Clear the air: Remove suspicion/bad feeling

All along: From the beginning until now

All but: Almost
All in: Exhausted
All the same: Yet, however
All told: Altogether, in total
For all: In spite of
In the act of: While performing the act
In the air: Uncertain
Make allowances for: take special circumstances into consideration
On the air: Broadcasting
Whet sb’s appetite: Make sb eager to have/experience more
On the alert: Watchful and prepared/On the lookout/ Expecting sth
Up in the air: Existing, but not talked about
Above board: Honest
Bark up the wrong tree: Have a false idea about sth
Be full of beans: Very lively
Big-headed: Conceited, boastful
Black and blue all over: Covered with bruises
Browned off: Fed up, bored
See the back of: Glad to see sb leave
Make a clean breast of: Confess
Lay bare: Make public
In black and white: In writing
Have a bee in one’s bonnet: Have an obsession about sth
Get your own back: Take revenge
Drop a brick: Say sth tactlessly
Deal a blow to: Damage one’s hope
In abeyance: Halted temporarily
Be of/ Have no fixed above: Homeless
Out and about:
+ Outdoors
+Travelling from on place to another
In the abstract: In a general way
Of its own accord: Automatically
In arrears: Have not paid the money you owe
Cast apersions: Criticise
Be thrown off balance: Be surprised, confused
Catch someone on the hop: To do something when someone is not ready for
it and is not able to deal with it
On the ball: Alert
Below the belt: Cruel and unfair
Bide one’s time: Wait for a good opportunity
Be beside yourself with anger/excitement/…: To be extremely
angry/excited/…
In the black: Not owing anybody any money
In the red: Owe money
Blaze a trail: Discover/ Explore sth new
On the blink: Stop working properly (Of electrical equipment)
Go by the board: Be rejected/ignored/no longer possible
Cut to the bone: Reduced to the minumum
Out of bounds: Prohibited, forbidden (Place)
A red-letter day: A very important day
Be in sb’s black book: Be out of favour
Behind bars: In prison
Blessing in disguise: Sth which appears bad at first but then turns out
favourably
Brainwave: Sudden clever idea/thought
Kick the bucket: Die
Be on/in the cards: Be likely to happen
Call sb names: Insult sb
Chair a meeting: Preside over a meeting
Cross one’s mind: Think of sth
Cut sb dead: Ignore sb
Get a bit hot under the collar: Get angry, upset or embarrassed
Go to the dogs: Worsen
Have the cheek: Dare to do sth
Keep your chin up: Not be discouraged
Lost cause: Hopeless situatioon or case
Off colour: Look/be slightly unwell
On the dole: Receiving unemployment benefit/social security
Play your cards right: Act cleverly
Show your true color: Reveal your real character
Not count your chickens before they’re hatched: Not assume sth before it
happens
Be fit for: Be good enough for
Be worn out: Be exhausted
Be green: Be inexperienced
Cook your goose: End your plans abruptly
Get off on the wrong foot: Be unsuccessful at the beginning of sth
Feel your ear burning: Have feeling that sb is talking about you
Gatecrasher: Sb attending a party, event, etc without an invitation
Give and take: Compromise
Have a frog in your throat: Inability to speak due to nervousness
In a flash: Very quickly
It’s all Greek to me: Sth new or foreign; not easily understood
Meet behind closed doors: Meet secretly
Plenty more fish in the sea: Many more opportunities in life for a new
relationship
Put your foot in it: Make a tactless comment
Make common cause with sb: Act together to achieve aim
Rise to the challenge: Act and be successful although sth is new
Give chapter and verse: Give every exact detail
Take sth on the chin: Bravely accept criticism, punishment, etc
Chop and change: Keep changing (Your mind)
Strike a chord: Make sb feel sympathy/enthusiast
Claim to fame: Thing which makes sb unusual/important
Steer/Stay clear of: Avoid sb/sth
Part company with: End association
Of no/little consequence: Of no value/importance
Cut corners: Be less thorough
Not all it’s cracked up to be: Not as good as people say it is/overestimated
Cramp your style: Restrict your behaviour in some way
Put a damper on: Ruin sth or make it less enjoyable
Don’t give up your day job: Continue to do sth you know rather than trying
sth new
Be on the defensive: Protect yourself because you feels insecure or threatened
By definition: Having a quality because of what what it is
On the dot: Punctual, exactly on time
At the cutting edge: At the forefront
On edge: Tense/Nervous/Anxious
Have an eye for: Be good at judging the worth/quality of sth
As tough as nails: Strong and very determined
As tough as old boots:
+ Very strong, and not easily made weaker
+ Tough food is very difficult to cut or eat
As sure as eggs is eggs: For certain
As regular as clockwork: Never late or always at the same time
As proud as a peacock: Extremely proud
As long as your arm: Very long
As silent as the grave: Very quiet
As right as rain: To feel healthy or well again
As sick as a dog: Vomiting a lot
As strong as a horse/ox: Very strong
As thin as a rail/rake: Very thin
As white as a sheet: Pale face, usually because of illnesses, shock or fear
(Person)
As cool as a cucumber: Very calm, especially when sth is surprising
As red as a beet root: Very red
All over sb like a rash: Like sb
As thick as thieves: To be very close friends
As keen as mustard: Very eager and interested in sth
As stubborn as a mule: Very stubborn
As smooth as silk: Extremely smooth
As bright as a button: Extremely clever
As fresh as a daisy: Extremely fresh
As poor as a church mouse: Very poor
As dry as bone: Very dry/thirsty
As dry as dust: Very boring
As deaf as post: Completely deaf
As quiet as a mouse: Extremely quiet
Run like the wind: Run very fast
Drive like a maniac: Drive fast and badly
Fit like a glove: Fit extremely well
Work like a dog: To work very hard
A face like thunder: To look extremly angry
To no effect/avail: Unsuccessful, ineffective
Like a bull in a china shop: If someone is like that, they are very careless in
the way that they move or behave
Take a shine to: Immediately like sth
A flash in the pan: Sth that happens only once
Go cap in hand to someone: To ask someone in a polite and sincere way for
sth, especially money or to be forgiven
Foot the bill: To pay for sth, especially sth expensive
Sink like a stone:
+ Fail complety
+ To move down very quickly in a straight line
Prick your ears up: Start listening carefully
Go up in the world: Gain a high social status or more money than before
Knock sth into shape: Take action to get sth into a good condition
Debt of honour: A moral debt
Like a deer/rabbit caught in the headlights: Looked very frightened, unable to
move or think
Get off your backside: To stop being lazy
The shit hits the fan: When this happens, a situation suddenly causes a lot of
trouble for someone
Not soil your hands: To not become involved in sth unpleasant or bad
Beyond the pale: If someone’s behaviour is like that, it is unacceptable
Be a minefield: Is potentially dangerous
Be a casualty of sth: Be badly affected by sth
Pull rank (on): Use your power to order sb do sth
Get/Take the flak: Receive strong criticism
Be given/get your marching orders/walking papers: Lose your jobs
See reason/sense: Become sensible/reasonable
See the light: Suddenly understand sth
Black mark: People rember sth wrong you have done
Be at crossroads: Be at a stage in life when you have to make a important
decision
Uncharted territory/water: Unknown areas of experience
Bluff your way into/out obf sth: Get yourself into or out of a situation by
deceiving people
From the cradle to the grave: From birth to death
Every Tom, Dick and/or Harry: Ordinary people
Out of your own pocket: Pay for sth on your own
Like a bear with sore head: Bad mood
Days are numbered: Someone or sth will not exist for much longer
To clip someone’s wings: Limiting someone’s freedom
Spirit of adventure: Enthusiasm for adventurous activities
Kick the can down the road: Delay sth
Dark horse: Person with hidden abilities
Black sheep: A person that has done sth bad that will bring shame to the
family
Be for the high jump: About to be reprimanded/punished
