IDIOMS

1. cast (or cut) someone adrift --- abandon or isolate someone.

2. play devil's advocate ----- see DEVIL
3. aid and abet -- help and encourage someone to do something wrong, especially to commit
a crime
4. have people rolling in the aisles ------ make an audience laugh uncontrollably
5. an Aladdin's cave ----- a place full of valuable objects
6. all over the place ---- in a state of confusion or disorganization,
7. as American as apple pie ----- To reward people for something beyond merit
8. run amok ----------- behave uncontrollably and disruptively
9. have ants in your pant ----not be able to keep still because you are very excited or worried
about something.
10. tied to someone's apron strings ----- too much under the influence and control of someone
11. out of the ark ------ extremely old-fashioned
12. apple of discord ---- a subject of dissension and angry
13. upset the apple cart ----- wreck an advantageous project or disturb
14. up to your armpits ---- deeply involved in a particular unpleasant situation or enterprise
15. an arrow in the quiver ------ one of a number of resources or strategies that can be drawn on
or followed.
16. an atmosphere that you could cut with a knife ----- a general feeling of great tension or
malevolence.
17. under the auspices of --- with the help, support, or protection of.
18. have an axe to grind ----- they are doing something for selfish reasons
19. babes in the wood --- inexperienced people in a situation calling for experience
20. back to the drawing board ----- used to indicate that an idea or scheme has been
unsuccessful and a new one must be devised.
21. back to square one ---- back to the starting point, with no progress made
22. by the back door --- using indirect or dishonest means to achieve an objective.
23. take a back seat ---- take or be given a less important position or role. Compare with in the
driver's seat
24. put backbone into someone --- encourage someone to behave resolutely
25. save someone's bacon ---- save someone's skin
26. bring home the bacon --- supply material provision or support, achieve success.
27. a bad quarter of an hour --- a short but very unpleasant period of time; an unnerving
experience.
28. as bald as a coot ---- completely bald
29. a ball and chain ------ a severe hindrance(limitation)
30. the ball is in someone's court ---- it is that particular person's turn to act next
31. have the ball at your feet --- have your best opportunity of succeeding
32. in the ballpark ---- in a particular area or range
33. The Bamboo Curtain was the Cold War political demarcation between the Communist states of East
Asia
34. jump on the bandwagon ------- join others in doing something or supporting a cause that is
fashionable or likely to be successful.
35. a baptism of fire ---- a difficult introduction to a new job or activity.
36. the bare bones --- the basic facts about something, without any detail
37. with a bargepole --- used to express an emphatic refusal to have anything to do with
someone or something
38. bark up the wrong tree ---- pursue a mistaken or misguided line of thought or course of
action
39. man (or go to) the barricades ---- strongly protest against a government or other institution
or its policy
40. have bats in the (or your) belfry ---- be eccentric or crazy
41. with bated breath --- in great suspense; very anxiously or excitedly
42. batten down the hatches --- prepare for a difficulty or crisis.
43. a beam in your eye --- a fault that is greater in yourself than in the person you are finding
fault with
44. spill the beans --- reveal secret information unintentionally or indiscreetly.
45. Grin and bear ------suffer trouble or hardship without complaint
46. beat a hasty retreat --- withdraw, typically in order to avoid something unpleasant
47. at someone's beck and call --- always having to be ready to obey someone's orders immediately
48. the bee's knees --- something or someone outstandingly good
49. beggar on horseback --- a formerly poor person made arrogant or corrupt through achieving wealth
and luxury
50. bell the cat ---- take the danger of a shared enterprise upon yourself.
51. bite your tongue ---- make a desperate effort to avoid saying something
52. put the bite on ---- blackmail,extort money from.
53. the black sheep --- a family or other group
54. blaze a trail --- be the first to do something and so set an example for others to follow.
55. a blessing in disguise --- an apparent misfortune that eventually has good results.
