They mean that your expectations may be unrealistic or unlikely. They are telling you not to hold your breath, but to move on happily.
I'm not familiar with the idiom "straighten banana." It might be a regional or less common expression
It says, "Let your smile protect you from things that would otherwise ruin your day." If you had no umbrella and it was rainy, it might mess up your day. But if you do, it hardly affects you. Same thing goes for a smile.
This is not an idiom. A herd is a group of certain animals, like sheep and cows. This phrase just means a group of sheep. You might have heard someone comparing people to a herd of sheep. That is not an idiom, but a simile saying that some people act like sheep.
That is not an idiom. It means exactly what it says, that someone was roused to eternal wakefulness. You might need a dictionary instead.
It might mean exactly that, but it usually means verbally - you tear their arguments to pieces instead of tearing their body up.
One needs to have a good grasp of the original & translated languages in order to effectively use an idiom. In the correct sense when we translate, we are deriving the meaning of a word that implies the same thing in the second language. Unless one understands the 'big picture' ie the meaning of the idiom as a whole and not word by word, a poor substitue will thus be rendered and the meaning gets lost.. whew.. cheers!
Geek, nerd, brainiacThose are slang terms, not idioms. A bright student might be on the ball, or the brains behind something. He might have put on his thinking cap before class, too.
This is not a common idiom that I am familiar with. It might mean that the person was cursing, because in the comics, curse words are often represented by stars or nonsense symbols such as "@#!!"
To find the literal meaning of an idiom, break down the individual words to understand their straightforward definitions. Then, consider how those words might be used together in a non-literal sense to convey a different meaning. Lastly, research the history or cultural context of the idiom to fully grasp its intended interpretation.
If you are used to something, it is familiar. You hear this as "I'm used to it," meaning "That doesn't bother me any more." You might also hear "He's used to winning," meaning that he has always done well and expects to continue doing it.
What do you mean by "changes a meaning" -- an idiom means what it means. It's not going to change no matter what a website might mean. If you want to know the meanings of some common idioms, plus some idiom DEFINING websites, click the related question below.
A simile is a comparison, so you can finish it any way you like. For example, you might say "as right as rain," which is an idiom meaning that something is all right or repaired correctly.