English idioms that relate to musical instruments, types of music, or musical performance.

Musical instrumentsbang the drum = speak in support of something: "We're banging the drum for womens' rights."

drum something in = keep repeating something: "She drummed in the importance of good manners to her children."

drum up support / business = try and get support / extra business: "They went on TV to drum up support for their new idea."

play second fiddle = be lower down in rank than someone else: "He plays second fiddle to the CEO."

fit as a fiddle = to be fit and healthy: "She plays tennis twice a week – she's as fit as a fiddle."

trumpet something = to broadcast the news loudly: "He keeps trumpeting his promotion. It's a bit annoying.

wet your whistle = to drink something (alcoholic): "Come and wet your whistle!"

Types of musicjazz something up = to make something more interesting: "We're jazzing up our new home page. What do you think?"

march to the same tune = all follow the same plan / say the same thing: "I think the problem with this company is that the management don't march to the same tune."

Musical performanceknow the score = understand the rules / situation: "You don't need to tell me how to behave at the meeting. I know the score!"

be pitch-perfect (be note-perfect) = to be able to perform / say something perfectly: "She was pitch-perfect in her presentation."

make a song and dance out of something = make a fuss out of something: "She made a song and dance out of organising the flowers. Just

as well we didn't give her anything more complicated to do!"

be music to someone's ears = say something that others want to hear: "Giving us all a day off was music to our ears!"

play something by ear = not plan something: "I don't know what I'm going to say – I'll just play it by ear."

sing from the same songsheet = say the same thing as others (an alternative to "march to the same tune")

give a virtuoso performance = do something perfectly: "He gave a virtuoso performance in his speech. All the audience were moved."

People who love partiesThe life and soul of the party = the person who's at the centre of all parties!She's the life and soul of the party.

let your hair down = forget all your inhibitions: "Go on! Let your hair down for once and have a good time."

have a whale of a time = have a great time: "We had a whale of a time at Sonia's birthday."

paint the town red = have a wild time: "They painted the town red all weekend."

a party animal = a person who loves going to parties: "John is a real party animal. He's never at home."

a wild child = a young adult who goes to lots of parties: "Emma is a bit of a wild child."

large it up (UK slang) = have a good time: "She larges it up at the weekend."

a social butterfly = a person with lots of friends and acquaintances: She's a bit of a social butterfly."

be a laugh = be good company: "Eric's a bit of a laugh."

throw a party = have a party: "We're throwing a party next Saturday."

People who hate partiesparty-pooper = someone who doesn't like parties: "Don't be such a party-pooper!"

a wet blanket = someone who doesn't want to have fun: "He's such a wet blanket."

Billy no-mates (UK slang) = a man with no friends: "He doesn't want to go alone to the restaurant and look like Billy no-mates."

Norma no-mates (UK slang) = a woman with no friends: "She doesn't want to look like Norma no-mates."

pour cold water on = someone who turns the atmosphere cold: "So then he had to go and pour cold water on everything by refusing to sing Happy Birthday."

a wallflower = someone who stands on his own at parties: "Who's the wallflower over there?"

piss on someone's fireworks (UK slang) = ruin the happy mood: "Don't go and piss on his fireworks by turning down the music. Let him have some fun."

find someone in the kitchen at parties = refer to someone who doesn't like mixing socially: "You'll always find Kevin in the kitchen at parties."

Dancinga slow dance = a slow, romantic dance: "She had a slow dance with Tony."

burn up the dance floor = dance a lot: "They like burning up the dance floor."

dance the night away = dance all night long: "Those two danced the night away."

dance cheek to cheek = dance very close to someone: "Everyone was looking at them dance cheek to cheek."

have a boogie = have a dance: "Fancy a boogie?"

put on your dancing shoes = get ready for dancing: "Come on Sarah! Put on your dancing shoes – we're going clubbing tonight!"

strut your stuff = enjoy dancing: "Look at him strut his stuff. Who does he think he is? John Travolta?"

Is a secret safe with you? Here are some English idioms about telling a secret and keeping a secret.

Telling secrets

to leak = to let a secret out: "Somebody has leaked the diplomatic cables." (If something leaks, it lets out water.)

whistle blower = someone who blows the whistle on an organisation tells the wider world about bad / illegal practices: "Whistle blowers aren't always protected by the law."

spill the beans = to tell a secret: "Josie spilled the beans on her relationship with her boss."

let the cat out of the bag = let a secret out: "Don't let the cat out of the bag! I want his present to be a secret."

crack under pressure = tell something because you've been under pressure to: "The criminal cracked under pressure of his interrogation and confessed to robbery."

take the lid off something = reveal a secret: "He's taken the lid off what really happens in animal testing labs."

Some gossip idioms:

dish the dirt = tell the public about an ex: "Is she going to dish the dirt on her footballer husband?"

kiss and tell = a story told by an ex: "In the latest kiss and tell, we hear all about a Hollywood actor."

be a blabbermouth = tell everything (blab = slang for talk): "She's such a blabbermouth. I can't believe she told you!"

Keeping a secretkeep mum = keep quiet: "Can you keep mum? I've got something to tell

you."

stay schtum = stay silent: "If you can stay schtum, I want to say something to you…"

my lips are sealed = I won't say a word: "You can trust me. My lips are sealed."

keep a poker face = not give away anything: "If you can keep a poker face, people will tell you secrets."

take your secret to the grave with you = never reveal a secret: "Unfortunately, he took his secret to the grave with him. We'll never know the truth."

keep something under wraps = keep something secret: "They kept their plans under wraps."

English idioms that use the weather.

a face like thunder = to look very angry: "What's up with him today? He has a face like thunder!"

a fair-weather friend = a friend who doesn't support you in bad times: "I'm a bit disappointed in John and David. It turned out they were only fair-weather friends."

a snowball's chance = very little chance (as much chance as a snowball has in hell): "We don't have a snowball's chance of winning that contract!"

a storm in a teacup = a lot of fuss over something small: "Don't worry about those two arguing. it's just a storm in a teacup."

be a breeze = to be easy: "The exam was a breeze."

be snowed under = to be very busy: "We're snowed under at work."

blow hot and cold = to keep changing your attitude: "They're blowing hot and cold over this issue. It's impossible to know what they want!"

brass-monkey weather = very cold weather: "It's brass-monkey weather today. You'd better wrap up warm!"

come rain or shine = whatever happens: "He's always working in his garden – come rain or shine."

the lull before the storm = a quiet time before a busy or difficult time: "It's going to get very busy on Thursday. Today and tomorrow are just the lull before the storm."

save up for a rainy day = put money aside for when you might need it later: "I don't want to spend this extra money. I'll save it up for a rainy day."

see which way the wind blows = to analyse a situation before doing something: "I'm going to see which way the wind blows before asking her about a raise."

steal someone's thunder = do what someone else was going to do and get all the praise: "You'll steal her thunder if you wear that dress tonight!"

take a rain check = postpone something: "I don't really want to go the cinema tonight. Can we take a rain-check on it?"

under the weather = not feel very well: "I'm feeling a bit under the weather at the moment."

weather the storm = to survive a difficult situation: "This recession is quite serious and it's becoming difficult to weather the storm."