0601-0800 Flashcards
on one’s uppers
Someone who ison their uppershas very little money or not enough to cover their needs. Because he was clearly on his uppers when he was hired, he was given an advance in salary.
trial and error
Attempting to achieve a satisfactory result by testing and eliminating various methods until the best one is found is calledtrial and error. Some of the best cooks learn by trial and error.
take as read
Something that does not need to be discussed because it is already understood or agreed upon can betaken as read. We’re getting married in September and you take it as read that you are all invited.
go along for the ride
If you join a group of people you find interesting, without wanting to take an active part in their action, yougo along for the ride. Not all the protesters were active in the movement - some just went along for the ride.
shedlight
If youshed lighton something, you help to explain it or make it easier to understand; It was hoped that the testimony of the witnesses would shed light on the circumstances of the accident.
make apigof yourself
If youmake a pig of yourself,you eat and drink too much. Watch what you eat. Don’t make a pig of yourself!
under (close)scrutiny
Someone or something that isunder (close) scrutinyis being watched or examined carefully. The police are keeping the suspect under close scrutiny.
monkey business
An activity which is organised in a deceitful or dishonest way is calledmonkey business. The results announced seem suspicious - I think there’s some monkey business going on.
grey matter (US: gray)
Grey matter refers to the brain, or the grey colour of brain tissue. “Try using your grey matter and you might find the answer.” said the teacher.
come up in theworld
A person who hascome up in the worldis richer than before and has a higher social status. My old school friend has bought an apartment overlooking Central Park. She has certainly come up in the world.
walk of life
A person’s profession or position in society is known as theirwalk of life. There were people from all walks of life among the protesters.
money spinner
If an activity is amoney spinner, it is a very successful way of making money. Washing cars was quite a money spinner when I was a student.
take cover
When someonetakes cover,they hide from a danger, or bad weather, in a place where they find protection. As soon as the explosion was heard, people ran to take cover.
wind/wound up
If someone is so excited that they talk non-stop, they arewound up. Claire had so much to tell us after her trip that she was wound up.
get down to brass tacks
When peopleget down to brass tacks, they start to discuss the essential aspects of a problem or situation. The situation was so serious that after a few polite exchanges they quickly got down to brass tacks.
lock, stock and barrel
Lock, stock and barrelmeans ‘everything’. Maggie found the apartment empty. Dave had taken everything - lock, stock and barrel!
more by accident than (by) design
Something which happensmore by accident than (by) designis done without deliberate intention. I became an interpreter more by accident than design; nobody else could speak the language of the refugees.
make inroads
If someone or somethingmakes inroads, for example in a new field or area, they advance successfully or make progress. Foreign cars have made inroads into the European market.
on cloud nine
A person who ison cloud nineis very happy because something wonderful has happened. When the boss announced my promotion, I was on cloud nine.
take therap
If youtake the rapfor something, you accept blame or punishment for it, even if you have not done it. The whole class had to take the rap for the disorder.
gooffthe deep end
If a persongoes off the deep end, they become so angry or upset that they cannot control their emotions. Eva will go off the deep end if her kids leave the kitchen in a mess again.
save one’s skin/neck
If you manage to escape from serious danger or trouble, yousave your skin (or neck). He saved his skin by reversing off the bridge just before it collapsed.
cash in your chips
If youcash in your chips, you sell something, especially shares, either because you need the money or because you think the value is going to fall. Andy cashed in his chips as soon as business started to slow down.
hard and fast
Something which ishard and fastis inflexible or cannot be altered. Unfortunately there are no hard and fast rules related to English spelling.
paid peanuts
Ifyou arepaid peanuts,you have a very low salary. Jenny has a very interesting job, but she’s paid peanuts.
in the balance
If something isin the balance, the situation is uncertain and it is not clear what is going to happen. The future of the company is in the balance while the takeover bid is being examined.
off the cuff
If you speakoff the cuff,you say something without any previous thought or preparation. He handles off-the-cuff interviews very well.
ride coattails
If you use your connections with someone successful in order to achieve fame or success for yourself, without any personal effort, youride their coattails. He rode his uncle’s coattails in the hope of being elected.
