Body -Idioms Flashcards
‘face the music
meet, stand up to unpleasant ‘ conseqences, for example criticism or punishment
I stayed out all night. When I eventually got home I had toface the musicfrom my wife.
have one’s head in the clouds
be unaware or unrealistic about something
Amyhas her head in the cloudsif she thinks she’s going to pass her exams without studying.
head over heels
deeply in love
To be in over one’s head
taking on a task that you can’t handle
I wasin over my headwhen I agreed to babysit the triplets and the dogs.
let one’s hair down
relax, have fun
Go to the cottage andlet your hair downthis weekend.
pat on the back
recognition or a thank-you
The party organizers deserve apat on the backfor a job well done.
pull one’s leg
joke or tease someone
rule of thumb
basic rule (not always followed)
Therule of thumbis that the students wear black pants and white shirts.
see eye to eye
agree
(by the) skin of one’s teeth
just barely
I passed my examby the skin of my teeth.
thick in the head
not very intelligent
I’m a bitthick in the headwhen it comes to reading a map.
black and blue
bruised and beaten
We found the poor guyblack and bluenear the train tracks.
black and white
straight forward, very clear
The rules we gave the kids wereblack and white. No answering the phone or the door.
red eye
an airplane flight that takes off after midnight
I caught thered eyeso that I would see the sunrise over the mountains.
Rose coloured glasses
unrealistic view
see red
be very angry
Isaw redwhen that guy grabbed my sister’s purse.
tickled pink
very pleased and appreciative
My mom wastickled pinkwhen my father brought roses home for her.
with flying colours
with distinction
I passed my road test withflying colours.
Eyes are bigger than one’s stomach
หิวตาโต Take more food than you can eat
at the drop of a hat
without needing any advance notice
My Grandma will babysit for anyoneat the drop of a hat.
(have a) bee in one’s bonnet
something that is annoying someone
Milan has had abee in his bonnetall day, but he won’t tell me what’s wrong.
below the belt
beyond what is fair or socially acceptable
His comment about Manfred’s handicap wasbelow the belt.
bursting at the seams
not fitting anymore
I ate too much. I’mbursting at the seamsin these jeans.
caught with one’s pants down
To be caught in an embarrassin or guilty or to be exposed in a vulnerable or unprepared state
My studentscaught me with my pants downon Monday. I forgot about the field trip.
(have a) card up one’s sleeve
have a secret or reserve plan
I think Josh has acard up his sleevecause he wants me to wear a dress to the fast-food restaurant.
buckle down
work extra hard
It’s almost exam time, so I need tobuckle downthis weekend.
burn a hole in one’s pocket
money that one is tempted to spend
Let’s go to the mall after school. There’s a hundred dollar billburning a hole in my pocket.
‘dress to kill, dress to the nines
dress in nice or sexy clothes
fit like a glove
fit perfectly (tight to one’s body)
fine-tooth comb
in great detail, extremely carefully
The police looked for fingerprints with afine-tooth comb.
fly by the seat of one’s pants v.
do by instinct, not by plan
handle with kid gloves
treat delicately
Pleasehandlemy grandmother’s tea set withkid gloves.
hand-me-down
Adj
hand-me-down
hat trick
three goals scored by one person
The fans cheered when the hockey player got ahat trick.
in one’s birthday suit
in one’s birthday suit
The swimmers in the lake werein their birthday suits.
keep one’s shirt on
Don’t be panic.
Calm down
I know you’re in a hurry, but pleasekeep your shirt on.
keep something zipped
keep something a secret
We know we’re having a boy, but we’rekeeping it zippedfrom the grandparents.
off the cuff
said without planning
I didn’t have a speech prepared. Everything I said wasoff the cuff.
pull up one’s socks
try harder
Marco will have topull up his socksif he wants to make the football team.
put a sock in it
stop talking
Put a sock in it! I’m trying to tell a story.
put one’s thinking cap on
think hard in order to solve a problem
I can’t remember where the Christmas decorations are. I’ll have toput my thinking cap on.
put oneself in someone else’s shoes
imagine what it would be like to be in someone else’s situation
ride one’s coattails
let someone else do all of the work
It was a group project, but everyonerode Andrew’s coattails.
roll up one’s sleeves
get down to hard work
The celebritiesrolled up their sleevesand washed cars for charity.
take one’s hat off to someone
.
recognize or honour someone for something
Itake my hat off to Jim. The doctors said he’d never walk, and he just ran a marathon.
wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve
display emotions openly
My Dad’s not afraid to cry. He alwayswears his heart on his sleeve.
wear the trousers
be in charge, make the rules
By the looks of things, the kidswear the trousersin this household.
Tear one’s hair out
to be very worried or upset about something
