1. “My son’s a real night owl. He never goes to bed before 3 AM.”
A night owl is someone who likes to stay up late at night.
2. “We were never in a relationship, we just had a one-night stand.”
A one-night stand means two people had sex for only one night.
3. “I bought this blender from some fly-by-night online store… and it broke within a week.”
Describing a person or company as fly-by-night means they are not reliable and cannot be trusted; they do not provide high-quality work or products.
4. “We’ve gotten a lot done. Let’s call it a day.”
To call it a day means to decide to stop working for the rest of the day. You can also say “call it a night” if you are doing work or another activity at night, and you decide to finish it and go home (or go to bed).
5. “My sister and I are as different as night and day. I’m very organized, and she’s super spontaneous.”
Describing two people or two things as different as night and day mean they are COMPLETELY different, even opposite.
6. “All the evidence points to him. It’s as plain as day he’s guilty of the crime.”
If something is as plain as day, it means it’s very obvious and easy to see or understand.
7. “He’s unemployed and he does nothing but watch TV day in and day out.”
Doing something day in and day out means you do it every day, repeatedly.
8. “It made my day when my teacher said that my English had improved a lot!”
If something makes your day, it means it was a good thing that was the best part of your day, or made you happy for the whole day.
9. “I’ve had this car for the past fifteen years… it has seen better days.”
Saying something has seen better days means it is now old and in not-so-great condition.
10. “My friend and I had a big fight, and now she won’t give me the time of day.”
If you won’t give someone the time of day, it means you completely refuse to talk to them.
