To be different from the rest; to do things in your own way.
"Everyone except Sarah went to the bar. She marches to the beat of a different drum."
When you blow your own trumpet you boast about your achievements or talents; you are not modest.
"I don't want to blow my own trumpet, but I got the highest score on the test."
Have you ever looked back at your life and found yourself wondering how you got to where you are today? Ever noticed how every single decision you've ever made has, directly or indirectly, brought you here?
Amazing, isn't it, when you think about it...
We use scissors to cut paper. Cut can be used as a verb. Did you know that cut is used in a common English idiom? Read on...
Any plans for the summer? Will you be working or taking some time off? There's no time off for us hardworkers here at EC!
Anyway, here are some idioms which are related to work or holidays:
Proverb: It is not healthy for someone to work all the time and never play:
'Come to the beach with us today. Remember, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.'
Doing something on holiday which is similar to your job:
What are the similarities and differences between your school system and the American one? What kind of student are you? Are you brainy (very smart) or a low achiever (a poor performer)? Do you sometimes ditch your classes (not attend your classes)? Or, are you the teacher's pet (the teacher's favorite student)?
Take this quiz to see how good you are at recognizing some common American expressions for talking about school performance.
Baseball is considered America's favorite pastime, and as a result there are many idiomatic expressions which come from this great sport. If you are not familiar with baseball jargon, some very common idioms may be difficult to understand. Here are some of the most common expressions and idioms from the world of baseball:
Every month we ask our newsletter readers to send in their questions to Tim, our English teacher at EC Brighton, about the English language. Here are your questions:
Not getting the newsletter? Sign up for it now!!
June's Star Question - Thanks to Thao from Vietnam:
Idioms. There are thousands of them! Pick up a newspaper or watch a TV show and you'll find them everywhere. Let's see how many of these idioms you are familiar with. Choose the correct word to complete each idiom.
Well, last week you said that you did well on our idiom quiz, so here's another one. How many can you get right? Can you do better than last week. Have I come up with a test that's too difficult for you? Who wins: me or you? Let's find out! Go! Go! Go!
Here's a quiz to test your knowledge of common English idioms.