Researching expressions with google.

Today we used the internet to find some 'fixed expressions'. Then, we checked the expression and its variations by doing this:

1) Go to google and search the phrase using " " (quotation marks).
2) Make sure google is set to only find English pages. (with 検索オプション).
3) Check the number of hits to see if it is frequent (on the right, in small numbers). If it is a big number, like more than 10,000 or something, It's a stable expression.
4) Look at a few of the pages to see how the phrase is used.


These are the expressions people found. There aren't as many as I'd hoped for. It took everybody a long time to get started.

A 'pie in the sky' means something which is promised or planned but is unrealiztic or very unlikely to happen. It could also be something you want, but you can't get. You can't say 'pie in the sea' or 'pies in the sky.' It is similar to a 'pipe dream'.

'As easy as pie' means very easy. You can say 'as easy as cake' but it's not as frequent. However, you can't say ‘as easy as a cookie.’( By the way, a 'piece of cake' is another expression and has the same meaning.)*See below

To 'act up' means to misbehave

To 'fly off the handle' means to suddenly lose one's temper, but you can't say lose the handle.

'A skeleton in the closet' means a big secret someone has about something in the past. You can say ’I have a skeleton in the closet’, but you can't say ‘’I have a skelton in the drawer’.

To ‘drink like a fish’ means to drink heavily.

To ‘get a move on’ means to hurry up. You can say ‘get a move on’, but you can't say ‘get a move in'.


*Bonus question: Which is more frequent, 'as easy as pie', or 'a piece of cake'?