Idioms Flashcards
puoi dirlo forte
you can say that again
per il rotto della cuffia
by the skin of his teeth
I learn new things every day
live and learn
Not hold someone responsible
let someone off the hook
a good thing that seemed bad at first
A blessing in disguise
Avoid saying what you mean, usually because it is uncomfortable
Beat around the bush
To get something over with because it is inevitable
Bite the bullet
Stop working on something
Call it a day
St (I.e. a situation) goes out of control
Get out of hand
It’s not complicated
It’s not rocket science
Tell something briefly
Make a long story short
The person we were just talking about showed up!
Speak of the devil
Make a problem worse
To make matters worse
to be Sick
Under the weather
Let’s not talk about that problem right now
We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it
I totally agree
You can say that again
I have no idea
Your guess is as good as mine
following the rules
by the book
going to bed
Hit the sack
suddenly quit or stop a (usually dangerous) behavior
(go) cold turkey
something that you may have heard before, but don’t remember entirely
rings a bell
no longer worrying about st
get over it
pay a lot of money for something
Pay an arm and a leg for something
When everyone pays for their own meal at a restaurant
to go Dutch
making enough money to cover the necessities
to make ends meet
a general unwritten rule
rule of thumb
encouraging you to stay positive
keep your chin up
a task or job that’s easy to complete or accomplish
a piece of cake
someone who spends a lot of time sitting on the couch watching TV
couch potato
to make an income or earn a living to support your family
Bread winner
an activity I have no interest in, don’t enjoy or don’t do well in
not my cup of tea
eat very little
eat like a bird.
to please or flatter someone in order to win his or her favor
butter someone up
something that’s worth thinking carefully about
Food for thought
to accidentally or prematurely give out information that’s supposed to be kept secret
spill the beans
someone who creates problems or is a bad influence on the other people in a group
a bad apple
to like eating cakes, candy and other sweet-tasting food
to have a sweet tooth
something happens very rarely
once in a blue moon
is the little bit of good that can be found in every situation
Every cloud has a silver lining
To just allow things to happen and accept them how they are
go with the flow
to be very happy (4 ways)
in seventh heaven
walking on air
Over the moon
on cloud nine
to be modest, practical, unassuming and unpretentious
down to earth
there’s a lot more going on than what’s immediately obvious
the tip of the iceberg
trying to avoid a particular situation by pretending that it doesn’t exist
bury your head in the sand
allowing a situation to become calm after something exciting or unusual has happened
let the dust settle
something is not clear at all
clear as mud
someone unemotional
as cold as stone
you are faced with a choice between two unsatisfactory options
between a rock and a hard place
to stop a bad situation from becoming worse by taking action at an early stage of its development
Nip something in the bud
Tagliare qualcosa al germogliare
to be in a situation that is still difficult but it has improved or gotten easier
to be out of the woods
to put yourself in unnecessary danger
Treading on thin ice
makes something big/ bad out of nothing
exaggerate a trivial problem
To make a mountain out of a molehill
a task is easy and will be successful
Bob’s your uncle
Fanny is your aunt
to have issues (with s.o.)
what’s his problem?
to have beef (with s.o.)
what’s his beef?
In the future (I want to be/do)
Down the road…
Rimuginare, pensare a lungo
Mull over st
I’ve been mulling over…
Affrontare (=face)
Run up against st (es some difficulties in terms of education)
Migliorare le proprie capacità
Upskill
Ripassare e Migliorare (su qualcosa) es una materia/lingua
Brush up on (my skills)
Grazie a
Due to the blessing = the help (of technology
Moving around, traveling
Get about
I get about England/London 
reliable, trustworthy
(s)he is a safe pair of hands
(s)he is very rich
(s)he has money coming out of their ears
someone suddenly understood or realized something
the penny just dropped
up to the required standard; satisfactory
up to scratch
To finish a contest or competition in last place
win the wooden spoon
start to understand and seriously deal with st (a problem)
Get to grips with
do not believe that it is completely accurate or true
to take something with a pinch of salt
to see only the pleasant things about a person/situation and not notice the things that are unpleasant
look at/see so/st through rose-coloured/rose-tinted spectacles
someone or something that is attractive but not very interesting or useful
eye candy
In a direct or straight line, without any turns
as the crow flies
A bruciapelo
All’improvviso
Point-blank
Out of the blue
A particular area/country
I didn’t know you lived in this…
Neck of the woods
to tell someone something that you know is completely false
lie through your teeth
when you recognize that you must accept an offer or a situation because it is the only one available to you
Beggars can’t be choosers
Certainly
to tell someone that you are very willing to allow them to do something.
By all means
Stop trying to do something because you think that you cannot succeed
Throw in the towel
Con il senno di poi
in hindsight,
with hindsight,
with the benefit of hindsight
Used to exhort someone to endure some difficulty, hardship, or stress, especially without complaining. (Is it vulgar?)
Suck it up, buttercup
To have an outburst of childish or unreasonable anger, frustration, or ill temper
throw a (temper) tantrum (about st)
A rhetorical question in response to a question to which the answer is an emphatic yes. (3 phrases)
Is the pope a catholic?
Does the pope wear a funny hat?
Does a bear shit in the woods?
I’m really tired
My eyes are like piss in the snow
Two things/persons that look very similar
Two peas in a pod
Deep and meaningful chat
(Sarcastic) a fight
Heart to heart
I slept very well
I slept like a log
He Drives me nuts/ crazy
He Drives me up the wall
as likely to be unsuccessful as successful
Hit or miss
A good person, someone to be trusted; a friend
A good egg
We are being efficient. We are working really well. 
