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You are here: Home / Words / Common idiomatic expressions

Common idiomatic expressions

October 24, 2016 - pdf

Some common idioms and their meanings are given below with example sentences.

Pay homage

To pay homage is to show respect.

  • Thousands of people paid homage to their favorite leader.

Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis is the changes in form.

  • These pictures show the metamorphosis in the life of a butterfly.

Settle a score

To settle a score is to take revenge on somebody.

  • He is waiting for an opportunity to settle scores with his former business partner.

Up to scratch

If something is up to scratch, it is satisfactory.

From scratch

To build something from scratch is to build it from the very beginning.

  • He built a business empire from scratch.

Screw someone up

To screw someone up is to make them emotionally disturbed.

  • Her tragic story screwed me up.

Screw something up

To screw something up is to make something go wrong.

Put someone in the shade

To put someone in the shade is to be better or more impressive than them.

Shake something up

To shake something up is to make major changes to it.

Like sheep

This is an expression used to refer to people who are easily led or influenced.

Come out of your shell

To come out of your shell is to stop being shy.

Take a shine to

When you take a shine to something, you develop a liking for it.

Take the shine off

To take the shine off something is to make it less attractive or good.

Put yourself in someone else’s shoes

To put yourself in someone else’s shoes is to imagine yourself in their situation.

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