Be sound asleep: Sleep deeply
Before one can say Jack Robinson: Extremely quickly
Break the ice: Ease the tension when one first meets people
Eat your heart out: Feel jealous/sad about sth
Flog a dead horse: Waste time doing sth useless
Get the hang of it: Get in the habit of doing sth
Grey matter: Intelligence
Hand in glove with sb: Be in very close contact with sb
Have a job to do sth: Find sth difficult to do
Have many irons in the fire: Have lots of plans/possibilities in progress at the
same time
Have your heart in your mouth: Very anxiois
Hold your horse: Be patient
Ill at ease: Embarrassed; uncomfortable
Have time on your hand: Have free time
Keep sth under your hat: Keep a secret
Like the back of your hand: Au fait with sth
Lose heart: Be discouraged
Not make head nor tail of: Cannot understand sth
Off the cuff: Without preparation
Stew in your own juice: Suffer the consequences of your own actions
Straight from the horse’s mouth: From the most direct source
Have your hands full: Be very busy with sth
Strike gold: Come across sth useful
Take sth to heart: Take personally/be influenced by
Take to your heel: Run away
The ins and outs: The details of an activity
At large:
+ (Criminal or dangerous animal) Escaped or not captured
+ By general
Be in the know: Be well-informed
Bring to your knees: Destroy, humble
Come to a head: Reach a critical point
Drop sb a line: Send sb a letter
A pretty/fine kettle of fish: Confused state of affairs
Go to any lengths: Do anything necessary to get sth you want
Keep your fingers crossed: Hope that sth will turn out well
Have kittens: Be nervous/anxious about sth
Make yourself to yourself: Live quietly, privately
Make a killing: Have sudden, great profit/success
Make light of: Treat sth as unimportant
On the level: Honest/Sincere
Shed light on/upon: Give new/further information
The lion’s share: The biggest part/portion
Be second to none: Be the best
Feel/be down in the mouth: Feel discouraged/depressed
Get a move on: Hurry up
Get on sb’s nerves: Irritate/Annoy sb
Have an early night: Go to bed early
Lose your nerves: Lose courage
Make hay while the sun shines: Take advantage of favourable circumstances
Make money hand over fist: Make a lot of money quickly and easily
Make your getaway: Escape
Moon around: Look miserable
Null and void: Invalid, not legally binding
Put sb’s name forward: Nominate sb
Put words into sb’s mouth: Pretend that sb has said sth that they haven’t
actually said
Slip your mind: Forget about sth
Work a miracle: Make sth almost impossible happen
Give the green light to sth: Give permission to proceed with sth
Gain ground: Make progress/Become more popular
Beat sb at their own game: To defeat sb in an activity considered their
strength
Give the game away: Reveal a secret or your feelings
Throw down the gauntlet: Challenge sb
Gild the lily: Spoil sth beautiful by additions
Move the goalposts: Change the rules or demands for a situation
Have a lot going for you: Have a lot of advantages in your favour
Up for grabs: Available to those who are interested
Grind to a halt: Slowly stop/come to an end
Come/Get to grips with: Consider seriously and start to take action
Get off the ground: Begin or start functioning
Come to grief: Unsuccessful
Make a go of sth: Have some success
Meet (sb) halfway: Come to an agreement/compromise
Come under the hammer: Sth is sold at auction
Give sb a free hand: Allow sb to do as they wish
(Know sth) off-hand: (Know sth) without asking or looking it up
Have to hand it to sb: Admire sb and think they deserve praise
Make headway: Make progress
Take heart from sth: Feel encouraged by or optimistic about sth
Make a hash of sth: Do sth very badly
To your heart’s content: As much or as often as you want
Strike home: (Of a situation) To have the intended effect
Hit home: (Of a situation) To cause you to realize how unpleasant or difficult
sth is
After hours: Outside regular business hours
From/Since time immemorial: For a long time/throughout history
Take the initiative: Be the first person to act
Add insult to injury: Make matters worse
Make inroads into: Affect sth negatively or destructively
To/For all intents and purposes: In all the most important ways
In the interests of: In order to achieve a certain aim
In the interim: In the meantime
Take issue with sb: Disagree and start arguing
Have/Get itchy feet: Have a strong desire to travel
Be in jeopardy: Be in danger
In a jiffy: Quickly
Jump for joy: Extremely pleased or happy
Reserve judgment on sb/sth: Postpone giving an opinion before more is
known
Do sb/sth justice: To treat sb in a way that is fair and shows their true
qualities
Rough justice: Unfair or unjust treatment
On an even keel: Regular and balanced
On a knife-edge: A difficult situation which the result is very uncertain
Knock sb dead: Impress sb greatly
Tie yourself in knots: Get confused
Safe in the knowledge: Confident (because a prior condition has been met)
On the rocks: In serious difficulty
Give sth a wide berth: Avoid
Cut and run: Avoid a difficult situation by leaving suddenly
Batten down the hatches: Get ready for a difficult situation by preparing in
every way possible
Run a tight ship: Control a business or organization firmly and effectively
Weather the storm: Survive difficult times
Make good headways: Make good progress
In the offing: Likely to happen soon
Leave high and dry: Put in a difficult situation which cannot improve
Take the wind out of sb’s sails: Make sb feel less confident, by saying or
doing sth unexpected
In the wake of: Following closely behind
All hands on deck: Everyone must help
Any port in a storm: You must accept any help you are offered when you are
in a difficult situation
Call to arms: Ask or encourage people to take action against sth
Drop a bombshell: Bad news
Beat a retreat: Run away from a dangerous or unpleasant situation
On the warpath: Angry and ready to argue or fight
Shell-shocked: Exhausted, nervous
Come out fighting: React strongly
Shoot yourself in the foot: Unintentionally did or said sth foolish which made
your situation worse
Shoot sb down in flames: Immediately criticise sb’s idea and refuse to accept
it
Hang/Hold fire: Delay making a decision
A fighting chance: A small but real possibility
Baptism of fire: Very difficult first experience
Run the gauntlet: Face a lot of people who criticise or attack you
Battle of wills: Conflict between two different, strong desires or intentions
Join the ranks of: To become one of a particular large group of people
Steal a march on: Get an advantage hby acting before your rivals did
Run out of steam: Out of energy/enthusiasm
Go off the rails: Behave in an unacceptable way
Down the line: Later
Back on track: Again on the way to achieving sth
In the driving seat: In control of the situation
Life in the fast lane: Active, exciting life
Do a U-turn: Change direction
Go/Move/Step up a gear: Be more effective
Be flying high: Be successful
Fly by the seats of your pants: Do sth difficult without much experience or
ability
Do sth on autopilot: Do sth without thinking
Take a nosedive: Go down suddenly and hard
Be on a collision course: Behaving in such a way that is likely to cause a
major disagreemnt or fight
Come to a standstill: Stop
Be the cat’s whiskers: Better than everyone else
Not have a cat in hell’s chance/Not have a snowball’s chance in hell: No
chance at all
A dog’s life: A very unhappy and unpleasant life
A dog in the manger: A person who stops other people from enjoying
something, not because he really wants it himself
Until the cows come home: For a very long time
Sort (out) the sheeps from the goats: Find the people or things or high quality
from a group of mixed quality
Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb: Might as well do sth more
serious as you are going to be punished anyway
As against sth: In contrast with sth
Alive and kicking: Very active, healthy or popular
Kick your heels: To have nothing to do while waiting for sb
(Drag sb) kicking and screaming: If you do this to sb for them to do sth, they
only to it with great protests because they don’t really want to do it at all
