2401-2600 Flashcards
back-room boys
This term refers to people who do important work but have no contact with the public. Back-room boys don’t always receive the credit they deserve for their work.
blue around the gills
If a person looksblue around gills, (orgreenorpale) they look unwell or sick. You should sit down. You look a bit blue around the gills.
pain in theneck
If you call someonea pain in the neck,you think they are very irritating or annoying. She’s a pain in the neck the way she keeps complaining!
happy as Larry
If you are (as)happy as Larry,you are very happy indeed. My dad’s as happy as Larry at the week-end when we all arrive home.
besideyourself
If you arebeside yourself(with an emotion), you lose your self-control because of the intensity of the emotion you are feeling. He was beside himself with grief when he lost his son.
acquired taste
Something that you dislike when you first taste it, but begin to like after trying it several times, isan acquired taste. Tony has always loved olives, but for me it was an acquired taste.
back to the wall
If you have yourback to the wall, you are in serious difficulty. With his back to the wall, the supplier had to accept the deal.
in cahoots
If one person isin cahootswith another, they are working in close partnership, usually conspiring to do something dishonest. There was a rumour that the mayor was in cahoots with a chain of supermarkets.
tell someone a thing or two
If youtell someone a thing or two,you express you thoughts (usually criticism) very clearly. ‘Let me tell you a thing or two about your son’s behaviour’ said John to the boy’s father.
foam at the mouth
Someone whofoams at the mouthis extremely angry about something. The director was foaming at the mouth when he saw a picture of his children in the newspaper.
stormy relationship
If you havea stormy relationshipwith someone, you have a lot of arguments and disagreements. After a very stormy relationship, they decided to separate.
hearton sleeve
If you wear your heart on your sleeve, you allow others to see your emotions or feelings. You could see she was hurt - she wears her heart on her sleeve.
smoke like a chimney
Someone who smokes a large amount of tobacco on a regular basis is said tosmoke like a chimney. My grandfather smoked like a chimney.
tickledpink
If you aretickled pink,you are very pleased about something. My dad was tickled pink when he was asked to announce the winner.
chase you (own) tail
Someone who ischasing their (own) tailis spending a lot of time and energy doing many things but achieving very little. He’s been chasing his tail all week collecting data but the report is still not ready.
not in the same league
If something isnot in the same league,it is of much lower standard than something else. He had a good voice but he wasn’t in the same league as Pavarotti.
head screwed on
Someone whohas their head screwedon is a sensible and realistic person. Don’t worry about him. He’s adventurous but he’s got his head screwed on.
disaster written all over
If something, such as a plan or idea, hasdisaster written all overit, it is thought to be heading for complete failure, or will cause a lot of trouble. Mary’s idea of a holiday with her in-laws has disaster written all over it!
tough cookie
A person who is atough cookieis one who is self-confident and ambitious and will do what is necessary to get what they want. I’m not worried about Jason’s future - he’s a tough cookie!
horse of a different colour
To describe a person or a problem asa horse of a different colourmeans either that the person does things differently from others, or that the nature of the problem is entirely different. I expected to negotiate with the sales manager, but the chairman turned up - now he’s a horse of a different colour!
paddle own canoe
If youpaddle your own canoe,you do what you want to do without help or interference from anyone. He decided to paddle his own canoe and set up his own business.
middle of nowhere
If a place isin the middle of nowhere, it is in a remote area, far from towns, villages or houses. The campsite was in the middle of nowhere so I couldn’t send you a postcard.
test the waters
If youtest the water(s), you try to find out how acceptable or successful something is before becoming involved in it. You should go to a gym class to test the water before enrolling.
fit to be tied
If you arefit to be tied, you areextremely irritated, upset or angry. Harry was fit to be tied when his dog dug up the flowers he had planted.
black sheep
Theblack sheepis one who behaves very differently or badly, and is considered disreputable by the other members of the family. Joe was the black sheep of the family, always getting into trouble.
under one’s belt
If you have somethingunder your belt,you have acquired experience or have satisfactorily achieved something. You’ve got to have some work experience under your belt before you can hope to get a permanent job.
proof of the pudding
This expression means that something new can only be judged after it has been tested. I’m going to try out my new DVD player. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, as we all know!
