EASY-GOING

EASY-GOING (adj) : not worried or annoyed easily

• She's an easy-going sort of person. She doesn't care if there are problems.
• I envy all those easy-going, relaxed people. My life's full of stress, because I'm easily annoyed.

to be up for grabs

to be up for grabs: to become available to others

This idiom is used when something is highly desirable to many other people.

• When one of the full-time contract instructors stepped down, her nice office overlooking the river was up for grabs.
• Did you know that Senator Stone is retiring and that her Senate seat is up for grabs?

to put one's foot in

to put one's foot in: to say or do the wrong thing

This idiom is used with the noun phrase one's mouth, when referring something said, or the pronoun it, when referring to something done.

• Fred really put his foot in his mouth when he called his supervisor by the wrong name.
• I really put my foot in it when I forgot my girlfriend's birthday and didn't buy her anything.

to throw the book at

to throw the book at: to punish with full penalty, to be harsh on

• Because the criminal was repeat offender, the judge threw the book at him with heavy fines and a long prison term.
• My boss threw the book at me when he discovered that I had been using company time for personal business. I was severely reprimanded and forced to make up the lost time.

to cover ground

to cover ground: to be extensive, to discuss much material

Forms such as a lot of, too much, too little are used before the noun ground.

• The government's report on public schools covers a lot of ground. Many of the recommendations are too costly to implement.
• In his first lecture on Greek philosophers, I thought that our professor covered too little ground.

not on your life

not on your life: absolutely not (also: no way)

This idiom is used as a kind of exclamation by itself.

• You're asking me to invest in that poorly rated company just because you know the son of the president? Not on your life!
• When a friend tried to get Mark to jump out of a plane with a parachute, he immediately responded, "No way!"

to carry on

to carry on: to continue as before; to conduct, to engage in; to behave in an immature manner

• Even in the face of disaster, the inhabitants carried on as though nothing had happened.
• The business associates decided to carry on their discussion in the hotel bar instead of the conference room.
• I can't believe that John carried on so much just because his pet bird died. He looked depressed for weeks after it happened.

to make waves

to make waves: to create a disturbance, usually by complaining

This idiom is similar in meaning to the previous idiom, but the emphasis is on the aspect of complaining rather than causing embarrassment.

• In most companies, an employee who makes waves is not appreciated.
• The restaurant made many improvement after customers made waves about its poor food and customer services.

to throw (someone) a curve

to throw (someone) a curve: to introduce an unexpected topic, causing embarrassment (S)

• The first week of class was going very well until a student threw the teacher a curve by suggesting that the textbook was too difficult.
• The director asked us in advance to stick to the meeting agenda and not to throw him any curves.

to think up

to think up: to invent, to create (also: to dream up)

This idiom is often used for an unusual or foolish thought.

• Who thought up the idea of painting the living room walls bright red?
• When asked by the teacher why she was late, the student dreamed up a plausible excuse.