1. hit the nail on the head—describe a problem exactly—A good newsman can hit the nail on the head when he is telling a story.
2. hit the roof—get really mad—When the owner of the company found out that his workers were napping in their offices, he hit the roof!
3. hit the sack—go to bed—At the end of a long day, it always feels good to hit the sack.
4. hold down the fort—look after a place while the usual person in charge is away—A lot of secretaries have to hold down the fort when their bosses go on business trips.
5. hold your head high—feel proud about something—You can hold your head high when your children do well in school.
6. hold your own—do as well as others at something—Masae and I aren’t professional tennis players, but we were able to hold our own at the city tennis tournament!
7. hot under the collar—get angry or annoyed at a situation—It’s easy to get hot under the collar when someone is cheating you.
8. an ivory tower—a place that is separated from normal life—Celebrities live in ivory towers and don’t know what it’s like to work and raise children without help.
9. I owe you one—say this when you need to repay a kindness or favor to someone—I told my neighbor I owed her one after she let me borrow some sugar.