Kick sb in the teeth: To treat sb badly or fail to give them help when they
need it
Kick sth into the long grass/into touch:
+ To reject sth or treat it as not important
+ To stop dealing with a problem
Butter wouldn’t melt (in sb’s mouth): Used to say that sb seems to be
innocent, kind, etc when they are not really
Like a knife through butter: Easily
Sick as a parrot: Very upset
Cry wolf: To call for help when you do not need it, as a result, people do not
believe you when you actually need help
Cry foul: To complain that sb has done sth wrong or unfair
For crying out loud: Used to show you are angry or surpised
Not know whether to laugh or cry: To be unable to decide how to react to a
bad situation
A wolf in sheep’s clothing: A person who seems to be friendly or not likely to
cause any harm but is really an enemy
The elephant in the room: A problem that everyone knows about but does not
mention as it is easier not to discuss it
Be head and shoulders above: A lot better than
Be one in the eye for: A disappointment or defeat for someone
Have a good head for: Good at sth (Strongly collocates with business, figures
or heights)
Hold/Bite your tongue: Stop yourself from saying sth which you really
wanted to say
There’s more to sth than meets the eye: Sth is more difficult to understand, or
involes more things than one though
Get your tongue round: Pronounce a difficult word correctly
Have a loose tongue: To talk too much, especially about things that are
private
Find your tongue/voice: To be able to speak or express your opinion
Put your heads together: Plan sth together
Teething troubles: Problems in the early stage of doing sth new
Armed to the teeth: Having many weapons
Bare your teeth: To show your teeth in an aggressive and threatening way
By the skin of your teeth: If you do sth like that, you only just managed to do
it
Cut your teeth on sth: To do sth that gives you your first experience of a
particular type of work
Fight tooth and nail: To fight in a very determined way for what you want
Get the bit between your teeth: To become very enthusiastic about sth that
you have started to do so much that you are unlikely to stop until you have
finished
Give your eye teeth for sth/to do sth: Used when you are saying that you want
sth very much
Get your teeth into: Become involved in sth enthusiastically
Lose face: Lose the respect of others
Sb’s fact fits: Be suitable for a job because you have the appearance,
personality, etc that the employer wants
Be staring sb in the face:
+ Similar to not see the wood for the tree
+ To be certain to happen
Be written all over sb’s face: Be very obvious from sb’s facial expression
Blow up in sb’s face: If a plan does that, it goes badly wrong in a way that
causes you damage or makes you feel embarrassed
Cut off your nose to spite your face: To do sth when you are angry that is
meant to harm sb else but also harms you
Disappear/Vanish off the face of earth: To disappear completely
Do something till you are blue in the face: To try to do sth as hard and as long
as you possibly can but without success
Fall flat on your face: To fail completely, usually in an embarrassing way
Feed your face: To eat a lot of food
Fly in the face of sth: To be the opposite of sth that is usual or expected
Have the face to do sth: To do sth that other people consider rude or shows a
lack of respect, without feeling ashamed
Have/Be left with egg on/all over your face: To be made to look stupid
In sb’s face: Annoying sb by criticizing them or telling them what to do all
the time
In the face of:
+ Despite problems, difficulties
+ As a result of sth
Laugh on the other side of your face: To be forced to change from feeling
pleased or satisfied to feeling disappointed or annoyed
Laugh in sb’s face: To show in a very obvious way that you have no respect
for sb
(Pull, wear, etc) a long face: An unhappy expression
Look sb in the eye/face: To look straight at sb without feeling ashamed
Not just a pretty face: Used to emphasize that you have skills or qualities
On the face of it: Used to say that sth seems to be good, true at first but this
opinion may need to be changed when you know more about it
Pull/Make faces (at sb): To produce an expression to show that you do not
like sb in order to make sb laugh
Put your face on: Put on make-up
Wipe sb/sth off the face of earth/off the map: To destroy or remove sb/sth
completely
What’s sb’s face: Used to refer to a person whose name you cannot remember
To sb’s face: Say sth directly to sb
Keep a straight face: Try not to laugh or smile despite finding sth funny
A slap in the face: Offending sb
Shut/Slam the door in sb’s face: Refuse to talk to sb or meet them, in a rude
way
Show you face: To appear in public
Set you face against sb/sth: To be determined to oppose sb/sth
Give your right arm: Would very much like to have
Tread on sb’s toes: Do sth that could upset ssb by getting involved in sth that
is their responsibility
Point the finger at: Accuse of being responsible for
Make your toes curl: Make you feel extremly embarrassed or ashamed for
someone else
Keep your finger on the pulse: Stay up-to-date
Work your fingers to the bone: Work very hard
(Not) put your fingers on sth: To (not) be able to identify what is wrong about
a situation
Not lift/raise a finger/hand to do sth: To do nothing to help sb
Let sth slip (through your fingers): To miss or fail to use an opportunity
Lay a finger on sb: To touch sb with the intention of hurting them physically
(Negative sentences)
Have sticky fingers: To be likely to steal sth
To have your fingers on the till: To be stealing money from the place where
you work
Have finger in every pie: To be involved in a lot of different activities and
have influence over them, especially when other people think that this is
annoying
Get/Pull your finger out: Used to tell sb to start doing some work or making
an effort
Finger in the air: A method of doing sth that is not very accurate or scientific
and partly based on guessing
Burn your fingers: To suffer as a result of doing sth without realizing the
possible bad results, especially in business
Be all (fingers and) thumbs: To be awkward with your hands so that you drop
things or unable to do sth
Be able to count sb/sth on (the fingers of) one hand: Used to say that the total
number of sb/sth is very small
Monopoly money: Money that has no value
The dice are loaded against sb: Sb would be unlikely to succeed
Dice with death: Take a great risk
Poker-faced: Expressionless
Hold all the cards: Be in a strong position
Play/Keep your cards close to your chest: Not to reveal your plan
Get your cards: To be told to leave a job
The cards/odds are stacked in your favour/against you: You are
likely/unlikely to succeed because the conditions are (not) good
Have a card up your sleeve: Have a secret advantage
Lay/Put your cards on the table: To tell sb honestly your plans/ideas
Play your trump/ace card: Use your advantage, especially one that others do
not know about
Get a red card: Receive official criticism for bad behaviour
Knock/Hit you for six: To affect someone deeply
It’s just not cricket: Not right or fair (Humorous)
A whole new ball game: A completely different situation
Play hardball: Be so determined to get what they want that they use unfair
methods
Take a rain check tonight: Refuse someone’s invitation
Not pull any punches: Speak in an honest and direct way without trying to be
tactful
Be/Fell punch-drunk: Tired and confused
Throw in the sponge/towel: Admit defeat
Achilles heel: A weak point
Pandora’s box: A process that if started will cause many problems
The Midas touch: The ability to make a financial success of everything you
do
Trojan horse: Sth to trick an enemy
The sword of Damocles: A bad thing that might happen at any time
Fiddle while Rome burns: To relax when sth should be done
Rest on your laurels: Satisfied with your achievements and not make an effort
to do anything else
See the writing on the wall: Sth very clear
Leave no stone unturned: To do everything to achieve your aim, especially
when looking for sth
The halcyon days: The good time
