Read Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook Online
Authors: Gail Brenner
This section includes common idioms and expressions that people use to talk about the concept of home and having and maintaining a house.
Home
The following expressions refer to the concept of home. In some expressions, the word
home
describes more than simply a place to live; it’s also a concept that includes a sense of security, familiarity, sanctuary, and comfort.
(at) home
to be in one’s own house or residence, neighborhood, city, town, state, or country. Also to have returned from being away, as in the announcement “I’m home,” said by someone who has just stepped through the door of their home after being gone. ♦
She had a great vacation overseas, but she’s glad to
be home. ♦
I wasn’t
at home
when you called.
♦
My kids
are home
doing their chores.
Grammar Note:
The expression to be
home
is an exception to standard grammar rules that require a preposition, such as
at
or
in
before certain nouns (like “at school,” “at work,” or “in the house”). Depending on how this idiom is used, the preposition
at
is understood. Also common are the expressions
come home, go home, get home,
and
stay home.
Make Yourself at Home
Make yourself at home
is commonly said to a guest who comes to visit someone’s home. It’s a polite invitation to sit down, relax, and be informal. For an extended visit, it can also be an invitation to freely use the house as if it’s the guest’s own home. In other words, get something to eat, use the bathroom, use the phone, and so on, without asking or waiting for the host to offer. A host might say “Help yourself” (serve yourself or take whatever you need), as in “
Help yourself
to
anything you want in the kitchen.”
The expressions
make yourself at home
and
help yourself
highlight an American concept that guests should be made to feel like part of the family, as if they are at home. Treating a guest like family is a way of honoring the person. But in some cultures, where a guest is treated more formally and is served and waited on, this casual attitude may seem like an insult. Generally, a guest in an American home
does
get served and attended to while also being invited to make oneself at home.
feel at home
to feel relaxed and comfortable in a place (as if one is in one’s own home); to feel welcome ♦
Thanks for visiting. I hope we made you
feel at home. ♦
She’s traveled so much that she now
feels at home
anywhere she happens to be in the world.
♦
Although I lived overseas for 10 years, I never
felt at home
there.
home away from home
(n)
another house, city, town, state, or country where one visits so often that it’s almost like a second home; a place where one feels very comfortable ♦
Forrest visits us so often that we’ve become his
home away from home. ♦
Sue has made Mexico her
home away from home.
She stays there every winter.
homesick
(adj)
to be desperately missing and longing for one’s home and family when one is far from home. Often said as to
feel homesick.
♦
Were you
homesick
when you were studying overseas last year?
♦
Whenever I feel
homesick,
I write a letter to my family.
The Condition of a House
A few idioms describe a house when it’s in good condition, clean, and well cared for. But many more idioms describe a house in poor condition, one that is dirty or needs repair. When such a house is for sale (or
on the market
), it’s often described to possible buyers as
a fixer-upper
(a house that needs fixing up or repair). A less “friendly” way to describe a house that needs repair is to say that it’s
run down.
And if it’s especially bad, it might be called
a dump
(alluding to a garbage dump).
A house or anything else that’s broken,
run down,
or needs repair could be described in one of the following ways:
in bad shape
♦
This roof is
in bad shape.
We need to fix it before it rains.
needs work
♦
They bought the house, although it
needs work.
falling apart
♦
Our house is
falling apart!
Something always needs repair.
Note:
The idiom
falling apart
actually means disintegrating, with pieces or parts becoming disconnected and falling off. So, people often use
falling apart
as an exaggeration.
Grammar Note:
In the expression
in bad shape
, the adjective
bad
could be replaced by a number of other adjectives:
worse, terrible, better, good, great,
and so on.
A house or anything else that’s in good condition might be described with one of the following expressions:
in good shape
♦
The foundation is
in good shape.
well kept up
♦
Our house was always
well kept up.
Grammar Note:
In this context, the idiom to
keep
up and its adjective form, kept
up,
mean to maintain a house in good condition; to keep it orderly and clean. In its verb form,
keep up
is used as in this example: “We try to
keep up
the house.”
Keeping House
Keeping house
or
housekeeping
isn’t about “keeping” (not selling) a house. Instead,
keeping house
means to maintain a clean and orderly house. A house that’s very clean and tidy may be called
spotless:
“Her house is always
spotless!
”
On the other hand, a very dirty house may be called a
pig sty
(like a place where pigs live) or
disaster zone
, a term applied to a place that has experienced a natural disaster, like an earthquake or tornado. If the house or other space is this dirty, then it needs to be
cleaned
from top to bottom
(cleaned thoroughly, completely, in every part).
