1. Everything is coming up roses Meaning: you can say "everything's coming up roses" if everything is turning out very well for someone or for something. For example: Everything's coming up roses this year. Our business is doing well, our son Brett got into college, and Josie's had her first baby - so we're grandparents as well!

2. Lightning never strikes twice in the same place Meaning: the same misfortune or bad luck will not happen again to the same person. This saying is often shortened, with the same meaning, to: "Lightning never strikes twice." For example: My friend has just had a bad luck, so I decided to console him: Lightning never strikes twice.

3. let the cat out of the bag Meaning: If you let the cat out of the bag, you let someone know a secret. For example: We'd planned a surprise party for Donna, but some guy she works with let the cat out of the bag, so now she knows. Don't forget that this is a secret, so whatever you do, don't let the cat out of the bag.

4. a one-track mind Meaning: If someone has a one-track mind, they spend most of their time thinking about one subject. For example: Brian's had a one-track mind since he started his own company. All he thinks about now is business and making money

5. (your) heart isn't in it Meaning: If your heart isn't in something you're doing, you don't really want to do it. For example: Ali was studying to be a doctor, but his heart wasn't in it so he decided to follow his real dream and study film-making instead. We could tell that Sally's heart wasn't in it when she tried singing jazz, so we said she should stick to pop songs.

6. back-of-the-envelope calculations Meaning: quick calculations; estimates using approximate numbers, instead of exact numbers For example: I don't need the exact numbers right now. Just give me some back-of-the-envelope calculations .

7. up to your neck / up to your eyeballs Meaning: If you're up to your neck in something, or up to your eyeballs in something, you've got too much of it and it's become a problem. For example: I'm up to my neck in emails and I don't think I can get away at the moment.

8. virgin territory Meaning: You can say something is virgin territory if it's never been explored before or never been done before. For example: The internet was still virgin territory when we made our first websites. Our company has designed many products for other companies, but producing them and marketing them ourselves is virgin territory for us.

9. give the green light Meaning: If you give something the green light, you give permission for it to be done, or allow it to happen. For example: The government has given the green light to our tree-planting project, so we can go ahead and start organizing things. As soon as our CEO (Chief Executive Officer) gives the new product the green light, we'll start planning production.

10. nothing to write home about Meaning: If you say something is nothing to write home about, you mean it isn't very important or it isn't very good. For example: We saw a movie today and it was nothing to write home about. It was just a typical action movie. Helen said her date with the guy she met online was nothing to write home about, and she probably wouldn't see him again.

11. have your hands full Meaning: If you have your hands full, you're busy. For example: I'd love to teach you but I've got my hands full at the moment and I can't take on any more students just now. Marianne has her hands full raising her kids, so she won't be working again until they're all in school.

12. call it a day Meaning: If you call it a day, you stop doing something that's usually related to work. For example: We couldn't do any more work because of the rain, so we called it a day and went home. After running a hotel for nearly thirty years, we decided to call it a day and do something else.

13. make ends meet Meaning: If you make ends meet, you earn just enough to pay for a place to live and your daily expenses. For example: My wife and I both have to work full-time just to make ends meet these days. Does the government really think elderly people can make ends meet on their pensions?