Idioms
1. BAD HAIR DAY: A day when everything seems to go wrong.
- What’s wrong with you? Are you having a bad hair day?
- Today, I am having a bad hair day.
- She had a bad hair day yesterday.
- I am in misery because I am having bad hair days one after another.
- Have you ever had a bad hair day?
2. IN BAD SHAPE: A person who is in bad shape is in poor physical condition.
- I really am in bad shape. I must exercise more.
- Rohan had a little accident, and he is in bad shape.
- Ramesh was in bad shape when he worked in that factory.
- Did you meet Tina. Her mother told me that she was in bad shape.
- The patient who was in bad shape a few days ago, is now all right.
3. THE BALL IS IN YOUR COURT: If the ball is in your court, it is your turn to speak or act next.
- You can’t do anything as long as the ball is in my court.
- I have told him he can have his job back if he apologises. The ball is in his court now.
- We have a special offer for you if you want, the ball’s in your court.
- Which direction will you like to go from here? The ball’s in your court.
- Ask my father if he will let me go. The ball’s in his court.
4. HAVE A BALL: If you have a ball, you enjoy yourself immensely.
- The party was great, we had a ball.
- When I went to hill station with my family, I had a ball.
- Indian players had a ball, after winning the cricket match.
- Tomorrow, there is a party. So we will have a ball.
- When did you have a ball last time?
5. START THE BALL ROLLING: If you start the ball rolling, you begin an activity in which other people will join.
- I started the ball rolling by donating money to the charity.
- The hospital appeal received a donation of 10 million dollars to start the ball rolling.
- I started the ball rolling by setting up a series of meetings.
- I would like to start the ball rolling on my project. Can you file this report?
- My fiance and I started the ball rolling on our wedding plans when we found a place to have a ceremony.
6. A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME: To refer to something as a whole new ball game means that it is a completely different situation due to a new set of circumstances.
- Email and text messaging has made communication a whole new ball game.
- I had done a lot of climbing in England, but the Himalayas were a whole new ball game.
- My parents lived their whole life in a village. Now living in the city is a whole new ball game for them.
- I can learn English, but learning Chinese is a whole new ball game.
- You can write good English, but speaking good English is a whole new ball game.
7. MORE BY ACCIDENT THAN BY DESIGN: Something that is done without deliberate intention.
- I became an actor more by accident than by design.
- The play was a success more by accident than by design.
- I kicked the ball and more by accident than by design, it found its way into the net.
- She got selected in the team, more by accident than by design.
- Well, I became an inspector, more by accident than by design.
8. OF YOUR OWN ACCORD: If you do something of your own accord, you do it spontaneously or willingly, without being influenced or forced by anyone.
- The boy went to see the owner of his own accord and admitted breaking the window.
- She went to Agra of her own accord to see the Taj.
- He resigned from his job of his own accord.
- Mahima married Rohan of her own accord.
- Rajeev is going to America to set a business of his own accord.
9. NO ACCOUNTING FOR TASTE: This expression is used to indicate surprise at another person’s likes or dislikes.
- She fell in love with a guy who is short, fat, bald, and poor. There’s no accounting for taste.
- Look at the purple and green bikes, there is no accounting for taste.
- Some people seemed to like the new age music, it’s nothing but a lot of noise, there is no accounting for taste.
- Look at the colour of that car, it’s disgusting. There’s no accounting for taste.
- They painted their house purple. There’s no accounting for taste.
10. ACE A TEST: If you obtain a very high score or an excellent result, you ace a test or exam.
- Sarika’s parents said she could go to the party if she aced her English test.
- My friend aced the test last year and got a bike from his parents.
- I think she will ace the test again and get a prize for it.
- What do you think, who is going to ace the test this time?
- See, I wasn’t wrong. She has aced the test again.