Idioms G	Back to Vocabulary..
Game on When someone says 'Game on!', it means that they are accepting a challenge or ready to get something done
Garden leave If someone is paid garden leave then they are being paid when they are not doing the job, but at home
Gather pace If events gather pace, they move faster
Get along famously If people get along famously, they have an exceedingly good relationship
Get away scot free If someone gets away scot-free, they are not punished when they have done something wrong
Get away with murder If you get away with murder, you do something bad and don't get caught or punished
Get it in the neck If you get it in the neck, you are punished or criticised for something
Get it off your chest If you get something off your chest, you confess to something that has been troubling you
Get my drift If you get someone's drift, you understand what they are trying to say
Get off the ground If a project or plan gets off the ground, it starts to be put into operation
Get on your nerves If something gets on your nerves, it annoys or irritates you
Get out of bed the wrong side If you get out of bed on the wrong side, you wake up and start the day in a bad mood for no real reason
Get the ball rolling If you get the ball rolling, you start to do something you've planned to do
Green light If you get the green light to do something, you are given the necessary permission to start it
Get the show on the road If you get the show on the road, you put a plan into operation or begin something, similar to Get the ball rolling
Get up and go If someone has lots of get up and go, they have lots of enthusiasm and energy
Get your feet wet If you get your feet wet, you gain your first experience of something
Get yor teeth into If you get your teeth into something, you become involved in or do something
Get your wires crossed If people get their wires cross, they misunderstand each other, especially when making arrangements
Ghost of a chance If something or someone hasn't got a ghost of a chance, they have no hope whatsoever of succeeding
Gift of the gab If someone has the gift of the gab, they speak in a persuasive and interesting way
Gild the lily If you gild the lily, you decorate something that is already ornate
Girl friday A girl Friday is a female employee who assists someone without any specific duties
Give a dog a bad name A person who is generally known to have been guilty of some offence will always be suspected of a similar type of offence
Give and take In negotiations you give a little ground and in return take a little back, usually in the form of a compromise
Give it some stick If you give something some stick, you put a lot of effort into it
Give someone a leg up If you give someone a leg up, you help them to achieve something that they couldn't have done alone
Give someone a piece of your mind If you give someone a piece of your mind, you criticise them strongly and angrily
Give someone a run for their money If you can give someone a run for their money, you are as good, or nearly as good, as they are at something
Give someone enough rope If you give someone enough rope, you give them the chance to get themselves into trouble
Give someone stick If someone gives you stick, they criticise you or punish you
Gloves are off When the gloves are off, people start to argue or fight in a more serious way
Glutton for punishment If a person is described as a glutton for punishment, the happily accept jobs and tasks that most people would try to get out of
Go against the grain If a person does something that he normally would disapprove of it is said to go against the grain
Go bananas If you go bananas, you are wild with excitement, anxiety, or worry
Go bust If a company goes bust, it goes bankrupt
Go by the boards If something goes by the boards, it fails to get approved or accepted
Go down without a fight If someone goes down without a fight, they surrender without putting up any resistance
Go Dutch If you go Dutch in a restaurant, you pay for your own meal
Go fly a kite This is used to tell someone to go away and leave you alone
Go nuts If someone goes nuts, they get either excited or angry over something
Going round in circles If people are going round in circles, they keep discussing the same thing without reaching any agreement or coming to a conclusion
Go spare If you go spare, you lose your temper completely
Go tell it to the birds Is said to someone you suspect is lying or telling something that is incredible
Go the distance If you go the distance, you continue until something ends, no matter how difficult
Go the extra mile If you go the extra mile it means you will do more to make sure you succeed
Going through the motions When you go through the motions, you do something like an everyday routine, without any feelings whatsoever
Go to seed If someone has gone to seed, they have declined in quality or appearance
Go to your head If something goes to your head, it makes you feel vain
Go west If something goes west, it goes wrong
Go overboard If you go overboard with something, then you take something too far, or do too much
Golden handshake A golden handshake is a payment made to someone to get them to leave their job
Golden rule A golden rule is an instruction, written or perceived, that must be followed to the letter
Golden touch Someone with a golden touch can make money from or be successful at anything they do
Gone to pot If something has gone to pot, it has gone wrong and doesn't work any more
Gone to the dogs If something has gone to the dogs, it has gone badly wrong and lost all the good things it had
Good as gold If children are as good as gold, they behave very well
Good egg A person who can be relied on is a good egg
Good Samaritan A good Samaritan is a person who helps others in need
Good shape If something's in good shape, it's in good condition. If a person's in good shape, they are fit and healthy
Goody two shoes A goody two-shoes is a self-righteous person who makes a great deal of their virtue
Grab the bull by the horns If you grab (take) the bull by its horns, you deal head-on and directly with a problem
Grasp the nettle If you grasp the nettle, you deal bravely with a problem
Grass roots If you start at the grass roots, you start from the very beginning
Gravy train If someone is on the gravy train, they have found and easy way to make lots of money
Grass someone up If you grass someone up you report them for doing something they should'nt be doing
Grease monkey A grease monkey is an idiomatic term for a motor mechanic
Greased lightning If something or someone moves like greased lightning, they move very fast indeed
Great guns If something or someone is going great guns, they are doing very well
Great unwashed This is a term used for the working class masses
Greek to me If you don't understand something, it's all Greek to you
Green fingers Someone with green fingers has a talent for gardening
Green light If you are given the green light, you are given approval to do something
Green with envy If you are green with envy, you are very jealous
Grey matter Grey matter is the colloqial name given to the brain
Grey pound The grey pound is an idiom for the economic power of elderly people
Grin and bear it If you have to grin and bear it, you have to accept something that you don't like
Guinea pig If you are a guinea-pig, you take part in an experiment of some sort and are used in the testing
Gung ho If someone is gung ho about something, they support it blindly and don't think about the consequences