Finding time to study can be a challenge, so to help you make the most of your free time EC English has put together an eBook to give you a fun and easy way to take your skills to the next level. Learning new idioms will not just help you increase your knowledge of the language, but it will also allow you to become more fluent and speak with greater confidence.
Check out another 3 idioms that will make you sound fluent in English!
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On the house
If food or drink is ‘on the house’ in a bar or restaurant, it is given to you free by the owner.
e.g. The waiter gave us a cup of coffee on the house. (The waiter gave us a free coffee.)
e.g. It was my birthday, so the waiter said my ice-cream was on the house. (It was my birthday, so the restaurant gave me my ice-cream for free.)
What’s the catch?
‘What’s the catch?’ is not an idiom about fishing! In this sense, ‘catch’ is used as a noun, not a verb.
We use it when something sounds good, but we are worried or suspicious about any hidden problems. We are asking ‘what are the drawbacks? What are the negative points?’ So when something is too good to be true, we say ‘what’s the catch?’
e.g. This job offer sounds too good to be true. What’s the catch? (This job sounds so amazing that I don’t believe it’s true. There must be something ‘bad’ about it!)
e.g. The restaurant is offering free lunch, but what’s the catch? (This offer sounds too good to be possible. What’s the negative side of this?)
Wires crossed
When people ‘get their wires crossed’, they have a different understanding of the same situation. They get confused, mixed up or make a mistake; there is a misunderstanding.
e.g. I think we got our wires crossed because I thought we were going to meet at the coffee shop and Sarah thought we were meeting in the bar.
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