Read Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook Online
Authors: Gail Brenner
[For information on separable and non-separable phrasal verbs, see Part V.]
The Table
Following are common expressions for preparing the table for a meal and cleaning up the table afterward:
Let’s Sit Down
When a meal is ready and it’s time to invite everyone to sit at the table, people commonly use expressions like
time to sit down, let’s sit down, come eat,
and
time for dinner (breakfast, lunch, etc).
In the context of dining, the idiom
sit down
means to come to the table and start eating. For example, if you’re invited to a dinner, the host might say, “Come anytime before 7:00. We’ll
sit down
around 7:30.” Or at home, someone might say, “Okay, everyone, wash your hands. We’re going to
sit down
in a minute.”
set the table
(v)
to put the plates, glasses, silverware, and other items on the table in preparation for a meal. Also said as
the table is set.
♦
Josh, would you please
set the table? ♦ The table is
all
set,
so let’s eat!
put out
or
put on
(v)
to put specific items on the table in preparation for eating ♦
We still need to
put out
the glasses.
♦
Don’t
put out
any plates, just bowls for soup.
♦
He forgot to
put on
some napkins.
Grammar Note:
Put out
and
put on
are separable phrasal verbs; they can be separated by a direct object.
clear (off) the table
(v)
to take everything off the table after a meal. Often put in the passive form,
the table is cleared.
♦
Did you
clear
everything
off the table? ♦
When
the table is cleared,
we’ll get out a board game to play.
Grammar Note:
Clear off
is a separable phrasal verb; it can be separated by a direct object.
clear (off
or
away)
(v)
to take specific table items or foods off the table after a meal. Often put in the passive form, as in “The dishes
were cleared away.
” ♦
The waiter
cleared away
the plates and brought some coffee.
♦
Let’s
clear off
these dishes before we have our dessert.
♦
After the dessert
was cleared away,
they left the table.
Grammar Note:
Clear off
and
clear away
are separable phrasal verbs; they can be separated by a direct object.
[For information on separable and non-separable phrasal verbs, see Part V.]
Serving Food
Serving food, especially from the kitchen area, is often said as
bringing out
the food. For example: “You sit down; I’ll
bring out
the food.” When all the food is served, then it’s
on the table
. This is not meant to describe the location of the food, but to say that the food has been served and is ready to eat. A person might say, “Okay, come eat! The food is
on the table.
”
A typical American style of dining is to
pass
or
pass around
the food (the serving dishes) from one person to the next, as each puts some on his or her own plate. To ask for something that is on the table, but not close by, one can say, for example, “Please
pass
the salt.”
A serving or portion of food is also called
a
helping,
as in, “Just give me a small
helping.
” People often refer to the first plate of food as the
first helping.
When it’s finished, if they have more food, that’s the
second helping,
and so on. The expression
a second helping
is often shortened to
seconds;
a
third helping
is shortened to
thirds,
and so on. Here are some examples showing how to use these expressions:
Sleeping and Waking
Because sleep consumes one-third of a person’s life, it makes sense that there are so many idioms and expressions that refer to sleeping, waking, and the need for sleep.
The state of being asleep is sometimes described as
being in dreamland.
Someone who is sleeping well is
sleeping soundly
or
sleeping like a baby.
For example, “I didn’t hear the phone last night. I was
in dreamland, sleeping like a baby.
”
Another expression for sleeping well is
dead to the world,
meaning to be completely unaware of the world around you, as in “I was so tired that by 9 p.m. I
was dead to the world.”
Someone who is sleeping soundly and, particularly, snoring, is
sawing logs.
“John was in bed
sawing logs
when I got home.”
Sawing logs
alludes to the sound made by cutting logs.
An older expression for sleep is
shut-eye
(suggesting shutting one’s eyes). This idiom is usually expressed as
getting some shut-eye
, as in “I need to
get some shut-eye.
”
Feeling Tired
There are plenty of idioms to describe feeling tired or sleepy. If you are tired from work or a long day, you might say that you are
bushed, zonked,
or
all in
. Or you might use one of these expressions with the word
out:
I’m pooped (out).
I’m tuckered out.
I’m tired out.
I’m wiped out.
I’m worn out.
For example:
Grammar Note
: The idioms meaning to be tired are generally used in the adjective form.
Pooped out, wiped out,
and
tuckered out
can also be used as passive verbs, as in “That work really
tuckered
me
out.”
Here are a few other expressions to describe being sleepy:
half awake
♦
You look
half awake.
Did you get enough sleep last night?
eyes are at half mast
(alludes to a ship’s sail, or a flag, being halfway down the mast or pole) ♦
You should go to bed; your
eyes are at half mast.
ready for bed
♦
Gee, I’m
ready for bed,
but it’s only 7 p.m.
