ロウソクの両端を燃やす

Idiom:

• Burn the candle at both ends

Meaning:

• Go to bed very late and wake up very early

Example:

Hitomi: "Your husband looks so tired."

Rieko: "Yes, he's been burning the candle at both ends working on his new business."

夜中

Idiom:

• Burn the midnight oil

Meaning:

• Busy after midnight
• Work after midnight
• Study after midnight
• Go to bed very late

Examples:

• I've been burning the midnight oil chatting on the internet to my friend in England.
• She was burning the midnight oil last night preparing for an exam today.
• I'm burning the midnight oil writing my blog.

流れに任せる

Idiom:

• Go with the flow

Meaning:

• Do the same as everyone
• Don't be different
• Follow the crowd
• Agree with the majority

Example1: At the office:

Miku: "We're going drinking after work, which pub would you prefer?"

Mami: "Anywhere's OK; I'll go with the flow."

Example2:

Atsushi: "Why did you eat lunch in McDonald's if you hate it?

Ichiro: "My colleagues wanted to go there so I decided to go with the flow."

お終い

Idiom:

• Let's call it a day

Meaning:

• I want to finish
• Shall we finish?

Example: At the office:

Yoshi: "I'm hungry and knackered; let's call it a day!"

Yuki: "OK, see you tomorrow!"

See also: I'm off

猫を振る

Idiom:

• No room to swing a cat

Meaning:

• A small space

Example:

"My apartment is so small; there's no room to swing a cat!"

橋の下の水

Idiom:

• Water under the bridge

Meaning:

• Forgiveness
• Reconciliation

Example 1: At a high school reunion party:

Mrs Sato: "I'm sorry I kissed your boyfriend at our school graduation ceremony." 

Mrs Ono: "Oh don't worry! That's water under the bridge. I've been happily married for years."

Example 2: At the retirement home:

Mr Sato: "I used to let my dog pee in your garden; I feel so ashamed."

Mr Ono: "Forget about it; it's water under the bridge; I'm glad we're friends now."

頭がおかしい

頭がおかしい　＝

Adjectives:

• Crazy
• Mad
• Mental
• Insane
• Nutty

Nouns:

• Lunatic
• Loony
• Madman （男）
• Fruitcake
• Psycho
• Nutter
• Nutcase

Expressions:

• He has a screw loose
• She's as mad as a hatter
• He's not all there
• She's funny in the head
• He's not right in the head
• She's barking mad
• He's (stark) raving mad

There are lots more expressions!

カーペットの下に

Some people ignore problems; they try to forget the problem and hope it goes away. There is an idiom for this situation:

• Sweep it under the carpet

Example:

"You should face your problems; don't sweep them under the carpet!"

"Sweeping it under the carpet won't resolve the issue."

"The company has swept its problems under the carpet because management are feckless."

秋

Do we need the article the with season names?

Without the

• It is cold in winter and hot in summer. This case is generally speaking and is not about a particular time; it could be written as follows: Winter is usually cold and summer is usually hot. 
• Cherry blossom blooms in spring and persimmons are harvested in autumn. (usually)

With the

• The summer was hot but the winter will be cold. This case refers to a particular time (only this year) and could be written as follows: This year, the summer was hot but the winter will be cold. 
• The summer of 2003 was the hottest on record. (only in 2003)

かわいそう

かわいそう！

• Poor thing!

Yumiko: "I've lost my job and my boyfriend has left me."

Kazumi: "You poor thing!"

• Poor him/her/you

Masakazu: "My neighbour is quarantined in hospital with meningitis."

Tadashi: "Poor him!"

• Pitiful

Look at those homeless people sleeping in the station; it's pitiful!

かわいそうに

• I feel sorry for (person)

"I feel sorry for Tomomi; her husband is a chain smoker and refuses to quit."

"I feel sorry for the people living near the damaged nuclear power station."

• I pity (person)

"I pity the person who cleans the toilets at the beer festival.

"I pity the innocent people caught up in the war."

インドの夏

Sometimes during Autumn in Britain, summer weather briefly returns; this phenomenon is called Indian Summer. People are usually very happy at such times because the temperature exceeds 20℃ and it is dry and sunny.

Examples:

We are experiencing an Indian Summer.

There was an Indian Summer in Britain last week.

We'll have an Indian Summer this weekend.

飛行機

飛行機　＝

• Aeroplane (British English)
• Airplane (American English)
• Aircraft (British & American)