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Let's Speak > Idioms > Flashcards

Idioms Flashcards

1
Q

move the needle

A

to change a situation to a noticeable degree

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2
Q

leave someone cold

A

to not make you feel interested or excited

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3
Q

go/walk down the aisle

A

to get married

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4
Q

to fall head over heels / head over heels (in love)

A

полетіти шкереберть / completely in love

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5
Q

go toe to toe (stand toe to toe, be toe to toe)

A

йти пліч-о-пліч / нога в ногу / to be willing or able to compete or fight with someone in a strong, forceful, determined way

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6
Q

take its toll (take a toll)

A

to cause harm or suffering / беруть своє

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7
Q

have bigger/other fish to fry

A

to have something more important to do

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8
Q

silver bullet

A

a simple solution to a complicated problem

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9
Q

does/is what it says on the tin

A

If something does *, it does exactly what it is intended to do

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10
Q

have something up your sleeve / up your sleeve

A

to have secret plans or ideas

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11
Q

go a long way / go far

A

If you say that someone will go a long way, you mean that they will be very successful.

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12
Q

be in two minds

A

to be unable to decide about something

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13
Q

play fast and loose with something/someone

A

behave irresponsibly or immorally

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14
Q

lay something (to) waste

A

to completely destroy something

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15
Q

at face value

A

for what something appears to be / за чисту монету, за номіналом, розуміти буквально / If you take something at face value, you accept it and believe it without thinking about it very much, even though it might untrue.

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16
Q

rub someone the wrong way

A

роздратовувати / to annoy someone without intending to

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17
Q

put your foot down

A

to use your authority to stop something happening / to increase your speed when you are driving

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18
Q

one step at a time

A

slowly and carefully, doing just a little at a time

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19
Q

go overboard

A

to do something too much, or to be too excited or eager about something / перегинати палицю

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20
Q

have something on your plate / on one’s plate

A

to have something, usually a large amount of important work, to deal with / occupying one’s time or energy

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21
Q

go out of your way

A

to try very hard to do something, especially for someone else; to try especially hard to do something good or helpful

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22
Q

all walks of life

A

—used to refer to people who have many different jobs or positions in society —
всі верстви населення

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23
Q

as old as the hills

A

very old

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24
Q

be as fresh as a daisy

A

idiom of comparison/ to be full of energy and enthusiasm

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25
Q

as hard/tough as nails

A

idiom of comparison/ not feeling or showing any emotions such as sympathy fear or worry

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26
Q

as sober as a judge

A

idiom of comparison/ completely sober

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27
Q

as steady (solid) as a rock

A

idiom of comparison/ very steady

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28
Q

be (as) thick as thieves

A

idiom of comparison/ to be very close friends and share secrets

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29
Q

sleep like a log

A

idiom of comparison/ to sleep very well without being woken by any noises

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30
Q

eat like a horse

A

idiom of comparison/ to always eat a lot of food

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31
Q

have a memory/mind like a sieve

A

idiom of comparison/ to have a very bad memory

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32
Q

to spread like a wildfire

A

idiom of comparison/ quickly in a way that cannot be controlled

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33
Q

(as) clear as a bell

A

idiom of comparison/ very easy to hear

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34
Q

as heavy as a lead

A

idiom of comparison/ very heavy

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35
Q

be as stubborn as a mule

A

idiom of comparison/ to be very stubborn

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36
Q

go as red as a beetroot; go beet red

A

idiom of comparison/ to have a red face because you are embarrassed

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37
Q

as safe as a vault

A

idiom of comparison/ very safe

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38
Q

smoke like a chimney

A

idiom of comparison/ to smoke a lot

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39
Q

fit like a glove

A

idiom of comparison/ to be the perfect size and shape for someone

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40
Q

come down on someone like a ton of bricks

A

idiom of comparison/ very strongly or forcefully

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41
Q

get on like a house on fire

A

idiom of comparison/ to like each other very much and become friends very quickly

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42
Q

shake/tremble like a leaf

A

idiom of comparison/ to ….. in a way that you cannot control because you are very nervous or frightened

43
Q

hot potato

A

idiom/ a controversial question or issue that involves unpleasant or dangerous consequences for anyone dealing with it

44
Q

(a) penny for your thoughts

A

idiom/ used to ask what someone is thinking about

45
Q

actions speak louder than words

A

idiom/ said to emphasize that what you do is more important and shows your intention and feelings more clearly than what you say

46
Q

add insult to injury

A

idiom/ to do or say something that makes a bad situation even worse for someone

47
Q

an arm and a leg

A

idiom/ a very large amount of money

48
Q

at the drop of a hat

A

idiom/ If you do something …. you do it immediately without stopping to think about it

49
Q

go back to the drawing board

A

idiom/ to start over

50
Q

the ball is in one’s court

A

idiom/ burdened with expectations or requirements for something

51
Q

barking up the wrong tree

A

idiom/ to promote or follow a mistaken course (as in doing research)

52
Q

see the back of someone/something

A

idiom/ to be pleased that you no longer have to be involved with him her or it

53
Q

beat around(about) the bush

A

idiom/ to avoid talking about what is important

54
Q

the best of both worlds

A

idiom/ a situation in which you can enjoy the advantages of two very different things at the same time

