", A loyal and hardworking employee in a large company, A person who follows others on social media obsessively, A candidate used to test the strength of the opposition, An athlete who wins a race from a trailing position, "To throw down the gauntlet", To admit defeat in a public or formal setting, To issue a formal challenge to someone, To discard a useless piece of equipment or clothing, To clean up a messy workspace before a meeting, "To separate the wheat from the chaff", To distinguish between what is valuable and what is worthless, To cook a complicated multi-course meal for guests, To work in agricultural production during the harvest, To organize a large group of people into alphabetical order, "To read the riot act", To study the history of law and government systems, To perform in a dramatic and loud theater production, To give a sharp warning or severe reprimand, To encourage a crowd to take action against a leader, "To bite the bullet", To act in an aggressive or violent manner toward others, To endure a painful or difficult situation bravely, To make a major decision very quickly without thinking, To win a fight against a much stronger opponent, "A house of cards", A very successful and profitable gambling business, A secret organization or society that is hard to enter, A beautiful but small and fragile home in the country, A plan or structure that is very likely to fail, "To gild the lily", To try to improve something that is already perfect, To hide a flaw using expensive decorations or jewelry, To grow an award-winning garden in difficult conditions, To exaggerate your wealth to impress people you just met, "To cut the Gordian knot", To ruin a project by acting too quickly or carelessly, To solve a complex problem with a bold, simple stroke, To be very skilled at sewing, knitting, or other crafts, To end a long-standing friendship abruptly over a small issue, "The sword of Damocles", A symbol of a great warrior's physical strength and power, A legendary weapon found in ancient mythological ruins, A sense of constant or imminent danger, A difficult choice between two close friends or family members, "A chip on your shoulder", To have a physical injury from playing contact sports, To wear expensive or flashy clothing to show off, To hold a grudge or have an angry, defensive attitude, To be very proud of your recent personal accomplishments, "To rest on one's laurels", To take a nap in a public park or botanical garden, To be satisfied with past success and stop trying, To rely on family wealth rather than working for a living, To be forgotten by the public after retiring from a job, "To feather one's nest", To grow rich by taking advantage of your position, To prepare a home for a new arrival or a new baby, To become very interested in bird watching as a hobby, To decorate a room in a cozy and comfortable style, "To play devil's advocate", To encourage someone to make a bad or risky decision, To argue against an idea to test how strong it is, To defend a known criminal in a formal court of law, To be a naturally dishonest or manipulative person, "To pass the buck", To spend money carelessly on luxury items you don't need, To win a game of cards through pure luck rather than skill, To shift responsibility or blame to someone else, To cross a dangerous river in the wilderness during a storm, "To let sleeping dogs lie", To avoid restarting a finished argument or problem, To be very lazy on the weekend or during long holidays, To be an exceptionally kind and patient pet owner, To ignore a problem that is currently growing larger every day, "To fly off the handle", To be very successful in the field of commercial aviation, To lose your luggage while traveling abroad to another country, To lose one's temper suddenly and unexpectedly, To make a major life decision without thinking about the cost.

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