Book and colloquial phraseological units: examples. Phraseologisms Phraseologisms with the word “mouth, lips”

To get into the soul without soap is to gain someone's favor through flattery or cunning.

To fall in love without memory is very strong, passionate, to the point of self-forgetfulness.

Without memory of someone - in admiration, in complete delight.

To open a wound (soul, heart) - to excite painful memories, to excite.

There is no one to beat you - an expression of condemnation, censure.

To hit over the edge (about emotions, feelings).

To be sick at heart is to worry a lot, to worry about someone or something.

The sore spot is the one that causes the most anxiety and distress.

A big heart is about someone who is capable of strong and sincere feelings.

Touch the soul - deeply touch, excite.

Pull yourself together - calm down, take control of yourself.

A storm in a glass of water - strong excitement, excitement over trifles.

To drive a wedge is to make the relationship hostile.

Twist (wag, twist) your tail - flattery to achieve someone’s favor

Hanging your head (nose) means getting upset, becoming despondent, despairing, experiencing emotional unrest.

To speak excitedly - hastily, as if choking.

Hanging on the neck - pestering with caresses and tenderness.

To make one blush - to embarrass, to make one blush.

You can't spill it with water - they are very friendly, inseparable.

Your hair stands on end - it becomes unbearably scary.

To stir up the past is to remember forgotten, unpleasant, difficult things.

Perk up - get into a cheerful mood.

Turn up your nose - show disdain for someone or something.

That's cranberry! - an expression of surprise at an unpleasant surprise.

That's a pound! - expression of amazement, disappointment.

Here you go! - expression of amazement, disappointment.

So much for you! - expression of amazement, disappointment.

With all my soul - sincerely, ardently, heartily love.

To clasp your hands is to be extremely surprised and amazed.

Standing up on the left (wrong) foot means being in a bad mood in the morning.

To make one angry is to make one angry, to deprive one of one’s mental balance.

To squeeze out a tear is to try to evoke sympathy, pity, or compassion in someone.

To tear it out of the heart is to try to forget a loved one.

Sucking blood means tormenting, causing mental suffering.

To lose oneself - to get into a state of anger, annoyance, to lose oneself

Eyes popping out of your head - an expression of extreme surprise, confusion, strong

He didn’t blink an eye - he didn’t show the slightest fear.

Gog and Magog - a person who inspires horror and fear.

I’m ready to fall through the ground - to disappear from a feeling of embarrassment, awkwardness, shame.

To make your eyes wide is to be extremely surprised at something, to be perplexed.

Keeping a stone in your bosom means harboring a grudge against someone.

To keep a mark is to maintain the honor of someone or something with dignity.

To be amazed is to be in extreme surprise.

Reaching the point of white heat means extreme irritation and anger.

To the point of white heat - to bring, to anger.

To the depths of the soul (to excite, touch, shock, touch) - to excite very strongly, deeply.

Teasing geese causes anger.

The soul (heart) hurts - someone is very worried, worried, worried about someone.

Soul to soul - very friendly.

The soul (heart) is out of place - anxiety, extreme agitation.

My soul sank into my heels - I was seized by strong fear.

The soul rejoices - it embraces joyful excitement about something.

Dote on your soul - love very much.

A bilious person - showing hostility towards everyone, sarcastic.

For your dear soul - with great pleasure.

You won't be able to pull your ears off - something very tasty and giving great pleasure.

Looking into the soul is trying to understand someone’s feelings.

To touch a nerve is to affect one’s self-esteem, to greatly excite one by touching on something important and dear.

To bite the bit is to break loose, to lose control of oneself.

To become pale - to turn pale.

To blush - to blush with embarrassment or a feeling of shame.

To have a grudge against someone is to secretly hate, feel dissatisfied.

The fiend of hell is about someone who inspires disgust and horror with his appearance and actions.

The Kazan orphan is the one who pretends to be offended and unhappy.

It’s like being underwater - upset about something, extremely depressed.

It’s like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders - to feel relief, to get rid of painful experiences.

Like a bolt from the blue - an unexpected nuisance.

It’s like living like a cat and a dog - being in constant quarrel, being at enmity.

You sulk like a mouse at a rump - to be very angry at someone.

It's like sitting on pins and needles - in extreme excitement, restless.

Trembling like an aspen leaf - trembling with fear.

