T - W Body Words

Source: Kira auf der Heide en Unsplash

If you do something by the skin of your teeth, you only just succeed in doing it

• Djokovic made it through to the final by the skin of his teeth.

There is not much that feels as nice as catching the last train home (by the skin of your teeth)

— Ricardo Sueiras 🇺🇦💙💛 (@094459@hachyderm.io) (@094459) August 19, 2023

have a sweet tooth -

#idioms
Do you HAVE A SWEET TOOTH? ie love eating sweet things.

I don't take sugar in tea or coffee but it is often accompanied by a cake or a biscuit.
I SELDOM SKIP dessert but I'M not KEEN ON very sugary things. pic.twitter.com/yYQRtE6MCG

— English in Madrid (@madteacher72) October 17, 2018 

•  Despite her efforts to eat healthily, Maria's sweet tooth often leads her to indulge in chocolate and pastries.

rule of thumb -  a practical and approximate way of doing or measuring something (por norma general,  regla de oro)

• As a rule of  thumb, you should save 20% of your income.
• A good rule of thumb is to not sign immediately. 

The number of calories an individual needs to consume per day is not exact. There are several factors that determine the ideal intake, such as age and gender. However, the rule of thumb laid out by the WHO is a range of between 2,000 to 2,400 calories https://t.co/P2RhLgmOCV

— El País English Edition (@elpaisinenglish) December 19, 2022

thumbs-up - used to show approval of something

• I got a thumbs-up from the boss to proceed with the plan.
• She needed some convincing but in the end she gave me the thumbs-up.

If a word, name or answer is on the tip of your tongue, you know it but cannot remember it.

• What's his girlfriend's name?   - It's a strange name. It's on the tip of my tongue. Damn.
•  If a word is on the tip of your tongue, think of the first letter. It sometimes helps.

tongue-in-cheek - said or done as a joke

The National Park Service has issued some tongue-in-cheek advice for what to do if you encounter 🐻🐻https://t.co/MG7khKsV5p

— Lonely Planet (@lonelyplanet) August 18, 2020

•   There's no need to get upset. It was said tongue-in-cheek.

tongue-tied - having difficulty to express yourself, usually because you are nervous

• As the pressure mounted during the debate, the politician became tongue-tied and struggled to articulate his arguments effectively.
• When meeting her favourite celebrity, Emily found herself tongue-tied and starstruck, unable to form coherent sentences.

tongue twister - a sentence or phrase that is intended to be difficult to say, especially when repeated quickly and often

• As part of their language exercises, the students practised reciting tongue twisters to improve their pronunciation and articulation.
• Which tongue twister is more difficult Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter.or She sells seashells by the seashore?

Someone or something that keeps you on your toes forces you to continue directing all your attention and energy to what you are doing

• When giving a presentation, it's essential to keep on your toes and be prepared to answer any questions from the audience.
• I've been kept on my toes all this month. There's been so much going on.

toe  the line - to do what you are expected to do without causing trouble for anyone

• As a politician, she had to toe the party line, even when she disagreed with some of the decisions.
• The coach made it clear that anyone who didn't toe the line with the team's rules would face consequences.

a slap on the wrist - a gentle warning or punishment

• Despite the seriousness of his offense, the judge gave him only a slap on the wrist, resulting in a minor fine.
• She got a slap on the wrist for missing the deadline, with just a mild reprimand from her supervisor.

Write some example sentences of your own.

Here are a couple of short stories which use some of the expressions from above:

A.

Lily had always had a sweet tooth. One sunny afternoon, she visited the new bakery in town. The smell of fresh pastries made her mouth water. As she reached the counter, she suddenly felt tongue-tied, overwhelmed by the variety of delicious treats.

The baker smiled warmly, waiting patiently. Lily finally managed to order a slice of chocolate cake. As she enjoyed every bite, she overheard the baker talking to a young boy. The boy was being scolded for not toeing the line while working in the kitchen.

Feeling brave, Lily approached the boy and the baker. "Excuse me," she said, her voice steady, "I couldn't help but notice. Perhaps he just needs a bit more guidance."

The baker nodded, appreciating Lily's kind words. With her sweet tooth satisfied, Lily left the bakery, feeling proud of her courage.

B.

Jake had always been a bit of a procrastinator. One day, he realized he had a major project due the next morning. He worked tirelessly through the night and managed to finish it by the skin of his teeth. Exhausted but relieved, he submitted the project just minutes before the deadline.

The next day, his teacher reviewed the submissions. While Jake's work was good, the teacher noticed a few careless errors. Instead of a severe penalty, Jake received a slap on the wrist and was told to be more diligent in the future.

As a rule of thumb, the teacher advised the class to start their projects well in advance to avoid last-minute stress. Jake took this advice to heart, vowing never to procrastinate again.

With a renewed sense of responsibility, Jake began planning his time better, ensuring he never cut it so close again.

Use Chat GPT to create a short story with some of the idioms.