Fun Easy English - American English Idioms letter O.

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Learning objectives

Learn American English idioms beginning with the letter O
Learn the definition of each idiom
Study usage of each idiom

American English idioms beginning with the letter O

Idiom	Definition	Usage
odds and ends	various items	We made games for the students using odds and ends from around the house.
of age	old enough for certain privileges	When he became of age we had a big party for him to celebrate.
of age	fully developed	Cars became of age many years ago.
of course	Certainly	Of course you can use my car if you want to.
off again, on again	uncertain	The plans for the party were off again, on again.
off and on	intermittently	It has been raining off and on since this morning.
off base	inaccurate	He was really off base on his estimate of the budget.
off beat	unconventional	The movie was very off beat.
off center	misaligned	The picture looks good on that wall but it's a little off center.
off color	inappropriate and offensive	He likes to tell off color jokes at work.
off duty	not working	The police officer was off duty when the incident occurred.
off guard	by surprise	The request caught her a little off guard.
off one's back	away and not bother me	I wish he would stay off my back.
off one's chest	stated and discussed	She was able to get the problem off her chest.
off one's hands	out of his possession	He was able to get that car off his hands.
off one's rocker	crazy	She must be off her rocker to pay that much for that dress.
off the beam	incorrect	His comment about the business plan is off the beam.
off the beaten path	not well known	This restaurant is certainly off the beaten path.
off the beaten track	not well known	This restaurant is certainly off the beaten track.
off the cuff	without thinking	His rude comments were really made off the cuff.
off the hook	out of trouble	He is off the hook now that they realized it was not his mistake.
off the record	private	He told the reporters to keep the information off the record.
off the top of one's head	from memory	She could recite all fifty United States off the top of her head.
off the wagon	drinking alcohol again after stopping for awhile	He is off the wagon.
old hat	boring and unchanging	Her job has become old hat.
on a diet	trying to lose weight	Are you on a diet or something?
on a shoestring	with very little money	He started the new company on a shoestring.
on again, off again	uncertain	The plans for the party were on again, off again.
on and off	intermittently	It has been raining on and off since this morning.
on and on	tediously	The meeting continued on and on until the evening.
on an even keel	running smoothly	The department is finally on an even keel.
on behalf of	representing	The lawyer went to the meeting on behalf of his client.
on call	ready and available to work	The technician was on call the entire night.
on cloud nine	very happy	She has been on cloud nine ever since she got married.
on credit	using a credit card	She decided to buy the table on credit.
on easy street	financially comfortable	He has been on easy street since he sold his business.
on edge	nervous and irritable	He has really been on edge because of his new job.
on end	continuously	We worked for hours on end last night.
on faith	without question	She took his excuse on faith and decided to stay with him.
on guard	wary	He is staying on guard for any possible security problems.
on hand	available	The coffee shop had extra pastries on hand.
on hand	nearby	Please keep your dictionary on hand in case you need it.
on hand	present	The speaker will be on hand after the lecture if you have questions.
on ice	aside for later	The plans for the new stadium were put on ice.
on its last legs	at the end of its usefulness	The television is on its last legs.
on one's back	bothering him	She has been on his back all week to get a new job.
on one's feet	recovered	She was on her feet after a long illness.
on one's shoulders	his responsibility	The mistakes made in the department were on his shoulders.
on one's toes	alert	The students were expected to stay on their toes.
on pins and needles	excited and nervous	The players were on pins and needles waiting for the game to begin.
on purpose	intentionally	I think that she spilled the drink on purpose.
on shaky ground	not secure	His position at the company is on shaky ground.
on the air	broadcasting	That television program has been on the air for awhile.
on the ball	intelligent	He is really on the ball.
on the block	for sale	The office building is on the block.
on the bandwagon	participating in the same thing because of the actions of others	Now everyone is on the bandwagon.
on the beam	correct	What she said was on the beam.
on the blink	not working	The television is on the blink.
on the button	exactly on time	She usually arrives at work on the button.
on the coat tails of	because of the previous actions of	The actor got the part on the coat tails of his famous brother.
on the dole	receiving assistance	The area is very poor and there are many people on the dole.
on the dot	exactly on time	She usually arrives at work on the dot.
on the edge of one's seat	excited and nervous	She was on the edge of her seat waiting for the contest to begin.
on the go	busily moving around	He has been on the go since early this morning.
on the house	free	The room at the hotel was on the house.
on the level	honest	This repair shop is really on the level.
on the loose	wandering around	Some of the animals at the zoo were on the loose.
on the make	trying to take advantage	He is on the make and will attempt to take your money.
on the mend	feeling better	She is on the mend after the car accident last week.
on the move	going to many places	She is traveling and has been on the move for many months.
on the nose	correct	His estimate was on the nose.
on the other hand	in contrast	She is intelligent but on the other hand she is very lazy.
on the road	traveling	Some truck drivers are almost always on the road.
on the rocks	with ice	Would you like your whiskey on the rocks?
on the rocks	unstable	Their relationship appears to be on the rocks.
on the same wavelength	thinking the same way	We have been on the same wavelength for months.
on the sly	secretly	We went to the restaurant on the sly.
on the spot	in an embarrassing situation	She really put him on the spot.
on the spur of the moment	suddenly	They decided to go to Los Angeles on the spur of the moment.
on the tip of one's tongue	not able to be recalled	The answer was on the tip of her tongue.
on the up and up	honest	The company seems to be on the up and up.
on the wagon	not drinking alcohol	He is on the wagon.
on the warpath	very angry	He is on the warpath today.
on the whole	in general	On the whole I think it is a good idea.
on time	at the scheduled time	Our train arrived right on time.
on top	in the lead	The home team was on top for most of the game.
on top of	in addition to	On top of everything else she wants more jewelry.
on top of	managing	We are able to keep on top of our work.
on top of	aware of	She is usually on top of the latest fashion trends.
once and for all	absolutely	She told him once and for all that she would not take the new job.
once in a blue moon	rarely	She only goes to that restaurant once in a blue moon.
once in a while	occasionally	We go to that restaurant once in a while to eat Japanese food.
once or twice	a few times	We went to that restaurant once or twice.
once-over	quick look	She gave the book a once-over before deciding to buy it.
out of control	chaotic	Yeah, but it was out of control.
out of the book	directly from the book	The exams are all out of the book.
over one's limit	exceeded your spending limit	It appears you are over your limit.