Making Waves
To "make waves" is the opposite of "going with the flow." To make waves is to stand out, to demonstrate your individuality and uniqueness, and to make a name for yourself by becoming better known. Hopefully, when we make waves, it is in a good way, so that we are known for our successes, and not for our failures.
Example: "Martha made waves when she campaigned for extra sick leave for all employees. Not everyone agreed with her, but...
A Stick-In-The-Mud, A Sight For Sore Eyes, Raining On Someone's Parade
A Stick-In-The-Mud
Figuratively, a stick-in-the-mud (usually written with hyphens and pronounced as if it is one long word) is a person whose behavior resembles, well, a stick (of wood) impaled in mud: someone who is resistant to being pulled into a productive activity. Such a person is a loner who does not like group activities or may be actively hostile to them. In vocabulary, a "grouch" is similar.
Example: "Carol was inviting co-workers to a...
Under the Weather, Having Your Head In The Clouds
Under the Weather
Someone said to be "under the weather" is someone who appears to be at less than full health, like a sky that is cloudy instead of clear. The person can either be ill, or intoxicated; the important thing is that the person is not feeling well. Ex.: "Arnold looks under the weather. Maybe he's having a bad reaction to the mussels he ate last night?" Mussels are a type of sea food; people not used to eating them will sometimes get...
Literal vs. Figurative
For the idiom just posted below, some English natives might write, "Melissa is literally a ray of sunshine for everyone at the office."
This would be completely incorrect. Literally, Melissa is a human being, not a ray of light. Figuratively, she might be a ray of sunshine, but certainly not literally.
Using "She's a real ray of sunshine" is using a much lighter touch.
In both cases, the culprit is the common use of exaggeration in English. Those...
Weathering the Storm
To weather a storm is to endure a difficult, but temporary situation. Because the difficult situation is temporary, it resembles a passing storm. Eventually, the storm ends. Ex.: "The Senator was under a cloud of suspicion, but no hard evidence was found. As a result, he was cleared of all wrongdoing. He had successfully weathered the storm." In the West, the presumption...
Stealing Someone's Thunder, Hitting the Sack, Hitting the Hay, Digging Deep, Cheesy
Stealing Someone's Thunder
To "steal someone's thunder" is an expression for taking the credit and praise for something someone else did. That is, someone else does the work, but you take the credit.
Ex.: "Brian worked for a whole week on that project, but Dave acted like it was all his doing. You shouldn't go stealing someone else's thunder like that." Dave took credit for Brian's hard work.
In the movie "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The...