It was as if he had broken free from a chain - having lost self-control, he went to the extreme in his actions.

Like crazy - in a state of extreme excitement.

Like hell you are afraid of incense - very much so.

Pricking someone's eyes means causing irritation and anger.

Lump in throat - spasms with excitement.

Cats are scratching at my soul - I have become anxious and restless.

To be disingenuous is to act against conscience, insincerely.

Blood grievance is grave, deeply affecting.

The blood boiled in my veins - anger arose.

You crocodile tears - hypocritical compassion, insincere regret.

To turn (turn) someone's head is to evoke in someone a feeling of love, sympathy.

Biting your elbows means bitterly regretting, being annoyed about something missed or irreparable.

The ice is broken (broken) - relations have improved.

To climb into a bottle means to become very irritated, angry, indignant - usually over trifles.

Climb (climb) into someone else's soul - find out someone's feelings, mood.

Climbing a wall means getting into a state of extreme excitement, annoyance, irritation, rage.

Shedding tears means crying bitterly.

There is no face on someone - to turn very pale from excitement, fear.

Throw thunder and lightning - speak angrily, indignantly, threaten.

To stir the mud - to humiliate in every possible way, to publicly insult.

Frost on the skin - an unpleasant feeling of fear arises.

The torment of Tantalus is suffering from the consciousness of the proximity of the desired goal and the impossibility of achieving it.

Goosebumps ran down my back - a feeling of chills from intense fear and excitement.

To be on short terms with someone is to be in a close, friendly relationship.

To be at knifepoint with someone is to be in a sharply hostile relationship.

To be in seventh heaven is to feel immensely happy.

To pout your lips means to be offended, angry.

Stepping on a pet peeve is touching something that is extremely worrying, painfully bothering someone.

Not at ease - in a bad, depressed mood; feel uncomfortable, constrained.

Not finding a place for yourself means being extremely worried, anxious.

Uneasy - awkward, unpleasant from embarrassment.

Not remembering yourself means being in an extremely excited state, not controlling yourself.

The sky seems like a sheepskin - it has become heavy, uneasy with fear and horror.

Neither alive nor dead - very frightened, frozen with fear, horror.

Neither cold nor hot - completely indifferent, does not care at all.

A knife in the heart is extremely annoying and bitter.

A sharp knife means something is extremely unpleasant, painful.

With fire and sword - extremely harshly, inhumanly, mercilessly exterminating.

To become numb with indignation, surprise - to be speechless.

To give up is to fall into despair.

To turn the whole soul upside down - to greatly excite, to deeply touch someone.

Petlazar - to pretend to be unhappy in order to pity someone.

To drink a bitter cup means to suffer again, to endure.

Drinking blood means causing severe pain and suffering.

Cry in three streams - uncontrollably, bitterly, shedding tears profusely.

To spit in the soul is to insult what is most dear and intimate.

Fear God - have a conscience.

To fall under the hot hand - in a moment of anger or irritation of someone.

To give heat is to inspire.

The veins are shaking - experiencing strong fear, trembling with excitement.

Adding fuel to the fire means aggravating hostile relations between someone.

To bring a pill is to cause bitter offense to someone.

To kneel is to treat with the deepest respect, with reverence.

Bring to your senses - make you calm down.

To pillory is to brand someone with shame.

Come to your senses - calm down, stop worrying.

Swallow the pill - patiently, silently endure an insult, an insult.

Shed a tear - cry; try to pity; pretend to worry, worry, counting on the effect.

Break (break) the ice - eliminate tension in a relationship between someone.

To throw up your hands means to be extremely surprised and bewildered.

Opening your mouth means being extremely surprised, bewildered.

To start crying is to start crying.

To burst into indignation is to show your anger.

Melt the ice - eliminate alienation and mistrust.

Tearing and throwing - to become extremely angry, irritated, to the point of becoming bitter.

Pulling out your hair means falling into despair, being very annoyed with yourself.

With a sinking heart - experiencing great excitement, in anxious anticipation.

Foaming at the mouth - to prove in strong irritation, recklessly.

In the heat of the moment - in a fit of irritation.

With your mouth agape - look extremely surprised.

With open arms - to receive someone cordially, affably, with pleasure.

With arms and legs - do something with great pleasure.

To tear off with your hands - to willingly acquire, buy something.

With a heavy heart - with a depressed mood.

