English, baby!

Heart Idioms

Date: Oct 05 2007

Topic: Idioms and Slang

Author: rhyme_reason

Lesson

If you get discouraged, you 'lose heart'.

When I saw how good the other contestants were I began to lose heart a bit.
Don't lose heart. We can still do well.

At the moment you feel disappointed or discouraged your 'heart sinks'.

My heart sank when I saw how much work was left to do.
Her heart sank when she heard the bad news.

If you really really want to do or have something, you 'set your heart on' it.

I've set my heart on getting a Ferrari before I am thirty.
She set her heart on getting that job so she's very disappointed.

If you find encouragement from something, you 'take heart'.

I took heart from your words of encouragement.
We should take heart from our improved performance in Italy.

If you cannot refuse somebody something, even though you know it is not a good idea, you 'didn't have the heart to say no'.

She really wanted to borrow it and I didn't have the heart to say no.
When he pleaded with me, I didn't have the heart to say no.

If something will make you very sad, it will 'break your heart'.

It breaks my heart to sell my car but it's become too unreliable.
It breaks my heart to leave here. I've really enjoyed it.

If you care a lot about something, it is 'a subject close to your heart'.

Fighting world hunger is a subject close to my heart.
Punctuality is a subject close to my heart.

If somebody is very kind and generous to others, they have 'a heart of gold'.

He appears bad –tempered but he's got a heart of gold.
Under that gruff exterior lurks a heart of gold.

If you are no longer motivated to do something, your 'heart is not in it'.

I'm going to give up this job. My heart is not in it any more.
She went through the motions but her heart just wasn't in it.

Your truest inner feelings are your 'heart of hearts'.

In my heart of hearts, I never really wanted to leave here.
I'm happy in my management job but in my heart of hearts I'd rather still be a researcher.

If you change your mind, you 'have a change of heart'.

We weren't going to give him the promotion but then we had a change of heart.
After a change of heart, she finally agreed to move to Berlin.

If you are well-intentioned, your 'heart is in the right place'.

He is a bit rude sometimes but his heart is in the right place.
She makes a lot of mistakes but her heart is in the right place and she always does her best.

If you memorize something word by word you learn them 'by heart'.

I've decided to learn the English irregular verbs by heart.
There is no need to tell me about it. I've read so much about it that I know all the details by heart.

If you have an intimate discussion about your true feelings, you have a 'heart-to-heart' talk.

Something is bothering him. I'm going to have a heart-to-heart talk with him and find out what it is.
We need to have a heart-to-heart discussion and clear the air between us.

'At heart' can mean fundamentally, in one's deepest feelings.

He is a good all-round manager but at heart he's an engineer.
I want you to know that we have your best interests at heart in sending you to Berlin for a year.

Comments

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Nastacia

Russian Federation

Thank you so much,that was interesting:)

AK Mark

China

i will try to learn them by heart . thanks

ghost9046

Yemen

Cool

I like idiom because It add colour to the language, giving us lively and interesting ways of expressing ourselves. We use them in a wide variety of situation, from friendly conversations and business meeting to more formal written contexts.With all my heart with very strong feelings * It is obvious that I love Englishbaby website with all my heart.