Someone with both feet on the ground may not be as open and easy to deal with as someone who is down to earth.

VOA: special.2009.03.08

When I had waited a long time, without hearing him lie down, I decided to open a little -- a very,very little -- crack in the lantern.

VOA: special.2009.05.16

"It was like looking down into an open grave," he said later.

VOA: special.2010.01.28

Down to earth means being open and honest.

VOA: special.2009.03.08

The auto company shut down most of its facilities for the summer, but the Hamtramck assembly plant remained open, for employees like Leblanc to get the Volt rolling.

VOA: standard.2010.07.30

But I was always a great believer, and I learned this experientially, of trying to keep your mind open and receptive and not be judgmental too quickly because that shuts down creativity."

VOA: standard.2010.07.20

That's why Vander Haak was open-minded when the Vehicle Research Institute at Western Washington University, just down the road from his dairy, called with an offer to truck away some of his methane.

VOA: standard.2010.02.23