AMERICAN IDIOMS (C)
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Idioms starting with C
Here is our list of popular "C" idioms that are used in American English:
Call (n.): 1) Prediction:
ex: "That was a good call on the weather. It rained just like you said that It would.". 2) Decision:
ex: "Where do you want to eat. Person 2: It's your call."
(To) call it a day:
To end work and go home.
ex. "Let's call it a day. It's getting late."
Call the shots: To make decisions, to be in charge
ex: "I call the shots around here!"
(To) carry a tune:
To be able to sing on key (accurately).
ex. "She has an awful voice! She can't carry a tune."
Cash (n.): Money.
ex: "You got any cash on you?"
(To) cash in on something:
To profit from something.
ex. "The actor wanted to cash in on his popularity by opening a restaurant."
(A) catch:
When talking about wives, husbands, girlfriends, etc., people sometimes say "He's quite a catch" or "She's quite a catch", which means that the person in question is (or would be) a great partner (usually because of his/her personality, money, or looks).
(To) catch someone's eye:
To get someone's attention through eye contact.
Catch some rays (v.): To sunbathe; To go suntanning.
Check out (v.): 1) To see ("Let's check out that new movie!") 2) To take a look at ("Check out this cool website!", "Check out that girl!")
Cheesy (adj.): Cheap, tacky.
ex: "A cheesy pick-up line", "A cheesy song", etc.
Chick (n.): Young woman, girl, etc. (This term is considered derogatory (offensive) by some, so if you're not sure, don't use it.)
Chill out (v.): To relax. "Chill out! Why are you getting so worked up over this?"
Class-act (n.): A distinctive person; someone with a lot of class.
(A) clean bill of health:
A report from the doctor that one's health is good; good results from a doctor's medical examination.
ex. "I went in for my yearly physical and got a clean bill of health from Dr. Jones".
(To) clear the table:
To remove all dishes, cutlery, etc. from a table after a meal.
ex. "You clear the table, and I'll do the dishes."
(A) close call:
Something that is close to danger or an accident.
ex. "That was a close call! The train almost hit the motorbike."
Coast-to-coast (adj/adv):
From the Atlantic to the Pacific coast in the United States.
ex. "Our car made the coast-to-coast trip in 70 hours".
(To) come away empty handed:
To return without anything. To expect to receive something but to end up receiving nothing.
ex. "The union workers came away empty handed from the negotiations."
(To) come to an end:
To finish; to stop/
ex. "When the road came to an end, we turned left."
(To) come out of the closet:
To reveal that one is gay.
ex. "The Republican senator shocked his constituents last June by coming out of the closet."
Come to think of it:
I just remembered.
ex. "Hey, come to think of it, I do have a sleeping bag you can borrow."
(To) come up short:
To not quite achieve one's goal.
ex. "The students tried to raise $1,000 for the school play, but they came up short."
Come what may
Whatever happens. No matter what happens.
Cool (adj.): nice, great, impressive
ex: "a cool dress", "a cool guy", "a cool bar"
Cool down (v.) : Relax, calm down after an argument, etc.
ex: "Give him a couple of days to cool down before you call him."
Cop (n.): Police officer.
ex: "My brother is a cop."
Copycat (noun or adjective)
Someone who imitates/mimics another person *not really used in a positive sense*.
Couch potato : Someone who spends most of his/her time sitting on the couch, watching TV.
(To) cover a lot of ground:
To go through a lot of information.
ex. "We've covered a lot of ground in my English class in the past two months."
(To) cover for someone:
To make excuses for someone or to conceal someone's errors.
ex. "He asked me to cover to him while he ran out to talk to his girlfriend."
(At the) crack of dawn:
Right at dawn (when the sun comes up).
ex. "Whe hit the road at the crack of dawn."
Crack open (v.): In this phrase, the "crack" is only used to emphasize the process of opening.
ex: "Crack open a bottle of champagne! It's time to celebrate!" (Open a bottle of champagne! It's time to celebrate!)
Crank up (v.): To crank something up means to increase it's volume (significantly)
ex: "Crank it up, man! I love that song!"
(To) crash:
To sleep. To go to bed.
ex. "Do you think I can crash here tonight?"
(To) cramp someone's style:
To limit someone in some way. To limit someone from expressing themselves fully.
ex. "Get lost. You're cramping my style!"
Creep (n.): An unpleasantly weird/strange person.
ex: "I don't like Tom. He's a bit of a creep."
Creepy (adj.): Unpleasantly weird; something that makes you feel uneasy.
ex: "That's a creepy song."
Crummy (adj.): Bad.
(To) cry one's eyes out:
To cry hard.
ex. "When her grandfather died, she cried her eyes out for three days straight."
Cushy (adj.): Comfortably easy.
ex: "A cushy job."
(To) cut class:
To not go to class. To skip going to class.
ex. "Jacob was a very bad student. He was always cutting class to go smoke with his buddies."
Cut (a deal) (v.): To negotiate a deal; To compromise; to make a deal.
ex: "Let's cut a deal. I'll let you use the car if you help around the house."
(A) cut above (something):
Superior/ better (than something).
ex. "The commercial claimed that this car company was a cut above the rest."
(To not) cut it: To not be enough; to be insufficient.
ex: "In this case, saying 'sorry' just doesn't cut it." (Saying 'sorry' is not enough)
(To) cut loose:
To act without restraint, without holding back.
ex. "I just want to cut loose this weekend."
