American Idioms 1, A Flashcards
A bit much
More than is reasonable; a bit too much
A dead heat
A dead heat is when there is no single
“The horse race finished in a dead heat.”
A dog in the manger
A person who selfishly prevent others from using, enjoying
A drag
A person, thing, or task that is tedious or boring
“I don’t know who invited this guy to the party. He is a such a drag!”
A little leery
Cautious, wary, or uncertain of a given person, place, or thing
“To be honest, I’m a little leery of signing up for this deal; it sounds too good to be true”.
A living hell
An extremely unpleasant situation
“She described her marriage to her alcoholic husband as a living hell”.
A load of nonsense
Exaggerated, foolish, or untruthful talk;
“Personally, I think the notion of “love at first sight” is a load of nonsense”.
A million and one
Very many
A notch above
Superior to; higher in quality
A plum job
An easy and pleasant job that also pays well
A stitch in time saves nine
Fix something quickly, because if you don’t, it will just get more difficult to fix
A stone’s throw
A very short distance
A storm in a teacup
Unnecessary anger or worry about an unimportant or trivial matter
A streak of bad luck
A period of continuous misfortune;
She broke up with him? Wow, the poor guy’s streak of bad luck continues”.
A tad bit
A small portion, degree, or amount
“I’m afraid I’ve caught a tad bit of a cold”.
A trip down memory lane
Something that causes nostalgia, a nostalgic episode
Ace boom-boom
One’s close friend
“Oh, I’m sure he invited Dave—that’s his ace boom-boom”.
Ace out
1-to have good fortune 2-To narrowly escape a bad situation; 3-to outmaneuver or outperform someone, often resulting in victory
1-“I aced out at work today when the boss did not assign me that big project” 2-“Jack hit the gas at the right moment and aced out of a car accident” 3-“I’ve been training really hard this year so that I don’t get aced out in the finals again”.
Achilles’ heel
A small but fatal weakness in spite of overall strength
Acknowledge (the) receipt of (something)
To recognize, often formally, that something has been received, usually an item that has been delivered
“Did you get a notification acknowledging receipt of your package?”
Acknowledge the corn
Admit to a mistake, especially a small one; point out one’s own shortcomings, or another’s
Acquaint (one) with (something)
To help one become familiar or comfortable with something
“You’ll need to acquaint me with the rules of their culture”.
Acquired taste
Something one learns to appreciate only after trying it repeatedly
Act high and mighty
Be arrogant, presume that one is better than others
Act of congress
Hard to get, said of authorization
Act one’s age
To be mature, not childish
All eyes on me
When everyone is paying attention to someone, all eyes are on them
“All eyes are on the Germany team after their disappointing recent results”.
All Greek to me
When something is too difficult or confusing to understand, it’s all Greek to you
“I didn’t understand today’s lecture, it was all Greek to me”.
All hell broke loose
When all hell breaks loose, a situation suddenly becomes noisy and violent
“All hell broke loose at the party when James pushed Dan to the floor”.
All in a day’s work
When something is unusual for other people but not unusual for you, it’s all in a day’s work
“Being cold and wet is all in a day’s work for British fishermen”.
All in the same boat
When you are in the same unpleasant situation as everyone, you are all in the same boat
“There’s no use complaining to me about having to work on Saturday, we’re all in the same boat”
All in your head
When you imagine something that is not real
“They were not gossiping about you, it’s all in your head”.
All or nothing
When something is all or nothing, you either do it completely or not all
“As Jenny stood on the top of the diving board she knew it was all or nothing. She could either jump off or climb back down”.
All out!
When you do something all out, you do it with every possible effort
“We had to work all out to make sure we met our deadline”.
All over the shop
When something is badly organized or scattered in many different places, it is all over the shop
“My brother’s room is a mess. His clothes are all over the shop”.
Any minute now
Very soon
Any way you slice it
From whatever perspective, no matter how you
At the eleventh hour
At the last possible moment or opportunity.
A fool and his money are easily parted
Fools spend money easily
A leopard can’t change his spots
It’s very difficult for a person to change his/her manners, character, way of thinking
A slap on the wrist
A light punishment
A whole new ball game
A significant change in circumstances
As thick as thieves
A very secretive and close relationship between people
As bold as brass
Daring, brave, bold or overconfident
A bit too much
Behave in an unfair manner
Apple pie order
Neat and tidy in the arrangement
Aftermath
The effects of something traumatic
A voice crying in the wilderness
To say something that is not popular
Against the grain
A difficult path to be followed
A burnt child dreads the fire
Everyone avoids repeating a hurting experience again in life
As different as chalk and cheese
For two things to be completely different from each other
A trip to the sun
Something which is very unlikely
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
To miss and love someone more when they are not around
All good things must come to an end
Everything that is deemed nice, ends
