Idiomatic Expressions Flashcards
About to
Almost ready to
Add up
Make sense; be logical
All at once
Suddenly; without warning
As a rule
Generally; customarily
At ease
Not nervous; calm
At the drop of a hat
Quickly; without any preparation time
Back out (of)
Withdraw (an offer)
Bank on
Depend on; count on
Be my guest
Do what you want; feel free; help yourself
Be rusty
Need practice or review
Beats me
I don’t know; I have no idea ( often used in response to a question)
Better of
An improved condition
Bite off more than one can chew
Take on more responsibility than one can handle
Bound to
Certain to; sure to
Break down
Stop functioning (a machine, for example)
Break in (on someone)
Interrupt
Break the ice
Break through social barriers (as at a party)
Break the news (to someone)
Inform; give bad news
Break up
End ( a meeting for example)
A breeze
Something very simple and easy to do
Bring about
Cause to happen
Brush up on
Review; study; practice
Bump into
Meet unexpectedly; run into
By and large
Mostly; generally; on the whole
By heart
By memory; learned word for word
By no means
In no way
Call it a day
Stop working for the day; go home
Call off
Cancel
Call on
Visit
Calm down
Relax
Care for
Take care of; like; feel affection for
Catch on
Become popular
Catch on (to)
Understand, learn
Catch up (with)
Go as fast as; catch
Check in (or into)
Register (at a hotel)
Check out (of)
Leave (a hotel); take material (from a library)
Cheer up
Become cheerful; be happy
Chip in (on/for)
Contribute
Clear up
Clarify; make understandable; become nice and sunny ( used to talk about the weather)
Come across
Find; meet encounter
Come around
Begin to change one’s opinion; begin to agree with
Come down with
Become sick with ( an illness)
Come up with
Think of ( an idea)
Cost an arm and a leg
Be very expensive
Count on
Depend on; rely on
Count out
Eliminate; no longer consider as a factor
Cut off
Stop; discontinue ( a service)
Cut out for
Have an aptitude for; qualified for
Day in and day out
Constantly, for a long time
Die down
Become less severe; quiet down
Do over
Do again; repeat
Do without
Not have
Down the drain
Wasted, done for no reason (work)
Dream up
Invent, think of; come up with
Drop in (on)
Visit informally
Drop (someone) a line
Send someone a letter
Drop off
Leave something (a package), take (someone) home; let someone out of a car
Drop out (of)
Stop attending (classes)
Dwell on
Focus on; think about too much
Easy as pie
Very simple
Eyes bigger than one’s stomach
Pole who take more food than they can eat
Fall behind
Not move as quickly as; lag behind
Fall through
Fall to happen
A far cry from
Not similar to; not as good as
Fed up (with)
Not able to tolerate; disgusted with; annoyed by
Feel free
Do something if one wants
Feel like
Be inclined to
Feel like a million dollars
Feel very good
Few and far between
Uncommon and infrequent
Figure out
Understand; solve
