More Idioms

GET A HANDLE ON (SOMETHING)
to find a way to deal with a problem or difficult situation
1. I’m trying to get a handle on my job search, so I’m updating my resume and asking my old teachers for letters of recommendation.
2. Margaret’s babysitting job was difficult at first, but she got a handle on the children after she promised to read them a story.

GET (A) HOLD OF (ONESELF)
to get control of oneself; stop being emotional
1. Stop crying, Mary. Get a hold of yourself and calm down.
2. The man narrowly missed hitting another car on the highway. Afterward, he pulled off the road to try to get hold of himself.
Compare to: get it/(one’s) act together; go to pieces
The expression get (a) hold of oneself emphasizes emotional control whereas get one’s act together emphasizes mental or physical control.

GET (A) HOLD OF (SOMEONE)
to contact someone or communicate with someone, usually by telephone
1. The real estate agent couldn’t get hold of them before the house was sold to someone else. They never answered their phone.
2. The ambulance brought the little boy to the hospital, and the doctor got a hold of the boy’s parents before he operated.

GET (A) HOLD OF (SOMETHING)
to acquire or obtain something
1. I was able to get hold of a copy of the magazine, but it was the last one.
2. Sarah was very lucky to get a hold of an extra ticket to the ballgame.
The expression is used to describe something that is somewhat difficult to acquire, perhaps because it is rare.

GET A LEG UP
to make a good start on some activity or project
1. It took a long time, but you’ve finally got a leg up on your college degree. It shouldn’t take you much longer to finish.
2. I’m going to get a leg up on next year’s budget by planning several months in advance.
This expression originally meant “to be lifted onto a horse,” and can indicate getting ahead of other people.

GET A MOVE ON
to hurry
1. Get a move on! Everyone is waiting for you.
2. We asked the waiter to bring our check twenty minutes ago. I sure wish that he would get a move on!
Synonyms: shake a leg!; step on it!
This expression can be used as a verb or as a command to another person.

GET A WORD IN EDGEWISE
to insert a word or sentence into an otherwise one-sided conversation
1. Elizabeth talked on and on. No one else got a chance to tell her what he or she thought because they couldn’t get a word in edgewise.
2. Jerry finally got a word in edgewise when Tony stopped talking to take a drink.
The word edgewise means to turn something to its narrowest dimension. The expression suggests that one must put one’s words edgewise in order to squeeze them into a conversation where words are run together very tightly. The expression is usually used in the negative, can’t get a word in edgewise, meaning that one is unable to get into the conversation because someone else is doing all the talking.

GET BY
to just barely manage, financially (sentence 1) or with one’s work or responsibilities (sentence 2)
1. We’re getting by now, but if we get an unexpected bill it would bankrupt us.
2. I’m getting by the best way I know how: by working hard.
Synonyms: keep one’s head above water; make ends meet

GET CAUGHT/BE LEFT HOLDING THE BAG [LEAVE (SOMEONE) HOLDING THE BAG]
to make someone the scapegoat; to be blamed for something that was not one’s fault or was only partly one’s fault
1. The other team members left, Bill was left holding the bag, trying to explain a bad project.
2. Christine helped Tim invent a scheme to cheat people out of their money and it went wrong. She left town and Tim got caught holding the bag.
Compare to: leave (someone) in the lurch
Leave someone in the lurch is usually applied more generally to any number of situations involving responsibility whereas leave someone holding the bag is usually applied to a situation involving theft in which one person is literally left holding (or caught with) the stolen goods.