to total (one's car)

Idiom: to total (one's car)

Context #1:

Jay: Hey Sarah, I heard that you got into an accident on the freeway yesterday. Are you ok?

Sarah: Yeah... I'm OK, but my car isn't!

Jay: How bad is the damage? Can it be fixed?

Sarah: No way! I completely totalled my car. I'm going to have to buy a new one.

Jay: Wow! I'm really sorry to hear that. You're lucky you didn't get hurt.

Context #2:

Tom: The traffic on the 5 freeway was really bad this morning.

Joe: I know. I saw on the news that there was a bad accident. Some guy on a motorcyle lost control and hit the center divider. He was rushed to the hospital and his bike was totalled.

Meaning: the idiom "to total" is used for cars, motorcyles, and bicycles. It can be used in both the active (context #1) and passive forms (context #2). You can use this idiom in a situation where a car or bike is totally damaged. The vehicle can no longer be used. It is so damaged that it cannot be fixed. Basically, you have to get a new one.

This idiom comes from the LSI textbook "Spekaing Savvy." This book is used by LSI teachers in our Level 5 Speaking classes. For more information, please visit www.languagesystems.com

By Ty Mussack

To Make Someone’s Skin Crawl

To Make Someone’s Skin Crawl

Read the following e-mail and try to guess the meaning of the idiom in bold:

Dear Michelle,

Are you going to the Halloween party tomorrow?
I am so excited about it! I don’t know what I will be, though! I have not found a costume yet! I want to wear something that will make people really, really scared!
I want to make their skin crawl! Could you give me any suggestions?

Thank you so much! I hope to see you there!!

Ligia


What do you think "To Make Someone’s Skin Crawl" means?

Meaning: This idiom means to disturb or bother; to frighten or disgust.

This idiom was found in the LSI book Speaking Savvy.

What are you going to be for Halloween?

To Give Someone the Green Light

To Give Someone the Green Light

Read the following dialogue and try to guess the meaning of the idiom “to give someone the green light”

“Hey, Maria! How have you been?”
“Great! I haven’t seen you in a while! Have you bought that house yet?”
“Unfortunately, even after having saved all these years, I still don’t have enough money for it”
“Why don’t you try and get a loan?”
“ I’ve tried that, but the bank has not given me the green light! The manager said my credit is not good…”
“I am sorry to hear that.”

What do you think To Give Someone the Green Light means?

a. To take something from someone
b. To give someone permission to do something
c. To expect someone to do something
d. To drive by the green light

Meaning: To Give Someone the Green Light means to give someone permission to do something. In the dialogue above, the bank has not given Maria permission to loan money from them because her credit is bad.

You can find this idiom in the LSI book Speaking Savvy!

to fit in with

to fit in with

"to fit in with" means to be accepted by a group of people because you are similar to them. 

Example 1: 

      - Joanne: Hey Alex! How are you? I heard you are now working at a different company. How is it going?
 

      -  Alex: Hey Joanne. It's going great! I love my new position. It's just what I wanted! 

      -  Joanne: Great! But you know, to really enjoy your job it's important to have good relationship with people who work with you! And now you are in this new office with a bunch of people you have never met before. Is it difficult for you? 

       - Alex: No, not at all! I fitted in with my new colleagues right away! They treat like a friend, with respect!

Example 2:

- Christine didn't fit in with the people at my party at all!I shouldn't have invited her. My guests were all business professionals and she showed up in a mini skirt talking about her crazy trip to Amsterdam!

Meaning 1: 

     Alex feels good at his new job because he and his coworkers are probably similar in some ways: their passion to the job, life styles etc... He feels like he is one of them! 

Meaning for Example 2: 

Christine is very different from the people she met at the party. She looks different and they probably have different  interests, that's why she doesn't "fit in" with the business people she met there.
This idiom is from LSI's book "Reading Savvy," which is used in the Level 6 Reading classes. For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com/

Under the weather

Idiom: to be/feel under the weather

First Example:

Alan: Oh man! It’s midnight and I have to drive 100 miles to my house! I shouldn’t have drunk so much! I am not feeling good!!!

