Idioms and phrasal verbs 2 Flashcards
very poor
on the breadline
spend a lot of money on sth
fork sth out on sth/pay sth out
have sth to use when in difficulty (money)
fall back on sth
finish paying money that is owed for sth
to pay sth off
pay for everything yourself without relying on others
pay your own way
rescue sb from a difficult situation
to bail sb out
get yourself into a difficult situation
land sb/yourself in sth
doing sth that’s your own idea and without help from others
do sth off your own bat
be careful
to err on the side of caution
have enough money/time
to have money/time to play with
De rekening kwam uit op 50 pond
The bill came to 50 pounds
vruchten dragen
to bear fruit
have a lot of money and spend it stupidly
to have more money than sense
live a life full of activity and excitement
to live life in the fast lane
consider an activity to be normal that most people would think was difficult
think nothing of (doing) sth
be expensive
to not come cheap/to cost an arm and a leg
spend an unusually large sum of money on sth
to splash out on sth
geld is geen probleem
money is no object
the comfortable position that comes from having a lot of money
in the lap of luxury
spend more money than you earn
to live beyond your means
have just enough money or food to stay alive
to live from hand to mouth
be available at a lower price than usual
to be going cheap
pay money to reserve sth, before paying for it in full
put down a deposit
altijd hetzelfde liedje
the same old story
be late paying money you owe
to be in arrears with (rent)/to get behind with
looking/feeling ill
off-colour/under the weather/feel or look like death warmed up
fall over when you’re ill
to keel over
get one of the common illnesses
to come/go down with sth
rondgaan (van een ziekte)
to go round
een ziekte oplopen
to pick sth up
getting better after an illness
to be on the end
it’s very uncertain whether sth will happen or not
it is touch-and-go whether
get better after a life-threatening illness or operation
to pull through
to feel ill/bad-tempered
to feel out of sorts
to become covered in spots or a rash
to come out in sth
hout vasthouden
touch wood
iemand met de auto insluiten
to block sb in
afsnijden
to cut in on sb
iemand doen stoppen
to flag sb down
in vogelvlucht
as the crow flies
verkeer is een hel
traffic is murder
uzelf weinig speling geven
to cut it fine
slakkengang
at a snail’s pace
op den buiten
miles from anywhere
een versnelling hoger schakelen
to move up a gear
op hoogste versnelling werken
to be in top gear
groen licht geven
to give the green light
iets op de kaart zetten
to put sth on the map
enthousiasme verliezen
to run out of steam
roekeloos worden
to go off the rails
die weg ingaan
to go down that road
de auto bolt (maar beweegt niet) = iets doen zonder veel te bereiken
the car is ticking over
pikken van eten
to pick at sth
van mond tot mond reclame
by word of mouth
uwe poef betalen
settle up (with sb)
honger als een paard
I could eat a horse!
veel eten
to eat like a horse
weinig eten
to eat like a bird
iets is excellent
the best thing since sliced bread
hij eet uit uw hand
have sb eating out of your hand
be embarrassed because sth you tried to do went wrong
have egg on my face
van de pan naar het vuur
out of the frying pan into the fire
hij verslijt de zetel
a couch potato
te veel hooi op uw vork nemen
he’s biting off more than he can chew
iemand is niet zo onschuldig als hij lijkt
butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth!
hij zit overal met z’n neus tussen
he has a finger in every pie
zich zorgen maken over iets waar niks meer aan gedaan kan worden
to cry over spilt milk
veel energie hebben
to be full of beans
sb’s trying hard even though they are not succesful
it is not for want/lack of trying
steek een tandje bij!
pull your socks up!
have achieved nothing/a bit/a lot
have nothing/something/ a lot to show for sth
uw leven veranderen
turn over a new leaf
ergens hard aan werken
apply yourself
met vlag en wimpel
with flying colours
iemand een preek geven
to tell sb off
uit gewoonte
as a habit of course
stop doing sth wrong
to cut sth out
iemand punten aftrekken
to mark sb down
twee weken achtereen
two weeks running
heel snel, in grote mate
by leaps and bounds
helemaal verward zijn
to make head or tail of sth
dit gaat mijn verstand te boven
it goes over my head
get your first opportunity to work for an organization or business, which could later bring you success
get your foot in the door
accept and deal with sth difficult without letting it worry you
take sth in your stride
alles laten afhangen van iets
to pin all your hopes on sb/sth
alles op één mogelijkheid wedden
put all your eggs in one basket
stay friends with someone because you think you will benefit
keep in with sb
make sure you find out about recent developments in a particular situation
keep your ear to the ground
by talking in an informal way to other people
on the grapevine
almost, very nearly
close on
deel van ‘t meubilair
part of the furniture
used to say that sb won’t get or keep a job because they are not the kind of person that the employer wants.
sb’s face doesn’t fit
de kneepjes van het vak
the tricks of the trade
a boring job with no hope of promotion
dead-end job
het vraagt wat moeite
it takes some doing
tell people what to do in a bossy way
throw your weight around/about
to be dismissed
to get the push/boot/elbow or they gave me the push/boot/elbow
help to support sth that is weak or is going to collapse
to shore sth up/to prop sth up
iemand uitkopen
to buy sb out
de deal ging niet door
the deal fell out
at the last possible hour
at the eleventh hour
sth is uncertain
sth hangs in the balance
failliet gaan
to go to the wall
surprise sb by doing they are not expecting
to catch sb on the hop
repair and decorate a room or building
to do sth up
decrease in quantity or quality
to fall off
(of a business) not be growing or doing well
to be in the doldrums
succeed in doing sth where most others are failing
to buck the trend
(of a business) to start to do a new activity
to branch out
het bedrijf is ingekrompen
the firm slimmed down
de marktprijs
the going rate
iemand tegen iemand anders uitspelen
to play sb off against sb
de distributeur weglaten
to cut out the middleman
op uw lauweren rusten
to rest on your laurels
put money made as a profit back into a business in order to improve it
to plough sth back into sth
miss an oportunity
to miss the boat
choose to believe sth that is not true
to delude yourself into doing sth
besparen
to cut corners
an action that is intended to save money but which actually costs you more
a false economy
in moeilijk vaarwater komen
to get into deep water
stop doing sth that you can see is going to be unsuccessful before the situation gets worse
to cut your losses
sell most of what you own, especially your house or business
to sell up
having too many people in senior positions and not enough workers
top-heavy
