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Some Idioms
Related to colors:
| A white lie: | something that is not true but that causes no harm |
| Red tape: | complicated official procedures and forms |
| Out of the blue: | surprise, suddenly |
| In black and white: | very clear and easy to understand |
| Green with envy: | jealous of someone else’s fortune |
| The green light: | the okay to start something |
| To fell blue: | upset, sad |
| The black market: | not controlled by the government |
| In the red : | no money, in the debt |
| In the black : | enough money |
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Related to interest:
| Kill two birds with one stone: | do two things at the same time |
| In the bag: | a sure thing, a sure win |
| Going over big : | a success, receiving a lot of attention |
| Turns me on: | excites me; stimulates my interest |
| Calling the shorts : | directing everything; in charge |
| Made quite a name for herself | got a good reputation |
| Came out ahead | won; ended in a position of advantage |
| Get a load of | look at (that) |
| Got it made | noting to worry about because you are in a secure position |
| Snowballed: | has increased greatly |
Related to food:
| The apple of one’s eye: | a well-loved person |
| Baloney:: | worth nothing, nonsense |
| To cream someone : | to totally beat someone in a game |
| Fishy : | suspicious, not right, and not honest |
| In a pickle : | in trouble |
| A lemon: | something that does not work(Electrical or mechanical item) |
| Nuts: | very crazy, very upset |
| A peach: | a very nice person |
| Peanuts: | a very small amount of money |
| A piece of cake: | something that is very easy to do |
Related to failure:
| Was a flop : | was a total failure |
| Missed the boat : | missed our chance |
| Bit off more than he can chew : | accepted more than he could manage |
| Caught red-handed : | caught in the act |
| Go out of hand : | become uncontrollable and disorderly |
| On the blink : | out of order; broken down |
| Haven't got a leg to stand on : | haven't got valid argument |
| Went to pieces : | broke down; became crazy |
| Drew a blank : | didn't get the desired results; didn't have any success |
| On the rocks : | wrecked; in difficulty |
Related to the weather:
| To break the ice: | to begin a conversation with a stranger |
| A breeze: | something easy for a person to do |
| Come rain or shine: | no matter how hard it’s to do |
| A fair-weather friend : | a person who doesn’t help when a friend is in trouble |
| Full of hot hair : | talking a lot but never doing what one says |
| To have one’s head in the clouds: | not to know or understand what is going on |
| To rain cats and dogs: | to rain very hard |
| To save something for a rainy day : | to prepare for trouble usually by saving money |
| Snowed under : | having a lot of work to do ( Swamped ) |
| Under the weather ; | sick |
| To weather the storm : | to wait and be patient until things get better |
Related to confusion:
| Slipped my mind : | escaped my memory; I forgot (it) |
| I haven't got a clue : | I have absolutely no idea; I have no answer |
| Can't make heads or tails of : | I can't understand them |
| On the tip of my tongue : | Something I can almost remember |
| Don't know which end is up : | I'm totally confused |
| Beats me : | I'm uncertain; I don't understand |
| I've lost my train of thought : | I forgot the idea I was talking about |
| Racking my brains : | I've been thinking hard |
| Couldn't get a word in edgewise: | didn't have a chance to say anything |
| Are over my head: | are too difficult for me |
Related to numbers:
| At first sight : | after a quick look, before really thinking about one’s feeling about something |
| On second thought : | changing one’s mind after thinking more about something |
| Forty winks : | a short sleep, a nap |
| In seventh heaven: | extremely happy |
| Of two minds: | having trouble making a decision about something |
| To put two and two together : | to finally understand something, to come to a conclusion |
| Second nature: | easy and natural to someone |
| Second to none : | the very best |
| Six of one, half a dozen of the other : | no difference, either choice is okay |
| Sixth sense: | a special feeling for something, a special understanding of things |
Related to the body:
| A big mouth : | Tell everything. Does not keep secrets |
| By heart : | By memory |
| To cost an arm and a leg: | Very expensive |
| To have a sweet tooth: | Like sweet food very much |
| Head over heels in love: | very much in love |