Go crazy - an expression of surprise, tenderness, admiration.

With a fallen heart - with horror; in a depressed mood.

Not himself - very excited, upset, lost self-control.

The light fades in the eyes - everything becomes disgusting, disgusting.

Drive crazy - greatly irritate, embitter, worry someone; evoke a feeling of delight, enchant.

The Holy of Holies is something most important, cherished, hidden.

The heart bleeds - someone experiences a feeling of deep compassion, pity, someone is very sad, melancholy.

The heart is overgrown with moss - someone has become soulless, unresponsive, callous.

The heart sank (shortness) - suddenly I was overcome by fright, fear, anxiety.

Sitting in the liver is extremely annoying.

Through clenched teeth - angrily, angrily, with anger.

Grinding your teeth means expressing strong indignation and anger.

Glory to God is an expression of joy, satisfaction about something.

The laugh got into his mouth - he couldn’t stop laughing.

To look askance is to express dissatisfaction, to harbor anger against someone.

To look down on someone is to treat someone arrogantly.

To look up - to treat someone with reverence.

The Russian language is rightfully considered the most perfect, beautiful and rich language in the world, which has absorbed, along with the authentic culture of more than 200 peoples of the Russian world, the best elements of Western and Eastern cultural traditions.

Our language is one of the basic elements of the entire Russian civilization, therefore, in order to be fully considered Russian, we must be able to use it well and master the entire wealth of concepts and expressions of the Russian language no worse than Pushkin, Gogol and Dostoevsky.

We present to your attention the first part of the TOP-50 most interesting phraseological units of the Russian language with their original and current meanings, as well as the history of origin:

1. Goal like a falcon

The expression means extreme poverty, need.

"Falcon"- This is a smoothly planed log of a ram, bound at the end with iron, which could be hand-held or wheeled and was used until the end of the 15th century to break holes in wooden palisades or fortress gates. The surface of this weapon was flat and smooth, i.e. “naked.” The same term also denoted cylindrical tools: iron crowbar, pestle for grinding grain in a mortar, etc.

2. Arshin swallowed

An expression denoting a person standing at attention or adopting a majestic, arrogant pose with a straight back.

Arshin is an ancient Russian measure of length of 71 centimeters, widely used in sewing before the transition to the metric system of measures. Accordingly, craftsmen used wooden or metal yardsticks for measurements. If you swallow one, your posture will probably become phenomenal...

3. Scapegoat

This is the name given to a person who has been given all the blame for some kind of failure or failure.

An expression that goes back to the Bible. According to the ancient Jewish rite, on the day of remission of sins, the high priest placed his hands on the head of the goat and thereby placed on it the sins of the entire people of Israel. Then the goat was taken into the Judean desert and released so that it would forever bear the sins of the Jews.

4. Screams at the top of Ivanovo

The ensemble of Kremlin cathedrals in Moscow is decorated with the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, where all thirty bells were always rung on holidays. The ringing was extremely powerful and carried very far.

5. The Smoking Room is alive!

We remember this expression from the film “The meeting place cannot be changed” and it meant the joy of meeting a person who has gone through serious trials.

In fact, “smoking room” is an ancient children’s game in Rus'. The children sat in a circle and passed a burning torch to each other, saying: “The smoking room is alive, alive! The legs are thin, the soul is short.” The one in whose hands the torch went out left the circle. That is, the “smoking room” is a torch that burned weakly and “smoked” (smoke) in children’s hands.

In relation to a person, the expression was first used by the poet Alexander Pushkin in an epigram to the critic and journalist Mikhail Kachenovsky: “How! Is the Kurilka journalist still alive?..”

6. Clear out those Augean stables

Deal with an incredibly neglected mess of cyclopean proportions.

Goes back to the ancient Greek myths of Hercules. There lived in ancient Elis King Augeas, a passionate lover of horses, who kept three thousand horses in the stables, but did not clean the stalls for 30 years.

Hercules was sent to serve Augeas, and the king instructed him to clean the stables for one day, which was impossible. The hero thought and directed the river waters into the gates of the stables, which carried out all the manure from there within a day. This act became the 6th labor of Hercules out of 12.

7. Bosom Friend

Now a positive expression denoting an old and trusted friend. Previously it was negative, because I meant drinking buddy.