55
Q

be the best thing since sliced bread

A

idiom/ to be an excellent person or thing

56
Q

to bite off more than you can chew

A

idiom/ to try to do something that is too difficult for you

57
Q

a blessing in disguise

A

idiom/ something that seems bad or unlucky at first but results in something good happening later

58
Q

to burn the midnight oil

A

idiom/ to work late into the night

59
Q

you can’t judge a book by its cover

A

idiom/ said to show that you cannot know what something or someone is like by looking only at that person or thing’s appearance

60
Q

hear (something) through/on the grapevine

A

idiom; to hear news from someone who heard the news from someone else

61
Q

fall between two stools

A

idiom; it fails to achieve either of two aims

62
Q

cross that bridge when one comes to it

A

idiom; to not worry about a possible problem until it actually happens

63
Q

cry over spilled milk

A

idiom; to feel sorry or sad about something that has already happened used to emphasize that this is not helpful

64
Q

curiosity killed the cat

A

idiom; said to warn someone not to ask too many questions about something

65
Q

cut corners

A

idiom; to save money or time when doing something by not including some parts actions or details so that the result is not as good as it could be

66
Q

can’t cut it OR can’t cut the mustard

A

idiom; to not be able to deal with problems or difficulties in a satisfactory way

67
Q

devil’s advocate

A

idiom; someone who pretends in an argument or discussion to be against an idea or plan that a lot of people support in order to make people discuss and consider it in more detail

68
Q

don’t count your chickens before they hatch

A

idiom; you should not make plans that depend on something good happening before you know that it has actually happened

69
Q

don’t give up the day job!

A

idiom; used for telling someone that you do not think they are very good at something

70
Q

put all one’s eggs in one basket

A

idiom; to risk all one has on the success or failure of one thing

71
Q

drastic times call for drastic measures

A

idiom; extreme circumstances are only resolved by equally extreme actions

72
Q

every cloud has a silver lining

A

idiom; said to emphasize that every difficult or unpleasant situation has some advantage

73
Q

be a far cry from something

A

idiom; to be completely different from something

74
Q

under the weather

A

idiom; to feel ill

75
Q

give someone the benefit of the doubt

A

idiom; to believe something good about someone rather than something bad when you have the possibility of doing either

76
Q

off one’s rocker

A

idiom; in a state marked by extreme confusion or mental unsoundness

77
Q

hit the nail on the head

A

idiom; to describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem

78
Q

hit the sack / hit the hay

A

idiom; to go to bed in order to sleep

79
Q

in the heat of the moment

A

idiom; to say or do it without thinking because you are very angry or excited

80
Q

it takes two to tango

A

idiom; said when you want to emphasize that both people involved in a difficult situation must accept the blame or that an activity needs two people who are willing to take part for it to happen

81
Q

jump/climb/get on the bandwagon

A

idiom; to become involved in an activity that is successful so that you can get the advantages of it yourself

82
Q

keep/hold someone/something at bay

A

idiom; to control something and prevent it from causing you problems to prevent someone from moving closer

83
Q

kill two birds with one stone

A

idiom; to succeed in achieving two things in a single action

84
Q

the final/last straw

A

idiom; the last in a series of unpleasant events that finally makes you feel that you cannot continue to accept a bad situation

85
Q

let sleeping dogs lie

A

idiom; said to warn someone that they should not talk about a bad situation that most people have forgotten about

86
Q

let the cat out of the bag

A

idiom; to allow a secret to be known usually without intending to

87
Q

(to make/to cut) a long story short

A

idiom; used when you are explaining what happened in a few words without giving all the details

88
Q

(a) method in/to one’s madness

A

idiom; good reasons for one’s actions even though they may seem foolish or strange

89
Q

miss the boat

A

idiom; to lose an opportunity to do something by being slow to act

90
Q

not a spark of decency

A

idiom; complete lack of ordinary customary kindness and respect very rude manners

91
Q

once in a blue moon

A

idiom; not very often

92
Q

a picture is worth a thousand words

A

idiom; used to say that it is often easier to show something in a picture than to describe it with words

93
Q

a piece of cake

A

idiom; something that is very easy to do

94
Q

pull the wool over someone’s eyes

A

idiom; to deceive someone in order to prevent them from discovering something;

95
Q

see eye to eye

A

idiom; to have a common viewpoint agree with each other

96
Q

sit on the fence

A

idiom; to delay making a decision

97
Q

speak/talk of the devil

A

idiom; something you say when the person you were talking about appears unexpectedly

98
Q

steal someone’s thunder

A

idiom; to do what someone else was going to do before they do it especially if this takes success or praise away from them

99
Q

take something with a grain of salt

A

idiom; to not completely believe something that you are told because you think it is unlikely to be true

100
Q

give someone a dose/taste of their own medicine

A

idiom; to treat someone as badly as they have treated you

101
Q

(straight) from the horse’s mouth

A

idiom; directly from the person who has personal knowledge of the matter

102
Q

the whole nine yards

A

idiom; everything you can possibly want have or do in a particular situation

103
Q

someone wouldn’t be caught dead

A

idiom; someone dislikes something very much

104
Q

your guess is as good as mine

A

idiom; something you say when you do not know the answer to a question

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