EFE learning modules / Household Chores & Cleaning

Household Chores & Cleaning

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Shipshape and Bristol fashion

/ሺፕሼፕ ኤንድ ብሪስቶል ፋሽን/

በጥሩ ሁኔታ የተደራጀ

Perfectly clean, tidy, and organized.

በጣም ንጹህ፣ የተስተካከለ እና የተደራጀ።

In Practice

"I want this house shipshape and Bristol fashion before the guests arrive."
"Everything in the kitchen is shipshape and Bristol fashion."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe a high standard of tidiness.

Elbow grease

/ኤልቦው ግሪስ/

ብርቱ ጉልበት ወይም ጥረት

Hard physical work, especially vigorous cleaning.

ከባድ አካላዊ ስራ፣ በተለይም ጠንካራ ጽዳት።

In Practice

"This floor needs some elbow grease to get the stain out."
"You don't need expensive spray, just a bit of elbow grease."
Fluent Tip

Commonly used when a cleaning task requires physical effort.

Spick and span

/ስፒክ ኤንድ ስፓን/

ውብ እና ንጹህ

Spotlessly clean and well-kept.

ከምንም እድፍ የጸዳ እና በጥሩ ሁኔታ የተያዘ።

In Practice

"She keeps her living room spick and span."
"After a day of cleaning, the whole house was spick and span."
Fluent Tip

Describes a room or object that is exceptionally clean.

Sweep something under the rug

/ስዊፕ ሰምቲንግ አንደር ዘ ረግ/

ችግርን መደበቅ

To hide a problem or mistake instead of dealing with it.

ችግርን ወይም ስህተትን ከመፍታት ይልቅ መደበቅ።

In Practice

"You can't just sweep the dust under the rug; we need to clean properly."
"Management tried to sweep the safety issues under the rug."
Fluent Tip

Used metaphorically but originates from literal cleaning behavior.

Clear the air

/ክሊር ዘ ኤር/

ጥርጣሬን ማስወገድ

To remove bad feelings or tension between people.

በሰዎች መካከል ያለን መጥፎ ስሜት ወይም ውጥረትን ማስወገድ።

In Practice

"After the argument, they had a meeting to clear the air."
"Opening the windows helps clear the air in more ways than one."
Fluent Tip

Often used when discussing household tension or actual odors.

Everything but the kitchen sink

/ኤቭሪቲንግ በት ዘ ኪችን ሲንክ/

ሁሉንም ነገር ማካተት

Including nearly everything possible, often in a messy way.

ሊታሰብ የሚችልን ነገር ሁሉ ማካተት።

In Practice

"She packed everything but the kitchen sink for a weekend trip."
"When cleaning the attic, we found everything but the kitchen sink."
Fluent Tip

Describes over-packing or finding an excessive amount of items.

Turn over a new leaf

/ተርን ኦቨር ኤ ኒው ሊፍ/

አዲስ ምዕራፍ መጀመር

To start behaving in a better way; often starting a new cleaning habit.

በተሻለ መንገድ መመላለስ መጀመር፤ ብዙውን ጊዜ አዲስ የጽዳት ልማድ መጀመር።

In Practice

"I'm turning over a new leaf and cleaning my room every day."
"He promised to turn over a new leaf and help with the chores."
Fluent Tip

Used for personal resolutions regarding organization.

Wash one's hands of

/ዋሽ ዋንስ ሃንድስ ኦፍ/

ከኃላፊነት ነፃ መሆን

To refuse to be responsible for or involved with something anymore.

ከአሁን በኋላ ለአንድ ነገር ተጠያቂ መሆንን ወይም መሳተፍን እምቢ ማለት።

In Practice

"I've done my share of the chores; I'm washing my hands of the rest."
"The landlord washed his hands of the repair issues."
Fluent Tip

Used when stopping a task or responsibility.

Keep house

/ኪፕ ሃውስ/

ቤት ማስተዳደር

To manage the affairs and cleaning of a household.

የአንድን ቤት ጉዳዮች እና ጽዳት ማስተዳደር።

In Practice

"She decided to stay at home and keep house."
"It's hard work to keep house with three kids running around."
Fluent Tip

A traditional term for managing household duties.

A clean slate

/ኤ ክሊን ስሌት/

አዲስ ጅማሮ

A fresh start where past mistakes are forgotten.

ያለፉ ስህተቶች የሚረሱበት አዲስ ጅማሮ።

In Practice

"Cleaning the whole house feels like starting with a clean slate."
"The new year is a chance for a clean slate in our home organization."
Fluent Tip

Often used after a deep cleaning session.

Out of the woodwork

/አውት ኦፍ ዘ ውድወርክ/

ካለበት ብቅ ማለት

Suddenly appearing from nowhere (like pests or hidden dust).

ድንገት ካልታወቀ ቦታ ብቅ ማለት (እንደ ተባዮች ወይም ድብቅ አቧራ)።

In Practice

"When I started cleaning, bugs came out of the woodwork."
"Old relatives come out of the woodwork when they hear you've renovated."
Fluent Tip

Used for things (or people) appearing unexpectedly.

Spring cleaning

/ስፕሪንግ ክሊኒንግ/

የወቅት ጽዳት

A thorough cleaning of a house, typically done in the spring.

በተለምዶ በፀደይ ወቅት የሚከናወን ጥልቅ የቤት ጽዳት።

In Practice

"It's time for spring cleaning; let's wash all the curtains."
"We did a massive spring cleaning and threw away three bags of junk."
Fluent Tip

Refers to a major, deep cleaning routine.