The ancient expression “to pour on the Adam’s apple” meant “to get drunk”, “to drink alcohol.” This is where this phraseological unit was formed.

8. Get into trouble

Find yourself in an extremely uncomfortable or even dangerous position.

A prosak is a drum with teeth in a machine used to comb wool. If you got into a mess, you could easily get hurt and lose your arm.

9. Dirty place

And again, a biblical expression found in psalms and church prayers and denoting paradise, the heavenly kingdom. In secular usage, it acquired a negative connotation - bars, strip clubs, etc. began to be called “hot spots.”

This refers to a place where cereals grow abundantly, from which the main food (bread) is prepared - a fertile field, the basis of prosperity.

10. Like Buridan's donkey

This means a person who is extremely indecisive.

It goes back to the famous example of the 14th century French philosopher Jean Buridan, who argued that people’s actions depend for the most part not on their own will, but on external circumstances. Illustrating his idea, he argued that a donkey, to the left and to the right of which two identical piles would be placed at equal distances, one of which would contain hay and the other straw, would not be able to make a choice and would die of hunger.

11. Reach the handle

To completely descend, to lose human appearance and social skills.

In Ancient Rus', rolls were not baked round, but in the shape of a castle with a round bow. Townspeople often bought kalachi and ate them right on the street, holding this bow like a hand. At the same time, for reasons of hygiene, the pen itself was not eaten, but was either given to the poor or thrown to the dogs. About those who did not disdain to eat it, they said: they got to the point.

12. Go easy on yourself

Find yourself in an uncomfortable and often shameful position.

In Rus', walking bareheaded in crowded places (excluding temples for men) was considered a disgrace. There was no greater shame for a person than having his hat torn off in a public place.

13. Shabby look

Untidy clothing, unshavenness and other signs of carelessness in appearance.

Under Tsar Peter I, the Yaroslavl linen manufactory of the merchant Zatrapeznikov began operating, producing silk and cloth that were in no way inferior in quality to the products of European workshops.

In addition, the manufactory also produced very cheap hemp striped fabric, which was nicknamed “shabby” after the merchant’s name. She went for mattresses, bloomers, sundresses, women's headscarves, work robes and shirts.

For rich people, a robe made from “shabby” was home clothing, but for the poor, clothes made from this fabric were used “for going out.” A shabby appearance spoke of a person’s low social status.

14. Caliph for an hour

This is what they say about a person who accidentally and briefly finds himself in power.

The expression has Arabic roots. This is the name of the fairy tale from the collection “A Thousand and One Nights” - “A Waking Dream, or Caliph for an Hour.”

It tells how the young Baghdadian Abu-Ghassan, not knowing that the caliph Harun al-Rashid is in front of him, shares with him his cherished dream - to become a caliph at least for a day. Wanting to have fun, Harun al-Rashid pours sleeping pills into Abu Hassan’s wine, orders the servants to take the young man to the palace and treat him like a caliph.

The joke succeeds. Waking up, Abu Hassan believes that he is the caliph, enjoys luxury and begins to give orders. In the evening, he again drinks wine with sleeping pills and wakes up at home.

15. Knock you down

Make you lose the thread of a conversation, forget about something.

In Greece there is Mount Pantelic, famous in ancient times, where marble was mined for a long time. Accordingly, there were many caves, grottoes and passages, and once there, one could easily get lost.

16. I figured it out

Those. understood what kind of person he was, noticed a deception or discovered a secret.

The expression came to us from those times when coins made of precious metals were in use. The authenticity of the coins was checked by tooth, because precious metals without impurities were soft. If there is a dent on the coin, then it is real, and if not, it is fake.

17. The voice of one crying in the wilderness

This is what they say about someone whose sound thoughts and warnings they stubbornly refuse to listen to.

A biblical expression with roots in the prophecy of Isaiah and the Gospel of John. The prophets who predicted the imminent coming of the Savior called on the Jews to prepare for this day: to monitor their lives and correct it, becoming pious, and to be attentive to the gospel preaching. But the Jews did not heed these calls and crucified the Lord.

18. Bury talent in the ground

This means not using and not developing God-given abilities.

And again a reference to the Bible. Talent was the name given to the largest weight and monetary unit in Ancient Greece, Babylon, Persia and other regions of Asia Minor.

In the Gospel parable, one of the servants received money from the master and buried it, being afraid to invest it in a business that could bring both profit and loss. Upon the master's return, the servant returned the talent and was punished for the lost time and the profit lost by the master.