Turn the other cheek: To not do anything to hurt someone who has hurt you
A Pyrrhic victory: A victory not worth winning as the winner has lost so
much
Fall on your sword: Own up to your mistakes
Parting shot: A remark you make when you are leaving
Epic proportions: Big
The green-eyed monster: Jealousy
At one fell swoop: Suddenly, at the same time
Eat you out of house and home: Eat all the food
Make your hair stand on end: Frighten you very much
In the twinkling of an eye: In an instant
A wild-goose chase: A search that has no hope of success
Lay it on with a trowel: Praise sb or sth excessively
Star-crossed lover: People unlucky in love
Split hairs: To pay too much attention to minor things
Tear your hair (out): To show that you are very angry
Not turn a hair: To show no surprise or shock when sth unusual happens
Not have a hair out of place: (Person) to look extremely clean and neat
Hang by a hair/thread: (Life) to be in great danger
Get in sb’s hair: To annoy sb by always being near them
An albatross around your neck: A problem that it is difficult to be free of
Be like ships that pass in the night: Someone come into your life and leave
again after a short time
Castles in the air: Plans that have very little chance happening
Go the whole hag: Do sth as completely as possible
An ivory tower: A situation where you are separated from the ordinary and
unpleasant things that happen in life
A storm in the teacup: A situation where people get angry or worried about
sth that is not important
Call a spade a spade: To tell the truth about sth, even if it is not polite or
pleasant
Set your sights on/Have your sights set on doing sth: Decide to achieve sth
Up to scratch: Up to a satisfactory standard
Burn the candle at both ends: Going to bed late and getting up early
A lot of ground to make up: A lot of work to catch up
Round the clock: All the time
Learn sth off by heart: Learn sth so that you remember it perfectly
A memory like a sieve: A bad memory
Jog your memory: Help you to remember
Word for word: Exactly the same words
Learn by rote: Learn sth to be able to repeat it exactly (even if you don’t
understand it)
Go in one ear and out the other: Immediately forget
Stick in your mind: Be easily remembered
Learn your lessons: To learn from a negative experience
The brainchild of: A clever and original idea, plan or invetion
Hot off the press: Have just been printed and containing the most recent
information
Push all the right buttons: Do exactly what is needed to get the result
Be light years away from: Be a long way away from
Throw a spanner in the works: Do sth that prevent a plan from succeed
Spin yarns: Complain for a long time
Set the wheel in motion: Do sth which will cause a series of actions to start
Gas guzzler: Car that uses a lot of fuel
Oil the wheels: Make it easier for sth to happen
Roll in the aisles: Laugh a lot
Keep you on edge: Engaging
Bring the house down: Make the audience laugh or clap a lot
Send shivers down your spine: Be very moving
Steal the show: Get all the attention and praise at an event or performance
Wade through: Finish reading sth, with difficulty
Heavy going: Difficult to read or understand
A page-turner: An exciting book
Do a hatchet job on: Criticise strongly
Pick holes in: Find mistakes in sth, criticise
Be an armchair critic/traveller/gardener: Criticise, but without any personal
expertise in what is being criticised
Have your name in lights: Be famous
A leading light: An important member
Tread the boards: Act on stage (In the theatre)
Play to the gallery: Behave in a way to make people admire and support you
(Usually slightly disapproving)
Crowd-puller: Attracting a lot of attention
Wait in the wings: Ready to become important
Take centre stage: Become the most important person
All right on the night: Without problems
A twinkle in your father’s eye: Not even born (Humorous)
Fly the nest: Leave home to live independently
Be the spitting/perfect image of: Look exactly like
Bear resemblance to: Look like
A chip off the old block: Similar in personality to your family
Run in the family: A lot of people in the family has that characteristic
Live in each other’s pockets: Do everything together
Go back a long way: Know each other for a long time
Not give you the time of day: Refuse to speak to you because they think
they’re better than you or they don’t like you
Have the ear of: A person is ready to listen to your views and ideas
Have friends in high places: Know important and influential people
Rub shoulders with: Spend time with someone
A fair-weather friend: Someone who is only your friend when things are
going well for you
Through thick and thin: Through good and bad situations
A tower/pillar of strength: A person who supports you a lot in difficult
situation
Old flame: Past romantic interest
Footloose and fancy-free: Free and without responsibilities
A mine of information: Know a lot of things
A man of many parts: Can do many things
Whizz kid: Young but clever and successful
Get-up and go: Energetic and enthusiastic
Have plenty of strings to your bow: Have many skills
A glutton for punishment: Someone who likes working hard or doing things
other people consider unpleasant
Highly strung: Very nervous and easily upset
Act/Play the fool: Behave in a silly way, often to make people laugh
Look out for number one: To do what you think is best for yourself and don’t
care about other people
Eat sb for breakfast: Speak angrily or critically to easily control or defeat
someone
A love rat: A man having a secret sexual relationship with someone not his
wife or girlfriend
A wet blanket: Someone who does sth that stops others from enjoying
themselves
A loose cannon: Someone who cannot be trusted because they act in an
unpredictable way
Be on the fiddle: Getting money illegally
An inside job: A crime committed by someone from within the organization
Pull the wool over everyone’s eyes: Deceive everyone
Take sb for a ride: Trick sb
Line sb’s own pocket: Making money for themselves in a dishonest way
Under the counter: Secretly, illegally
Do a runner: Run away to avoid a difficult situation
The long arm of the law/ The boys in blue: The police
Throw the book at: Punish someone as severely as possible
Do a stretch: Have a prison sentence
Be brought to book: Be punished
A short sharp shock: A brief but severe punishment
On the straight and narrow: Have in an honest, moral way
A cushy number: A very easy job
At the top of the ladder: In the highest position in an organisation
Get a foot in the door: Take a low level job in an organization in order to be
promoted in the future
Slog your guts out: Work very hard
A sleeping/silent partner: A person in a company who only gives money but
not work
Track record: All the achievement or failures that someone or sth has had in
the past
A golden handshake: Money when retiring
Golden hello: Money when accept a new job
Do a roaring trade: Selling a lot of goods quickly
Corner the market: Be so successful at selling a product that almost no one
else can sell it
Go great guns: Do sth very successfully
Go belly up: Fail
Go to the wall: Be destroyed financially
Go bust: Be forced to close down because of financial difficulties
Shut up shops: Close businesses
A glass ceiling: A point after which you cannot progress in your career
Cloud on the horizon: Problems likely to happen in the future
Worship at the altar of: Being totally dedicated to
Throw sb a lifeline: Give help to someone in a very difficult situation
A big fish in a small pond: An important person in a not very important
organization
Saddle with: To give a problem which will cause a lot of difficulty
The bottom drops/falls out of the market: People stop buying sth
A ballpark figure: An estimated price
Shoot/Soar sky-high: Rise dramatically
Receive a windfall: Get some unexpected money
Rein in spending: Spend less
Across the board: By people at every level
Heads will roll: People will be severely punished, often by losing their jobs
Fall into line: Start to follow rules
Be under no illusions: Understand the truth
Have a window: Have free time
Touch base: Talk to each other
Bring to the table: Raise for discussion
