Idioms — Set 84

Set 84 of Idioms covers 5 idioms: have a frog in your throat, have a heart-to-heart, wear many hats, tighten your belt, not see eye to eye. Each entry below includes its definition, an example sentence, and synonyms — practice them with the interactive cards above.

1. have a frog in your throat · idiom/hæv ə frɔɡ ɪn jʊr θroʊt/

   to have a hoarse or strained voice

   I could barely speak during my presentation because I had a frog in my throat.

   Origin: From the 1800s — a strained, hoarse voice was compared to the rough croaking sound a frog naturally makes.

2. have a heart-to-heart · idiom/hæv ə hɑrt tu hɑrt/

   to have an open and honest conversation

   After weeks of arguing, my mom and I finally had a heart-to-heart and sorted everything out.

   Origin: From the 1800s — based on the ancient belief that hearts, not minds, contained one's most honest deep feelings.

3. wear many hats · idiom/wɛr ˈmɛni hæts/

   to have multiple roles or responsibilities

   As a small business owner, she has to wear many hats—manager, accountant, and customer service all in one.

   Origin: From the 1700s — different professions wore different hats, so a person wearing many had many jobs at once.

4. tighten your belt · idiom/ˈtaɪtən jʊr bɛlt/

   to spend less money and reduce expenses

   Since we have less money this month, we’ll have to tighten our belts and eat out less.

   Origin: From times of hunger — people losing weight had to tighten their belts to keep their trousers from falling down.

5. not see eye to eye · idiom/nɑt si aɪ tu aɪ/

   to disagree or have different opinions

   My coworker and I don’t see eye to eye on how to handle the project, so we’re struggling to work together.

   Origin: From the Bible (Isaiah 52:8) — to see eye-to-eye originally meant a complete agreement of vision and purpose.