Idioms You Can Use to Express Your Feelings

Let’s go through some idioms and ways that native speakers talk about their feelings.

1.  I am on cloud nine right now after my date.

Being “on cloud nine” means that you feel so happy after spending time with someone. It’s usually something about the romantic aspect of things, so when you hear that, it means that someone is really, really happy.

2.  Your friend asks, “How are you doing?”

     You could answer, “I can’t complain.”

“I can’t complain” just means that you aren’t necessarily “on cloud nine,” or really, really happy, it’s just that you don’t have anything to complain about. “I can’t complain, life is good.”

3.  She got riled up because of what she saw in the news.

“Riled up” is to become angry or upset.

4.  The guy at the store was foaming at the mouth about a discount or something that happened with the clerk.

When you hear that someone is “foaming at the mouth,” that is not good. “Foaming at the mouth” is not literal, it just means that someone is so angry that they are speaking loudly, or screaming.

5.  I get bored to death at work when it is slow.

“Bored to death” means really, really, REALLY bored. Instead of saying “really” or “very,” you can say “bored to death.” A lot of native speakers say this.

6.  I feel pooped after work.

No, that’s not what it means! You are just very tired, you are “pooped” or “pooped out.” You are just so physically or mentally exhausted that you can’t say a word, so you just say “I’m pooped.”