We are cooking on gas
An unexpected negative change the very last moment
Someone moved the goal post
make a special effort to do something
go out of one’s way
avoid contact with others.
Keep to yourself
to have a drink
wet one’s whistle
A rash that you get when you smoke 
Nicci rush
talk boastfully about one’s achievements.
Blow one’s own trumpet
to do or say something that is exactly right
Hit the nail on the head
to do not show their feelings when they are upset
to display fortitude and stoicism in the face of adversity
to exercises great self-restraint in the expression of emotion
to have/keep a stiff upper lip
the activity of trying to find completely new ideas, that are not limited by current thinking or beliefs
thinking that is not limited by the realities of the present
blue sky thinking
Jealousy
Green-eyed monster
Othello
be extremely amused or pleased
(2)
Ticketed pink
(also tickled to death)
simple solution to a complicated problem
Silver bullet
To be in good shape or to keep something [Acar] in good condition
To be in good nick
To keep a car in good nick
to have a negative opinion of st/so
To disapprove of st
To take a (very) dim view of
to think that you are better than someone
to express or show contempt or disdain (for)
To look down on sb
said when you feel that someone has made a bad situation worse by doing something else
to make an unfair or unacceptable situation even worse
To add insult to injury,
to cause st to appear more attractive / less unpleasant
make agreeable
To Sugar-coat
To keep talking about unimportant things, rather than concentrating on what they are supposed to be discussing
to waste time doing or asking something in a very complicated way
To go round the houses
take an unnecessarily long time to get to the point
To go round the houses
to have nothing to do
You are bored because you do not have anything to do
To be (or to find yourself) at A loose end
Very close (2 ways)
In/ within spitting distance
In within shouting distance
they do not act in a way that agrees with the things they say
Talk the talk but not walk the walk
(Let’s) get to the point without wasting time
(Let’s) Cut to the chase
immediately, with no more delay
without further ado
without any more ado
fuss for little reason
much ado about nothing
illegal dumping of liquid or solid waste on land or in water
Fly-tipping
(fare qualcosa) a parole e con i fatti
in word and deed
When finding oneself in a troubling situation, one should first make sure one is not making the situation worse by their own actions before addressing all other causes.
if you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging
when the need for something becomes essential, you are forced to find ways of getting or achieving it
necessity is the mother of invention
la necessità aguzza l’ingegno/ di necessità virtu
under all circumstances, no matter how difficult
Through thick and thin
Addirittura, fino a
As far afield as
call for help when it is not needed, with the effect that one is not believed when one really does need help
To cry wolf
Start sweating
To put forth a large amount of energy or effort into or toward a task
Break a sweat
senza giochi di parole, scherzi a parte
no pun intended
licenziare
be dismissed from job
give the sack
to be given the sack
to get the sack
there is a fine line between the numerator and the denominator
it’s ok if you don’t get that, only a fraction will understand
to accept something as it appears to be, without questioning its true nature or authenticity
(take st that so said) at face value
(to have) underlying goals
(secondi fini)
(to have) an agenda
Sara’s agenda is obvious
Make a (first?) attempt or have a turn at doing something (maybe difficult)
to have a crack at something
to study or work late in the night, often to complete a task
to burn the midnight oil
to find a compromise
or a middle ground between two factors/people
to strike a balance (i.e. between work and leisure)
to do or say st that helps you release some anger or frustration
to let off steam
be grateful for the good things in one’s life
to count one’s blessings
do st risky
take a risk of expose yourself to a possible danger or criticism
stick your neck out
(to have) an immediate, automatic response to a situation, without careful consideration or thoughts
= gut reaction
(to have) a knee-jerk reaction
to argue or worry about very small details that are not important
to split hairs (over st)
social hierarchy in a group
pecking order
to use your influence or connections (often unofficially) to achieve a desired outcome
to pull some strings
(agire dietro le quinte)
to take advantage of a situation (typically for personal benefit) often at the expense of others
to have a field day (doing st)
to have access to (or knowledge of) secret or confidential information
to be privy to
(pron prìvi)
something that is low priority and is not being dealt with at the moment
(put st / keep st / st is) on the back burner
(a business/company) to fail completely and to have to close
to go belly up
1 become extremely angry or distraught
2 be unwanted or not needed and therefore available for use
Go spare
(Exclamation) used to show recognition of a mistake or minor accident
1. a piece of excrement, esp one left by a pet
2. an embarrassing (minor) mistake
Whoopsie
From everywhere
From far and wide
Very busy
As busy as a bee
a person’s livelihood or main source of income
Bread and butter
to urge or encourage (someone) to do something that is usually foolish or dangerous
To egg sb on
To have unfriendly or hostile relations; enmity; hostility; animosity
To have bad blood
Become more alert, lively.
Enliven, cheer somebody up
Perk up
Perk sb up
st is not as good as other people have said it is
st is not all it’s cracked up to be
a stupid or obnoxious person.
a woman’s genitals
verb hit or punch (someone).
twat
already decided and unlikely to be changed
simple and easy to understand
cut-and-dried
sottrarsi da qualcosa
weasel out of st
weasel back on st
to get into (a place or situation) by being dishonest, by persuading someone in a clever way
weasel (his way) into
to cause someone else to suffer in order to save oneself or gain personal advantage
to throw someone under the bus
Public clamor or protest
Hue and cry
Be useless
Be/act like a chocolate teapot
Go crazy about st
Go crackers about st
anticipate or predict someone ELSE’s actions or thoughts by guesswork.
Second guessing
(dare/avere) carta bianca
free rein
tenere sotto controllo, tenere a freno
keep a tight rein on [sb/sth]
old-fashoned, d’altri tempi
horse-and-buggy
sopracciglia grosse, sopracciglia folte
beetle brow
