DICTIONARY OF IDIOMS RELATED TO VOCABULARY ON EMOTIONS

A dicitonary of idioms related to vocabulary on emotions

down in the mouth When you look down in the mouth you look depressed and unhappy 1. You’re looking down in the mouth.

What’s the problem?

2. What’s wrong with Erica? She’s been looking down in the mouth all week.

down in the dumps (or in the dumps) To be down in the dumps is to be depressed or miserable.

1. He’s been down in the dumps ever since he lost his job.

2. Sharon is down in the dumps because her boyfriend has gone on holiday without her.

have a face like a wet weekend To have a face like a wet weekend is to look very unhappy 1. Cheer up. You’ve had a face like a wet weekend all day!

2. Every time I take my girlfriend to a football match she has a face like a wet weekend.

feeling blue or to have the blues To feel (or look) blue is to feel (or look) depressed or unhappy.

The colour blue is often associated with feelings of sadness and depression.

1. I’m feeling blue today.

2. She has the blues because she hasn’t seen her boyfriend for a week.

3. When I’m feeling blue I listen to some happy music to cheer myself up.

beside yourself with grief / worry When you are beside yourself with grief or worry your feelings are so strong that you are overwhelmed by them.

1. She was beside herself with worry when she lost her daughter in the shop. 2. They were beside themselves with grief when their mother died.

reduced to tears When someone or something reduces you to tears, they make you feel so unhappy that you cry.

1. My boss reduced me to tears when he shouted at me.

2. Her mother reduces her to tears with her constant criticism.

Downhearted If you feel downhearted you feel sad or depressed.

1. Don’t be downhearted. You can retake your exams next month.

2. We have to move out of our home and I feel so downhearted.

to be hopping mad - feel very angry:He's hopping mad because his daughter has borrowed his car for the weekend without first asking his permission.

Heartbroken If someone is heartbroken they are feeling intense and overwhelming sadness

to fly off the handle - suddenly lose one's temper:I'm sorry. I shouldn't have flown off the handle like that. Please forgive me.

1. He was heartbroken when his partner died.

2. We were heartbroken when our old dog died.

to be / get steamed up - feel annoyed:When I failed to attend the first seminar, my tutor got verysteamed up about it

to be / get hot under the collar - feel irritated :Because I told him there's no more money to spend on entertaining clients this month, he got a bit hot under the collar this morning.

to be on the warpath - prepare to vent one's anger:I've stained the white carpet in the living room, so my mother's on the warpath

to throw a wobbler - become suddenly angry with someone and break down in tears:When she learnt that Bill had been cheating on her, she threw a wobbler and wouldn't stop crying.

to do one's nut - totally lose one's temper:My mother did her nut / hit the roof / blew her top when I told her I was quitting university.

to hit the ceiling / roof - comprehensively lose one's temper

to blow one's top / a fuse / a gasket totally lose one's temper

to rant and rave - to argue loudly and energetically

feel annoyed and disappointed to be up in arms - protest strongly:The unions are up in arms since management declared there would be only a 2 percent increase on basic wages this year.

to be miffed: I was a bit miffed when I wasn't invited to Julie's wedding. to be sick as a parrot: I was sick as a

parrot at the way we lost the match in the last minute.

“My heart sank when I saw my test grade – I got a 54.”

This expression means that you started to feel sad, disappointed, or discouraged.

to annoy someone to rub someone up the wrong way to make someone's blood boil He certainly knows how to rub you up the wrong way and he's only four years old.It made my blood boil when I saw that he had taken all the credit for the work I'd done.

“We were on pins and needles waiting to hear if we won the contest.”

If someone is “on pins and needles,” it means they are anxious and in suspense, usually waiting to know some important information.

“I’m kicking myself for not booking the flight yesterday – the price just went up $200.”

If you do something you regret (you wish you had acted differently), you can say “I’m kicking myself for… (the action)” After this expression, we use the ING form of the verb.

If you need to calm somebody “My boss hit the down, you could say: ceiling when I told him I’d lost  Take it easy. the documents.”

Or you might hear young people The idiomatic say: expression “hit the  Chill out! ceiling” means to get very angry and upset. Other to expressions for sudden anger include “go ballistic” and “I was shaking like a leafafter I heard “blow a fuse.” an explosion on the train.”

We can say someone is shaking like a leaf if they are extremely afraid or “I’m dying to see the new movie.” nervous.

“Dying to” + verb means you want to do something very much. It does not mean you are literally going to die.

“I’m pumped about the concert this “Going to the World Cup Final was a weekend – it’s gonna be awesome!” dream come true.“ If you are pumped, it means you If something is “a dream come true,” it are very excited for something (usually means it was an experience that you really something in the future that you are wanted it to happen – and then it really looking forward to). happened.

“I was floored by all the help we received after our son was in a serious accident.”

To be “floored” means surprised and/or over whelmed (usually in a good way).

“It drives me up the wallwhen people answer their cell phones in English class.”

“Drives me up the wall” is an idiomatic expression that means it makes you annoyed. Other expressions for annoying situations include “drives me crazy” or “drives me nuts.”