📕By the handful.

☑️Meaning: in large quantities, by the amount that you can measure in one handful

🎯The child will eat candy by the handful if his parents permit him to do this.

🎯We were able to pick strawberries by the handful in the small field.

📕To compare apples and oranges

☑️Meaning: to compare two things that are different and should not be compared

🎯The two singers are completely different so you should not compare them. It is like comparing apples and oranges.

📕Here goes nothing.

☑️Meaning :used when you try something but you think that it will fail

🎯Here goes nothing," the student said as she went to the exam which she had not studied for.

🎯The computer program will probably not work but here goes nothing, let's try it.

📕To put someone or something out of one's head/mind.

☑️Meaning : to try not to think about s/o or s/t

🎯The girl is trying to put the exam out of her mind.

🎯The man is trying to put his problems out of his mind.

🎯My friend needs to put his crazy idea out of his mind.

📕To know something all too well

☑️Meaning: to know something very well

🎯My friend knows all too well how difficult it will be to enter medical school.

🎯The students know all too well what will happen if they are late with their essays.

📕To break open.

☑️Meaning : to open suddenly and violently

🎯The suitcase key is lost so we will have to break open the suitcase.

🎯The box broke open and everything fell onto the floor.

🎯We can use string to tie the box so that it does not break open.

📕Hurl an insult at someone

☑️Meaning: to make an insult to someone

🎯The young boy hurled an insult at the other boy.

🎯The businessman became angry and hurled an insult at the reporter.

🎯The woman hurled an insult at the server in the restaurant.

📕A hive of activity.

☑️Meaning :a place where things are very busy (like the activity around a beehive)

🎯The wedding hall was a hive of activity as people got ready for the wedding.

🎯The shopping mall is always a hive of activity.

📕To be fishy.

☑️Meaning : to be suspicious or unlikely or strange

🎯Something seems fishy with the online store so I will buy from another online store.

🎯The boy's excuse for being late for school is fishy. I don't believe it.

📕To give someone a fair shake.

☑️Meaning :to treat someone fairly, to give someone an equal chance

🎯Our company tries to give everybody a fair shake.

🎯The boy wants a fair shake to play on the team.

🎯Everyone is given a fair shake by the school principal.

📕To beat one's brains out.

☑️Meaning : to make a great mental effort to do something

🎯My grandfather likes to beat his brains out trying to solve puzzles.

🎯We beat our brains out in order to think of a good restaurant to go to.

📕To show one`s true colors.

☑️Meaning : to reveal what you really believe or are really thinking

🎯When people have problems, their friends often show their true colors.

🎯The man seems honest but he showed his true colours when he stole some money.

📕Slow and steady wins the race.

☑️Meaning : if you are patient and determined to do something then you will be successful

🎯Slow and steady wins the race and by working hard and being patient, the woman was able to succeed at school.

📕To swing into action.

☑️Meaning : to quickly begin to do something

🎯The firefighters began to swing into action to fight the fire.

🎯Our team swung into action and won the game.

🎯The girl must swing into action and finish her school project.

📕As scarce as hen's teeth

☑️Meaning : very scarce or nonexistent (because hens/chickens do not have teeth)

🎯Cheap hotels in this city are as scarce as hen's teeth.

🎯When the weather is bad, taxis are as scarce as hen's teeth.

📕Jack up the price of something

☑️Meaning : to increase the price of something

🎯The shop jacked up the price of goods during the storm.

🎯The small business plans to jack up the price of their goods during the festival.

🎯The city will jack up parking fees.

📕To grow to like someone or something

☑️Meaning : to slowly begin to like someone or something

🎯The mother is growing to like the music that her children listen to.

🎯We are growing to like the small restaurant.

🎯I am growing to like our new teacher.

📕To talk someone out of doing something

☑️Meaning : to persuade someone not to do something

🎯I spent an hour trying to talk my friend out of quitting his job.

🎯The woman wants to change her class but her mother is trying to talk her out of changing it.

📕To draw to a close

☑️Meaning : to end

🎯The tournament was drawing to a close and everybody was going home.

🎯Hopefully, the meeting will draw to a close soon.

🎯The wedding celebrations drew to a close so many people could finally have a rest.

📕A case in point

☑️Meaning : a specific example about what you are talking about

🎯The road is very dangerous and the recent accident is another case in point.

🎯Our team needs a better defense. The fact that we lost the game last week is a case in point

📕Chalk something up to experience

☑️Meaning : to learn something from a mistake or a bad experience

🎯The man failed his driving test but he can chalk it up to experience and try again.

🎯Our team lost but we will chalk it up to experience and work harder.

📕To steer clear of someone or something.

☑️Meaning : to avoid s/o or s/t

🎯The girl must steer clear of nuts because of her allergy.

🎯The man complains about everything so we steer clear of him.

🎯We are driving in the city so we will steer clear of the car accident.

📕Out with the old and in with the new

☑️Meaning : leave old things or ideas behind and bring in new things or ideas

🎯The new owners of the company want to change many things. It is out with the old and in with the new.

📕Under construction

☑️Meaning : being built or repaired

🎯The new hospital is under construction.

🎯The hotel is still under construction, two years after it began.

🎯The bridge has an "Under Construction" sign on it.

📕To see something through.

☑️Meaning : to do something until it is completed

🎯The manager plans to stay and see the building project through."

🎯Although the student is failing the class, he plans to see it through to the end.

📕Fat chance

☑️Meaning : little or no possibility, almost no chance

🎯Fat chance that my friend will let me borrow his car. He never lets me borrow anything.

🎯I want to borrow some money from my friend but fat chance that he will give it to me.

📕To be high time

☑️Meaning: it is time to do something (before it is too late)

🎯It is high time that the boy starts studying for his test.

🎯It is high time that our manager starts to listen to our complaints.

📕End product

☑️Meaning : the final result of something, the final product

🎯The young woman studied hard and the end product is that she will go to a good university.

🎯It took a long time to develop the new phone but the end product is a very good phone.

📕To be rich in something

☑️Meaning : to have much of something good or useful

🎯Apples are rich in vitamin C but oranges have more vitamin C.

🎯Many vegetables are rich in important vitamins.

🎯The small town is rich in local history.

📕To keep something under one`s hat

☑️Meaning : to keep something secret

🎯I will keep my plan to look for a new job under my hat.

🎯My friend told me something but he told me to keep it under my hat.

🎯The woman will keep her wedding plans under her hat.

📕To eke out a living

☑️Meaning : to earn one's living but with difficulty

🎯The young woman is able to eke out a living by building websites.

🎯My uncle was not able to eke out a living on his farm.

🎯The man ekes out a living as a translator.

📕To make a clean sweep of something

☑️Meaning : to do or win something completely

🎯The fans want their team to make a clean sweep of the tournament.

🎯The new movie made a clean sweep of the awards at the ceremony."

📕Down to the last detail

☑️Meaning : considering all of the details of something

🎯We planned the birthday party down to the last detail.

🎯We fixed everything on the boat, down to the last detail.

🎯Our holiday is planned down to the last detail.

♻️To slash prices :

Meaning : to reduce prices significantly

💙"The store is slashing prices on the cell phone."

💙"They decided to slash prices by 50% at the store."

💙"They will slash prices for the game next week.

💛 Get/lay hold of something:

💛Meaning : to get possession of something

💙"I need to get hold of the study material before the exam."

💙"If I can lay hold of some tools, I will help you fix the toilet."

💙"I need to get hold of a dictionary for the school project.