Idioms And Phrasal Verbs

Question 1

Not out of the woods

Answer 1

Not yet free from difficulties and problems.

• “the situation is improving, but we’re not out of the woods yet.”

Question 2

Take a back seat

Answer 2

Deliberately become less actively involved in sth, and stop trying to control things.

-“I’ll probably take a back seat and let Victoria do most of the work.”

Question 3

My heart sank

Answer 3

Used to tell sb that you suddenly felt sad or sorry about something.

• “My heart sank when I saw the hotel room they had given us.”
• “My heart sank when I opened the letter and realized I had not been accepted into graduate school.”

Question 4

Having said that

Answer 4

Used to say that something is true, despite what you’ve just said.

-“It’s an expensive restaurant. Having said that, the food is very good.”

Question 5

The next thing I knew

Answer 5

Used to say that something happened very quickly and unexpectedly.

-“and then the next thing I knew, the cat had jumped out the window.”

Question 6

More than likely.

Answer 6

It means very likely.

-“will they lose? More than likely.”

Question 7

More than happy

Answer 7

It means very happy.

-“She can’t do the gardening. I’d be more than happy to help her.”

Question 8

I’d be hard pressed/pushed/put to do sth.

Answer 8

Find it very difficult to do something.

-“I’d be hard pressed to name all the countries in Europe.”

Question 9

To get out of bed on the wrong side.

Answer 9

Used to say that sb is in a bad mood.

-“I think Ann got out of bed on the wrong side of bed this morning.”

Question 10

Come in all shapes and sizes

Answer 10

Are of many different types.

-“Idioms come in all shapes and sizes.”

Question 11

A sore point

Answer 11

Sth that makes you upset, angry, or embarrassed when somebody mentions it.

-“Don’t ask about the exam. It’s a bit of a sore point for me.”

Question 12

To put your foot in it

Answer 12

Accidentally say sth that embarrasses, upsets, or annoys sb.

-“I criticised gay movie with jack, who at the time I thought was a girl. I definitely put my foot in it.”

Question 13

It serves sb right (for doing sth)

Answer 13

Used to say that you think sb deserves sth unpleasant that happens to them.

-“She failed the exam, but I think it serves her right as she did not do a stroke of work to pass it.”

Question 14

Not do a stroke of work

Answer 14

Not do any work at all.

-“He didn’t do a stroke of work to earn his pay.”

Question 15

Take sth personally

Answer 15

Feel that a failure is your fault, or feel offended by sth/sb.

-“don’t take it personally. She can’t help being rude. It’s the Tourette’s.

Question 16

your heart isn’t in it

Answer 16

If your heart isn’t in it, you do not feel interested or enthusiastic about something.

-“I tried to look interested, but my heart wasn’t in it.”

Question 17

live up to sth

Answer 17

to be as good as something.

-“The concert was brilliant - it lived up to all our expectations.”

Question 18

The concert was brilliant - it lived up to all our expectations.

Answer 18

to hurt or deceive a group of people, especially people who are weak or can easily be hurt or deceived.

• “He would attack at night, preying on lone women in their twenties or thirties.”
• “It’s particularly contemptible that these sort of people prey on the elderly.”

Question 19

knock back (sth)

Answer 19

to quickly drink something, especially a lot of alcohol.

-“She was knocking back the champagne at Maria’s party.”

Question 20

pull out all the stops

Answer 20

make as much effort as possible to ensure that something is successful or impressive.

-“They pulled out all the stops to make sure the president enjoyed his visit.”

Question 21

Pull your socks up

Answer 21

saying in an angry way that you should do something better.

-“You need to pull your socks up and start taking your studies a bit more seriously!”

Question 22

pull the rug from under sb’s feet

Answer 22

to suddenly take away help or support from someone, or to suddenly do something that causes many problems for them

-“We were planning a surprise party for their anniversary but they pulled the rug from under our feet by announcing they were going away on a cruise.”

Question 23

pull the plug

Answer 23

to do something that prevents an activity from continuing, especially by no longer giving money to support it.

• “If the viewing figures drop much more, the TV network will probably pull the plug on the whole series.”
• “They decided to pull the plug on their latest venture after disappointing sales in the first year.”

Question 24

not pull any/your punches

Answer 24

to speak in an honest way without trying to be kind.

• “Her image is that of an investigative reporter who doesn’t pull any punches.”
• “She told me exactly what she thought of my novel and she didn’t pull any punches.”

Question 25

like pulling teeth

Answer 25

If you say that making someone do something was like pulling teeth, you mean it was very difficult and they did not want to do it.

• “Getting her to tell me about her childhood was like pulling teeth.”
• “Getting my boss to agree to any change is like pulling teeth.”

Question 26

Touch base

Answer 26

to talk to someone for a short time to find out how they are or what they think about something.

-“I just wanted to quickly touch base with you: did you get an email from my secretary about the meeting?”

Question 27

straight) from the horse’s mouth

Answer 27

If you hear something (straight) from the horse’s mouth, you hear it from the person who has direct personal knowledge of it.