Idioms Flashcards
No longer able to do something well because of age
To be over the hill
Be ungrateful
To bite the hand that feeds you
= pisar em ovos
To be skating on thin ice
= queimar o filme de alguém
To salt one’s game
Don’t talk about a bad situation that most people have forgotten about
Let sleeping dogs lie
A person who gets up or arrives early
An early bird
A person who prefers to be awake and active at night
A night owl
Completely unexpected
Out of the blue
Unusual
Once in a blue moon
Never
When pigs fly
Used for wishing someone good luck
Break a leg
When the person you were talking about appears unexpectedly
Speak of the devil
Tell a secret
Let the cat out of the bag
When you want to know what the other person is thinking, usually because they have been quiet for a while
A penny for your thoughts
Trying to do something in a way that will not work
Barking up the wrong tree
Very expensive
It costs an arm and a leg
Succeed in achieving two things in a single action
To kill two birds with one stone
When you feel ill
To feel under the weather
To do something in the easiest, cheapest or fastest way
To cut corners
To make an argument or bad situation worse
Add fuel to the fire
Agree with each othee
See eye to eye
A situation in which you can enjoy the advantages of two very different things at the same time
The best of both worlds
Show that you cannot know what something or someone is like by looking only at their appearance
Can’t judge a book by it’s cover
Describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem
Hit the nail on the head
Really easy
Piece of cake / A walk in the park
A misfortune that eventually results in something good happening later on
A blessing in disguise
Stop working on something
To call it a day
To allow someone, who have been caught, to not be punished
Let someone of the hook
You have to work hard for something you want
No pain no gain
Decide to do something unpleasant that tou have been avoiding doing
Bite the bullet
Being treated the same unpleasant way you have treated others
Getting a taste of your own medicine
To ignore someone
Giving someone the cold shoulder
The final source of irritation for someone to finally lose patience
The last straw
Matter or problem that is obvious of great importance but that is not discussed openly
The elephant in the room
Taking credit for someone else’s achievements
Stealing someone’s thunder
Is only attracted to
Only has eyes for
Loves very much
Loves to bits
Fell deeply in love
Fell head over heels
Get on very well
Get on like a house on fire
To be fond of
To have a soft spot
Annoys me (4)
Gets up my nose / Gets on my wick / Gets on my nerves / Gets my back up
To be an expert in it’s field
Knows their stuff
The most intelligent person somewhere
The brains behind…
A rich source of information
A mine of information
Intelligence, brains
Grey matter
Is very clever
Nobody’s fool
Have no idea
Haven’t a clue/the foggiest (idea)
Talks well and persuasively
Has the gift of the gab
Able to talk for hours
Can talk the hind legs off a donkey
Someone who shows off their cleverness in an irritating way
Know-all / Smart aleck
Extremely stupid (2)
Has got nothing between the ears / To be as thick as two short planks
When you have to explain things to the person several times
To be slow on the uptake
Deceive someone
Pull the wool over someone’s eyes
Can’t understand
Can’t make head or tail of
Stupid
To be one sandwich short of a picnic / One cell short of a battery / One slice short of a loaf / Several bricks short of a load
To be extremely happy (4)
To be on top of the world / To be on cloud nine / To be in seventh heaven / Over the moon
To be ideally suited for (2)
To be in (your) element / To be made for
To be enthusiastic about
To rave about
To look irritatingly pleased with yourself
To look like the cat that got the cream
To be depressed (2)
To be down in the dumps / Down in the mouth
To be lost in a daydream
To be in a world of her own
A good person with an abrupt manner
Rough diamond
Always says exactly what they thinks without trying to be diplomatic
Never minces their words
Behaves in a way that does not help itself
To be your own worst enemy
Is not influenced by other
Is very much it’s own person
Can easily be persuaded
To have a soft touch
Someone who hides their skills
A dark horse
Gain a full understanding of
Get the measure of
Very miserable
As miserable as sin
