English Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions
Feelings - Emotions - Reactions
(idioms, page 1 : bare your heart → deep
down )
| bare your heart (or soul) to someone | If you bare you
heart (or
soul) to someone, you reveal your
innermost thoughts and feelings to them. Mike couldn't keep things to himself any longer. He decided to bare his soul to his best friend. |
| bear the brunt |
A person who bears the brunt of
something is the one who suffers the most
when something bad or unpleasant happens. When things go wrong, his assistant always has to bear the brunt of his anger. |
| bent out of shape | If you get bent
out of shape, you become annoyed or
upset about something that is usually not
that important or cannot be avoided. Don't get bent out of shape if you're delayed. We'll wait for you. |
| beside yourself (with emotion) | If you are
beside yourself (with an emotion), you
lose your self-control because of the
intensity of the emotion you are feeling. He was beside himself with grief when he lost his son. |
|
bored to tears (also: to distraction/to death/silly) |
If you find something so dull and
uninteresting that it makes you sad enough
to cry, you are
bored to tears. I could see that my son was bored to tears by the historical documentary. |
| carry the torch for | If you carry the torch, you
have strong feelings for someone with whom
you do not or cannot have a relationship. He's been carrying the torch for Julie since their college days, before she married Ted. |
| wouldn't be caught/seen dead | If someone says that they wouldn't
be caught or seen dead in a particular
place or doing something, they mean that
they would be too ashamed or embarrassed. My seven-year-old son thinks he's a big boy; he wouldn't be caught dead holding my hand in front of his friends! |
| cheesed off | If someone is
cheesed off with something, they are
annoyed, bored or frustrated. Jenny is absolutely cheesed off with her job. |
| chip on your shoulder | If someone has a
chip on their shoulder, the feel
resentful because they feel they are being
treated unfairly, especially because of
their background, their sex or their colour. He's got a chip on his shoulder because he's from a working-class family. |
| close to home | If a remark or comment is close to
home, it is so true, or it affects you
so directly, that you feel uncomfortable. Alan looks embarrassed. Bob's comment must have been close to home. |
| come apart at the seams | To say that someone is coming apart
at the seams means that they are
extremely upset or under severe mental
stress. Bob has had so many problems lately, he's coming apart at the seams. |
| cork up something | If you cork up
your feelings or emotions, you fail to show
or express them. It would be better if she showed her grief and didn't cork up her feelings. |
| cut to the quick | If you cut someone to the quick,
you hurt their feelings or offend them
deeply. Alan was cut to the quick when Joe expressed doubt about his sincerity. |
| deep down | If you talk about how someone is, or
feels, deep down, you are
describing what they are like or what they
really feel deep inside, behind the outward
appearance. He appears to be indifferent to his success, but deep down he's very happy. |
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