English idioms - Alphabetical list G

	Idiom	Meaning
G	The gift of the gab	To say that somebody has the gift of the gab means that they are able to speak confidently and clearly. "As a politician, not only is he competent, but he has the gift of the gab!"
	Gatecrash	If someone gatecrashes, they attend a private social event without being invited. "We need volunteers to to keep an eye out for gatecrashers tonight."
	Gather dust	An idea, plan or project which gathers dust is in fact stagnating or has not attracted attention for some time. "Just before the elections, the outgoing mayor produced plans for a new bridge which had been gathering dust for several years."
	All his geese are swans	This expression refers to someone who constantly exaggerates the importance of somebody or something. "Don't let him impress you. He always exaggerates; all his geese are swans!"
	Get one's act together	If you get your act together, you organize your affairs better than you have done previously and manage to deal with things more efficiently. "Jack's plan won't work unless he gets his act together."
	Get away with murder	To say that someone gets away with murder means that you think they can do something unacceptable without being punished or criticized. "She has no control over her kids. They get away with murder!"
	Get cracking	When you get cracking, you start doing something immediately. "I'd better get cracking or I'll never get my homework done."
	Get down to brass tacks	When people get down to brass tacks, they start to discuss the essential aspects of a problem or situation. "The situation was so serious that after a few polite exchanges, they immediately got down to brass tacks."
	Get your fingers burnt	If you get your fingers burnt, you suffer as a result of an unsuccessful action and are nervous about trying again. "He got his fingers so badly burnt in the last elections that he decided to withdraw from politics."
	Get a grip on yourself	If you get a grip on yourself, you make an effort to control your feelings so as to be able to deal with a situation.. "After the initial shock, Lisa got a grip on herself and called an ambulance."
	Get a rise out of somebody	If you make someone react angrily by jokingly saying something that you know will irritate them, you get a rise out of them. "He gets a rise out of his daughter by asking about her latest diet."
	Get it down to a fine art.	When you learn to do something perfectly, you get it down to a fine art. "Entertaining her husband's business associates is not a problem; she's got that down to a fine art!"
	Get the sack	If someone gets the sack, they lose their job, usually because they have done something wrong. "Charlie got the sack when his boss caught him stealing."
	Get something off the ground	If you get something off the ground, you put it into operation after having organized it. "After a lot of hard work, we finally got the campaign off the ground.
	Get off the hook	If you do something wrong and manage to get off the hook, you avoid punishment or blame. "Barry was questioned by the police but his lawyer managed to get him off the hook."
	Get on your high horse	If you get on your high horse, you start behaving in a haughty manner, as though you should be treated with more respect. "He got on his high horse when he was asked to show his membership card."
	Get the better of someone	If someone or something gets the better of you, they defeat you "She went on a diet but it didn't last long - her love of chocolate got the better of her!"
	Get to the bottom of something	If you get to the bottom of a problem or mystery, you solve it by finding out the true cause of it. "We have a problem of goods disappearing during transport. Hopefully the investigation will get to the bottom of it."
	Get the show on the road	If you manage to put a plan or idea into action, you get the show on the road. "OK! We've got all we need, so let's get the show on the road!"
	Get someone's drift	To tell someone that you get their drift means that you understand in a general way what they are trying to say. "'I didn't understand every word but I got the drift."
	Get something off the ground	If you get something off the ground, you put it into operation after having organized it. "After a lot of hard work, we finally got the campaign off the ground.
	Get wise to something	If you get wise to something, you learn something that you were unaware of before. "He finally got wise to the fact that children were stealing apples from his garden."
	Give as good as you get	This expression means that you are prepared to treat people as badly as they treat you, and fight for your beliefs.
	Give the game away	If you give the game away, you reveal a secret or a plan, often unintentionally. "He hoped nobody in the hotel would recognize him, but an employee gave the game away."
	Give someone a run for their money	If you give someone a run for their money, you present strong competition in circumstances where the other person expects to win easily. "We didn't win the match but we gave the other team a run for their money."
	Give somebody the slip	If you give somebody the slip, you manage to hide or get away from someone who is following you. "The police were on his trail, but he managed to give them the slip."
	Give up the ghost	If someone or something gives up the ghost, they die or stop working. "My mother's old TV set has finally given up the ghost; I'm off to buy her a new one!"
	Glowing terms	If you speak about something in glowing terms, you talk about it in a very positive way. "Mary talks about her home town in glowing terms; it must be a wonderful place."
	Go against the grain	If something goes against the grain, it is difficult to accept because it is very different from what is considered normal or natural. "Having to import apples in an apple-growing region really goes against the grain!"
	Go down well	If something, such an idea or a proposal, goes down well, it is well accepted. "The new timetable went down well with the employees."
	Go for a song	If something goes for a song, it is sold at an unexpectedly low price. "I was able to buy the car simply because it going for a song."
	Go haywire	If something goes haywire, it becomes disorganized or goes out of control. "The photocopier has gone completely haywire. It's only printing half of each page!"
	Go into overdrive	If someone or something goes into overdrive, they begin to work very hard or start to perform intensely. "At the start of every new collection, my imagination goes into overdrive."
	Go off on a tangent	If somebody goes off on a tangent, they change the subject completely in the middle of a speech or conversation. "Sometimes, when he's teaching, he goes off on a tangent and starts talking about his dog!"
