These earth idioms are great expressions to help expand your vocabulary.
Before we begin, "what on earth" is an idiom?
Idioms are a group of words that have a fixed meaning that is different than if you looked up the words separately in the dictionary.
It's useful to review more than one example sentence when you learn a new idiom. Here are additional examples for each idiom from the info-graphic:
bring back / come down to earth: to make someone who is overly optimistic or fantasizing about something to become more realistic.
— She's really pretty but when she goes to New York and sees the other models, she'll come down to earth again.
— I really wanted to quit my job and start my own business but my credit card debt really brought me back to earth.
— He thinks he's a big deal in junior high but when he starts high school in the fall he'll come back down to earth.
go to the ends of the earth: to make every effort possible to do something, especially when there are problems or difficulties.
— My neighbor goes to the ends of the earth to help me after school and weekends because she knows my parents don't even speak English.
— I would have gone to the ends of the earth for my wife but she said she just doesn't love me anymore.
— If you need a new personal assistant, my daughter would go to the ends of the earth working for you.
heaven / hell on earth: an extremely pleasant or unpleasant situation or circumstance.
— My roommates are total slobs and our apartment is like hell on earth.
— Have you been to Bali? I swear it's heaven on earth.
— These Japanese soufflé pancakes are heaven on earth.
move heaven and earth (to do something): to do everything possible to do something, especially when there are problems or difficulties.
— I moved heaven and earth to get my daughter into a private school and she got expelled two months later.
— My husband moved heaven and earth to build our house and it was destroyed last week by the California wild fires.
— Are you really willing to move heaven and earth to become a professional golfer?
salt of the earth: a regular person who is respected because they are honest and good.
— When I arrived here and didn't speak English, these people welcomed and helped me a lot. They are the salt of the earth.
— It's rare to find someone who's the salt of the earth in big cities like London.
— Unfortunately, he died last year. Everyone at his funeral said he was the salt of the earth.
earth to someone: used to get the attention of someone who is not paying attention or who is daydreaming.
— Earth to Jonathan! I'm not going to tell you again to turn off the TV and go to bed.
— Earth to Mary... Why aren't you listening to me?
— What did you say? Earth to Nick, I just told you twice that my flight arrives at 5:00 pm.
what / why / how / when / where / who on earth: used to add emphasis to questions, especially to suggest that there is no obvious or easy answer to the question being asked.
— I locked the dog in her cage. How on earth did she get out?
— Who on earth is that wearing a string bikini to swim practice?
— Where on earth have you been? I've been waiting here for almost an hour!
down to earth: someone who is realistic and practical; someone who is calm and unpretentious.
— She's your twin? OMG, she's so down to earth compared to you.
— I've got the best boss in the world. He's really down to earth and supportive.
— We could have hired the temp who was down to earth but instead the director brought his neurotic niece in to be the receptionist.
disappear / vanish off the face of the earth: to suddenly and completely go away from sight.
— Have you seen my sunglasses? They've vanished off the face of the earth.
— After dinner, everyone disappears off the face of the earth so they don't have to help out with doing the dishes.
— I'll only go with you to the party if you promise not to disappear off the face of the earth like the last time.