| A long face : | Sad, dissatisfied expression |
| Nosey: | curious |
| A pain in the neck : | Something or Somebody that annoys or bothers a person |
| To pull someone’s leg : | to joke |
| To see eye to eye : | to agree completely |
| To shake a leg : | to hurry up, move faster |
Related to people:
| To go Dutch: | to share the cost, to pay one’s own bill |
| Man/woman of means: | a rich person |
| A jack of all trades: | a person who can do many things |
| Keep up with the Joneses: | influenced, to want the same nice things that other people have |
| A man / a girl Friday: | someone who does a large variety of tasks on the job |
| To run in the family: | maybe it’s genetic. To be characterized by
something common to many members of a family |
| Smart aleck: | somebody who acts as he/she knows everything and he often rude about it |
| Like Tom, Dick or Harry: | nobody special, just any person |
| The real McCoy: | the genuine. The true example of something |
Related to Animals:
| As quiet as a mouse: | making almost no noise, being shy and not talking much |
| To work like a dog: | to work very hard |
| Bookworm: | somebody who reads a lot |
| As blind as a bat: | not able to see well because of very bad eyesight |
| To eat like a horse: | to eat a lot |
| Early birds: | the first person to be somewhere, a person who gets out of bed early. Before everyone else |
| Pigheaded: | not taking advice, stubborn |
| A copycat: | somebody who wants to do the same thing like others |
| Chicken: | afraid, scared |
| To smell a rat: | to think there may be something wrong |
| To talk turkey: | to talk openly and directly |
Related to geography:
| Once in a blue moon: | not often, almost never, very seldom |
| To go downhill: | to go down in number or in quality, to get worse |
| To make a mountain out of a molehill: | exaggerate, to make a big problem out of a small problem |
| Up the creek: | in trouble |
| Down-to-earth: | simple and practical person, honest and direct |
| Dirt-cheap: | very inexpensive |
| Out of the woods: | get over, out of the trouble or difficulty |
| Out of this world: | exceptional, very good, excellent |
| Over the hill: | getting too old |
| The tip of the iceberg: | small part of the large problem |
| To win by a landslide: | to win by majority, to get almost all of the votes |
Related to recreation:
| On the ball: | Very active. Smart. Very good at doing things, effective and efficient |
| No dice: | No. |
| Right off the bat: | Immediately, without delay |
| To go fly a kite: | go away or stop annoying someone, (Informal, usually said in anger) |
| Good sport: | No anger. Somebody. Who doesn’t complain if he/she loses, or who doesn’t boast if he/she wins |
| In the same boat: | same problem. In the same situation. |
| To keep the ball rolling: | to make something continue to happen |
| Off base: | Not correct. Not good answer. Inappropriate |
| To put one’s cards on the table: | Black & white. Talk turkey. Not to hide anything, to explain the situation honestly |
| Sink or swim: | This or that, fail or succeed, no matter what.
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| To get a kick out of something : | To make somebody. Laugh. To enjoy something a lot. |
With the word AND:
| Wear and tear: | damage that happens as something gets old and used (Has or get a lot of wear and tear) |
| Spick-and-Spam: | very clean |
| A song and dance: | a long explanation, along excuse that is often not true |
| Safe and sound: | with no damage and injury |
| Right and left: | in large numbers, from every side |
| Odds and ends: | a variety of small items, the pieces left over |
| Ins and outs: | all details |
| Fair and square: | honestly, without cheating |
| A cock-and-bull story: | exaggerate and not true, untrue story |
| By and large: | mostly, most often. |
| Back and forth: | From one place to another and back to the first place. |
Related to plants:
| To bark up the wrong tree: | to make the wrong choice |
| To beat around the bush: | to waste time by not giving a direct answer |
| A bed of roses: | a comfortable, easy situation |
| Bushed: | very tired, exhausted |
| To hit the hay: | to go to the bed and sleep |
| In a nutshell: | in a few words |
| The last straw: | the final thing after a series of bad things, the things that other people have |
| To nip something in the bud: | to stop something when it’s just beginning |
| Through the grapevine: | from what on person said to another, by rumor |
| To turn over a new leaf: | to start over again, to start a new and better life |
