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In this post, I am continuing a series on common idioms and expressions. This time we are going to look at some expressions using the word ‘thing’.

There are many expressions using the word ‘thing’. Here are some :

• it’s just not the done thing.
• it’s just one of those things.
• for one thing
• the thing is
• one thing after another
• I don’t know the first thing about

First off, see if you can guess which idiom goes in the following sentences. After this exercise, I will explain the meanings of the idioms, so scroll down if you want to go straight to that part.

1. I’ve had such a terrible day. It’s just been ________ since I got up.
2. I don’t know why you’re asking me. ________ cars. Ask Mark.
3. “I’m sorry to hear you’ve lost your job.” - “Yes, well. ________, I guess. We could all see it coming.”
4. “Whatever you do when you’re in England, don’t slurp your food and make a noise when you eat. ________.
5. I’d love to come with you, but, ________ I’ve already agreed to go out with Samantha.
6. “So, why don’t you like him, then?” - “Well, ________, you can’t trust anything he says, and for another, he’s a bit of a show-off.”

OK. Let’s look at the meaning of these expressions :

1. “It’s just been one thing after another since I got up.” - many bad things have happened, many things have gone wrong, I have had many problems. You can change the tense at the beginning and the time reference at the end : “It was one thing after another today” / “It’s one thing after another with you, isn’t it?” - you are always causing problems, or always complaining about something, you never actually say or do anything positive. You could say this as a joke, but it is really a bit of a criticism.
2. “I don’t know the first thing about cars.” - I know absolutely nothing about cars. In this expression, ‘the first thing’ means ‘the basics, the ABCs, the easiest things’. If your boss asks you to make a presentation about the government’s economic policy, you might say “But, I don’t know the first thing about economics.” In this situation, you might say, “I wouldn’t know where to start.”, which is a similar expression meaning that you don’t know how to do something or you “don’t have a clue how to do” something.
3. “It’s just one of those things.” - it can’t be helped, ‘that’s life’. English people often use a French expression - “C’est la vie” () or we say ‘That’s life’. The meaning of the expression is that ‘it is just one of those things that you cannot do anything about’ - so there is no point in getting too upset or angry about it. English people often say things like this when bad things happen. There’s a common expression - “Life’s a bitch, and then you die.” - which captures this English pessimism. It means that life is bad and cruel, and then you die, so you shouldn’t expect anything good from life. It’s OK, English people aren’t all suicidal, it’s a kind of black humour.
4. “It’s (just) not the done thing.” - it’s bad manners, poor etiquette, against local customs. Put into more simple English, the phrase means that ‘People (here) don’t do that’. It’s like that other famous expression, “When in Rome, do as the Romans”. Even if we can’t understand the reasons, we should try to respect local customs.
5. “the thing is” - the problem is. In this case, ‘thing’ means something like ‘problem’ or ‘heart of the matter’. We use this expression to draw attention to something that is important or relevant to the conversation : “I’d be happy to come, but the thing is, I have an English lesson that night.”
6. “…,for one thing, … ,and for another, …” - this expressions is used in conversation when you are giving an example of something. So, in the sentence (6) above, the speaker is giving some examples of reasons why she doesn’t like ‘him’. “For one thing, [...example...], and for another, [...another example...]“. You can use ‘for one thing’ without ‘and for another’ : “Why didn’t you enjoy the concert?” - “Well, for one thing, it was just too loud.” This means that the concert was too loud, and that there are other reasons you didn’t like it, as well.

OK. I think these expressions are all common, so I hope you found them interesting. Check back soon for more idioms and expressions.