Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

English Phrases > idioms > Flashcards

idioms Flashcards

0
Q

Drop the ball

A

Fail to finish or follow through on a task

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
1
Q

Butter someone up

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Play it by ear

A

Improvise or make it up as you go

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

On second thought

A

(Changing a decision) after thinking it over

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Throw someone a curve

A

Do something unexpected

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

No dice

A

No deal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

A piece of cake

A

Very easy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Raise the bar

A

Increase expectations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Blow it

A

Make a big mistake

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Be back to square one

A

Have to start over again

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Off base

A

Incorrect or inappropriate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Pass the buck

A

Give or hand off the problem to someone else

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Hold one’s horses

A

Slow down or stop for a minute

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Get burned

A

Lose money; get hurt emotionally

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Do an end run

A

Go around someone to accomplish something

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Have one’s cake and eat it too

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Jump the gun

A

Do something too soon; do something before it is appropriate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Once in the blue moon

A

Rarely

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Land on one’s feet

A

Recover from a problem or difficult challenge

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Twist someone’s arm

A

Convince or persuade someone to do something

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Burn one’s bridges

A

Do something that will hurt or destroy a relationship

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Fall through

A

Fail or not be completed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Go for the gold

A

Try for a difficult goal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Go for it

A

Make an extra effort to meet the goal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Miss the boat
Miss the opportunity
25
A trade-off
An exchange; the act of giving up one thing to get another
26
Shoot the moon
Attempt to reach a very high goal or gamble everything
27
One one's toes
Prepared to move or react quickly
28
Eyeball it
Estimate or guess
29
In the red/ in the black
In debt/ not in debt
30
Be on the ball
Be smart; be intelligent; be a good worker
31
Shoot the breeze
Make informal conversation
32
Pull strings
Take advantage of connections to achieve a goal
33
Kickback
Money or favors given in exchange for influence
34
Go by the book
Closely follow procedure/ rules
35
Knock it off
Stop doing something
36
Take something off-line
Talk about something in private; keep something confidential
37
Walk the talk
Do what you say you're going to do
38
Fly it up the food chain
Check to make sure that upper management supports the idea or plan
39
In the loop/ out of the loop
Included in the communication or not included in the communication
40
Screw up
Make a big error or mistake
41
Draw the line
Establish limits
42
Step on someone's toes
Get in someone's way; interfere with someone's job or responsibilities
43
Be on the right track
Be going in the correct direction
44
Out of bounds
Not acceptable/ beyond the limits
45
Give someone the runaround
Not answer a question or request directly; send a person somewhere else for the answer
46
Get the ball rolling
Start something
47
Step up to the plate
Take responsibility
48
Hand in hand
Together
49
Be dialed in
Be connected or knowledgeable about the situation
50
Get ahead of ball
Be prepared for what's coming
51
Add up
Put things together to create something; make sense
52
Go down in flames
Fail completely
53
Strike out
Fail of make a big mistake
54
Go down swinging
Keep trying until the end; never give up
55
Hit the home run
Be very successful
56
A game plan
A strategy or an organized approach to achieve a goal
57
Low hanging fruit
Something that is easy to do /get
58
Cherry pick
Select the best from all the others
59
Go for broke
Attempt to reach a very high goal; gamble everything
60
Be plugged in
Be connected or be knowledgeable about the situation
61
Blow someone away
Exceed expectations
62
Jump-start
Do something to get an activity or institution working better or faster
63
A long shot
A very difficult goal that one is not expected to achieve
64
Be up a creek
Be in a difficult situation
65
Between a rock and a hard stone
Be in a difficult position
66
Put all one's eggs in one basket
Put all one's money or energy in one place
67
The market goes south
The value goes down/ declines
68
Make do
Complete a task using only the available supplies or people
69
In the same boat
In the same situation
70
Pain in the neck
It's a difficult problem
71
Be in someone's face
Make someone uncomfortable; be confrontational
72
Place something on someone's doorstep
Give an unexpected project or job to someone
73
Make waves
Cause trouble or problems
74
A bottle neck
A place/ person that stops or slows the easy flow of ideas or products
75
Cut corners
Save money or time by substituting materials or people
76
Down to the wire
Close to the deadline
77
Heads up
A warning that a change or new procedure is coming
78
Put the pedal to the metal
Hurry up/ finish something quickly
79
Be burned out
To feel very tired and not want to continue an activity
80
Know the ropes
Be familiar with the job progress, people and procedures
81
Catch on
Understand something new
82
A dry run
A practice session
83
Nose to the grindstone
Working hard/ working steadily
84
Give and take
Cooperation or conpromise
85
Meet somebody halfway
Compromise
86
Cut a/ the deal
Come to an agreement
87
Water under the bridge
A past issue or problem that is no longer a concern
88
Win-win situation
A situation where everyone benefits or wins
89
See eye to eye
To agree or have the same perspective on something
90
Bent over backwards
Try very hard to please someone or to do something
91
Lay it on the line
Be very direct or frank
92
Back out
Change or cancel an agreement or arrangement
93
Take the bull by the horns
Confront a problem or challenge directly
94
Be on the same page
Have the same understanding about the situation/ information
95
Think out of the box
Be creative or non-traditional; approach the situation or problem in a new way
96
Shoot from the hip
Be very direct/ not diplomatic
97
fell out
争吵
98
In line with
符合；与…一致

English Phrases (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions