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English Phrases > idioms > Flashcards

idioms Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
0
Q

Drop the ball

A

Fail to finish or follow through on a task

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1
Q

Butter someone up

A

Say nice things to someone to get something from him/her

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2
Q

Play it by ear

A

Improvise or make it up as you go

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3
Q

On second thought

A

(Changing a decision) after thinking it over

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4
Q

Throw someone a curve

A

Do something unexpected

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5
Q

No dice

A

No deal

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6
Q

A piece of cake

A

Very easy

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7
Q

Raise the bar

A

Increase expectations

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8
Q

Blow it

A

Make a big mistake

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9
Q

Be back to square one

A

Have to start over again

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10
Q

Off base

A

Incorrect or inappropriate

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11
Q

Pass the buck

A

Give or hand off the problem to someone else

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12
Q

Hold one’s horses

A

Slow down or stop for a minute

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13
Q

Get burned

A

Lose money; get hurt emotionally

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14
Q

Do an end run

A

Go around someone to accomplish something

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15
Q

Have one’s cake and eat it too

A

To have two imcompatible things, or more than one can handle or deserve

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16
Q

Jump the gun

A

Do something too soon; do something before it is appropriate

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17
Q

Once in the blue moon

A

Rarely

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18
Q

Land on one’s feet

A

Recover from a problem or difficult challenge

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19
Q

Twist someone’s arm

A

Convince or persuade someone to do something

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20
Q

Burn one’s bridges

A

Do something that will hurt or destroy a relationship

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21
Q

Fall through

A

Fail or not be completed

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22
Q

Go for the gold

A

Try for a difficult goal

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23
Q

Go for it

A

Make an extra effort to meet the goal

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24
Q

Miss the boat

A

Miss the opportunity

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25
Q

A trade-off

A

An exchange; the act of giving up one thing to get another

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26
Q

Shoot the moon

A

Attempt to reach a very high goal or gamble everything

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27
Q

One one’s toes

A

Prepared to move or react quickly

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28
Q

Eyeball it

A

Estimate or guess

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29
Q

In the red/ in the black

A

In debt/ not in debt

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30
Q

Be on the ball

A

Be smart; be intelligent; be a good worker

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31
Q

Shoot the breeze

A

Make informal conversation

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32
Q

Pull strings

A

Take advantage of connections to achieve a goal

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33
Q

Kickback

A

Money or favors given in exchange for influence

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34
Q

Go by the book

A

Closely follow procedure/ rules

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35
Q

Knock it off

A

Stop doing something

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36
Q

Take something off-line

A

Talk about something in private; keep something confidential

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37
Q

Walk the talk

A

Do what you say you’re going to do

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38
Q

Fly it up the food chain

A

Check to make sure that upper management supports the idea or plan

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39
Q

In the loop/ out of the loop

A

Included in the communication or not included in the communication

40
Q

Screw up

A

Make a big error or mistake

41
Q

Draw the line

A

Establish limits

42
Q

Step on someone’s toes

A

Get in someone’s way; interfere with someone’s job or responsibilities

43
Q

Be on the right track

A

Be going in the correct direction

44
Q

Out of bounds

A

Not acceptable/ beyond the limits

45
Q

Give someone the runaround

A

Not answer a question or request directly; send a person somewhere else for the answer

46
Q

Get the ball rolling

A

Start something

47
Q

Step up to the plate

A

Take responsibility

48
Q

Hand in hand

A

Together

49
Q

Be dialed in

A

Be connected or knowledgeable about the situation

50
Q

Get ahead of ball

A

Be prepared for what’s coming

51
Q

Add up

A

Put things together to create something; make sense

52
Q

Go down in flames

A

Fail completely

53
Q

Strike out

A

Fail of make a big mistake

54
Q

Go down swinging

A

Keep trying until the end; never give up

55
Q

Hit the home run

A

Be very successful

56
Q

A game plan

A

A strategy or an organized approach to achieve a goal

57
Q

Low hanging fruit

A

Something that is easy to do /get

58
Q

Cherry pick

A

Select the best from all the others

59
Q

Go for broke

A

Attempt to reach a very high goal; gamble everything

60
Q

Be plugged in

A

Be connected or be knowledgeable about the situation

61
Q

Blow someone away

A

Exceed expectations

62
Q

Jump-start

A

Do something to get an activity or institution working better or faster

63
Q

A long shot

A

A very difficult goal that one is not expected to achieve

64
Q

Be up a creek

A

Be in a difficult situation

65
Q

Between a rock and a hard stone

A

Be in a difficult position

66
Q

Put all one’s eggs in one basket

A

Put all one’s money or energy in one place

67
Q

The market goes south

A

The value goes down/ declines

68
Q

Make do

A

Complete a task using only the available supplies or people

69
Q

In the same boat

A

In the same situation

70
Q

Pain in the neck

A

It’s a difficult problem

71
Q

Be in someone’s face

A

Make someone uncomfortable; be confrontational

72
Q

Place something on someone’s doorstep

A

Give an unexpected project or job to someone

73
Q

Make waves

A

Cause trouble or problems

74
Q

A bottle neck

A

A place/ person that stops or slows the easy flow of ideas or products

75
Q

Cut corners

A

Save money or time by substituting materials or people

76
Q

Down to the wire

A

Close to the deadline

77
Q

Heads up

A

A warning that a change or new procedure is coming

78
Q

Put the pedal to the metal

A

Hurry up/ finish something quickly

79
Q

Be burned out

A

To feel very tired and not want to continue an activity

80
Q

Know the ropes

A

Be familiar with the job progress, people and procedures

81
Q

Catch on

A

Understand something new

82
Q

A dry run

A

A practice session

83
Q

Nose to the grindstone

A

Working hard/ working steadily

84
Q

Give and take

A

Cooperation or conpromise

85
Q

Meet somebody halfway

A

Compromise

86
Q

Cut a/ the deal

A

Come to an agreement

87
Q

Water under the bridge

A

A past issue or problem that is no longer a concern

88
Q

Win-win situation

A

A situation where everyone benefits or wins

89
Q

See eye to eye

A

To agree or have the same perspective on something

90
Q

Bent over backwards

A

Try very hard to please someone or to do something

91
Q

Lay it on the line

A

Be very direct or frank

92
Q

Back out

A

Change or cancel an agreement or arrangement

93
Q

Take the bull by the horns

A

Confront a problem or challenge directly

94
Q

Be on the same page

A

Have the same understanding about the situation/ information

95
Q

Think out of the box

A

Be creative or non-traditional; approach the situation or problem in a new way

96
Q

Shoot from the hip

A

Be very direct/ not diplomatic

97
Q

fell out

A

争吵

98
Q

In line with

A

符合；与…一致

English Phrases (2 decks)

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