BBC Phrases Flashcards
A whole new ball game
is a situation which is different from anything that has happened before.
*I thought I was good at speaking English in terms of day-to-day conversation. But working as a professional translator is a whole new ball game; I have to be much more accurate.
Tom says working as a manager for the first time is a whole new ball game.
I used to go jogging every weekend, but running marathons is a whole new ball game.*
Pumped up
If you are ‘pumped up’, you are excited and full of confidence.
For example:
- The atmosphere when you walk into the Olympic Stadium, it’s like drinking 10 cups of coffee, it pumps you up so much.*
- England were so pumped up before the game they destroyed the opposition before the whistle was even blown.*
- I’m feeling pumped up before this interview. I just know I’m going to get the job.*
New Year’s resolution
A New Year’s resolution is a goal made on 1st January, which a person aims to complete within that year.
Examples
Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? I want to lose weight and get fit.
My mum’s New Year’s resolution is to stop smoking.
Let’s make it our New Year’s resolution to run a marathon in 2013!
If you break your resolution, you are unsuccessful at completing it.
I don’t bother making New Year’s resolutions, as I always break them.
You scratch my back
The phrase ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’ means ‘if you do something for me, I’ll do something for you’; especially if it is something you would not have been able to do for yourself.
For example:
You know, I think we can help each other out here. I’ll lend you my car on Friday if you let me borrow your camera for the wedding. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.
If you could come and fix my radiators that would be really helpful. I’ll do that translation exercise for you if you like. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.
until you are blue in the face
If you do something ‘until you are blue in the face’, it means you work very hard on it or do it for a long time, but in the end waste your efforts because you are not successful.
Examples:
Martin argued with his mother until he was blue in the face, but she still made him wash the dishes.
You can walk up and down the high street until you are blue in the face, but you won’t find a shop selling leather shoes as cool or as cheap as these!
once in a blue moon
If something happens ‘once in a blue moon’ it happens very rarely.
Example:
I only eat red meat once in a blue moon these days. You never know what’s in your burgers, especially after the horsemeat scandal.
To set the wheels in motion
If you set the wheels in motion, you do something which will cause a series of actions to start.
Examples:
Victoria dreamed of becoming an Olympic cycling champion. She set the wheels in motion by buying a racing bike.
Neil decided to move to the country. He set the wheels in motion by calling an estate agent.
oil the wheels
If you oil the wheels you do something that will make it easier for something else to happen.
Example:
John offered his expertise, which helped oil the wheels on the big building project.
A crowd pleaser
is someone or something that is always popular with large numbers of people.
Examples:
That kiss between Prince William and Princess Catherine was a real crowd pleaser.
The appearance of Madonna at the music festival was a crowd pleaser.
the in-crowd
If someone is described as being part of the in-crowd, they belong to a fashionable, popular or privileged group of people.
Example:
Jane was keen to be part of the in-crowd so she bought the latest designer clothes.
a fish out of water
When someone is described as ‘a fish out of water’ it means they are not comfortable in a particular situation.
Examples:
After working in a small company most of my life, I was a fish out of water in a big corporation.
Mary used to play the guitar to entertain the neighbours but she was a fish out of water in a professional band.
fish for compliments
If you ‘fish for compliments’, you try to make someone praise you, often by criticising yourself.
Example:
Mary – I’m such a bad cook!
Joan – No, don’t be silly. You cooked a lovely dinner for us last night.
Jack – Don’t pay any attention to her, Joan, she is just fishing for compliments.
