Today I would like to present you some idioms connected with my favourite topic - music! A lot of them you've probably already heard, another ones are going to be something new for you. I hope you'll enjoy reading and remembering them. After all we all enjoy some good music :D
If you want to check what you've learned, do an exercise below!
See you next time!
Stay tunned! ;)
to make chin music
è to talk or chatter.
We sat around all evening making chin music. You were making chin music when you should have been listening.
music to someone's ears
è a welcome sound to someone; news that someone is pleased to hear.
A: Here's your pay check for this month.
B: Ah, that's music to my ears!
stop the music!
è Stop whatever is happening! (From an old radio game show called Stop the Music!)
“Stop the music!” hollered the conductor, making a
little joke.
and all that jazz
è and things
like that.
I need some glue, paper, string and all that
jazz to make a kite.
to blow your own trumpet (GB) / horn (US)
è talk a lot
about your own achievements.
Peter spent the whole evening blowing his own
trumpet.
to call the tune
è be in a
position of authority to give orders and make decisions.
In his job, Peter was able to call the
tune.
to change one's tune
After the strike, will the president change his tune
on taxes?
(as) clear as a bell
è very clear.
I fixed the radio, so now all the stations come
in clear
as a bell.
to dance to somebody's tune
è do what
somebody wants you to do.
She's always dancing to her husband's tune.
to face the music
è accept
punishment for something.
He made a big mistake but he can't still face the music.
to play something by ear
è decide what
to do according to the way something develops, without making exact plans.
Depending on the weather, we'll play it by ear.
for a song
è very
cheaply.
He bought his house for a song two years ago.
to make a song and dance about something
è behave as if
it was worse or more important that it really is.
She made a song and dance about her aching feet,
but it was nothing important.
it takes two to tango
è when things
go wrong, both sides are responsible for it.
Stop blaming me for it, you know it takes two to
tango!
to play second fiddle (to somebody)
è be in a
lower position than somebody.
He can't make any decisions, he just plays second
fiddle to his boss.
to strike a chord
è say something
that people feel is familiar.
Most of the things she says will strike a chord with
other young women.
to whistle in the dark
è try to show
that you are brave when you are afraid, or that you know something when in fact
you don't.
He doesn't know what he's talking about, he's
just whistling
in the dark.
to
ring a bell
è if something rings a bell, it sounds
familiar, but you don't remember the exact details.
John Bentley? The name rings a bell but
I don't remember him
to chime in
è if you chime in, you interrupt or
join a conversation, especially to repeat or agree with something.
While I was explaining to
the bus driver what had happened, the other
passengers chimed in and gave their version.
to drum (sth) into somebody’s head
è if you teach something to someone through constant repetition, you drum
it into their head.
When we were kids at
school, multiplication tables were drummed into our heads.
to jazz sth up
è if you jazz something up, you add something to try to improve it
or make it more stylish.
The dress needs a scarf
or a necklace to jazz it up.
to strike a false note
è if you strike a false note, you
do something wrong or inappropriate.
He struck a false note when
he arrived at the cocktail party wearing old jeans.
to strike (or hit) the right note
è if you strike (or hit) the right note,
you do something suitable or appropriate.
He struck the right
note with his future mother-in-low when he brought her a book on
gardening - her favourite hobby!
(to sound) like a broken record
è someone who says the same thing again and again sounds like a broken record.
Dad! Stop telling me to
be careful when I drive. You sound like a broken
record!
to tickle the ivories
è this is a humorous way of talking about playing the piano.
My grandfather loves
playing the piano. He tickles the ivories whenever he gets the chance.
fine tuning
è small changes to something to improve it or make it work better are
called fine-tuning.
We are still fine tuning our
new website and appreciate your patience.
to blow the whistle
è if you report an illegal or socially-harmful activity to the
authorities, and give information about those responsible for it, you blow the whistle, or you are a whistle-blower.
He refused to blow the whistle on
his boss for fear of losing his job.
clean as a whistle
è something as clean as a whistle is extremely clean.
This can also mean that a person's criminal record is clean.
This can also mean that a person's criminal record is clean.
Bob spent the afternoon
washing and shining his car until it was as clean as a whistle.
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