Idioms, sayings and expression heard in class and elsewhere
   
  Explanations
We missed the boat on that. We missed that.
That door is closed. That's no more possible.
to put the cart before the horses Do start with the wrong end.
a knock-down-drag-out fight a very hard fight
to switch gears to change the topic
to worm his way in to enter through the back door
You are so fun a child! You are funny!
Hero or goat?
You can't get in town without the horses. You need some equipement to work properly.
to dress to the nines to dress very nicely
dressed to kill dressed in a very attractive way
to jump on the band wagon auf den Zug aufspringen
It cracked me up. It made me laugh.
He is off his rocker. He is crazy.
At the end you have to pay the fiddler.  
A blow to the gut ein Schlag in den Magen
Do not smile before Christmas. (Teaching for dummies)
word-of-mouth recommendation  
to find the 50-yard line to find a compromise
to be penniless
to pass with flying colors to pass brilliantly
to kill the golden goose  
a cliffhanger election a very tight election
a one-two punch ein Doppelschlag
the home turf advantage the homefield advantage
   
Vocabulary
   
a wimpy someone who cries and complains for everything
a carpet bagger Someone who shows up in a disaster or war area to make money
a convent A place where monks and nuns live
a pivateer (wikipedia)
a WASP White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
TGIF Thank God it's Friday
a paddywagon (wikipedia)
   
   
History related things
   
Whaling

"Whaling was a bloody, brutal, messy, stinking, dangerous sometimes lucrative, always high risk business."

  
Chimney is affire Stabb the whale with a steel knife near his blowhole
Kansas Nebraska Act  

1854   big,big mess
1856   things are getting worse
1857   things are getting nastier
1859   one degree from boiling
1860   when will it blow up?

  
   
Baseball

What's the story about baseball?

 

 You want the ball get over the fence - that's all about the game!

(In reality it's a tiny little bit more complicated;-)
Workers fighting for thier rights around 1900

"8 hours for what we will!"

 

 Slogan for an 8 hours working day