People love cars and they love cruising, and in the past hundred years we’ve developed numerous idioms for driving. We use many in the car, and some have moved beyond driving to other subjects.

What does it mean if I’m a backseat driver? Do I have really long arms that can reach the steering wheel? And how can we say someone is asleep at the wheel if the person is not even in a car?

Let’s look at some common idioms and phrasal verbs that you might use in the car—or at work or school, or on the golf course …

Driving Idioms

1. May doesn’t like driving with Harold, because he’s a “backseat driver.” This means Harold ____.
A. drives recklessly
B. drives while distracted
C. tells people driving how to drive
D. gets sleepy easily

 backseat driver, n. phr., a passenger who tells the person driving what to do or how to drive. Everybody knows one. It is as if the person is sitting in the backseat, but still trying to control the car.

 2. Mable rolled down her window and yelled, “Road hog!” She was angry because another driver drove ___.
A. recklessly
B. partly in her lane
C. too fast
D. behind her

 road hog, n. phr., a person who is driving partly in someone else’s lane. Note: The words “pig” and “hog” (a large pig) are used to describe a person who is greedy. “Hog” is also a common verb for this meaning, as in Don’t hog all the popcorn.

 3. If our manager likes our marketing plan, she will ____ and we can begin.
A. shift into high gear
B. put the pedal to the metal
C. turn on her blinker
D. give us the green light

 give (someone) the green light, v. phr., to say OK. This is an easy one, since on traffic lights, green means “go,” yellow means “caution” (or to some people “drive faster”) and red means “stop.” The idiom “run a red light” means to not stop on red.

 4. Ben’s boss got angry, because Ben was asleep at the wheel again! This means Ben ___.
A. wasn’t paying attention
B. got into a car accident
C. was driving distracted
D. arrived to work late

 asleep at the wheel, adj. phr., not paying attention, not doing one’s job. “Wheel” comes from a car’s steering wheel. Also “asleep at the switch.” This idiom comes from railroads, when operators had to switch trains from one track to another.

 5. When Jill became a famous actress, she spent money and went to parties all the time. But she soon got tired of ____.
A. road hogs
B. changing lanes
C. shifting into high gear
D. life in the fast lane

 (life in the) fast lane, n. phr., a lifestyle of free spending and free behavior, often unhealthy. This idiom comes from roads with lanes where faster cars can pass slower ones: passing lane (North American English), overtaking lane (British).

 6. Betsy is going on a business trip on Monday. She’ll be ____ all week.
A. changing lanes
B. on the road
C. road hogging
D. in a suitcase

 on the road, adj./adv. phr., traveling. This is an easy idiom to guess, but remember, you can also use this idiom if you are flying or taking trains. → Joe likes his new job, but he’s on the road a lot.

 7. Jack said “Our new project at work hit a roadblock.” This means Jack’s work project ___.
A. sped up
B. was stopped from making progress
C. found new money for funding
D. was approved

 hit a roadblock, v. phr., to come across something that stops progress. Roadblocks are set up by police if they are trying to catch a criminal. All cars are stopped. So if a project at work hits a roadblock, it slows or stops moving.

 8. “Mary’s great at her job. Somewhere down the road, she’ll become manager.” This means Mary will ___.
A. get a better job nearby
B. be promoted nearby
C. get a promotion in the future
D. not become manager

 down the road, adv. phr., at a future time. Also: down the line. Example: You’re spending too much money. Somewhere down the line, you’re going to be sorry.

 9. Jerry is an excellent baseball player. He’s ____ to fame and fortune.
A. riding
B. driving
C. in the lane
D. on the road
on the road to, phr., will likely become, on the way to. This idiom can be used for good and bad things. Example: Peter’s company was on the road to bankruptcy before he became the manager.

Phrasal Verbs for Driving


off, up, on, out

1. The light turned green. You can drive ___ now.
2. I was standing on the corner when my friend drove ___.
3. Angry, Paul drove ___ and left us.
4. Today we’re going to drive ___ to the country.

up, through, away, around

5. I drove ___ for two hours before finding a parking space!
6. Coffee shops with drive-___s are convenient.
7. We drove ___ to Boston from New York.
8. The ambulance quickly drove the patient ____.

down, up, over, into

9. Please pull ___ in front of the bank.
10. Mary is a backseat driver. She always says “Speed ___! Slow ___!”
11. The taxi ran ___ a tree.
12. The car almost ran ___ my foot.

Answers coming Saturday (US PST).

Next week, we’ll feature a new topic: train idioms and vocabulary. Summertime is vacation time, and in many places that means traveling by train. So it’s a great time to explore the colorful vocabulary that railroads brought to English. Be sure to catch it on Twitter before the train leaves the station.

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