👃 26 English idioms using parts of the body 👈 - Learn English with Mr Duncan 🦶

There is one thing we all have in common.

A thing that we all own and use every day.

This thing comes in all shapes, colours and sizes.

Some of us use this thing more than others.

Many of us take good care of this thing,

while others neglect theirs.

You are born with this thing

and it is yours until the day it stops working.

of course I am of course talking about the human body.

It is interesting to note that there  are many idioms and phrases in English

that refer to the body…

or to be more precise, body parts.

Today we will look at some of them together…

the idioms I mean;

not the actual body parts.

There are many ways of using the words

that name parts of the body in figurative form.

For example…

To be sick to your stomach

To feel disgusted or deeply upset by something.

“I feel sick to my stomach over losing my job.”

To have a nose for something

To have good intuition or  ability of a certain thing.

“I have a nose for finding bargains in the sales.”

To cost an arm and a leg

An item that was very expensive,  or more expensive than you thought.

“This watch cost me an arm and a leg.”

To be a sight for sore eyes

To look beautiful. Often expressed  as relief during a bad time.

“You really are a sight for  sore eyes on this dull day.”

Give someone the elbow.

To push someone aside, or  exclude someone from an activity.

“I don’t have a girlfriend, I  gave her the elbow last week.”

Get your foot in the door.

Take your place when an opportunity arises.

“Get your foot in the door,  or you will not be chosen.”

Cut off your nose to spite your face.

To harm oneself whilst punishing someone.

“By not talking to me, you are cutting  your nose off to spite your face.”

Get your teeth into something

To do something with passion and enthusiasm.

“I can’t wait to get my  teeth into this new project.”

To be neck and neck with someone.

At an equal position in a contest or race.

“We are neck and neck on the sales chart.”

Something is a no brainer.

A sure fire thing that must  be done… without question.

To be all fingers and thumbs.

To be in a confused or clumsy state.

You are all fingers and thumbs.

“I can’t work this machine,  I’m all fingers and thumbs.”

Something is a pain in the neck.

An annoying thing that makes a person angry.

“My boss is such a pain in the neck.”

To have the nerve to do something.

Show courage and bravery.

“I can’t believe you had  the nerve to quit your job.”

Get something off your chest.

Talk to someone about your  problems or a thing troubling you.

“You will feel much better after  you get it off your chest.”

To get cold feet.

Lose one’s courage, or to back out of something.

“I was going to marry her, but I got cold feet.”

Let your hair down.

Have some fun… enjoy yourself for a while.

“Let’s go out tonight and let our hair down.”

Bite your tongue.

Hold back from saying what you really mean,

or what you want to say.

“I had to bite my tongue while  talking with my boss today.”

Pay lip service to someone.

To say kind things to someone,  so as to make them feel better.

Insincere views meant to make one feel better.

“The local politician will not do anything…

It is all lip service to keep us quiet.”

Keep your chin up.

Stay happy and positive about things.

“Keep your chin up, things will be fine.”

Keep your eye on the ball.

Concentrate on something  without losing sight of it.

“In this job, you have to  keep your eye on the ball.”

A slap on the wrist.

A mild punishment, with no serious consequences.

“The police gave him a slap  on the wrist and let him go.”

Turn a blind eye to something.

Ignore a bad action.

“For ten years they turned a  blind eye to what was happening.”

To have butterflies in your stomach.

The mixture of excitement and fear over something.

“Before my first performance I  had butterflies in my stomach.”

To tear your hair out.

To become stressed or angry  over something or someone.

“I was tearing my hair out  whilst writing this report.”

Give someone a hand.

Help someone with a task.  Offer assistance to someone.

“I can give you a hand moving  your furniture in if you want.”

Dip your toe in the water.

Try something new, to see if you like it.

“Just dip your toe in the water first

before you decide if you want to do it.”

So as you can see…

there are many expressions in English

that use parts of the body in a figurative way.

It is worth remembering that many languages

have ‘figures of speech’ within them.

Perhaps some of the ones I showed you today

are used in your country as well.

If they are please let me know

in the comments below.