19. Tightened the rigmarole

I started some very long task and began to hesitate.

Gimp is the thinnest wire made of precious metals, which acquired rather the properties of a thread and was used to decorate camisoles, uniforms and dresses with beautiful complex patterns. It was necessary to pull the gimp on ever-shrinking jewelry rollers in several passes, which was a long process. Sewing with gimp is even less fast.

20. Brought to white heat

Angered me to the point of fury, uncontrollable rage.

Goes back to blacksmithing. When metal is heated during forging, it glows differently depending on the temperature: first red, then yellow and finally blinding white. At an even higher temperature, the metal will already melt and boil.

21. Soap Opera

This is what they call a television series with a trivial plot.

The fact is that in the 30s in America they began to produce multi-part (at that time still radio) programs for housewives with melodramatic plots. They were created with money from soap and detergent manufacturers, who advertised their products during breaks.

22. Good riddance!

Nowadays this is how they kick out an annoying guest or visitor. Previously, the meaning was the opposite - a wish for a good journey.

In one of Ivan Aksakov’s poems you can read about a road that is “straight as an arrow, with a wide surface that spreads like a tablecloth.” Knowing our spaces, people wanted an unhindered and easy path.

23. Egyptian plagues

Heavy punishments, disasters, torments that have fallen.

Biblical story from the book of Exodus. For Pharaoh’s refusal to release the Jews from captivity, the Lord subjected Egypt to terrible punishments - ten Egyptian plagues: blood instead of water, execution by frogs, an invasion of midges, dog flies, cattle pestilence, ulcers and boils, thunder, lightning and hail fire, an invasion of locusts, darkness and death. firstborn in Egyptian families.

24. Do your bit

Invest part of your labor, skills or money into creating something important, big.

There is a well-known biblical story about two mites of a poor widow, which she donated to the activities of the Jerusalem Temple. The lepta is one of the smallest coins of that time in the Roman Empire. Two mites were the widow’s only money, donating which she remained hungry until the evening. Therefore, her sacrifice turned out to be the largest of all.

25. Sing Lazarus

Beat people, beg, try to play on sympathy.

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is told by the Savior in the Gospel. Lazarus was poor and lived at the gate of the rich man's house. Lazarus ate the leftover food of the rich man along with the dogs and suffered all sorts of hardships, but after death he went to heaven, while the rich man ended up in hell.

Professional beggars in Russia often begged on the steps of churches, comparing themselves to the biblical Lazarus, although they often lived much better. That's why attempts to pity people are called that way.

Andrey Szegeda

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The time comes when schoolchildren begin to learn what phraseological units are. Their study has become an integral part of the school curriculum. Knowledge of what phraseological units are and how they are used will be useful not only in Russian language and literature lessons, but also in life. Figurative speech is a sign of at least a well-read person.

What is a phraseological unit?

Phraseologism - with a certain content of words, which in a given combination have a different meaning than when these words are used separately. That is, a phraseological unit can be called a stable expression.

Phraseological phrases in the Russian language are widely used. The linguist Vinogradov studied phraseological units, and it was largely thanks to him that they began to be widely used. Foreign languages ​​also have phraseological units, but they are called idioms. Linguists are still arguing whether there is a difference between a phraseological unit and an idiom, but have not yet found an exact answer.

The most popular are colloquial phraseological units. Examples of their use can be found below.

Signs of phraseological units

Phraseological units have several important features and characteristics:

1. A phraseological unit is a ready-made linguistic unit. This means that a person who uses it in his speech or writing retrieves this expression from memory, and does not invent it on the fly.
2. They have a permanent structure.
3. You can always choose a synonymous word for a phraseological unit (sometimes an antonym).
4. A phraseological unit is an expression that cannot consist of less than two words.
5. Almost all phraseological units are expressive and encourage the interlocutor or reader to show vivid emotions.

Functions of phraseological units in Russian

Each phraseological unit has one main function - to give speech brightness, liveliness, expressiveness and, of course, to express the author’s attitude to something. In order to imagine how much brighter speech becomes when using phraseological units, imagine how a comedian or writer makes fun of someone using phraseological units. The speech becomes more interesting.

