Idioms used with the parts of the body

This is a list of idiomatic expressions used with the parts of the

body
Face
You did it. You have to face the music.
On the head
Yes. You hit the nail on the head. Youre absolutely right.
Eye to eye
You two, you dont see eye to eye; you dont agree with each other.
Old hand
Youre an old hand at teaching. (Experienced.)
Under one's thumb
You keep everything under your thumb.
To stick one's neck out
You dont want to stick your neck out, do you? (take the risk.)
By heart
Learn something by heart.
All ears.
Im all ears.
Chip on your shoulder
Have a chip on your shoulder- to feel inferior or badly treated and to act in
an oversensitive and resentful manner (informal)
Thick in the head
Hes thick in the head. (Stupid)
Armed to the teeth

The terrorist were armed to the teeth.

Back to the wall
If you have your back to the wall, you are in serious difficulty. "With his
back to the wall, the supplier had to accept the deal."
Rub shoulders
If you rub shoulders with someone, you have an opportunity to meet and
talk to a person who is wealthy, famous or distinguished. "In her job in public
relations, she sometimes rubs shoulders with famous people."
Give someone the cold shoulder
To give someone the cold shoulder means to deliberately ignore
someone. "After giving my opinion, he gave me the cold shoulder

IDIOMS WITH PARTS OF THE BODY

Idiom
Definition

All ears
If you are all ears, you are very interested and ready to listen to what another person wants
to tell you.

Tell me what happened Im all ears

All in your head

If something is all in your head, you have imagined it and it is not real.

Stop thinking that everybody hates you. Its all in your head.

Cost somebody an arm and a leg

If something costs an arm and a leg, it is very expensive.

This television set cost me an arm and leg. It wasnt cheap at all..

Armed to the teeth

A person who is armed to the teeth is using or carrying a lot of weapons.

The enemy soldiers were armed to the teeth. It was impossible to defeat them.

At each others throats

If two people are at each other's throats, they are arguing in an angry way.

It looks like they are at each others throats again. They just cant agree on anything.

At the top of your lungs

If you shout at the top of your lungs, you shout as loudly as you can.

She was screaming at the top of her lungs but no one came to help.

Behind somebodys back

If you do something behind someone's back, you do it without the person knowing, in a
way that is unfair.

You cant trust Janet. You never know what she will say about you behind your back.

Blow your mind

If something blows your mind, it is very exciting and extraordinary.

The film was amazing. Go and watch it. The 3D effects will really blow your mind.

Born with a silver spoon in your mouth

If you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you are born into a rich family.

Alice doesnt know whats its like to be poor. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

By heart
If you learn something by heart, you learn it and later you can say it from memory.

Expemo makes it easier to learn words by heart.

By word of mouth
If you hear about something by word of mouth, you hear about it from other people, not
from an advertisement, for example.

Did you see our advertisement or did you hear about our business from word of mouth?

Change of heart
If you have a change of heart, you change your opinion or the way you feel about
something.

I thought you wanted to marry Mark. Have you had a change of hear

Chip on your shoulder

If you have a chip on your shoulder, you feel that you are not as good as other people and
you get upset easily.

Aran has a chip on his shoulder. He feels angry towards other people because of his poor
upbringing.

Close at hand

If something is close at hand, it is not far away and is conveniently located.

You dont need to travel far to reach our store. We are close at hand.

Cold feet
If you get cold feet, you suddenly become too frightened and nervous to do something you
had planned to do.

John started to get cold feet on the day of his wedding

Cold shoulder
If you give someone the cold shoulder, you are unfriendly to somebody by intentionally
ignoring them.

They used to talk. Now they just give each other the cold shoulder

Cry your eyes out

If you cry your eyes out, you cry a lot and for a long time.

Alison was so upset, she cried her eyes out.

Drag your feet

If you drag your feet, you do something very slowly because you really do not want to do it.

You have a lot of work do today, so stop dragging your feet and finish this task.

