Phrases & Expressions

To stay away from other people and not talk much about your private life.

• He's a quiet person who likes to keep to himself.
• Since I moved to the city, I mostly keep to myself.

To avoid attracting attention and quietly get on with your work.

• He decided to keep his head down at work.
• New employees often keep their heads down for the first few weeks.

To have just enough money to survive, with no savings or extra money.

• Jenny was earning $5 an hour at the store — she was really living from hand to mouth.
• George is really poor; he lives from hand to mouth.

A very isolated place with hardly any people or features.

• We broke down in the middle of nowhere.
• He lives in the middle of nowhere, miles from the nearest town.

An amount of money saved for the future, often for retirement.

• They saved diligently to build a comfortable nest egg.
• His nest egg will allow him to retire early.

A traditional belief that is not based on science or reason.

• That's just an old wives' tale; there's no proof.
• Don't believe that old wives' tale about the moon.

Used to describe something so special or rare that it happens only once in a person's life.

• A trip to the moon would be a once in a lifetime experience.
• This is a once in a lifetime opportunity — don't miss it.

To tease or pursue someone or something in a way that involves a lot of chasing and escaping.

• The police played cat and mouse with the suspect for weeks.
• They were just playing cat and mouse, not really trying to catch him.

To think about a problem or plan something by working together with others.

• Let's put our heads together to solve this.
• We need to put our heads together on the project.

A lot of anger or worry about something that is not important.

• Their argument was just a storm in a teacup.
• The whole fuss about the new logo was a storm in a teacup.