As an idiom, to "put out fires" means to deal with urgent problems rather than your usual tasks.

To "turn over a new leaf" is about new beginnings. It means to change your behavior or lifestyle -- in a positive way.

To "throw money at a problem" means to spend a lot of money instead of trying other methods.

People who dig their heels in refuse to change their opinions or plans.

When you "muddy the waters," you bring up extra, unrelated information to make something harder to understand

English speakers use the expression "to cover a lot of ground" in two ways. One means to travel a great distance. We heard the other definition in our example - to deal with or talk about a large amount of information.

The term "skeleton crew" means the minimum number of people needed to continue an operation.

To paint yourself into a corner means to put yourself in a situation that is hard to escape.

To "pull someone's leg" means to joke with someone.

To "pan out" means to have a successful result.

To "kick the can down the road" means to avoid dealing with a difficult situation or making a hard decision until later.

If you do a hop, a skip and a jump, you don't travel very far.

To "have an ace up one's sleeve" means to have a secret or surprise that helps you get what you want.

A "frontrunner" is the person or thing that is most likely to win a competition.

To twist someone's arm means to force someone to do something.