Note:
Literally,
ready for bed
means prepared for sleep (in night clothes, teeth brushed, and so on), but people often use it to mean
sleepy
and may say it anytime before they’re truly
ready
to get into bed.
Going to Bed
When it’s time for bed, people
turn down the sheets
(open the bedding) and
crawl
(or
climb
)
into bed
(get into bed). If you want to say that you’re going to the bedroom to go to sleep, you might use one of these idioms:
go (off) to bed
♦
It’s late. I’m
going to bed.
Grammar Note:
Don’t say “go to
the
bed.”
hit the sack (
or
hay)
♦
I
hit the sack
early last night.
call it a night
♦
When the guests left, we were glad to
call it a night.
turn in
♦
I’m not ready to
turn in
yet, but you go ahead.
go beddy-bye
or
go nighty-night
(generally said to children) ♦
It’s time for you to
go beddy-bye.
Falling Asleep
The most commonly used idioms that mean to start sleeping are to
fall asleep
and to
go to sleep.
The following examples show how to use them:
Other idioms that mean to
fall asleep
are two-word verbs that use the preposition
off.
People often use the following idioms to refer to unintentionally falling asleep, or to having a light sleep or short nap:
drop off
♦
Just as I started to
drop off,
the phone rang and woke me up.
nod off
♦
I want to watch this program, but I’m
nodding off.
doze off
♦
He was
dozing off
during his class.
drift off
(to ease into sleep) ♦
Shhh. The baby is finally starting to
drift off.
Note:
These idioms are often used with the verb
to start
as
starting to drop off, nod off,
and so on.
Falling asleep
easily or quickly is often expressed with one of the following idioms:
be out like a light
♦
I was so tired, I
was
out like a light.
be out in a second
♦
As soon as she got into bed, she was
out in a second.
be out (
or
asleep) the minute one’s head hits the pillow
♦
I’m
generally
asleep the minute my head hits the pillow.
crash
or
crash out
(slang) ♦
The girls
crashed out
after the soccer game
Being Unable to Sleep
If you lie awake unable to sleep, you can say that you:
toss and turn (all night)
♦
She
tossed and turned
all night worrying.
count sheep
♦
I was up
counting sheep
half the night.
Note:
Alludes to trying to fall asleep by counting something repetitious, like sheep jumping over a fence.
couldn’t sleep a wink
♦
Our neighbor’s party was so loud we
couldn’t sleep a wink
all night.
Note:
Always put in the negative and almost always in the past tense.
Staying Up
The opposite of
going to bed
is
staying up
(staying awake late or later than others). Also, one can
stay awake
or
sit up (late).
A person who likes to stay up late is often called a
night owl
(like an owl, which is nocturnal, meaning active at night). There’s no similar idiom for someone who likes to go to bed early.
Grammar Note:
Don’t say “I
slept late
last night.” This doesn’t make sense, because the idiom
sleep late
means to sleep later than usual in the morning! Instead you can say “I
stayed up
late,” “I
went to sleep
late,” or “I
went to bed
late.”
Staying up
late to work on a project is described as
burning the midnight oil
(alluding to an oil lamp that is still burning at midnight because someone is awake).
Waking Up
There are fewer idioms to describe
waking up
than there are for
going to bed.
Here are the most common ones:
wake up
to awaken, though not necessarily getting out of bed ♦
I usually
wake up
around 7 a.m.
♦
What time do you want me to
wake
you
up? ♦
He was snoring so loudly that he
woke
himself
up.
Grammar Note:
Wake up
is a separable phrasal verb that can be separated by a direct object:
wake
someone
up.
come to
to awaken; to stop sleeping ♦
I generally
come to
before my alarm goes off.
♦
It was already noon by the time he
came to. ♦
Don’t wake her up, but if she
comes to
in the next hour, please ask her to call me.
get up
to wake up and get out of bed ♦
She likes to
get up
early, even on the weekend.
♦
If I don’t wake up when my alarm goes off, would you come in and
get
me
up?
Grammar Note:
Get up
is a separable phrasal verb that can be separated by a direct object:
get
someone
up.
[For more information on separable phrasal verbs, see Part V.]
get out of bed
to wake up and get up; to start one’s day, by literally getting out of bed; also put
crawl
(or
climb
)
out of bed
♦
He usually makes a cup of coffee as soon as he
gets out of bed. ♦
Sometimes you just don’t want to
get out of bed
in the morning.
When someone tries to wake another person up, he or she might say “
Rise and shine!”
This means “come on, get up and be bright, active, and productive.”