Foot in the door

If you get a foot in the door, you start working for a business at a low level, hoping that in
the future you will become more successful.

If you want to have a successful career, making good contacts can help you get a foot in the
door.

Get on your nerves

If something gets on your nerves, it is irritating or annoying.

This laptop is really getting on my nerves. It never works properly

Give someone a hand

If you give someone a hand, you help someone.

Alison decided to give her grandfather a hand with the dishes.

Go to your head
If something goes to your head, it makes you feel more important than other people (in a
negative way).

I think Pauls success gone to his head. He thinks hes so important now.

Have the guts

If you have the guts to do something, you are brave enough to do it.

He has the guts to express his opinions in public.

Hit a nerve
If you hit a nerve, you upset someone by talking about an uncomfortable topic.

I think you really hit a nerve when you mentioned her divorce.

Hold your tongue

If you hold your tongue, you stop talkin
Try not to speak. Hold your tongue until after the film has ended.

In cold blood
If a person kills in cold blood, they do it without any emotion or guilty feelings.

The victim was murdered in cold blood. The killer felt no emotion.

In one ear and out the other

If something goes in one ear and out the other, you hear it but you quickly forget it.

Graham never listens to good advice. It goes in one ear and out the other.

In the flesh
If you meet someone in the flesh, you meet face-to-face, not on the Internet or on the
telephone.

Ive spoken to her on the phone but Ive never met her in the flesh.

Keep someone on their toes

If you keep someone on their toes, you make sure they concentrate on their tasks.

Working in an open plan office keeps you on your toes. You have to keep focussing on the job.

Keep your fingers crossed

If you keep your fingers crossed, you hope that things will happen in the way you want
them to.

I have my final exam tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Keep your hair on

If you tell someone keep their hair on, you advise them to stay calm and not get angry.

Keep your hair on! Theres no need to get angry over such a trivial thing.

Let your hair down

If you let your hair down, you allow yourself to relax and have fun.

Kate needs to go out with some friends and let her hair down. Shes been working so hard
lately.

Like the back of your hand

If you know something like the back of your hand, you know it very well.

I know this city like the back of my hand. I can even tell you the name of every street.

Make your blood boil

If something makes your blood boil, it makes you extremely angry

The way the boss treats people at work really makes my blood boil.

More than meets the eye

If there is more to someone than meets the eye, the person is more interesting or complex
than you thought at first.

She seems like a superficial party girl. But there is more to her than meets the eye.

My hands are full

If your hands are full, you have a lot of work to do and you cannot do anything else.

Youll have to ask someone else to do that for you. My hands are full.

My hands are tied

If your hands are tied, you are unable to help even if you really want to.

I want to help you, but I cant. My hands are tied.

Neck and neck

If two competitors are neck and neck, they are in the same position and have an equal
chance of winning.

The two cyclists were almost neck and neck at the finish.

Off the top of your head

If you can say something off the top of your head, you can recall it from the knowledge in
your memory.

I cant remember the word off the top of my head. I need to look it up in a dictionary.

On the tip of your tongue

If a word is on the tip of your tongue, you know the word, but you just cannot remember it
at the particular moment.

I know the word but I cant quite remember it. Its on the tip of my tongue.

Out of hand
If a situation gets out of hand, it gets out of control

The situation is getting out of hand.

Pain in the neck

If someone or something is a pain in the neck, he/she/it is very annoying.

Angela is a real pain in the neck. She annoys just about everyone she meets.

Pick someones brains

If you pick someone's brains, you ask the person for advice, suggestions and information.

I need some ideas. Can I pick your brains

Play it by ear
If you play something by ear, you deal with a situation as it develops rather than according
to any plan.

We dont have a plan. Well just have to play it by ear.

Pull someones leg

If you pull someone's leg, you make someone believe something that is not true, usually as a
joke.

Dont take her seriously. Shes just pulling your leg.

Put your foot down

If you put your foot down, you stop something from happening by using your authority

She was out of control but her parents finally decided to put their foot down.