move the goalposts
During a course of action, if someonemoves the goalpoststhey change the rules or conditions. Our objectives have been set for next year. Let’s hope the boss doesn’t move the goalposts halfway through.
deck out
If youdeck outsomeone or something, you dress or decorate them in a special way. Paul decked out his car for the wedding.
scratch the surface
When you onlyscratch the surface of a problem or subject, you deal with only a small part of it. Some countries are only scratching the surface of their environment problems.
root and branch
If an action is performed thoroughly or completely, it is done’root and branch’. The causes of the disease must be eliminated root and branch.
memory/brain like a sieve
Someone who has amemory (orbrain) like a sievehas a very bad memory and forgets things easily. Oh, I forgot to buy the bread - I’ve got a brain like a sieve these days!
two peas in a pod
Two people who arelike two peas in a podare very similar in appearance. The two brothers are very alike - they’re like two peas in a pod!
politically correct
When people arepolitically correct,they carefully choose the language they use in order to avoid offending particular groups of people. Most people today make a conscious effort to be politically correct.
putwordsin someone’s mouth
If you claim that someone has said something, or suggest what they should say, you areputting words in their mouth. You’re putting words in my mouth. I didnotsay I saw Mr. Brown. I said I saw hiscar!
miss the point
If youmiss the pointyou fail to understand the essential part of what has been said. Sam missed the point. It’s not the job that’s the problem, it’s the amount of work it involves for one person.
never a dull moment
When there isnever a dull moment,something is always changing or happening. With four teenagers at home, there’s never a dull moment!
small fry
People or organisations that are considered unimportant can be referred to assmall fry. This term can also refer to young children. The police seized a large quantity of drugs, and some small fry, but not the organisers they were hoping to catch.
clear the way
If youclear the way,you allow something to happen by removing what was preventing it. Opening universities to women cleared the way fo them to have a career and participate actively in today’s society.
open doors to/for
If somethingopens doors, it provides opportunities or possibilities for the future. A degree from a top university generally opens doors to major companies.
throw pearls to pigs
This expression means that it is wasteful to offer something valuable or useful to someone who does not understand or appreciate it. She had a beautifully trained voice but the audience didn’t listen - talk about throwing pearls to pigs!
throw a wobbly/wobbler
When someone, usually a capricious person,throws a wobbly, they have a fit of nerves or bad temper and lose all self-control. He’s very calm - not the sort of man to throw a wobbly if he doesn’t have a clean shirt!
there for the taking
If something isthere for the taking,it is easy to obtain. When our main competitor went out of business, the market segment was there for the taking.
disappear into thin air
If someone or somethingdisappears into thin air, they vanish in a mysterious way. After being accused of embezzlement, the director disappeared into thin air.
neither fish nor fowl
People or things that are difficult to classify because they are neither one thing nor another are ‘neither fish nor fowl’. Interns are neither fish nor fowl. They are neither students nor fully qualified practitioners.
words fail me
This expression is often used when someone is so shocked, surprised or touched by something that they don’t know what to say. “What do you think of Bob’s attitude?” “Words fail me!”
count your blessings
If youcount your blessings, you focus your thoughts on all the good things in your life rather than on the negative ones. Whenever anyone in the family starts to complain, my mother always advises us to count our blessings.
live a lie
If you spend your life hiding something important about yourself, or inventing something which is not true, youlive a lie. To hide his humble origins, he told his wife he had no family and spent his life living a lie.
dyed-in-the-wool
This expression is used to describe a person who has fixed, uncompromising, deep-felt beliefs to which they are committed. Bob and Jane are dyed-in-the-wool ecologists who use only biodegradable products.
low-hanging fruit
To refer to something as alow-hanging fruitmeans that it is a target that can be easily reached, or a goal that can be accomplished with a minimum of effort. Teenagers are low-hanging fruit for fashionable mobile devices.
go with the flow
If yougo with the flow, you follow the general tendency and go along with whatever happens. When my colleagues organise an office party, I just go with the flow.
more than meetseye
This expression means that something is more complicated or more interesting than it first appears. They say it’s just a disagreement, but we think there’s more to it than meets the eye.
die with one’s boots on
A person whodies with their boots ondies while still leading an active life. He says he’ll never retire. He’d rather die with his boots on!
