DEAR FRESHMEN

HERE are SOME IDIOMS, PHRASAL VERBS and COLLOCATIONS

ON THE TOPIC "HOME and ACCOMODATION" to Unit 4 "Comfortable home".

PART I:     IDIOMS:

1. give house room to = give space in your house to something: "I wouldn't give house room to that lamp. It's horrible!"

2. eat someone out of house and home = eat a lot of food: "When they stayed with me, they ate me out of house and home!"

3. get a foot on the housing ladder = manage to buy your first house so that you can buy a bigger second one later: "It's becoming more difficult for young people to get a foot on the housing ladder."

4. get your own house in order = tidy up your own affairs before criticising other people's: "You should get your own house in order before telling me what to do!"

5. be on the house = be free (in a restaurant): "Can I get you a drink on the house?"

6. have a roof over your head = have somewhere to live: "Unless we find another flat to rent, we won't have a roof over our heads in two months' time!"

7. build castles in the air = have impossible dreams or plans: "She has this unrealistic idea of sailing around the world. She's building castles in the air again."

8. lead someone up the garden path = deceive someone: "He really led her up the garden path with his promises of promotion and career advancement."

9. everything but the kitchen sink = take a lot of things when you go somewhere: "They took everything but the kitchen sink when they went on holiday."

10. throw money down the drain = waste money: "If you ask me, by giving your son all that money, you're really throwing money down the drain."

11. have a skeleton in the cupboard / in the closet = have an unpleasant secret: "There are a lot of skeletons in their cupboard."

Part II. Other expressions and collocations with 

house and home

1. housework = chores you do in the house: "She does all the housework."

2. house wine = the restaurant's own unlabelled wine: "Would you like the house red or the house white?"

3. house music = a type of dance music: "They played house all night at the club."

4. house speciality = a speciality of the restaurant: "Garlic oysters are one of their house specialities."

5. full house = a full theatre: "It's full house tonight."

6. home in on = become closer to your target: "Police are homing in on the suspects."

7. there's no place like home = an expression to mean that your home is a special place: "What a great holiday! Still, there's no place like home."

8. home from home = a place that is as comfortable as your home: "The hotel was home from home."

9. be home and dry = succeed at something and not expect any further problems: "I'm glad we've got that new client. We're home and dry now."

10. make yourself at home = make yourself comfortable: "Make yourself at home! Can I get you a drink?"

11. ram something home = make a point forcefully: "They rammed home the idea that she had to get a good job."

12. home truth = an uncomfortable fact: "She's going to have to sit down and hear some home truths."

13. home comforts = the things that make you feel comfortable: "Our hotel room has all the home comforts, such as a coffee maker, reading lamp, nice soaps in the bathroom…"

14. homework = school exercises that you do at home: "Our teachers give us a ton of homework!"

15. homesick = when you miss your home: "He went away for two weeks, but was terribly homesick."

16. to hit the ceiling - (= to become very angry about something). "When her husband hears she crashed the car he'll hit the ceiling."

17. Skeleton in the closet / cupboard - (= if you have a skeleton in the cupboard it means you have are hiding a shocking secret about yourself.) "Nearly every family has a skeleton in the cupboard".

18. to get a foot in the door -    (= an opening or opportunity.) "If you could introduce me to your boss it would help me get my foot in the door."

19. to show someone the door -   (= to ask someone to leave (usually rudely)). "He was so annoying I asked my secretary to show him the door."

20. to be a doormat - (= Describes someone who doesn't stand up for his/herself.) "She treated him like a doormat, but he never complained."

21. to get in on the ground floor - (To join something at a low level in the hope of making gains in the future.) "It's a really good opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a successful new business."

22. A watched kettle never boils. - (When you are anxiously waiting for something to happen, it always seems to take longer)."Elfish couldn't wait for her exam results, but I told her, "A watched kettle never boils."

23. Everything but the kitchen sink. - (a lot of things - especially used when packing). "The check-in girl told her she was way over her weight limit. She'd packed everything but the kitchen sink."