Tick all the boxes: Have all the characteristics needed
The gloves are off: People ready to fight, argue, etc
Dog-eat-dog: A situation where people will do anything to be successful,
even if it is harmful to others
Blue-sky thinking: Creative thinking
Push the envelop: Innovating, going beyond normal boundaries
Suck it and see: Do sth you have not done before to find out whether it is
successful or not
Joined-up thinking: Thinking about a problem in an intelligent way that
includes all the facts
For a song: Very cheaply
Take the cake/biscuit:
+ To be especially annoying, surprising
+ To be the worst or best of its kind
Face the music: To accept criticism or punishment for sth you have done
Draw the line: To never do sth because you think it is wrong
Be wide off the mark: To be wrong
Be quick off the mark: To be quick to react to an event or situation
Be up to the mark: To be good enough
Be in your element: To be happy because you are doing what you like or can
do best
Be (right) up your alley/street: Sth that you enjoy doing
In your prime/In the prime of your life: In the best, most successful, most
productive stage
Under your breath: Quietly so that other people cannot hear exactly what you
are saying
A bolt from/out of the blue: Sth important or unusual that happens suddenly
or unexpectedly
Be locked in dispute/battle/struggle: To be involved in a disagreement in
which two sides have a lot of difficulties finding a solution
Let nature take its course: To allow sth to live or die naturally
Make your skin crawl: Be uncomfortable
Eat like a horse: Eat a lot
The fact of the matter: The truth
Head over heels: Fell madly in love
Wear and tear: Damage
Put sth under the microscope: Examine a situation carefully
Lend an ear: Listen with sympathy
Come to terms with sth: To gradually accept a sad situation, often the death
of someone you love
Do someone a world of good: To make someone feel much healthier or
happier
Take a heavy toll on: Have a bad effect on
(Not) get a word in edgeways: Can(not) say sth because someone is talking
too much
To and fro: Walk in one direction and then in the opposite direction
(From) cover to cover: Read a book all the way from the beginning to the end
Part of the furniture: Sth so familar that you no longer take notice of
Put into practice: Start to use sth and see if it is effective
Beyond/Without a shadow of a doubt: Without a doubt
Take sth by storm: To be extremely popular
Beyond repair: To be too damaged to be repaired
The nuts and bolts: The practical facts about a particular thing, rather than
theories or ideas about it
On the ground: Among the general public
On the scrounge: If someone is like this, they are asking people for things or
money
On the bounce: One after another
On the outs: People who are like this have argued and not now friendly with
each other
On the rebound: Unhappy since a close, romantic relationship of yours has
recently finished
On the ropes: Doing badly and likely to fail
Clear as a bell: To be very easy to hear
Come out of your shell: Become more confident
Put a dent in: Reduce
A fish out of water: Not familiar with sth
Bleeding heart: Someone who shows too much sympathy for everyone
On the off chance: Hoping that sth may be possible, although it is not likely
Take to sth like duck to water: To have a natural ability
Cannot put a foot wrong: Must do sth perfectly
Take a leaf from/out of sb book: To copy sb
By the book: To follow the instruction exactly
A recipe for disaster/trouble: Very likely to become a disaster/trouble
Be off your food: Not wanting to eat (Due to sickness)
To come up in conversation: Mention sth
Engage someone in conversation: Start a conversation with someone
Dig your heels in: To refuse to change your plans or ideas, especially when
someone is trying to persuade you to do so
To have a chip on your shoulder: To seem angry all the time because you
think you have been treated unfairly or feel you are not as good as other
people
Sth hangs over your head: Sth makes you unable to relax or enjoy yourself
To have your work cut out (for you): To have sth very difficult to do
Be a rich seam to mine: To be full of good material and ideas to use
Be riddled with sth: Be full of sth
On/Under pain of death: If you have to do sth like this, you will be killed if
you don’t do it
Get blood out of/from a stone: To make someone give or tell you sth,
especially when it is extremely difficult to do so
Be man enough to do sth: Brave enough to do sth
Nerves of steel: Not worried or frightened by sth that would worry others
On the breadline: Very poor
Come to a halt: Stop, delay
Dig up dirt on sb: To try to discover sth bad about someone
Be/Act your age: Behave like how you are supposed to
Bite off more than you can chew: To try to do sth that is too difficult for you
Do your duty: Do your job
Pit your wits against someone/sth: To see if you can be cleverer than
someone or sth
Sit tight: To refuse to change your mind
All the rage: Everywhere, very popular
Be too clever by half: Be too confident of your intelligence that you annoy
others
At your wits’ end: So worried, confused or annoyed that you don’t know
what to do next
As a last resort: A last hope
Grain of truth: A small amount of truth, sometimes mixed in with falsehoods
and nonsense
Crumb/Ray of hope: A small hope
Glow of satisfaction: Satisfied
Be awake to sth: Know about sth
(Not) hold out much hope: (Not) have hope
At odds (with someone): In disagreement with someone
Take sth as read: To accept that sth is true without making sure it is
Feel it in your bones: To believe in sth strongly although you cannot explain
why
Hold sb in (high) esteem/regard: Pay respect to sb
Rub someone (up) the wrong way: Unintendingly annoy someone
White elephant: Sth very expensive yet useless
A dime a dozen: Very common
In the same boat: In the same difficult situation
Miss the boat: Miss out on an opportunity
Rock the boat: To do sth that upsets a situation and causes problems
Push the boat out: To spend a lot of money on enjoying yourself or
celebrating sth
Float sb’s boat: To be what sb likes
Burn your boats/bridges: To do sth that makes it impossible to return to the
previous situation later
A hard/tough nut to crack: A difficult problem
It takes two to tango: Both people involved in a problem are equally
responsible for it
A bed of roses: Sth which is easy
Plain as day: Very clear
Get/Have your ducks in a row: To be well prepared for sth that will happen
In dire straits: In a dangerous situation
No great shakes at: Not very good
At variance with: In disagreement with
Chicken hearted: Coward
Have/Keep your feet on the ground: To be practical
Wax and wane: To grow stronger and then weaker
Scared stiff: Very scared
Give a hundred percent: Try your best
Cry your eyes out: Cry a lot
Hold/Stand firm: To refuse to move back or change your opinion
Play for time: Delay until you are ready
In the spotlight: Receiving a lot of public attention
Nothing short of: Nothing except
Ease sb’s mind: To stop sb from worrying
One and only: Only
Make the grade: To perform well enough to succeed in sth
In a fit of: A sudden, uncontrolled urge to do sth
On a whim: A sudden decision
At a pinch: Sth can be done if really needed but difficult, not perfect
Go it alone: Do sth alone
Ring/Sound hollow: Not sound true or sincere
Hands down: Easy
Live from hands to mouths: Earn and then spend all
Near/Close at hand: In your reach
A feather in your cap: Sth to be proud of
Daily bread: Money for food, clothers and other necessities
Split the difference: Differentiate
Takes precedence over: Do sth first
Takes priority over: Do sth better first
Road hog: Someone who drives fast and carelessly
Sunday driver: Someone who drives slowly, often annoying others
Presence of mind: Quick-witted
Safe pair of hands: Reliable person
Run the risk: To put yourself in a situation in which sth bad can happen
A pack of lies: A lot of lies
Pitch a yarn: To tell an excuse
Listen with half an ear: Not paying full attention
Conduct yourself: Behave in a particular way
Be set in your ways: To do sth everyday and to not want to change those habit
In defiance of: Refuse to obey sth
