1. Save your breath.
Do you have any idea what that might mean of Save your breath? Well, "save your breath" means don't waste your time talking, because there is no point. For example, let's say that a colleague of yours is trying to ask a supplier to lower his prices, but he won't do it and you know that he's not going to lower his prices anymore, so you tell your colleague, "Don't waste your time. Save your breath. He's not going to lower his prices."
2. Watch your back.
When do we say this, "watch your back"? We say this when we're telling someone be
careful of other people around that maybe they're considering working with or because you want to tell that person that he has to be careful of those people who might trick him. So, you're telling them to be careful because they can't trust the people around them.
3. Hold your horses!
"Hold your horses" simply means wait, slow down, don't go so fast. For example, let's say that someone went for a job interview and she thinks it went fantastically, and now she's planning going to get the job and thinks "As soon as I go home, I'm going to order that car that I've been waiting to order!" And you tell her "Wait a minute, wait a minute, I'm so glad it went well, but hold your horses. Why don't you make sure that you really get the job? Why don't you wait until they get in touch
with you?" So, that's an example of how you can use or when you can use the expression "Hold your horses".
4. Count your blessings.
What does that mean? "Count your blessings" means think of all the good things. Think of all the good things that are happening in your life. And usually we say this to someone when something has happened and maybe they're thinking of the bad aspect of it, but actually there are a lot of other good things happening their life. For example, let's say that somebody who has a good job wanted to get a promotion,but she didn't get it. What do you say to her? "Okay, never mind, count your blessings, you
still have a really good job and maybe a few months from now, you'll get that promotion.
5. Keep your chin up.
What does it mean to keep your chin up? Think about it. You can actually figure it out a little bit. Often, when people are depressed or sad or not feeling very confident, they look down, and people who are more confident look up. They keep their chin up. When you're telling somebody to keep their chin up, you're telling them "Be strong, be confident, don't give up!" And usually we say this in a situation where something difficult has happened. The situation is difficult, or there was a problem and they faced some difficulty, but you're telling them not to give up and to stay strong and happy and optimistic. Let's say that a friend failed an exam, but you know that he's really smart. So you tell him, "Never mind, keep your chin up, I'm sure you're going to pass the next time"
6. Pull your socks up.
This is a bit of a British expression. To pull your socks up means to work a little bit harder. That means somebody's not really doing well enough and you're telling them that they need to work harder. So, you tell them "Pull your socks up." For example, somebody wants to get into medical college, but his grades are not very good. So, you tell him, "If you're really serious about getting into medical college, you need to pull your socks up.You need to work harder, you need to put in more effort."
7. Give it your best shot.
It's a little more positive again. Give it your best shot means try your best. It doesn't matter, whatever you're feeling a little bit unsure, but try your best, I'm sure you can succeed. For example, let's say somebody's going for a job interview, but he's not sure. Should he go for it, are they going to like him? Is he good enough? He's feeling really nervous and you encourage him and you say "No, come on, give it your best shot. You never know what can happen." So, it's something that you do to encourage people.
So, those were the seven idioms. Those meanings are not the same as what's written at the side. You could use one of those and give example of a situation where you used it, because that's the best way to really make those idioms and expressions your own.
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