24. The pot calling the kettle black. - (to accuse someone of being a hypocrite.) "When politicians say that bankers have been lying, it's like the pot calling the kettle black."

25. To go to the wall - (to become bankrupt.) "The recession hit so hard many businesses went to the wall.

* For more vocabulary about houses, see our pages on House and garden vocabulary and Buying a house.

More collocations about rooms in a house 

• mud room
• recreation room
• powder room
• master bedroom
• laundry room
• dining room
• study room
• wine cellar
• living room

1. My washing machine and dryer are in the  select mud room recreation room powder room master bedroom laundry room dining room study room wine cellar living room .

2. Our table in the  select mud room recreation room powder room master bedroom laundry room dining room study room wine cellar living room  can seat 12 people.

3. We don’t let the guests use our bathroom upstairs. Instead, they use a  select mud room recreation room powder room master bedroom laundry room dining room study room wine cellar living room  on the main floor. There is a sink, toilet and a big mirror there.

4. It’s cool and dark in the  select mud room recreation room powder room master bedroom laundry room dining room study room wine cellar living room . Do you mind coming with me to get a bottle of Chardonnay?

5. We need to put a bench in the  select mud room recreation room powder room master bedroom laundry room dining room study room wine cellar living room . It’s so uncomfortable taking the boots off while standing up.

6. When my friends come over, we usually go to the  select mud room recreation room powder room master bedroom laundry room dining room study room wine cellar living room  down in the basement. We play chess, cards or have a game of Foosball.

7. My workstation is in the  select mud room recreation room powder room master bedroom laundry room dining room study room wine cellar living room . There is a computer table, desk and swivel chair in this room.

8. There are 3 rooms upstairs. One of them, the largest of all, is the  select mud room recreation room powder room master bedroom laundry room dining room study room wine cellar living room . There is a shower cabin, toilet and walk-in closet directly accessible from the room. My parents love this unit!

9. My family gets together in the  select mud room recreation room powder room master bedroom laundry room dining room study room wine cellar living room  every night. My father sits in an armchair, and my mom favors a rocking one. The children take the couch or sit on the area rug in the middle of the room. 

PART III.           PHRASAL VERBS

The Phrasal Verb	The Meaning	An example ( Simple Past Tense)	S=Separable I=Inseparable
build in	To incorporate something as an integral part of something else.	They built new safety features in.	S
build on	To add a new part to an existing structure	They built a double garage on to improve their house.	S
build up	To construct or erect gradually, little by little	They built the business up bit by bit.	S
tear down	To destroy or take apart.	They tore the village down before the dam was built.	S

- See more at: http://www.learnenglish.de/vocabulary/buildingverbs.html#sthash.WZxQwOFF.dpuf

move away

Move away: To move away means that you leave one place to go and live in another.

'I was born in London, but we moved away to Liverpool when I was very young.'

move in

Move in: To start living in a new house. It is often used with to when we want to show which place.

'I bought a new house. I'm hoping to move in sometime next month.'
'I'm going to move in to my brother's apartment.'

move on

Move on: To change from one thing to the next thing. To stop one thing and start doing another.

'I think we have discussed this topic enough. Let's move on.'
'I've been working here for ten years. I want to change my job. It's time for me to move on.'

move out

Move out: To move out means that you leave your home forever. You move to a new home.

'I had to move out when the rent became too high for me to live there.'

move over

Move over: To move to the side.

'I want to sit on the sofa too. Can you move over?'

• Move ___ to the right so that I can fit you all in the photograph.
  
  away
  over
  on
  in
  out
• She moved ___ of her boyfriend's house because they were fighting all the time.
  
  on
  away
  over
  out
  in
• Can we move ___ and discuss something else. We've been talking about this for ages.
  
  in
  away
  on
  over
  out
• I have a spare room. You can move ___ with me if you like.
  
  over
  on
  in
  away
  out
• He had to move ___ to another city to find work.
  
  away
  on
  in
  out
  over