	Go off the rails,	If someone goes off the rails, they go out of control and begin to behave in a manner that is unacceptable to society. "Given the unstable environment, it's a miracle that none of their children ever went off the rails."
	Go out of your way	If you go out of your way, you take particular care or make a special effort when doing something. "Aunt Betty went out of her way to make us feel comfortable."
	Go the whole hog	When you go the whole hog, you do something thoroughly or completely. "They put up a few decorations for Christmas, then they decided to go the whole hog and buy a tree and all the trimmings."
	Go through the motions	If someone goes through the motions, they do something because they have to, but without enthusiasm. "After his wife died, he tried to continue life as before, but he just went through the motions."
	Go great guns	If someone or something is going great guns, they are doing very well. "Fred's night club is going great guns. It's becoming hard to get in!.
	Go to extremes	People who go to extremes behave in a way which lacks moderation. "My parents tend to go to extremes. They live on a tight budget and then they go on expensive holidays."
	Go to great lengths	When trying to achieve something, if you go to great lengths, you do everything that is possible in order to succeed. "The two parties went to great lengths to reach an agreement."
	Go to (great) pains	A person who goes to great pains to do something makes a great effort to do it well. "He went to great pains to explain the situation as clearly as possible."
	Go to pieces	If you go to pieces, for example after a terrible shock, you are so upset or distressed that you cannot lead your life normally. "Jack nearly went to pieces when his son died in a plane crash."
	Go with the flow	If you go with the flow, you follow the general tendency and go along with whatever happens. "When my colleagues organize an office party, I just go with the flow when it comes to the details. "
	Golden handcuffs	The term golden handcuffs refers to a large sum of money or a generous financial arrangement granted to an executive as an incentive to stay in their job, or to ensure long-term cooperation after their departure.
	Golden handshake	A golden handshake is a generous sum of money given to a person when they leave a company or retire (sometimes given to encourage early retirement).
	Golden opportunity	A golden opportunity is a favourable time or excellent occasion which should not be missed.
	Golden parachute	A golden parachute is a clause in an executive's employment contract stating that the executive will receive certain large benefits if their employment is terminated.
	Good riddance!	This expression is used to express relief at becoming free of an unpleasant or unwanted person or thing. "Our horrible neighbour has moved house, and all I can say is 'good riddance'!"
	A good turn	If you do someone a good turn, you act in a helpful way. "Mike is a great guy - always ready to do a good turn."
	Good walls make good neighbours	This expression means that respecting one another's privacy helps create a good relationship between neighbours.
	Have goose pimples	If you have goose pimples, you are so cold or so afraid that your skin is temporarily raised into little lumps. "I was so scared that I had goose pimples all through the film!"
	A wild goose chase	If you say that you were sent on a wild goose chase, you mean that you wasted a lot of time looking for something that there was little chance of finding. "They tried to find out who sent the anonymous complaint, but it turned out to be a wild goose chase."
	Play gooseberry	If you play gooseberry, you join or accompany two people who have a romantic relationship and want to be alone. "They invited me to join them but I didn't want to play gooseberry."
	Sour grapes	To say that someone's attitude is sour grapes means that they are making complaints or accusations because they are jealous.
	Grass roots	The term grass roots refers to the ordinary people who form the main body of an organization.
	Not let the grass grow under your feet	If someone does not let the grass grow under their feet, they do not delay in getting something done. "As soon as he received the permit, he started to build. He never lets the grass grow under his feet!"
	Grease somebody's palm	If you accuse someone of greasing somebody's palm, you are accusing them of giving money to someone in order to gain an unfair advantage, or to obtain something they want. "In some countries, it is common practice to grease government officials' palms."
	Green fingers	To have green fingers means to be good at gardening.
	Green light	If you give or get the green light, you give or get a signal or permission to do something. "We're ready to launch the campaign as soon as we get the green light."
	Green with envy	Someone who is green with envy is a person who is very envious.
	Grey area	To refer to something as a grey area means that it is not clear or easy to define, and is therefore difficult to deal with. "The law concerning email is still a grey area in some countries."
	Grey existence	To have a grey existence is to lead a dull, monotonous life.
	Grey matter (U.S.: gray)	Grey matter refers to the brain, or the grey colour of brain tissue.
	Grin and bear it	When faced with a difficult or unpleasant situation, if you say that someone will have to grin and bear it, you mean that they will have to accept it without complaining. "The only seat available is on a low-cost flight. You'll just have to grin and bear it!"
	Grin from ear to ear	If somebody is grinning from ear to ear, they look very satisfied and happy. "When we saw Paul grinning from ear to ear, we knew he had passed the exam."
	Keep your nose to the grindstone	A person who keeps their nose to the grindstone is someone who concentrates on working hard at his job.
	Grit your teeth	When you are determined to do something in spite of the difficulties involved, you grit your teeth. "To reach safety I had to wade through the mud, so I just had to grit my teeth."
	Groan inwardly	If you groan inwardly, you feel like expressing despair, disapproval or distress, but you remain silent. "On his return, when Pete saw the pile of files on his desk, he groaned inwardly."
	Prepare the ground	To prepare the ground means that you try to make it easier for a future event or action to happen.
	Nurse/bear/hold a grudge	If you nurse a grudge against someone or something, you have a feeling of resentment or ill-will towards them. "Ever since I got a promotion, he's been nursing a grudge against me."
	Guinea pig	People who are used as guinea pigs are people on whom new methods, treatment or ideas are tested.