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Left to your own devices
Left to your own devices means being allowed to do what you want without help, instructions, or supervision. A person can decide for themselves what to do and how to do it.The word devices once meant plans, wishes, or schemes rather than machines. The expression has been used since the 1400s to describe someone acting according to their own ideas when no one else is guiding them.
The teacher stepped out for a few minutes and we were left to your own devices.
Live your best life
To live your best life means to live in the way that makes you happiest and most fulfilled. It encourages people to make choices that help them enjoy life and follow their own goals.The phrase became popular in modern self help writing and social media in the early 2000s. It is often used as encouragement to focus on personal happiness, growth, and making the most of everyday life.
After leaving her stressful job, she decided it was finally time to live her best life.
Look before you leap
To look before you leap means you should stop to think carefully about what will happen before you act.The proverb has been used in English for hundreds of years and appears in very similar wording in older writings, including medieval literature. It uses the image of checking where you will land before making a jump.
Before quitting his job without a plan, his friend reminded him to look before you leap.
Lose your touch
To lose your touch means to lose the ability you once had at doing something well. People use this idiom when they talk about someone who used to perform well who now struggles.The expression comes from the idea of having a special touch or natural feel for a task. When a person no longer performs as well as they used to, people say they have lost their touch.
He used to make perfect pancakes every time, but lately it seems he has lost his touch.
Lulled into a false sense of security
To be lulled into a false sense of security means to being made to feel safe and relaxed when danger or problems still exist.The word lulled comes from lull, meaning to calm or soothe someone, like a lullaby quieting a child. In this phrase, that calm feeling is misleading because the real risk has not gone away.
The quiet weather lulled the hikers into a false sense of security before the storm arrived.
Make hay while the sun shines
The idiom make hay while the sun shines draws from farming practices, where you should get as much done as possible at harvest time while the sun is shining, or your hay will spoil from getting wet.It means that you should take advantage of the good times to get work done.
We have a lot of customers at the moment, let's make hay while the sun shines!
Many hands make light work
Many hands make light work is a phrase that means a task is much easier to complete when you have lots of people helping you.She needed to clean up after the big party before her parents came home, and made it just in time when everyone pitched in, and many hands made light work.
Mean business
To mean business means to be serious and determined about what you are saying or doing. When someone means business, they are not joking and expect others to take them seriously.The phrase has been used in English since the 1800s. It comes from the idea that when someone is dealing with business matters, they are focused and intent on getting results.
When the coach blew the whistle and started the tough training drills, everyone knew she meant business.
Mind your own business
Mind your own business means to focus on your own concerns and not interfere in other people's matters. This idiom is used when someone is being too curious or involved in something that does not concern them.The phrase has been used in English for centuries as a straightforward way of telling someone to stop asking questions or giving opinions about someone else's affairs.
When he started asking about their private plans, she told him to mind your own business.
More than meets the eye
The idiom more than meets the eye means that something is more important or interesting than it first appears. At first glance it may seem simple, but there are hidden details or deeper reasons behind it.The phrase has been used in English for many years to describe situations where the true nature of something is not immediately obvious. It reminds people not to judge something too quickly based only on what they first see.
The quiet little shop looked ordinary, but there was more than meets the eye once you stepped inside.