10 Expressions with OUT

10 Expressions with OUT

Hi dear English learners! Have you been out on a limb lately? If you don’t know the meaning of the idiom, keep reading as we’re going to look at 10 expressions with “out”.

The expressions are as follows:

• Out of the blue
• Let the cat out of the bag, 
• Out of the question
• Out of breath
• Blow sth out of proportion
• Out of the ordinary 
• Out of control
• Go out on a limb
• Out of tune
• Eat somebody out of house and home

Out of the blue

If something happens out of the blue, it happens suddenly and unexpectedly.

• Sophia told me, out of the blue, that she was going to move out of the country.
• Martin phoned me out of the blue last night; I hadn’t spoken to him for years.

Let the cat out of the bag

To let the cat out of the bag means to reveal a secret.

• Someone must have let the cat out of the bag. Everyone knows about Brenda’s surprise birthday party on Saturday.
• Simon wanted to hide from his parents that he was sacked from work, but his brother let the cat out of the bag and told them everything.

Out of the question

If you tell someone that something is out of the question, you mean that it is impossible or not allowed.

• A trip to the USA is out of the question this year. I’m afraid we can’t afford it.
• You can’t go to a party dressed like that. It’s out of the question!

Out of breath

If you are out of breath, then you’re struggling to breathe.

• Every time I climb these stairs, I go out of breath. Next time I’ll take the lift.
• The doctor said that Stephen’s got an asthma attack because he’s been running up the hill and went out of breath.

Blow something out of proportion

If you blow something out of proportion, you treat it more seriously than you should; in other words, you exaggerate.

• You shouldn’t take everything in the newspapers so seriously because they often blow things out of proportion.
• The whole incident was blown out of proportion until it finally ended up in trial.

Out of the ordinary 

If something is out of the ordinary, it is different and unusual.

• The witness said there was nothing out of the ordinary in the victim’s behaviour on the night of the crime.
• My husband is very conservative when it comes to food. He dislikes anything that’s out of the ordinary.

Out of control

If something is out of control, then nobody has power over it.

• The car went out of control and struck a traffic sign. Luckily, no one was hurt.
• As soon as more than ten children arrived, the party went totally out of control.

Go out on a limb

To go out on a limb means to do something unusual or risky or have a different opinion from most people.

• You can’t be serious by going out on a limb and telling Tim that his wife’s cheating on him.
• Are you sure you want to go out on a limb and support the political party most people find suspicious?

Out of tune

The phrase is normally used in music, meaning not in a correct music key; we also say that something or someone is out of tune if they don’t agree with something or someone.

• Don’t you think that the violin is a bit out of tune?
• You may be right but what you do is out of tune with the company policy.

Eat somebody  out of house and home

To eat somebody out of house and home means to eat most of the food in their home.

• Our son doesn’t want to work, and he’s eating us out of house and home.
• That huge dog we’re looking after while our neighbour is away is eating us out of house and home.

To sum up, here is the list of 10 expressions with “out” we’ve learned today:

• Out of the blue
• Let the cat out of the bag, 
• Out of the question
• Out of breath
• Blow sth out of proportion
• Out of the ordinary 
• Out of control
• Go out on a limb
• Out of tune

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