ambulance chaser
A lawyer who finds work by persuading people injured in accidents to claim money from the person who caused the accident is called an’ambulance chaser’. Peterson and Scott are well-known ambulance chasers - that’s how they make their money!
yourguess is as good as mine
When talking to another person,’your guess is as good as mine’means that neither of you knows the answer. “What happened between Bill and harry?” “Your guess is as good as mine!”
throughthickand thin
If someone does somethingthrough thick and thin,they do it in spite of all the difficulties and problems. Bob is famous today, but Tom is still his best friend, the one who supported him through thick and thin.
cross to bear
A person who has across to bear have a serious problem or heavy responsibility that they must accept because they cannot change it. Alzheimer’s is a cross to bear for the whole family.
press home
If youpress something home, you insist on a point in a discussion or argument. Her lawyer kept pressing home the fact that she was a single mother.
before your very eyes
If someone does something before your very eyes, they do it in front of you, without attempting to hide what they are doing. Before my very eyes, he took the rubbish and threw it into the neigbour’s garden.
at sixes and sevens
If someone isat sixes and sevens,they are in a state of confusion or not very well organised. The managers were at sixes and sevens when they were informed of the Chairman’s visit.
piece of the action
When someone wantsa piece of the action, they want to participate in what other people are doing and benefit from it. The songwriter thought the show would be a success so he wanted a piece of the action.
over dead body
This expression is used by someone who absolutely refuses to allow someone to do something. “Mum, can I get by nose pierced?” “Over my dead body!”
strike rightnote
If youstrike (or hit) the right note, you say or do something suitable or appropriate He struck the right note with his future mother-in-law when he brought her a book on gardening - her favourite hobby!
have someone in yourpocket
If you have influence or power over someone, youhave them in your pocket. He was declared ‘not guilty’, but everyone knew that he had the jury in his pocket.
get afoothold
If youget a footholdsomewhere, you secure a position for yourself in a business, profession or organisation. The contract got the firm a foothold in the local administration.
all skin and bone
If someone isall skin and bone, they are very thin or too thin. After trekking in the Himalayas, he was all skin and bone.
never mind
When you’never mind’to someone, you are telling them not to worry, that it is not important. When the child broke the cup Susan said ‘never mind - it was an old cup’.
accidentally on purpose
If you do something intentionally, but pretend it was an accident, you do itaccidentally on purpose. I accidentally-on-purpose erased his email address so I couldn’t contact him again.
on the breadline
People who liveon the breadlinehave a very low income or barely enough money to survive. Due to the recent crisis, there are more people on the breadline than ever before.
in leaps and bounds
If you do somethingin leaps and bounds,you make rapid or spectacular progress or growth. The number of subscribers to the newsletter has grown in leaps and bounds.
uphill battle
A person faced withan uphill battlehas to struggle against very unfavourable circumstances. After the terrible accident, his recovery was an uphill battle all the way.
nine-day wonder
An event which isa nine-day wondercauses interest, surprise or excitement for a short time, but it doesn’t last. His sudden departure was a nine-day wonder but he was soon forgotten.
in strict confidence
If you say somethingin strict confidence,you tell it as a secret not to be revealed. Please don’t repeat this. I’m telling it to you in strict confidence.
dog-eat-dog
This expression refers to intense competition and rivalry in pursuit of one’s own interests, with no concern for morality. The business world is tough today. There’s a general dog-eat-dog attitude.
after the fact
If something is doneafter the fact, it done too late, after something has actually happened, especially a crime or an accident. He said he realized he had put people in danger, but that was of no help after the fact.
(be) spot on
If something isspot on,it is exactly right. That bag is an absolute match for my outfit! The colour is spot on!
ready todrop
Someone who isready to dropis nearly too exhausted to stay standing. I’ve been shopping all day with Judy. I’m ready to drop!
vanish into thin air
If somethingvanishes into thin air, it disappears completely in a mysterious way. The diamonds vanished into thin air - nobody knows what happened to them.
