Advance English Idioms
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Created by:
AnkaWhitlock on October 12, 2011
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Description:
English Idioms in use (Advanced) - Cambridge
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52 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 put your foot in it | say sometihng accidentally which upsets or embarrasses someone |
| take a shine to | to immediately like something/someone |
| a flash in a pan | something that happens only once |
| sink like a stone | failed completely |
| prick ones ears up | start listen carefully |
| going up in the world | gained a better position, or more money, than before |
| knock into shape | take action to get something into a good condition |
| debt of honour | a debt that one owes someone for moral rather than financial reason |
| run its course | come to a natural end |
| open the door to | let something new start |
| get off your backside | stop being lazy (very informal) |
| know no bounds | be extreme |
| curl your lip | to sneer; show disrespect |
| know your place | accept your low position within society without trying to improve it |
| hopping mad | very angry |
| make a name for | become famous or respected for |
| run a tight ship | control something firmly and effectively |
| went spare | was extremely angry |
| feather one's own nest | dishonestly use your position to get money for yourself |
| be beyond the pale | be unacceptable |
| get the sack | be dismissed from your job |
| to take center stage | to be the most important or noticeable thing or person |
| to get/ take a flak | recieve strong criticism |
| be given/ get his marching order | lose his job |
| to pull rank | use the power his (manager) position gives him to make them (employees) do something |
| to see reason | become sensible/ reasonable |
| to se the point | understanding the importance of something |
| to see light | suddenly understanding something |
| see the joke | understand something |
| bluff your way | pretend to be in a weaker or stronger position than is really the case |
| every Tom, Dick and/or Harry | people that you don't know or think are not important |
| like a bear with a sore head | someone in a bad mood |
| the good old days | remembering the past nostalgically |
| to clip someone's wings | to limit someone's freedom |
| up-to-the-minute | new |
| spirit of adventure | enthusiasm for adventurous activities |
| part and parcel | a necessary part of an event or experience which cannot be avoided |
| sit on the fence | delay making a decision when they have to choose between two different options in a dispute |
| right of the bat | immediately |
| throw someone a curveball | surprise them with something difficult or unpleasant to deal with |
| someone is batting a thousand | doing something extremely well, better than they had hoped |
| someone drops the ball | do something careless or stupid |
| catch some z's | sleep (informal) |
| is fresh out of | has just finished or sold all its supply |
| the frosting on the cake | something that makes a good thing even better |
| fight like cats and dogs | argue violently all the time |
| grunt work | hard, boring work |
| take the cake | used informally to describe something the speaker finds very annoying |
| cry buckets | cry a lot (informal) |
| cold cash | money in form of cash or notes, not a cheque or credit card |
| like the cat that ate the canary | very pleased with oneself (informal, usally collocates with 'look', 'grin' or 'smile') |
| not worth a dime | has little or no value |
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