In the mercy of: Under control
Turn on the waterworks: Dissolve into tears
Take sth in good part: Accept sth without offend
Take the plunge: To make a decision to do sth after contemplating
Be plain/smooth sailing: To be easy or without problems
Be quids in: Be making profit
Laugh all the way to the bank: Make a lot of money easily
Money for old rope: Money that is easily earned
Be in the money: To have a lot of money to spend
The best that money can buy: The very best
Be coining it (in)/ coining money: To earn a lot of money quickly or easily
Pots of money: A very large amount of money
Put money into sth: Invest money in a business or a particular project
Live on a shoestring: Live on very little money
Roll in it/money: Have lots of money
Bring home the bacon: Earn the money the family lives on
Strapped for cash: Don’t have much money
Take sb to the cleaner’s: Get as much money from sb as possible
Sell your own grandmother/mother: Do anything to get money
Throw money down the drain: Waste money
Rags to riches: From poverty to wealth
Scrimping and saving: Living very economically
Pay over the odds: Pay more than sth is worth
Penny-pinching: Spend as little as possible
Cheap and cheerful: Cheap but good or enjoyable
No-expense-spared: Luxury
A self-made man: Someone is successful because they have worked hard
The chattering classes: Educated people who enjoy discussing social,
political and cultural issues
A second-class citizen: Someone treated as if they are less important than
others in society
The grass roots: Ordinary people in an organization
The silent majority: The large number of people who do not express their
opinions publicly
The (men in) grey suits: People in business or politic with a lot of influence
or power, although they are not well known to the public
Public enemy number one: Sth or someone that a lot of people dislike or
disapprove of
New kid on the block: Someone who is new
The movers and shakers: The people with power and influence
Win by a landslide: Win by a very large majority
Rig the election: Arrange an election in a dishonest way
The power behind the throne: Someone without official position in
government or an organization but who secretly controls it
Pull the strings: Be in control, often secretly
The grey vote: The vote of older people
Mr Big: The most important person in a company or organization
The gravy train: Used to refer to a way of making money quickly, easily and
often dishonestly, usually through your position in society
Square meal: A proper meal with all the types of food your body needs
Done to a turn: Perfectly cooked
Eat like a pig: Eat very greedily and unpleasantly
Eat like a bird: Eat very little
Sleep on it: Postpone making a decision
Not lose sleep over sth: Not worry about sth
Go/Be out like a light: Fell asleep very quickly
On the hoof: While doing other things
Take each day as it comes: Deal with things as they happen and not worry
about the future
Creature comforts: Physical comforts
Hit/Strike the right note: Is suitable and have the right effect
Go down a treat: Be enjoyed by everyone very much
Go with a swing: Be successful and exciting
Hit the jackpot: Be very successful
Have got stars in your eyes: Be very excited about the future
Be on a high: Be very happy and excited
As happy as Larry: Very happy
Full of the joys of spring: Very happy
Music to your ears: You hear sth which makes you feel happy
All hot and bothered: Angry and worried
Get your goat: Irritate you
Almost burst a blood vessel: Get very angry
Rattle sb’s cage: Make sb angry
Wild horses couldn’t make me: I would never
Have a sinking feeling: Feel that sth bad was about to happen
Not be your bag/thing: Not sth you like
Wouldn’t give sth house room: Don’t like or approve of
Kick yourself: Angry at yourself because you have done sth dumb
Be a bundle of nerves: Extremely nervous
Sweep sth under the carpet: Hide the truth
Lose your touch: Lose your previous skill
Make a pig’s ear of sth: Do sth very badly
In the cold light of day: Later, when you are calmer
Lost the plot: To no longer be able to act normally
Put sb’s nose out of joint: Upset or offend sb by getting what they wanted
To have your work cut out (for you) : In a difficult situation that you can’t
deal with
Pull the rug from under your feet: Do sth to cause difficulties for you, or
suddenly take away help or support
Settle a score: Punish someone for sth they did in the past and that you cannot
forgive
A chapter of accidents: A series of unlucky events
Bone of contention: Sth which causes a lot of disagreement
Bone to pick: Sth you want to talk about because you are annoyed
Argue the toss: To keep disagreeing with ssth that is already decided
Put the cat amongst the pigeons: To do sth that causes a lot of trouble for
others
Sticking point: A subject which two sides in an argument cannot agree on
Common ground: Topics or areas two sides can agree on
Put your foot down: To use your authority to tell someone they must (not) do
sth
Stand your ground: To refuse to change your opinion or position when others
try to persuade you to
Toe/tow the line: To do what someone oders or expects you to do
Put in sb’s place: To let someone know they are not as important as they think
they are
Hold out an olive branch: To do or say sth to show that you want to end an
argument
Water under the bridge: A past disagreement
Let bygones be bygones: To forget about a disagreement and move on
Marathon talks: Very long talks
Be given the go-ahead: Get permission
Amid mounting calls: With more and more people asking
Have blood on your hands: Responsible for the death of someone
Eleventh-hour: Last-minute
Hammer out an agreement/deal/treaty/compromise: Reach an
agreement/deal/treaty/compromise
If, and it’s a big if: Emphasize sth is not certain
War-torn country: Country which has suffered a lot as a result of war
Plunge into chaos: Put into an extremely difficult situation
Under cover of darkness: Protected by the fact that it was dark
Bloody confrontations: Violent acts of conflict
Engulf in flames: Set alight
Uneasy peace: Peace that is not stable
Shrouded in mystery: Not known
A last-ditch attempt/challenge/effort: A final try
Take years off you: Make you look younger and feel better
Live life to the full: Experience as many good things as possible
Pack a punch: Is impressively powerful
Hit the mark: Successful
Conventional wisdom: Sth that people generally believe is true when in fact it
is often false
A contradiction in terms: An expression that is confusing because the words
in it seem to have opposite meaning
Not the whole picture: Not taking all the fact into consideration
A case in point: An example
Point the way: Suggest how sth might be done in a better way
Set the stage: Make sth more likely to happen
Beg the question: Cause you to ask a particular question
Open the door to: Let sth new start
Ring the changes: Make sth more interesting by changing it in some way
Put your shoulder to the wheel: Make an effort and work hard
Reach for the star: Try to achieve your ambitions or sth that is very difficult
Think twice/long and hard: Think carefully before making a decision
Tempting fate: Cause bad luck for yourself by talking or acting too
confidently about sth
Stick your neck out: Give an opinion whick other might not like or are afraid
to give
Be on thin ice: Take a risk
Be skating on thin ice: Be taking a risk
Upset the apple cart: Cause trouble or spoil people’ s plan
Tough it out: Face a difficult situation without changing your plans or
opinions
Cross that bridge when you come to it: Face a problem when it happens, not
now
Trim your sails: Changing your behaviour to deal with a particular situation,
for example by limiting your demands, needs or spending
From the word go: From the very start
At stake: To lose
Drop a clanger: Say sth very embarrassing
For good measure: In addition
More by luck than judgement: By chance rather than skill
To say nothing of: In addition
Nearly feel off your chair: Be extremely surprised
Into the bargain: As well as other things mentioned
For a split second: For a very brief moment
