• a couch potato = somebody who spends a lot of time sitting and watching TV. I guess Ken is becoming a real couch potato.
• food for thought = something that makes you think carefully. The teacher's advice game me food for thought.
• a red herring = a misleading statement or action that attracts people's attention. The criminal dropped a red herring into his statement to the police. He wanted to confuse them.
• brown as a berry = suntanned, having the skin turned brown by the sun. After her holiday in Florida, Samantha is as brown as a berry.
• red as a beetroot = embarrassed. John was red as a beetroot when he noticed that he hadn't enough money to pay the bill.
• warm as toast = very warm and comfortable. The kids sat near the fire, warm as toast.
• flat as a pancake = very flat. The countryside in this area is flat as a pancake.
• one's bread and butter = the work that provides most of the money needed in order to live. You must earn your bread and butter.
• keen as mustard = very enthusiastic. Sheila was new in the job and keen as mustard.
• to cut the mustard = be good enough to do something. Fred is not very good at his new job. I guess he can't cut the mustard!
• to feel like jelly, to turn to jelly = lose physical strength because one gets frightened or nervous. When the thief saw the police, his knees turned to jelly.
• to sell like hot cakes = become popular, sell a lot. These cheap shoes are selling like hot cakes.
• small beer / small potatoes = not important. This profit is small beer/potatoes for the holding company.
• chalk and cheese = completely different. The two brothers are like chalk and cheese, they are very different indeed!

We thank Francis Dixon-Clarke (from Sao Paulo, Brazil) for his contribution.

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