(not) get awordin edgeways
During a discussion, if youcan’t get a word in edgeways,you can’t say something because the others are talking so much. I tried to give my opinion, but I couldn’t get a word in edgeways.
gift of the gab
To say that somebody has thegift of the gabmeans that they are able to speak confidently and easily. As a politician, not only is he competent, but he has the gift of the gab too!
few and far between
Items, places or events which arefew and far betweenare rarely found or do not happen very often. Restaurants in this part of the country are few and far between.
that’s the way the cookie crumbles
To say’that’s the way the cookie crumbles’means that is the way things are and nothing can be done about it - that’s life!
sneak preview/peek
A sneak preview (or sneak peek) is a special viewing of a film or art production given to a select audience before being shown to the general public. Television reporters were given a sneak preview of the next episode.
unvarnished truth
If you present someone with plain facts, without trying to embellish or soften the reality, you give them theunvarnished truth. Tell me how the accident happened, and I want the unvarnished truth.
dimview
If youtake a dim viewof something, you do not approve of it. When Harry and Sally decided to live together without getting married, their grandparents took a dim view of the situation.
vote with one’s feet
If youvote with your feet,your show your dislike or disapproval of something by leaving. If the conference is boring, people will probably vote with their feet.
wash yourhandsof
If youwash your hands ofa problem or situation, you refuse to deal with it any longer. You can’t just wash your hands of David’s behaviour. He’s your son!
sleeping/silent partner
This term refers to a person who invests in a business without taking an active part in its management, and whose association with the enterprise is not public knowledge. He works alone but his business is partly financed by a sleeping partner.
come to a head
If a problem or difficult situationcomes to a head, it reaches a point where action has to be taken. The conflict came to a head yesterday when rioting broke out in the streets.
off the record
If you say somethingoff the record,you do not want anyone to repeat it publicly. His comment was made off the record, and shouldn’t have been published.
allfingers and thumbs
If you areall fingers and thumbs,you are awkward and clumsy and do things incorrectly. Would you mind wrapping this for me? I’m all fingers and thumbs!
make a go of
When youmake a go of something, you succeed in your enterprise or produce good results. He opened a restaurant and worked hard to make a go of it.
rob the cradle
If yourob the cradle,you have a romantic relationship with someone who is much younger than yourself. My uncle Ted is dating a twenty-year-old girl. That’s really robbing the cradle!
industrial strength
This is a humorous way of referring to something which is very strong, powerful or concentrated. I’ve got an industrial-strength headache this morning!
what goes round comes round
This expression means that if you do something bad, something bad will happen to you eventually. He felt guilty about what he did, feeling that what goes round comes round.
wait for the cat to jump
If youwait for the cat to jump, or tosee which way the cat jumps,you delay taking action until you see how events will turn out. Let’s wait for the cat to jump before we decide.
money doesn’t grow on trees
To say thatmoney doesn’t grow on treesmeans that it is not plentiful or easily obtained. Watch how you spend your money Alex. It doesn’t grow on trees you know!
lash out
If youlash outat somebody, you attack them, usually verbally. On the ninth hole, Pete suddenly lashed out at Scott and accused him of cheating.
learn the ropes
If youlearn the ropes,you learn how to do a particular job correctly. He’s bright. It won’t take him long to learn the ropes.
on cue
If something happenson cue, it happens at exactly the appropriate or expected moment. My grandmother was blowing out the candles on her birthday cake when, right on cue, the flowers arrived.
touch/knock onwood
This humorous expression, based on superstition, is used to avoid bad luck, often while touching something made of wood. The order will be confirmed shortly - touch wood!
toot your own horn
If youtoot your own horn,you like to boast about your abilities and achievements. Ben is very discreet about his success. He doesn’t go round tooting his own horn.
snail mail
This term refers to the standard system of mail delivery, or postal service, considered very slow compared to electronic mail. More and more people are using e-mail rather than the traditional postal service, snail mail.
think better of
If youthink better ofsomething, you decide not to do what you intended doing. I was going to go shopping, but when I saw the crowded car park, I thought better of it.
make a mint
If someonemakes a mint,they make a large amount of money. They made a mint selling hamburgers outside the football stadium.
