2010s (till 2020) Flashcards
Make for
Cause of
Yeoman’s service
Efficient or useful help in need
Discretion is the better part of valour
It is better to avoid a dangerous situation than to confront it
Out of the wood
Free from difficulties
Casting vote
The vote that gives one group a majority
Look Down on
Regard someone with a feeling of superiority
Iconoclast
A breaker or destroyer of images especially religious
Swan song
Final achievement or public appearance
To eat one’s words
To retract what one has said
Dog in the manger
Person who stops other people from enjoying what he cannot enjoy
A close shave
Narrow escape from danger
Freudian slip
Unintentionally error that seems to reveal subconscious feelings
A Gordian knot
An exceedingly complicated problem or deadlock
A cog in the machine
A small or insignificant member of a larger organisation or system
A wet blanket
A dull or depressing person who spoils other people’s enjoyment
Wool gathering
Dreamy or inattentive
Under the harrow
In distress, upset or troubled
Cold comfort
Poor consolation
A gold digger
A woman who associates with or marries a man chiefly for material gain
Walk with God
To live in obedience to God’s commands
On thin ice
In a risky situation
The milk of human kindness
Kind behaviour
A rule of thumb
A practical method of doing something
To wash one’s dirty linen in public
To discuss private affairs publicly
To pay through the nose
To pay too much money on something
To lose face
To look stupid
To bring grist to the mill
Something that is useful to someone for a particular purpose
To keep one’s fingers crossed
Hope that things will happen in a way you want them to
With your tongue in your cheek
Speaking or writing in an insincere way
A storm in a teacup
Great outrage or excitement about a trivial matter
To talk through one’s hat
Talk foolishly without understanding what you’re talking about
To let the grass grow under one’s feet
Waste time by delaying
Itching palm
Avaricious
The primrose path
An easy and pleasant life
Break one’s fall
Interrupt a tumble
Wash one’s hands of
Disclaim responsibility for
To become reconcile to
To accept or be resigned to something not desired
To militate against
To make it difficult for something to happen
Smash hit
A song, play, etc that is very popular
Murphy’s law
Humorous axiom stating that anything that can go wrong will go wrong
Place in the sun
A dominant or favourable position
Wooden spoon
An imaginary prize given to a person if they finish last in a competition
Go bananas
To become extremely angry or excited
Plough back
To put profits made back in the business
Eager beaver
A hardworking and eager person
Ring a bell
To arouse a response
Be left holding a baby
Be left with an unwelcome responsibility
Cap in hand
In a respectful, humble manner
Show and tell
Display or exhibit to public
Helter-skelter
In disorderly haste or confusion
To the death
Until death
Tilt at the windmills
Attacking imaginary enemies
Het up
Angry and agitated
The whole ball of wax
Everything
It’s about time
It should have occurred long ago
To cast pearls before swine
To present something of value to someone who can’t recognise it
To step into someone’s shoes
To take over a job or some role from someone
Stuff and nonsense
Rubbish, nonsense
A wild goose chase
The fruitless pursuit of something
To be ill at ease
Nervous and anxious
Sit on the fence
To not make a decision or take a side when presented with two or more options or possibilities
In a jiffy
In an instant
To preen oneself
To pride oneself on achievement, personal quality
To break the ice
To say or do something that relaxes everyone around
Nip in the bud
To stop something before it has an opportunity to become established
See eye to eye with
To agree with someone
For good
Permanently
Tamper with
To make changes to something without permission especially in order to damage it
The small hours
The early hours of morning
Keep up appearances
To hide the truth about a bad situation and pretend everything is alright
Prima Facie
Based on what seems to be the truth when seen first or heard
