Useful phrases
To chicken out: when you say that someone has chickened out of something , you mean they have failed to do something , or they haven't tried to do it because they were afraid.
Examples
Johnny says he is an action man but he chickened out of riding a horse.
Are you absolutely sure you want to go bungee jumping with me? I don't want you to chicken out at the last minute?
Stand tall: when you say that someone stands tall you mean they are confident and proud of themselves.
Examples
Our athletes stand tall after winning many gold medals at this year's Olympics.
The critics thought the movie was awful, but its director stands tall as he heads for tonight's Oscar ceremony
A tall order is something that is very difficult to do.
Example
My teacher wants me to write three essays for next week. That's a tall order!
Child's play: you use the expression child's play when you mean that something is very easy to do.
Examples
I finished the test really quickly. It was a chid's play!
Stop trying to fix the car and call a professional mechanic to do the job. This is not child's play.
To be a poster child for something means to be a perfect example of something.
Example
Mr Cancino went from a poor young immigrant to a powerful businessman in a decade.He is a poster boy for the "American Dream".
To Horse around: means to behave in a silly way making noise and causing disruption
Example
During the school holidays there was no peace in the house. Johnny and Annie horsed around all day, every day.
I was horsing around with some friends in the library - we got told to leave.
If someone tells you they heard something from the horse's mouth it means they heard it from the original source ; therefore it must be true
Example
Interest rates are definitely going up next month. The finance minister was talking about it on TV- I heard it from the horse's mouth.