If a house is just
messy
(disorderly, untidy), then one of the following phrasal verbs with the preposition
up
might best describe what to do:
straighten up:
to make more orderly, neater ♦
I want to
straighten up
the living room before our guests arrive.
tidy up:
to make more tidy, more orderly, cleaner ♦
Let’s
tidy up
and go home for the day.
clean up:
to clean and tidy ♦
Saturday morning, everyone helps
clean up
the house.
♦
Please
clean
your room
up
before you go out to play.
To talk about specific cleaning jobs in the house, people often use the verb
to do,
as in
do housework
or
do the dishes.
[See Appendix I for more on
do
.]
The following expressions are often used to describe varying degrees of housecleaning:
a (quick) once over
(n)
a light and often quick cleaning of the whole house or a specific area within the house. Often used with the verb
give,
as in
give a quick once over.
♦
He gave the house
a quick once over
before his guests arrived.
a going over
(n)
a light or a thorough cleaning of the whole house or any part of the house. Often said as
a good going over
to mean a thorough cleaning. Often used with the verb
give.
♦
We’ll give the carpets
a
good
going over
after the party
.
spring cleaning
(n)
a very thorough cleaning, often (but not necessarily) done in the spring, and including big jobs such as clearing out closets, washing windows, and so on. Spring cleaning can often take many days. This idiom is often used with the verb
to do.
♦
I’m exhausted from all the
spring cleaning
that we’ve been doing lately.
♦
After keeping the house closed up all winter, it’s time for some
spring cleaning.
Who Does the Work
Some people hire a
housekeeper
(a person who does professional housework) to keep their house clean.
Cleaning lady
is an outdated term for
housekeeper,
but it’s still used. It includes the word
lady
because professional housekeepers traditionally were women. In the past, a
housewife
(a married woman at home taking care of the house) generally did all of the housework, but today the housework is usually shared by both husband and wife. And because some husbands and wives have switched roles, now there are
househusbands
, too.
Housework
and
Homework
Two words that are commonly confused by people learning English are
housework
and
homework.
They both refer to work done at home, but refer to completely different types of work. If you’re doing
housework
, then you’re making your house clean: sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, and so on. If you’re doing
homework
, then you’re a student, and you’re studying, doing schoolwork that’s meant to be done after class (or at home). A student with a family does both housework and homework!
Looking for a Place to Live
When people are looking for a new place to live, they might say “We’re
house-hunting”
(looking for a house to buy or rent) or “We’re
apartment-hunting
” (looking for an apartment to rent). After moving to a new residence, people sometimes have a
housewarming party
(a party to celebrate buying a new home or moving into a new residence). The simple verb
move
is used, as in the following examples, to talk about relocating to a new residence:
move
(v)
to relocate to a new residence or community ♦
We need some packing boxes because we’re
moving
next month.
♦
Ben helped his mother
move
to a new house.
move out
(v)
to leave a current place of residence; to stop living with one’s parents ♦
Sid used to live in this house, but he
moved out
months ago.
♦
She asked her renters to
move out
because they were too noisy.
♦
I
moved out
at the age of 18.
move in
(v)
to start living in a new residence or community; often put
moved into
♦
The house was empty for a long time, but someone finally
moved in. ♦
Our son
moved
back
in
after living on his own for a year.
Ages and Life Stages
From infancy to old age, the various stages of life are often expressed in idioms. Old age is the time of life that people often discuss indirectly, so there tend to be many more idioms and expressions for old age than for youth.
To express one’s age, use the verb
to be:
Caution:
Don’t say “I
have
25 years” to mean that you are 25 years old. That can imply that you have 25 more years to serve in prison!
When someone has a birthday, he or she might say “I just
turned
25.” In this context, the verb
to turn
means
to become
. Children like to feel that they are
grown up
(mature, adult). So, if you ask their age, they often say something like “I’m five
going on
six,” meaning “Although I’m five years old, I’ll soon be six!”
To ask someone’s age, ask “
How old are you?
” or
“What’s your age?
” It’s often impolite to ask the age of a woman or of someone who appears much older than you are. However, in very familiar situations you can ask “
Do you mind if I ask your age?
”
Babies and Toddlers
Newborn babies are sometimes called
a bundle of joy,
for example, “Congratulations on your little
bundle of joy
.” Here are a few other idioms for infants and babies:
new little one
♦
They have a
new little one
in their house.
babe in arms
♦
I was just a
babe in arms
when we moved to the United States.
bambino
♦
What a beautiful little
bambino.
bouncing baby boy/girl
♦
How is your
bouncing baby boy?
Toddlers
are babies who are able to walk and are often called
tots
(short for toddlers). A funny, slightly derogatory slang term for a toddler is
rug-rat.
This refers to the fact that little children often play on the floor, crawling and scampering on the carpet or rug. An American TV cartoon program called
Rugrats
features a group of energetic toddlers and their wild misadventures.