| Up a tree: | in a difficult situation from which you cannot find a way out:
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Related to clothes:
| To be in someone else’s shoes: | to be in someone else’s place |
| Dressed to kill: | in one’s best clothes and looking good |
| A feather in one’s cap: | something to be proud of and to feel good about |
| To handle someone with kid gloves: | to be careful not to anger someone |
| Hot under the collar: | angry |
| To keep one’s shirt on: | not to get angry, to be patient |
| To keep something under one’s hat: | to keep something secret |
| To loose one’s shirt: | to loose a lot of money |
| On a shoestring: | with very little money |
| A stuffed shirt: | someone who lives by the rules and is very formal |
| Tied to someone’s apron strings: | always following a stronger person |
Related to the word as:
| As busy as a bee: | very busy |
| As fit as a fiddle: | very healthy |
| As good as gold: | very good, well-behaved |
| As happy as a lark: | very happy |
| As hard as nails: | very hard and cold, not forgiving |
| As hungry as a bear: | very hungry |
| As plain as a day: | very easy to see or understand |
| As regular as clockwork: | always at the same time |
| As sick as a dog: | very unwell |
| As stubborn as a mule: | not willing to change one’s mind, very set in one’s ideas |
| As weak as a kitten: | not very strong |
Related to knowledge or agreement:
| On the same wave-length : | having the same sort of ideas |
| Knows the ropes : | know all aspects of the job; has a lot of knowledge or experience of the subject |
| Put your finger on it : | given exactly the right answer |
| Straight from the horse's mouth : | from the authoritative source |
| Put two and two together : | made a deduction from the evidence |
| Rings a bell : | sounds familiar |
| See eye to eye : | agree |
| Heard it trough the grapevine : | got it unofficial sources; heard a rumour |
| Took the words right out of my mouth : | said exactly what I was going to say |
| Knows it like the back of his hand : | knows it extremely well |
Related to the health:
| Blood is thicker than water: | relatives are the most important people |
| A bitter pill to swallow: | something difficult and unpleasant to experience |
| To cough up: | to pay money |
| To feel it in one’s bones: | to know something, often before seeing it or before it happens |
| A fly in the ointment: | a problem |
| To get burned: | to have a bad experience, to be cheated |
| To give someone a taste of his/her own medicine: | to do something bad to someone after the other person has done the same bad thing |
| To have a lot of nerve: | to act so badly and impolitely that it actually takes courage to do so |
| To hold one’s breath: | to pause, to stop and think |
| Sick and tired: | very annoyed, very tired of doing something |
| To take pains: | to take a lot of trouble to do something |
Related to tools:
| As sharp as a tack: | clever, intelligent |
| To bury the hatchet: | to agree to no longer be enemies |
| A flash in the pan: | something the stars out well but that may not continue |
| To have a screw loose: | to be crazy |
| :On pins and needles: | very nervous an anxious |
| To pan out: | to succeed, to have a good result |
| Potluck: | a meal in which everybody brings a food to eat |
| Soap opera: | a drama on TV or radio that continues over time and in which the characters have many problems |
| To sponge off: | to take money or hospitality and never pay anything back |
| Throw in the towel: | to accept defeat or loss |
| A wet blanket: | a person who doesn’t enjoy things and keeps other from enjoying them |
Related to the house:
| To bring down the house: | to make an audience clap and laugh enthusiastically |
| Down the drain: | wasted, lost |
| To drive someone up the wall: | to make someone angry or crazy |
| To get one’s foot in the door: | to take the first steps to start something, to get an opening |
| To hit home: | to make someone really realize something |
| To hit the ceiling: | to suddenly become very angry |
| On the fence: | undecided
| | On the house: | free, for nothing |
| On the shelf: | too old, no longer of use
| | To take steps: | to do something |
| Under the table: | secretly, usually doing something against the law |
Related to excess and limits:
| I’ve had it with : | I have come to the end of my patience |
| That takes the cake : | that’s the limit |
| We’re splitting hairs : | Arguing about small, unimportant differences |
| The tail wagging the dog : | the normal situation is reversed |
| To add insult to injury: | to make things worse |