Jeremy: Alan, you shouldn’t drive. You can spend a night at my house. Many fatal accidents are caused by drivers who are under the weather.

Meaning: This idiom is use to explain a feeling of sickness, sadness, lack of energy or hangover. From the example, we see that Alan is not feeling good. He might have headache, feel nauseous or have hammering sound in his ears. It’s all caused by drinking too much.

Second Example:

Teacher: Ayaka, why are you so late today and why didn’t you do your homework?

Ayaka: Tim, I am feeling a bit under the weather today. I could not concentrate on my homework and I overslept this morning.

Teacher: Yeah, you don’t look good. You should go home and take care of yourself.  

Ayaka, the student, could not do her homework and had a hard time waking up in the morning because she was not feeling good. When the teacher said “ you don’t look good”, he meant that she looked sick, not that she didn't look pretty.

This idiom is from LSI's book "Speaking Savvy," which is used in the Level 5 Speaking classes. For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com/

to get in(to) shape

Idiom: to get in(to) shape; used as a verb

First Example:

Commercial: Are you ready to wear your bathing suit this Summer? Or did you gain too much weight over the holidays? Come on down to Fitness Center and get into shape. If you sign up now, you'll get two free training sessions to help you get in shape!

Meaning: "Get in(to) shape" means to improve one's health, usually by exercising (but could also include dieting). The example above is what you might hear from a radio/television commercial for a gym membership. Normally, this idiom uses the preposition "into." However, due to the related idiom "in shape," which is used to describe a person who is in excellent physical condition, some people use "get in shape" instead. This idiom is sometimes separated after "into," usually to add an adjective for emphasis. Look at the following example.

Second Example:

Jerry: Thanks for coming to the gym with me Jean.

Jean: No problem. It'll be fun. Wow, that guy is really in shape!

Jerry: I know! I wonder what he did to get into such great shape.

Jean: Let's ask! Excuse me, sir. What's your secret?

Robby: What do you mean?

Jean: How did you get in such amazing shape?

Robby: Hard work and diet. I can show you if you like. I'm a trainer here at the gym, so you'd have to pay for the lessons.

Here, Jerry and Jean admire Robby, who is in good shape. Notice that both "get into" and "get in" are used interchangeably with "shape" and that both examples use adjectives to explain just how good of shape Robby is in.

This idiom is from LSI's book "Reading Connections," which is used in the Level 3 Reading classes. For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com/

Significant other

Idiom: significant other; used as a noun.

First Example:

Christina: Bryan, I just got a wedding invitation from my friend, Ryan. Would you like to go with me?

Bryan: Sure, but can you bring a guest?

Christina: Hmm. Well, it says the only guests allowed are children and significant others.

Bryan: Then I don't think I should go. Roommates don't count as "significant others."

Meaning: "Significant other" is used as a vague term for another person's partner in a romantic relationship. It is often used formally in things like invitations, when it's possible the person could have a husband/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend. In the above example, Bryan says he can't go because "significant other" means more than a friend or roommate. However, "significant other" can also be used informally, either because a person wants to keep his/her private life secret, or in a question to find out a person's relationship status and/or sexual orientation.

Second Example:

Laurie's Boss: Who was that on the phone?

Laurie: My significant other - I need to pick up some eggs on the way home.

Here, Laurie is avoiding telling her boss what her relationship is exactly to the person who called her, so she just said it was her "significant other."

Third Example:

Laurie's Boss: Why do you always use "significant other?" Why don't you just say "boyfriend" or "husband"?

Laurie: Because "Susan" is actually my girlfriend, but I didn't want my sexuality to make you uncomfortable.

Laurie's Boss: Oh, of course it doesn't make me uncomfortable! Actually I should have guessed. My little brother used to use "significant other" all the time for his boyfriend, Christopher.

Here, Laurie used "significant other" to hide the fact that she is a lesbian.

This idiom is from LSI's book "Reading Horizons," which is used in the Level 6 Reading classes. For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com/