|
Idiom |
Definition |
Usage |
|
jack-of-all-trades |
someone who can do many
things |
That guy is a
jack-of-all-trades. |
| jack up |
increase |
Stores typically
jack up prices during the holidays. |
| jam on the
brakes |
stop the car suddenly |
Because of the cow on
the road she had to jam on the brakes. |
| jam-packed |
crowded |
This club is really
popular and always jam-packed. |
| jazz up |
brighten up |
We need to jazz
up this boring room. |
| jerking someone
around |
causing me trouble |
Recently it seems like
everyone is jerking me around. |
| jockeying for
position |
maneuvering to get an
advantage |
The candidates for the
presidency were jockeying for position. |
| John Doe |
unknown person |
Another John Doe
was driving while intoxicated. |
| John Hancock |
signature |
Please put your
John Hancock on the application form. |
| John Henry |
signature |
Please put your
John Henry on the application form. |
|
Johnny-come-lately |
newcomer |
He is a
Johnny-come-lately at this company. |
|
Johnny-on-the-spot |
in the right place at
the right time |
He always seems to be
Johnny-on-the-spot. |
| jump all over
someone |
scold me |
For no reason, he began
to jump all over me. |
| jump at |
quickly accept |
She knew that he would
jump at the chance to go to Japan. |
| jump down one's
throat |
yell at him |
She began to
jump down his throat over being late. |
| jump on someone |
scold |
The boss would
jump on him for even a small mistake. |
| jump on the
bandwagon |
join in |
Everyone wants to
jump on the bandwagon now that the Internet
site is a success. |
| jump out of
one's skin |
be badly frightened |
She looked as if she
would jump out of her skin while she was
watching the horror movie. |
| jump the gun |
act too soon |
He decided to
jump the gun and ordered to many tickets. |
| jump through a
hoop |
obey any order |
He is always ready to
jump through a hoop for his boss. |
| jump to
conclusions |
make quick conclusions |
You should not
jump to conclusions until you know all the facts. |
| jumping-off
place |
starting point |
We gathered at the
jumping-off place for our trip to the mountains. |
| just about |
nearly |
I waited just
about one hour for her to come. |
| just now |
this very moment |
The movie began
just now. |
| just off the
boat |
naive |
He acts like he is
just off the boat. |
| just so |
close to perfect |
She always makes sure
that her hair is just so before she goes
out. |
| just the same |
nevertheless |
I told her not to come
early but just the same she came early
anyway. |
| just what the
doctor ordered |
exactly what was needed |
The extra day off from
work was just what the doctor ordered. |
In
this lesson you will learn American English idioms beginning with
the letter J. You will learn the definition and study the usage of
each idiom.