engxam.com_ CPE Useful Idioms & Phrases_ Flashcards
a bear with a sore head
irritated/bad mood
a bit of a dark horse
person with hidden abilities
a bitter pill to swallow
a difficult fact to accept
a different kettle of fish
a totally different sitation from the one just mentioned
a dog’s life
a difficult, hard life
a fish out of water
sb who feels uncomfortable
a long shot
a wild guess/ a risk
a memory like a sieve
a poor memory
a night owl
person who enjoys staying up late
a pain in the neck
annoying person/thing
a piece of cake
sth very easy to do
a red rag to a bull
action, comment, etc. liable to provoke sb
a red-letter day
a very important day
a sitting duck
an easy target
a storm in a teacup
a lot of fuss about sth that is not important
a wild-goose chase
a hopeless search
above board
honest
Achilles heel
weakest point of sb’s character
against all odds
despite the difficulties
agree to disagree
stop arguing because there is no chance of agreement
all along
from the beginning until now
all but
nearly, almost
all in
exhausted
all in all
when everything is considered
all the same
yet, however
all told
altogether; in total
an old wives’ tale
false belief
an unknown quantity
person or thing that one has no experience of
as a last resort
when all else has failed
as the crow flies
in a direct line/ by a direct route
at close quarters
from a short distance
at large
free, not caught
at the cutting edge
at the forefront of
bark up the wrong tree
have a false idea about sth
be ahead of one’s time
have modern ideas
be all at sea
be in a state of confusion
be all fingers and thumbs
be awkward, clumsy
be all very well
appear satisfactory but in fact not be
be as busy as a bee
very busy
be as thick as a brick
be stupid
be beside oneself with anger
to be extremely angry
be born yesterday
be easily deceived/ naive
be broke
have no/very little money
be caught red-handed
be caught while committing a crime
be dying for sth
really want sth
be fit for
be good enough for
be for the high jump
about to be punished
be full of beans
be very lively
be green
be inexperienced
be in a quandary
be confused; undecided
be in sb’s black books
out of favour
be in sb’s shoes
be in sb’s position
be in the dark about sth
be unaware of sth
be in the doghouse
be out of favour, in trouble
be in the know
be well-informed
be in the same boat
be in the same (usually bad) situation
be in two minds about sth
not be able to decide what to do
be on the cards
be likely to happen
be on the defensive
protect oneself because one feels insecure or threatened
be on the up and up
improve steadily
be out of practice
lacking practice
be over the moon
be elated
be second to none
be the best
be sound asleep
sleep deeply
be the apple of sb’s eye
be very precious to sb; be sb’s favourite
be the perfect image of sb
look exactly like sb
be the splitting image of sb
look exactly like sb
be thrown off balance
be surprised
be tickled pink
be really pleased
be up and about
have recovered from an illness
be up in arms
be very angry
be worn out
be very tired
be/get soaked to the skin
be/get very wet
be/have a close shave
barely avoid an accident/ a bad situation
bear fruit
be successful
beat about/around the bush
avoid saying what one means directly
beat sb black and blue
hit sb repeatedly until bruised
before one can say Jack Robinson
extremely quickly
beg the question
makes people want to ask a particular question
behind bars
in prison
behind the scenes
in secret
below the belt
cruel and unfair
bide one’s time
wait for a good opportunity
big cheese
person with important job/position
big-headed
conceited; boastful
bite off more than sb can chew
try to do sth which is too difficult
black and blue all over
covered with bruises
black tie
formal clothing
blaze a trail
discover sth new
blessing in disguise
sth which appears bad at first but then turns out favourably
blow a fuse
become very angry
blue-eyed boy
a favoured person
bolt from the blue
suddenly
brainwave
sudden clear idea/thought
break even
show neither loss nor profit
break the ice
ease the tensione when one first meets people
bring sth home to sb
make sb understand how important or serious sth is
bring to one’s knees
destroy, humble
browned off
fed up; bored
bury one’s head in the sand
avoid or ignore reality/responsibility
butter sb up
flatter sb
by and large
generally speaking
by definition
having a quality simply because of what it is
by force of habit
used to doing sth without thinking
by trial and error
learning from one’s mistakes
call it quits
give up/stop
call sb names
insult sb
cast aspersions
criticise
catch sb red-handed
be caught while committing a crime
chair a meeting
preside over a meeting
chip off the old block
sb who is very like one of his parents
chop and change
keep changing (your mind)
claim to fame
thing which makes sb unusual
clear the air
remove suspicion/bad feeling
come clean
admit the truth
come out of one’s shell
gain personal confidence
come to a head
reach a critical point
come to a standstill
not progress/stop
come to terms with
accept a difficult situation
come to the fore
become important or popular
come to the point
reach the main point in a discussion
cook one’s goose
end one’s plans abruptly
cost a bomb
very expensive
cost an arm and a leg
be very expensive
cramp one’s style
restrict one’s behaviour in some way
crocodile tears
false tears
cross one’s mind
think of sth
cry over spilt milk
grieve over sth that can’t be put right
cut corners
be less thorough
cut sb dead
ignore sb
cut sb to the quick
deeply hurt sb’s feelings
cut to the bone
reduced to the minimum
deal a blow to
damage one’s hopes
different as chalk and cheese
totally different
does it show?
is it obvious?
dog eat dog
ruthless competition, rivalry
dog-eared
(of books) with the corners bent and turned down through use
don’t give up your day job
continue to do sth you know rather than trying sth new
don’t hold your breath
don’t wait for sb/sth anxiously
donkey work
boring, monotonous work
donkey’s years
a long time
down in the dumps
depressed/miserable
down the drain
wasted; lost
drive a hard bargain
be a tough businessman
drive sb up the wall
make sb angry/annoy sb
drop a brick
say sth tactlessly
drop sb a line
send sb a letter
ease off
reduce in degree, speed or intensity
eat one’s heart out
feel jealous/ sad about sth
every nook and cranny
everywhere
face the music
be criticised or punished for sth you have done
fair and square
within the rules
fall head over heels
fall in love quickly
fall into place
become clear
feel down in the mouth
feel discouraged/depressed
feel in one’s bones
feeling sth instinctively
feel one’s ears burning
have a feeling that sb is talking about you
few and far between
scarce/rare
fight like cat and dog
disagree violently
fine kettle of fish
confused state of affairs
flat broke
penniless
flog a dead horse
waste time doing sth useless
fly off the handle
quickly become very angry
fly on the wall
see/hear sth in a situation which does not involve you
for all
in spite of
for all I care
I don’t care
for all I know
as far as I know
for donkey’s years
for a very long time
for the time being
temporarily
frosty welcome
unfriendly reception
gatecrasher
sb attending a party without an invitation
get a bit hot under the collar
get angry, upset or embarassed
get a move on
hurry up
get a problem off one’s chest
tell sb else about your problem
get cold feet
lose courage to do sth
get cold feet
be nervous or frightened because sth might fail
get nowhere fast
make no progress
get off on the wrong foot
argue or disagree at the beginning of a relationship
get on one’s nerves
irritate/annoy sb
get out of bed on the wrong side
be in a bad mood
get out of hand
become out of control
get rid of sth
give sth unwanted away
get the hang of it
get in the habit of doing sth
get the sack
be dismissed from one’s job
get the wrong end of the stick
misunderstand completely what has been said
