Learning the American Accent: Common American Expressions and Idioms

Balance the books.

When you are working on your improving your American English, you may notice that Americans frequently use idioms, or expressions that mean something other than their literal meaning.  Using idioms to express yourself can make your speech sound more naturally American.  Here are some common idioms and their meaning.  You can listen to the recording and practice your pronunciation while you learn some new expressions.

Ball Park:  Give an estimate.  "I'd ball park their net worth at around $10 million."
Bank on it:  Count on it.  "We're banking on the deal going through."
By a long shot:  By a big difference.  "The estimate was off by a long shot."
Come on too strong:  To overwhelm by strong language or personality.  "I think he came on too strong in the first meeting."
Take it at face value:  To take something at face value is to not look for a hidden meaning.  "They took the email at face value."
In the red:  To be unprofitable or losing money.  "We've been in the red since the drop in stock prices."