Turn-up for the book: A strange or surprising event
Same difference: You admit you were wrong, but think the difference is
unimportant
Good riddance: You are pleased that someone you didn’t like is gone
The plot thickens: Sth to make a strange situation even stranger
Be on message: Support the official view of an organization
Sing from the same hymn sheet: Say the same thing in public
A lone voice: The only person with a specific opinion
Be torn: Be undecided
Pour oil on troubled waters: Calm down a difficult situation
Win your spurs: Do sth to show that you deserve a particular position and
have the skills needed for it
On a roll: Have a successful period
Be riding high: Is very successful
Come up trumps: Have completed an activity successfully or produced a
good result, especially when not expected to
Go down a storm: Be very popular
Ahead of the game: Know more than your competitors
Go down like a lead balloon: People did not like sth
A paper tiger: Country or organization which seems strong but is actually
weak
Double whammy: Two bad things happening at the same time
Couldn’t cut the mustard: Couldn’t deal with any difficulties or problems
Be built on sand: Not firmly established
Play gooseberry: Be an unwanted third person in a romantic situation
Play it cool: Behave in a calm way, pretending to be less interested in
someone than you really are
Play it safe: Be extra careful and not take any risks
Play dirty: Behave dishonestly
Play you for a fool: Treat you as if you are stupid
Play God: Act as if you have control over other people’s life
Play second fiddle: Be in a less important or weaker position
Play cat and mouse: Try to defeat someone by tricking them so that they had
an advantage over them
Raise your game: Work harder to achieve sth
The game’s up: Someone’s secret activities are known and must now stop
A game plan: Plan for achieving success
The name of the game: The most important part of an activity or quality
needed for that activity
Play games: Try to deceive someone about what you are going to do
Play the game: Behave in a way that is expected or demanded by those in
authority
Play a/the waiting game: Delay taking actions to see how things develop
Half-baked: Has not been thought through fully
Half-measures: Actions that will only achieve only part of what they are
intended to achieve
Have half a mind to: To think that you might do sth (though you probably
won’t), often because someone has annoyed you
Not know the half of it: Know little about sth bad
Not half! : Said to agree emphatically
Be not half: Very
Half the battle: The most difficult part of the process
Sth and a half: Sth very special, suprising or that took a long time
Given half the chance: If I had the opportunity
Be two of a kind: Similar
Two’s company, three’s a crowd: It’s better that two people in a romantic
situation should be alone
Put//Stick two fingers up at: Show that you are angry or have no respect
Cut both/two ways: Have positive and negative effects
Know a thing or two about: Know a lot about
Two sides of the same coin: Two different aspects of the same problem
Have two left feet: Bad at dancing
Not have two pennies to rub together: Very poor
Two a penny: Very common
Be not short of a bob or two: Quite rich
Like a dog with two tails: Very happy
Like two peas in a pod: Very similar
Be brought down a peg or two: Have sth happen to you to show that you are
not as good as you think you are
At all hours: At all sorts of unusual times
That’s sb all over: That’s typical of sb
For all sb cares: Sb doesn’t care
All smiles: Unexpectedly friendly and pleasant
Get the all-clear: Get official permission, usually medical
It’s all system go: Everything is busy
To cap it all: In addition to other bad things
In all but name: Existing as a fact, but not officially described
An all-time high/low: The record high/low point
Be all in the mind: Imagination
Be all things to all men: Please everyone even when this is not possible
All-singing, all-dancing: Ambitious and modern, with lots of special features
(Technology
In next to no time: Very quickly
No end: Lots of
No ifs and buts: Do without arguing
In no uncertain terms: Strongly and directly
No-go areas: Dangerous places
Be no oil painting: Not pretty
Be no spring chicken: Not young
Be no/nobody’s fool: Is clever and not easily deceived
Be no joke: Is serious or difficult
Be no picnic: Is difficult and unpleasant
Be handed to you on a plate: Get sth very easily and don’t have to work for it
Have the upper hand: Have the advantage
Be an old hand at: Be very experienced at
Have sb eating out of/in the palm of your hand: Have complete control of sb
Bite the hand that feeds you: Treat sb badly who had helped you, often by
giving you money
Play into sb’s hands: Accidentally give your opponents advantage
Your hands are tied: You are not free to do what you’d like to do
Be dealt a lousy hand: Be very unlucky in life
Sit on your hands: Do nothing about a problem that needs to be solved
Hand over the reins to: Give someone the power you have
Give someone a big hand: Applause
Put your hand on your heart: Be truthful
Your heart’s desire: Sth you want to do
A heart of gold: Be very kind
Have a heart of stone: A person who does not show other people sympathy
Cry your heart out: Be very sad or upset
Wear your heart on your sleeve: Make your feelings obvious
Your heart isn’t in: You are not interested in
Your heart of hearts: Your innermost thoughts
Harden your heart: Do not let feelings stop you
Your heart is in your boots: You feel unhappy
Get a new lease of life: Become more energetic and active
Live a charmed life: Be very lucky in life
Live out of a suitcase: Not having a permanent place to live
Live on borrowed time: Existing longer than expected
Do anything for a quiet life: Agree to anything to avoid problems
Dead and buried: Finished or ended completely
The kiss of death to: Event that caused sth to fail
Dead in the water: Failed and will never succeed
As dead as a dodo: Not existing or popular or important anymore
Dead wood: Members of an organization who are not useful anymore and
should be remove
A dead duck: Not successful or useful
A death blow: An event that caused sth to fail completely
Dead to the world: A deep sleep
A fate worse than death: Sth very bad
A living death: A life full of suffering
In the dead of night: In the middle of the night
A death trap: Sth dangerous
Be at death’s door: Nearly dead
Put your mind to sth: Make an effort
Take your mind off sth: Stop worrying
Cast your mind back: Remember sth
Mind over matter: Your thoughts influence your body
Mind your Ps and Qs: Be polite
Mind your back: Be careful because others are trying to cause problems for
you
Harder than you had bargained for: More difficult than expected
Give people the hard sell: Try very hard to persuade people to buy sth
Hard going: Difficult and tiring
Fall on hard time: A difficult time
Hard up: Without much money
Hard put: Find it difficult
Drive a hard bargain: Demand a lot in exchange for the service given
Be hard-pressed: Find sth difficult
Make a mountain out of a molehill: Make a minor difficulty seem like a
serious problem
Make hard work of: Make sth into a major problem
Hard done by: Unfairly treated
A hard nut to crack: A difficult problem to solve
Fall from graces: Lose respect and admiration from people in authority
Fall through the floor: Drop to a very low level
Fall foul of: Break a law or regulation
Be falling apart at the seams: In a very bad state and about to fail
Fall short of: Not come up to the standard of
Fall over yourself to do sth: Very keen and eager
Sth fall/drop into your lap: Happen or be given to you without any effort of
your part
Fall for someone hook, line and sinker: Fall madly in love with
Fall for sth hook, line and sinker: Be deceived
After your own heart: Have the same opinions as you
Come into their own: Be useful in a particular situation
Be your own person: Behave as you want without being influenced by others
Take matters into your own hands: Deal with sth yourselves because others
are failing to act
Save your own skin/neck/hide: To protect yourself from danger, especially by