56. a chip off the old block: someone who is very similar in character to their father or
mother
57. a blot on the escutcheon --- something that tarnishes your reputation
58. a blue-eyed boy -- the favourite of someone in authority.
59. Bob's your uncle -- everything is fine; problem solved
60. ride bodkin -- travel squeezed between two other people
61. a bolt from the blue --- a sudden and unexpected event or piece of news
62. give someone Bondi -- attack someone savagely
63. the boot is on the other foot --- the situation has reversed.
64. be born with a silver spoon in your mouth ------ to have a high social position and be rich
from birth.
65. Pandora's box --- a process that once begun generates many complicated problems.
66. break a butterfly on a wheel ----- use unnecessary force in destroying something fragile or
insignificant
67. a dogs breakfast ---- a confused mess or mixture.
68. take someone's breath away --- inspire someone with awed respect or delight; astonish someone
69. burn your bridges -- do something which makes it impossible to return to an earlier state
70. Buckley's chance -- forlorn hope; no chance
71. hide your light under a bushel -- Do not conceal your talents or abilities.
72. the butterfly effect -- the phenomenon whereby a minute localized change in a complex system can
have large effects elsewhere
73. have butterflies in your stomach --- have a queasy feeling because you are nervous.
74. cut the cackle stop talking aimlessly and come to the poin
75. have a cadenza be extremely agitated
76. in cahoots -- working or conspiring together, often dishonestly; in collusion
77. burn the candle at both ends --- Working late into the night and beginning again
early in the morning.
78. have a card up your sleeve ---- have a plan or asset that is kept secret until it is needed
79. a magic carpet -- a means of sudden and effortless travel.
80. carved in stone - to be very difficult or nearly impossible to change.
81. let the cat out of the bag --- reveal a secret, especially carelessly or by mistake
82. in the catbird seat in a superior or more advantageous position
83. the cat's whiskers --- an excellent person or thing
84. an old chestnut -- a joke, story, or subject that has become tedious and boring as a result of its age
and constant repetition.
85. pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire -- succeed in a hazardous undertaking for someone else's
benefit.
86. a chink in someone's armour -- a weak point in someone's character, arguments, or ideas which makes
them vulnerable to attack or criticism.
87. chickens come home to roost ---- your past mistakes or wrongdoings will eventually be the cause of
present troubles
88. 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
89. tap a person's claret make a person's nose bleed by a blow with the fist
90. a cloven hoof a symbol or indication of evil
91. on someone's coat-tails undeservedly benefiting from another's success
92. the cold shoulder a show of intentional unfriendliness; rejection
93. in cold blood without feeling or mercy; ruthlessly
94. cook the books alter records, especially accounts, with fraudulent intent or in order to mislead,
95. cudgel your brain (or brains) think hard about a problem
96. cut the Gordian knot solve or remove a problem in a direct or forceful way
97. at daggers drawn in a state of bitter enmity
98. a damp squib an unsuccessful attempt to impress; an anticlimax
99. go to Davy Jones's locker be drowned at sea
100. not playing with a full deck mentally deficient
101. delusions of grandeur a false impression of your own importance
102. play devil's advocate take a side in an argument that is the opposite of what you really want or think
103. dig in your heels resist stubbornly; refuse to give in.
104. dog eat dog a situation of fierce competition in which people are willing to harm each other in order to
succeed.
105. for donkey's years for a very long time.
106. drink like a fish drink excessive amounts of alcohol, especially habitually
107. at the drop of a hat without delay or good reason
108. lame duck a person or thing that is powerless or in need of help
109. If you eat someone's dust, you are a long way behind them in a race or a
competitive situation.
110. falls on deaf ears, it is completely ignored by the person who hears it.
111. eat someone's dust fall far behind someone in a competitive situation
112. eat someone's dust fall far behind someone in a competitive situation
113. don't put all your eggs in one basket don't risk everything on the success of one venture
114. at your wits' end: to be so worried, confused, or annoyed that you do not know
what to do next:
115. the eye of a needle a very small opening or space
116.