| Laying it on thick : | (exaggeration) carrying something to extreme or excess. |
| Pretty farfetched : | rather exaggerated, out of touch with reality |
| Got carried away : | lost my judgement because of excitement |
Related to two words:
| To dillydally: | to hesitate, to waste time by moving slowly |
| Fuddy-duddy: | someone who doesn’t like change |
| Hotshot: | someone who is very good at something but who often isn’t very modest |
| Humdrum: | routine, repeated activities |
| Hush-hush: | secret |
| Mumbo jumbo: | language that cannot easily be understood, jargon |
| Pitter-patter: | sound of quick, light taps, like the sound of rain or children’s feet |
| Tip-top: | best |
| Topsy-turvy: | not organized, messy |
| Wishy-washy: | undecided, weak, not definite and clear |
| A wheeler-dealer: | a person who is always making business deals and trying to get the best deal |
Related to time:
| Right of the bat | without delay; immediately |
| Every now and then : | from time to time; sometimes |
| It's high time : | it's long overdue (that) |
| High time: | almost too late to do something |
| Once in a blue moon : | rarely |
| Just in the nick of time : | at the last possible second |
| In the long run : | in the end; in the final result |
| On the double : | fast; quickly |
| For the time being : | temporarily; for a short time |
| Out of the blue : | suddenly without warning; unexpectedly |
| The big time : | a high level of success |
| To call it a day : | to stop doing something |
| For the time being : | temporarily, just for the present moment |
| In no time : | quickly |
| In the nick of time : | just before it is too late |
| To kill time : | to waste time waiting for something else to happen |
| To make time : | to do something although you did not plan it and you are already busy |
| On the spur of the moment : | immediately, without planning |
| To take one’s time : | not to hurry |
| The time is right : | it’s a good time to do something |
Related to money:
| In the red : | in an unprofitable way, at a loss |
| Sell like hot cakes : | sell quickly |
| Foot the bill : | Pay the bill |
| What a rip-off: | It’s a robbery |
| Flat broke : | without any money |
| Penny pincher : | miserly person |
| Can’t make ends meet : | can’t earn what it costs to live |
| Cost you an arm and leg : | cost you a fortune, more than it is worth |
| Corner the market : | monopolize (establish a monopoly) |
| Cut corners : | build in the cheapest way |
Related to a negotiations and compromises:
| Find a just medium: | find a compromise |
| Make allowances for: | take into consideration, judge the situation by the circumstances. |
| Give someone a break: | time to relax, offer him another chance. |
| To meet somebody halfway: | give part of what you want to reach agreement. |
| Take what someone says with a grain of salt: | not believe all he says. He’s not very serious. |
| To bend over backwards: | to do extra help, make a great effort |
| To sit on the fence: | to not want to choose or decide |
| Let sleeping dogs lie: | avoid making more trouble on the same issue. |
| Sleep on it: | think about it for awhile.
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| Heads or tails: | use something to toss up (tossing a coin) |
Others:
| Above all: | most important (reason) |
| After all: | different from what you expected |
| Before long: | eventually, after some time |
| Every other: | this one but not the next, then the next but not the one after that, and so on |
| More or less: | not completely but almost |
| Never mind: | don’t worry, don’t give it a thought |
| No wonder: | not surprising |
| The other day: | recently, a short time ago |
| Quite a few: | many |
| Sooner or later: | eventually, after some time |
| Take it easy: | calm down, relax, don’t worry |
| | All of a sudden: | suddenly |
| As a matter of fact: | in truth, really (often used to restate something more exactly) |
| Even so: | although there is a reason why not |
| For a change: | in order to do something different |
| For a start: | beginning with the first of many reasons |
| In fact: | in truth, really (often used to restate something more exactly) |
| Might as well: | because there is nothing better |
| Once in a while: | not often |
| On purpose: | not by accident, by plan |
| On the whole: | mostly but not always |
| To take turns: | first you do it, and then someone else does it, then you, then the other person, and so on. |
Abder. Ajaja - © - All rights reserved 2002.
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