leaving others in an extremely difficult situation
Hold your own: Be as successful as anyone else
Blow your own trumpet: Boast
Of your own making: Your fault
Feather your own nest: Make money illegally for yourself
A bitter pill to swallow: A difficult fact to accept
Against all odds: Despite the difficulties
Fall into place: Become clear
Golden opportunity: The best chance
Grease sb’s palm: Bribe sb
Out-and-out: Complete, total
Out in the open: (Secrets) revealed, known
Pop the question: Make a proposal of marriage
Be in a quandary: Be confused, undecided
Cut sb to the quick: Deeply hurt sb’s feelings
In a rut: Be stucked in a monotonous routine
Know the ropes: Know all the details of sth
At close quarters: From a short distance
Put down roots: Settle down
Work to rule: Adhere strictly to the rules as a form of protest
Rack sb’s brain: Think very hard
A long shot: A wild guess/a risk
At sea: Be in a state of confusion
Make quite a scene: Become very angry in a dramatic way
Pull your socks up: Make a greater effort
Smell a rat: Suspect that sth is wrong
Take sth with a pinch of salt: Not believe in sth completely
Thick-skinned: Insensitive
Be/Get soaked to the skin: Be very wet
(By) trial and error: Learning from mistakes
Be (as) thick (as a brick): Be stupid
A tickled pink: Be very pleased
In a tick: Very soon
Lay the table: Set the table for a meal
Out of turn: Not in the correct order
Paint the town red: Have a great time
Touch and go: With uncertain results
Larger than life: Exaggerate
On its last legs: In weak or poor condition/Needing replacement
Lay it on thick: Exaggerate
Do sth at length: Take a long time to do sth in great detail
Follow/Obey to the letter: Folllow exactly without questions
Bring into line with: Make sb comply with a standard/behaviour
Be lost on sb: If a joke is like that, people don’t understand it
Not for love nor money: For no reason
Like it or lump it: Whether you like it or not
Leave sb in the lurch: Abandon/Let sb down
Come what may: Whatever happens
Have a poor/low of opinion of sth: Thinks that sth is bad
Have a bearing on: Have influence on sth
Have roots in: Originate from sth
No great shakes at: Not good at

Over and above: In addition

Each and every: Emphasized way of saying “Each”
Well and truly: Completely
Broaden your expertise: Improve your knowledge
A substitute for: Alternative
Raise revenue: To raise fund for an organization
Well into: Before a period of time
Nothing more than: Only
Set fire to sth: Burn sth
Without exception: No exception
Make false claims: Say sth dishonest
Pay through the nose: Pay alot
Be on the move: Moving
To say: To be more specific
Become the norm: Become the standard
The likes of sth/someone: Sth similar
Learning outcomes: Result of studying
A solution to: A way of dealing with sth
From a point onwards: Start from somewhere
Not least: Especially
At the same pace: At the same speed
Computer literacy: Computer knowledge
On a par with: On the same level with
Evolutionary process: Evolution course
Come to think of sth: Think about sth
Take a back seat: Not play an important role
Seek relief: To relieve
Individual interpretation: How each people think of sth
Farther afield: Far away
Hit the market: Enter the market
Have the specific aim of: Aim
Thirst quencher: Drinks
Go under the knife: Surgery
Ravages of time: The destruction of time
Be kept under wraps: Be a secret
Hand/Give in your notice: Resign
Poke your nose into sth: Interfere
None the wiser: Know nothing more than before
Slip through the nest: Avoid being caught by a system/trap set up to catch sb
Nest egg: Sum of money saved for a particular purpose
Touch a nerve: Mention a sensitive subject
Come naturally to sb: Very easy for sb to do
Name names: Identify sb who has done sth (usually immoral or illegal)
Mint condition: Perfect condition
Mend your way: Begin to behave well
On the mend: Recover from (illness/injury)
Made to order: Specially made, not from stock
At/From the outset: From the very beginning
Go overboard: Overdo sth
To overflowing: Over the capacity
Go to great pains: Try hard to do sth because it is important
In passing: Incidentally
Go to pot: Deteriorate
Plumb new depths: Be worse than ever
Pluck up the courage: Be brave
Feel the pinch: Be in a difficult financial situation
Say your piece: Give your opinion
Not a patch on: Not nearly as good as
Up and running: Operating normally
Rub sth in: Insist on reminding sb of ssth unpleasant or embarrassing
Take the rough with the smooth: Accept unpleasant as well as pleasant
situation
Hit the road: Begin a journey
Be well rid of sb/sth: Better off without sb/sth
On reflection: After careful thought
Recharge your batteries: Take a break to refresh yourself
Have/Get a raw deal: Be treated unfairly
Raring to go: Eager to do sth or go somewhere
Ram home sth: Make sth clear and forceful
Lose your rag: Become angry
A race against time: Work fast in order to do sth on time
Give sb no quarter: Show no mercy
Have a qualified success: Be partially successful
In sync: Well matched
Get into the swing of sth: Get involved/Get into the rhythm
In store for one: About to happen
In stitches: Unable to stop laughing
Spick and span: Clean and tidy
A sore point with sb: Sth that makes sb angry or embarrassed
If push comes to shove: If a situation becomes really bad
Talk shop: Talk about work
Not your scene: Not like
Turn tail: Turn and runaway
In tandem with: Together
Go off at a tangent: Suddenly change subject or course of action
On target: Make good progress
In bad/poor taste: Offensive
Thick and fast: Happening quickly in large numbers
Keep sb on their toes: Make/Keep sb alert
Lower the tone of sth: Make a place or event seem less respectable
Tongue in cheek: Not serious
A trifle: Slightly
Tread water: Be in a position where no progression is being made
Travel light: Travel without much luggage
Get on top of sb: Sth depresses sb
To down tools: To stop working
The ultimate in: The best/most advanced
Catch/Take unawares: Happen when you are least expecting it
Unbeknown to sb: When sb is unaware of sth
Be given to understand that: Be informed about ssth but not ddirectly
Come unstuck: Fail badly in sth you are trying to achieve
Be up against sth: Have a difficult situation or problem to deal with
Not be up to much: Of poor quality
Have it uses: Have advantages
To the utmost: To the greatest extent
Do sth in vain: Not succeed in sth
Bang your head against a brick wall: Frustrated because sb is stopping you
from making progress
If the worst comes to the worst: If the situation develops in the most
unfavourable way possible
Go from bad to worse: Become more unpleasant
Put years on sb: Make sb look or feel much older
Sth is driving you up the wall: Sth is annoying and irritating you
Be all very well: Appear satisfactory but in fact not
Be on the up and up: Improve steadily
Be up and about: Have recovered from an illness
Frostly welcome: Unfriendly reception
Get wind of: Receive information about sth indirectly
Give vent to: Express sth freely
Not hold water: Not seem reasonable or in accordance with the facts
Make a flying visit: Make a quick trip
Make waves: Cause trouble
Wet behind the ears: Inexperienced
Speak volumes: Be strong evidence
An old wives’ tale: False belief (Usually about health)
Be borned yesterday: Be easily deceived
Go back on your word: Not fulfill a promise
Have a yellow streak: Be a coward
Red herring: Sth which distracts you from sth important
The year dot: A long time ago
The pot calling the kettle black: Accusing sb of a fault
In deep water: In trouble
Green (matter/issue): Concerned with ecology
Green with envy: Very jealous
Black tie: Formal clothing
Pitch black: Very dark
A pain in the neck: Annoying thing
Have a sharp tongue: Tend to say unkind or hurtful things
In clover: Living a luxurious life
Jack of all trades: Sb who is able to do many hobs
Put your heart and soul into sth: Be devoted to sth
Lose your head: Lose self-control
Look down your nose at sth: Act superior to sth
Global status: Normal state
Drive innovations: Lead to innovations
Big/Thorny challenge: Enormous difficulty