An idiom is an expression whose meaning can’t always be worked out from its individual words. A piece of cake, for example, means an easy task. Here are eight idioms and familiar expressions in sentences.
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The example sentences were written for this guide. Linked radio discussions cover the expressions’ histories and uses.
A piece of cake
A very easy task. Someone might use it to reassure a nervous friend or describe work that took little effort.
“After all that practice, the final exercise was a piece of cake.”
Break the ice
Help people feel more at ease when they first meet or when conversation is awkward. The ice is a figurative barrier between them.
“We each shared a funny travel story to break the ice.”
Under the weather
Feeling unwell. The phrase is an everyday way to explain an absence or a change of plans.
“I’m a little under the weather, so I’ll stay home tonight.”
Give someone free rein
Allow someone freedom to decide or act. The expression comes from loosening a horse’s reins. That’s why the usual spelling is free rein.
“The editor gave her free rein to choose the interview questions.”
Spill the tea
Share gossip or personal information. An early written form, spill the T, appears in the early 1990s, with T standing for “truth.” RuPaul’s Drag Race helped popularize the expression.
“You’ve been smiling all morning. Come on, spill the tea!”
Highway robbery
An outrageously high price. The figurative use draws on the literal robbery of travelers on the road. Calling a price highway robbery expresses strong disapproval.
“Twenty dollars for a bottle of water? That’s highway robbery.”
Be there or be square
A playful invitation that implies anyone who stays away is uncool. Square had that meaning by the 1930s, although the rhyming invitation appears to date from the 1960s.
“The neighborhood picnic starts at noon. Be there or be square!”
Shiver me timbers!
An exclamation of alarm or surprise associated with sailors and fictional pirates. Here, shiver means “shatter,” and timbers are the wooden beams of a ship. Long John Silver uses variations of the oath in Treasure Island.
“Shiver me timbers! That wave nearly soaked us.”
Listen to A Way with Words
A Way with Words is a public radio show and podcast with Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett. The conversations linked here began with listeners’ questions, including an eighth-grade teacher’s question about spill the tea.