Idioms Related to House, House Parts or Items Found at Home.

[eppie]

I was looking for house or home-related idioms here at Linguaholic and found out there was none so might as well start a new topic about it.  :grin: 

[list type=decimal]

[*]Home away from home - A place where you are comfortable with just like your home.

[*]Make yourself at home - A phrase we usually say to our house guest to make them feel comfortable.

[*]On the house - When you offer something for free you say that it's on the house.

[*]Window shopping - When you go to a mall to look for items without actually buying it.

[*]Darken somebody's door - If  you're an unwelcome visitor, you are darkening somebody's door.

Feel free to reply with yours. 

[LauraM]

This is a great category.  There are lots of house-related idioms in English.

Hit the ceiling -- means to become angry.  "When he saw his mobile phone bill he hit the ceiling."

To eat out of house and home -- means that someone eats a lot to the point that they are difficult to accommodate.  "Our out-of-town guests spent the weekend with us and ate us out of house and home."

To have have skeletons in the closet -- means to harbor unpleasant secrets.  "He was in a gang when he was growing up and he has skeletons in the closet." 

[mmjmaske]

Slammed the door in my face - commonly and sometimes literally used, it's for when a person shuts you out of their lives or straight up rejects you.

the door swings both ways - used for when a principle or argument applies to both sides of a situation.

fly off the handle - for when you lose your temper.

[Rosa]

Here's my list:-

To drive someone up the wall- means you make someone really angry or bored.

Fly out of the window-means that something is no longer present.

Window of opportunity-means there is a chance to make something happen.

Get your house in order-refers to taking control of ones behavior and attitude.

[eppie]

Thank you for your idiom contributions, keep it coming.  :grin:

Here's some more:

>> Have a roof over your head - To have a place to live in.

>> Everything but the kitchen sink - When you take a lot of items when you leave, you take everything but the kitchen sink.

>> Throw money down the drain - When you are wasting money, you are throwing money down the drain.

[czarina84]

I have always loved "home is where the heart is".  We moved around a lot as kids, so I found comfort in this.  "The lights are on, but nobody's home" is another one that I remember for someone who is distracted or when someone isn't very intelligent.

[AExAVF]

"You are a long way from home" - the person is a stranger in the place where he is in right now.

"Back against the wall" - this is commonly spoken by police officers when arresting someone, but to a layman, it is like you have cornered someone and his way out has been completely blocked.

[takibari]

This is interesting! Here are a few things that I know that hasn't appeared in anybody's list:

close to home - when something is uncomfortably near or real

run home to mama - to give up something important like marriage to return to a comfortable place

coming home to roost - mistakes from the past often come back to haunt people

[Baburra]

one of the more popular ones I guess is the saying that there's no place like home. I'm not sure but I think that was popularized by the movie wizard of oz. there's also the saying of painting yourself into a corner which I always associated with home renovation and an important lesson in planning before painting. For those unfamiliar it just means that you start painting at a wrong point on the floor and you end up where the only empty space is the corner and you are left with no other place to go where you won't mess up the paint or get paint on your feet. 

[Mary84]

Interesting topic, I love idioms so I've been spending a lot of time trying to know and understand as many as possible. There are a few idioms related to house/household items I can think off the top of my head:

- Out like a light (when someone is very tired and they fall asleep at once)

- A golden key can open any door ( It implies that money can buy anything)

- Saved by the bell (when someone is saved at the last minute)

- Tempest in a teapot (when a small event produces a over-reaction)

- Elephant in the room (when people avoid an obvious topic because it is a source of embarassment)

- Mending fences ( making peace with someone)

- Kicking the bucket (dying)

I'll make sure to visit this thread from now on, I'm sure there are lots of idioms that could fit in this category.

[reverserewind]

Not sure if it's an idiom or not...

How many people in the house tonight?

This goes out to anyone in the house tonight!

You can use this to address the audience when performing on stage

[MartaTomTom]

• Set up home (BrE) [= to start living somewhere on a permanent basis]. Ex.: (1) She set up home with a man; (2) The couple set up home in Chelsea eight years ago.
• Get on like a house on fire [= if two people get on like a house on fire, they like each other very much and become friends very quickly]. Ex.: (1) I was worried that they wouldn't like each other but in fact they're getting on like a house on fire; (2) Susan gets on like a house on fire with his father, she loves going to see him.
• (Go) through the roof [= to become very angry; to become very high.]. Ex.: (1) My father went through the roof when he saw what I did to the car. (2) Your pressure is through the roof.
• Be an armchair critic [= a person who knows or pretends to know a lot about something in theory rather than practice.]. Ex.: (1) He is such an armchair critic; he has no experience in the subject but he is ready to give plenty of advice.