1990s Flashcards
White elephant
A thing that is useless and no longer needed although it may have cost a lot of money
Blue blood
From a royal or noble family
The Augean stable
Used metaphorically to describe a situation where a large amount of corruption has to be cleaned away
Apple of discord
Anything causing trouble, discord or jealousy
In good books
Used to say that somebody is pleased with you
Between the devil and deep blue sea
To have two choices that are both equally unpleasant
Stare in the face / look in the face
Be evident
Make off
To steal something and hurry away with it
Sword of Damocles
Imminent danger
Every inch
Completely, wholly
To call a spade a spade
To say exactly what you think without trying to hide your opinion
On the sly
Done secretly, especially because you know you should not be doing it
Palm off
Pass off by deception, substitute with intent to deceive
Lip service
Proffered but not performed
Turncoat
A person who leaves political party to join that has very different views
A wild goose chase
A search for something that is impossible for you to find
Between the devil and the deep blue sea
To have two choices that are equally unpleasant or not convenient
A wild goose chase
A search for something that is impossible for you to find
Head and ears
Deeply, completely
Time and ride
One must not procrastinate or delay
To live from hand to mouth
With only the bare essentials, existing precariously
To beat about the bush
To talk about something for a long time without coming to the main point
To Fish in troubled waters
Try to take advantage of a confused situation
A bird’s eye view
A view of something from a high position looking down
Play truant
To stay away from school without permission
Play down
Make little of, minimise
Turn turtle
Capsize, turn upside down
Turned the corner
Pass a milestone or a critical point, begin to improve
A fair-weather friend
Not good in crisis
To be under a cloud
If somebody is under a cloud, other people think that they have done something wrong and are suspicious of them
Burn one’s boats / burn one’s bridges
Commit oneself to an irreversible course
Horse trading
Bargaining
Between Scylla and Charybdis
In a position where avoidance of one danger exposes one to another danger
Hobson’s Choice
An apparently free choice that actually offers no alternative
Sting in the tail
An unpleasant feature that comes at the end and spoils the story
With open arms
Enthusiastically, warmly
Wash one’s hand of
Refuse to be responsible for
Count one’s chickens
Be over-optimistic
To burn the midnight oil
To study or work until late at night
Bear out
To show that somebody is right
Witnesses will bear out what I say.
Back out / back out of something
To decide that you are no longer going to take part in something that has been agreed
Carry over
To keep something, usually merchandise, for a subsequent period
Come off
Happen, occur
Fall back
Give ground, retreat
Figure out
Discover, determine
Learn to live with
To accept a new but unpleasant situation that you cannot change
Set in
To fasten
Cover up
Wrap up and enfold in order to protect
Iron out
Get rid of problems or difficulties
To beat the air / beat the wind
Continue to make futile attempts, fight to no purpose
To beggar continue
To be too extreme, shocking to believe or describe
To bring to mind
Cause to be remembered
To call into question
Dispute, challenge, also cast doubt on
To cap it all / cap it all off
As the final unformatted incident in a long series
Clip the wings of
Prevent someone from acting freely
To cross the rubicon
Irrevocable commit to a course of action, make fateful and final decision
To the feel the pulse
Try to determine the intentions or sentiments of a person or group
To fly in the face of
Act in direct opposition to or in defiance of
To rise like a phoenix from its ashes
Emerge renewed after apparent disaster or destruction
The last ditch
A desperate final attempt
A square meal
A substantial and balanced meal
Go public
To tell people about something that is a secret
Run riot
Behave in a frenzied, out of control or unrestrained manner
The backroom boys
People who do important work for a person or an organizations but are not well known themselves
Foot the bill
The person who foots the bill pays for everybody
Set the pace
Establish a standard for others to follow
At times
Occasionally sometimes
Steal the show/ spotlight
Be the Center of attention
Grey matter
Intelligence
A jaundiced eye
Affected by bitterness, resentment or envy
A left handed compliment / backhanded compliment
An insult in the guise of praise
The ruling passion
An interest or concern that occupies a large part of someone’s time and effort
Tower of strength
Someone who can be relied on to provide support and comfort
Steal a march on someone
To gain an advantage over someone by doing something before them
In one’s bones
Felt, believed, known deeply about something
Hang in the balance
Uncertain
A fly in the ointment
A drawback or detrimental factor
Close-fisted
Stingy or unwilling to part with money
