Popular Canadian English Idioms
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• "Better late than never." "We don't mind if you were late because of car trouble. Better late than never." It is preferable to arrive late than not arrive at all.

• "Between the devil and the deep blue sea."  "He was between the devil and the deep blue sea." between two equal dangers.

• "By hook or by crook:" "He will try to get elected by hook by crook."  in any way possible.

• "Eleventh hour."  "He came to help them at the eleventh hour."  The latest possible moment.  Time just before it is too late.

• "Feeling blue."  "She's feeling blue because her mother died." feeling bad.

• "Drop out of."  "A few teenagers drop out of high school these days." to stop attending.

• "Fingers crossed." Keeping your “fingers crossed” means that you are hoping for good luck or a happy outcome in a situation.

• "Give up the ghost:"  "The dog was very sick and finally gave up the ghost."  die.

• "Heart in one's mouth." "He heard a very frightening noise and his heart was in his mouth."  be very afraid.

• "In the pink."  "She was in the pink after her fitness exercises."  in good health.

• "Lend me your ear."  "Please lend me your ear."  listen to me.

• "Moonlighting."  "He has a job in construction but he is moonlighting to get more money."  doing another job in the evenings in addition to one's regular job.

• "Needle in a haystack." To find a thin “needle in a haystack” is almost an impossible task. Thus, anything that seems impossible to find is lost like a needle in a haystack.

• "On cloud nine."
When she got her citizenship, she was “on cloud nine.” That is, she was really happy and excited about it.

• "piece of cake."  "He thought that learning to ski was a piece of cake."  very easy to do.

• "Raining cats and dogs." This phrase is used when you want to express that it is raining very heavily outside. For instance, “This summer was not good because it was ‘raining cats and dogs’ on many of the weekends.”

• "Start from scratch." Many newcomers to Canada have to “start from scratch.” This phrase denotes that something needs to be started from the beginning, regardless of the previous work that has been done.

• " The Mountie always gets his man." The Mounties are the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and they have a reputation for catching criminals they are after.

• "Wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve." To wear your heart on your sleeve is to show your emotions openly.

• "under one's hat."  "Keep this under your hat."  Keep this a secret,  Don't tell anyone.