blue chip company
This term refers to a company with a solid reputation for the quality of its products and the stability of its growth and earnings. It’s usually safe to invest in a blue chip company.
on ashoestring
If you do somethingon a shoestring,you do it with very little money. When I was a student I lived on a shoestring.
read betweenlines
Toread between the linesmeans to understand the real meaning of what is written or said, without need for any further detail. Reading between the lines, I’d say that the situation is worse than expected.
below thebelt
An action or remark described asbelow the beltis considered to be unfair or cruel. Politicians sometimes use personal information to hit their rivals below the belt.
sound hollow
If an explanation, apology or promisesounds hollow,it seems false or insincere. I don’t think he’s sorry at all. His apology sounded hollow to me.
not for all theteain China
To say that you wouldnot do something for all the tea in Chinameans that you would not do it under any conditions. I wouldn’t live there for all the tea in China.
send about one’s business
If you tell someone, in an irritated or unfriendly way, to go away, yousend them about their business. An insurance company representative keeps calling on my mother, but I told her to send him about his business.
put the squeeze on
If youput the squeeze onsomeone, you put pressure on them to force them to do something. Bob was reluctant to work with Ben until the boss put the squeeze on him.
French leave
If you leave an official or social event without notifying the person who invited you, youtake French leave. Is Bill coming back for the closing speech or has he taken French leave?
pouroilon troubled waters
If a personpours oil on troubled waters,they do or say something to calm a tense situation. James is a good negotiator, and is always able to pour oil on troubled waters.
tried and tested
If a method has beentried and tested,it can be trusted because it has been used successfully in the past and is known to work. There’s no risk involved. The method has been tried and tested.
chickens come home to roost
If you say thatchickens have come home to roost, you mean that bad or embarrassing things done in the past by someone are now causing problems for that person. As tenants the couple were noisy and disorderly. Now they can’t find a place to rent. The chickens have come home to roost!
here today, gone tomorrow
This is said of something which appears and disappears very quickly, or does not last long, The shops in this area change very often - here today, gone tomorrow.
bold as brass
Someone who is as bold as brass behaves without shame or embarrassment. Bold as brass, he refused the gift and handed it back to his mother-in-law.
by degrees
If something happens or developsby degrees, it happens gradually or little by little as time goes by. By degrees their business relationship turned into friendship.
not up to scratch
Something which isnot up to scratchfails to reach the expected standard. The quality of the material is not up to scratch. We’ll have to change our suppliers.
in seventh heaven
If you arein seventh heaven,you are extremely happy. Every time she wins a match, she’s in seventh heaven!
dip toes in the water/ get one’s feet wet
If youdip your toes in the water, orget your feet wet, you start to do something new or unfamiliar, or explore new territory for the first time. It will be a new experience for me, but I can’t wait to get my feet wet!
swings and roundabouts
What you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts. This expression means that there are as many advantages as there are disadvantages, or what is lost in one area can be gained in another. The more you earn, the more tax you pay. It’s swings and roundabouts.
left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing
To say that’the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing’means that within a group or organisation, communication is so bad that one person doesn’t know what another person is doing.
cat can look at a king
This expression means that nobody is so important that an ordinary person cannot look at or be curious about them.
far cry from something
If one thing is afar cryfrom something else, they are very different from each other, especially in quality or size. My tiny apartment in New York was a far cry from my parents’ spacious house.
drag one’sfeet
If you say that a person isdragging their feet, you think they are unnecessarily delaying a decision which is important to you. The government is dragging it’s feet on measures to reduce pollution.
throw caution to the wind
If youthrow caution to the wind, you start taking risks and stop worrying about the danger involved. I decided to throw caution to the wind and invest in my best friend’s new company.
can’t make head or tail of
If youcan’t make head or tail ofsomething, you can’t understand it at all. Amy’s message was so confusing. I couldn’t make head or tail of it!
rest is history
This is a way of saying that there is need to finish a story because everyone knows what happened next. Facebook was launched in 2004, was initially restricted to students from Harvard, and the rest is history …
at stake
Someone who has a lotat stakeis in a risky situation, with a lot to be won or lost. He was nervous about signing the agreement because there was a lot at stake.