Phraseological styles

The classification of phraseological units by style is a very important feature of them. In total, there are 4 main styles of set expressions: interstyle, bookish, colloquial and colloquial. Each phraseological unit belongs to one of these groups, depending on its meaning.

Colloquial phraseological units are the largest group of expressions. Some believe that interstyle and colloquial phraseological units should be included in the same group with colloquial ones. Then only two groups of set expressions are distinguished: colloquial and bookish.

Differences between book and colloquial phraseological units

Each style of phraseological units is different from each other, and the most striking difference is demonstrated by book and colloquial phraseological units. Examples: not worth a penny And a fool is a fool. The first stable expression is bookish, because it can be used in any work of art, in a scientific journalistic article, in an official business conversation, etc. While the expression " fool by fool" widely used in conversations, but not in books.

Book phraseological units

Book phraseological units are set expressions that are much more often used in writing than in conversations. They are not characterized by pronounced aggression and negativity. Book phraseological units are widely used in journalism, scientific articles, and fiction.

1. During it- means something that happened a long time ago. The expression is Old Slavonic and is often used in literary works.
2. Pull the gimp- the meaning of a long process. In the old days, a long metal thread was called a gimp; it was pulled out with metal wire tongs. They embroidered on velvet with gimp; it was a long and very painstaking job. So, pull the gimp- This is a long and extremely boring job.
3. Play with fire- doing something extremely dangerous, “being on the cutting edge.”
4. Stay with your nose- to be left without something that you really wanted.
5. Kazan orphan- this is a phraseological unit about a person who pretends to be a beggar or a sick person, while having the goal of getting a benefit.
6. You can't ride a goat- this is what they said a long time ago about girls whom jesters and buffoons could not cheer up on holidays.
7. Bring to clean water- to expose someone for committing something unpleasant.

There are a lot of book phraseological units.

Interstyle phraseological units

Inter-style ones are sometimes called neutral colloquial, because they are neutral from both a stylistic and emotional point of view. Neutral colloquial and book phraseological units are confused, because inter-style ones are also not particularly emotionally charged. An important feature of interstyle phrases is that they do not express human emotions.

1. Not a bit- means the complete absence of something.
2. Play a role- somehow influence this or that event, become the cause of something.

There are not very many interstyle phraseological units in the Russian language, but they are used in speech more often than others.

Conversational phraseological units

The most popular expressions are colloquial phraseological units. Examples of their use can be very diverse, from expressing emotions to describing a person. Conversational phraseological units are perhaps the most expressive of all. There are so many of them that examples can be given endlessly. Colloquial phraseological units (examples) are listed below. Some of them may sound different, but at the same time have a similar meaning (that is, they are synonyms). And other expressions, on the contrary, contain the same word, but are clear antonyms.

Synonymous colloquial phraseological units, examples:

1. Without exception, the meaning of generalization is: all as one; both old and young; from small to large.
2. Very quickly: in an instant; I didn’t have time to look back; in a moment; I didn’t have time to blink an eye.
3. Work hard and diligently: tirelessly; to the point of a sweat; rolling up your sleeves; in the sweat of his brow.
4. Proximity value: two steps away; be nearby; at hand.
5. Run fast: headlong; that there is strength; at full speed; what to eat; in all shoulder blades; with all my might; only his heels sparkle.
6. Similarity value: all as one; everything is as if chosen; one to one; Well done to well done.

Antonymous colloquial phraseological units, examples:

1. The cat cried(few) - Chickens don't peck(a lot of).
2. Can't see anything(dark, hard to see) - At least collect needles(light, clearly visible).
3. Lose your head(not thinking well) - Head on your shoulders(a reasonable person).
4. Like a cat and a dog(warring people) - Don't spill the water, Siamese twins; soul to soul(close, very friendly or
5. Two steps away(near) - Far away(far).
6. Head in the clouds(brooding, daydreaming and unfocused person) - Keep your eyes open, keep your ears open(attentive person).
7. scratch your tongue(talk, spread gossip) - Swallow tongue(be silent).
8. Uma ward(clever man) - Without a king in your head, live in someone else's mind(stupid or reckless person).

Phraseologisms examples with explanation:

1. American uncle- a person who very unexpectedly helps out of a financially difficult situation.
2. Fight like a fish on ice- do unnecessary, useless actions that do not lead to any result.
3. Beat your head- mess around.
4. Throw down the gauntlet- enter into an argument with someone, challenge.