IDIOMS - (UNITS 5 to 8) Flashcards
live quietly, privately
keep oneself to oneself
although she enjoys an occasional evening out with friends, as a general rule she keeps herself to herself.
confused state of affairs.
A real mess.
Fine kettle of fish
The tap is dripping, the bath’s overflowing, the plumber’s on holiday; what a fine fettle of fish this is!
have a sudden, great success/profit
Clue: kill
Make a killing
Starting with only a few thousand pounds, Tom made a killing on the stock.
destroy/humble
Clue: knee
Bring to one’s knees
The bottom’s gonna drop out from under our feet
I’ll catch you, I’ll catch you
When people say things that bring you to your knees
I’ll catch you. (Taylor Swift - Jump, then fall) ♥
well-informed
In the know
If you want to know about the new film you should ask someone who is in the know like a critic
tease or trick sb
Clue: leg
pull sb’s leg
HOPE that sth will turn out well
Keep one’s fingers crossed
She kept her fingers crossed all the time they were announcing the winners of the contest, hoping that her brother would get a prize.
earn money
make/earn a/one’s living
be sound asleep
sleep like a dog
the biggest part/portion
pista: “lion”
the lion’s share
ex:
Once a story has been inserted into public discussion, the incentives of media actors follow a familiar logic: Because journalists believe that certain kinds of stories are more likely to gain valuable and limited audience attention than others, they must respond when other journalists produce stories likely to garner the lion’s share of attention because of their salacious or dramatic elements.
make a new start
pista: leaf
turn over a new leaf
honest/sincere
on the level
send sb a letter/email
drop sb a line
do anything necessary to get sth you want
go to any lengths
give new/further information
SHED LIGHT UPON
treat sth as unimportant
MAKE LIGHT OF
avoid or ignore reality/responsibility
bury one’s head in the sand
reach a critical point
COME TO A HEAD
come to an agreement/compromise
Clue: meet
meet (sb) halfway
relax and enjoy yourself
Clue: hair
let your hair down
sth is sold at auction
come under the hammer
acquire or lose a lot of money very quickly
to MAKE/LOSE money HAND OVER FIST
allow sb to do as they wish
give sh a free hand
(know sth) without asking or looking it up
(know sth) off-hand
admire sb and think they deserve praise
have to hand it to sb
keep out of danger
keep out of harm’s way
not to understand sth at all
Clue: tail
not to make head (n)or tail of sth
lose your temper very suddenly
Clue: fly
fly off the handle
be willing/happy to do sth quickly.
Clue: hat
(do sth) at the drop of a hat
make progress
Clue: head
make headway
feel encouraged by or optimistic about sth
Clue: ♥
take heart from sth
do sth very badly
Clue: hash
make a hash of sth (informal)
(do) as much or as often as one wants
Clue: ♥
to one’s heart’s content
(of situation) be accepted as real even though it is painful/achieve the intended effect.
to become very clear and obvious in usually a forceful or unpleasant way.
Clue: home
strike/hit home
The truth about their marriage finally hit home.
outside regular business hours
after hours
to fire sb
give sb the sack (page 108)
go to bed early
have an early night
person who enjoys staying up late
a night owl
briefly, in a few words
in a nutshell
be the best.
Clue: “2nd” (X)
be second to none
That pianist is second to none in his interpretation of Mozart’s music
say exactly the right thing
hit the nail on the head
You hit the nail on the head when you called him the slowest worker on earth. I’ve never seen anyone do so little.
lose courage
lose one’s nerve
He was planning to ask his boss for a rise, but when it came to it he lost his nerve.
invalid/not legally binding
null and void
The contract was declared null and void when it was found that one of the parties had been forced to sign.
everywhere
Clue: rincón
EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY
(Nook: rincón. Cranny: grieta) En cada rincón y en cada grieta.
She cleaned every nook and cranny of the house before she was satisfied that it was spotless.
become famous / respected for sth
make a name for oneself
irritate / annoy sb
get on one’s nerves
Endless telephone calls in the evening get on my nerves.
for a long time/ throughout history
Clue: time
from/since time immemorial
Those stones have been here since time immemorial
make things even worse.
Clue: insult.
ADD INSULT TO INJURY.
I can see you starin’, honey
Like he’s just your understudy
Like you’d get your knuckles bloody for me.
Second, third, and hundredth chances,
Balancin’ on breaking branches,
Those eyes add insult to injury.
(Taylor Swift - Exile) - acá somos Swifties, sorry not sorry.
be the first person to act
take the initiative
Definición del CPE: affect sth negatively or destructively.
Definición de youtube: make progress.
Definición de Longman: to have an important effect or influence on something, especially by taking something away from it.
Definición de Collins: One thing AFFECTS/DESTROYS the second thing.
Clue: inroad (meaning: hostile advance)
MAKE INROADS INTO
Being out of work for so long has made inroads into the money he was keeping for a rainy day.
CPE: practically/in effect.
Oxford’s dictionary: in all important respects.
Cambridge: in all the most important ways.
Clue: Intent.
TO ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES
Greg has, to all intents and purposes, finished his degree course, with the exception of his final dissertation.
in order to achieve a certain aim.
Clue: interest
in the interests of
Students are requested in the interests of hygiene, not to bring food into the lecture hall.
in the meantime
in the interim
disagree and start arguing.
Clue: issue
take issue with sb
Alan took issue with his daughter over her coming home from the party in the early hours of the morning.
have a strong desire to travel
have/get itchy feet
Always having had itchy feet, Delia is off again, backpacking round India.
be in danger
be in jeopardy
Not wearing a seatbelt in the car can put your life in jeopardy
Quickly.
in a jiffy.
(Jiffy: momentito, segundito)
This shoe repairer is so quick that he can sole and heel your shoes in a jiffy.
make one remember sth
Clue: jog.
jog one’s memory
In an effort to jog her memory Jo was shown pictures of the place where she was found.
extremely pleased or happy
jump for joy
The delighted children jumped for joy when they heard they were going camping.
postpone giving an opinion before more is known
reserve judgement on sb/sth
reproduce sb/sth accurately and show how good they are.
Definición de Cambridge: to treat someone or something in a way that is fair and shows their or its true qualities.
do sb/sth justice
I don’t think Julia’s wedding photos do her justice. I think she looked much more attractive on her wedding day.
unfair or unjust treatment
rough justice
working or progressing steadily, to regulate sth.
Clue: una parte del bote, que en realidad es asimétrica, forma parte de este idiom.
(be) on an even keel
After an operation you don’t fully recover for a while so you shouldn’t expect to feel on an even keel for a few weeks.
situation where nobody knows what will happen next / extremely exciting.
Clule: edge.
on a knife-edge
We were all on a knife-edge until the very end of the Hitchcock film.
impress sb greatly.
knock sb dead
Cinema-goers and critics alike were knocked dead by the special effects in James Cameron’s “Avatar”.
get confused.
Clue: enredarse.
tie oneself in knots
I always tie myself in knots when speaking in public.
confidently (because a prior condition has been met).
Clue: safe.
safe in the knowledge
Enjoy your “Sunway” cruise safe in the knowledge that everything has been taken care of.
despite difficulties
against all odds
Against all odds, he won the national song contest and became quite well-known.
be dismissed from one’s job
get the sack
John got the sack because he was always arriving late to work.
likely to happen.
Clue: off
in the offing
I’m afraid a recession is in the offing. It will happen anyways.
possession thought to show sb’s high social rank, wealth, etc
status symbol
useless/unwanted possession
white elephant
for the last time
once and for all
Once and for all, sit down and be quiet or i’ll send you out!
brief but pleasant (usually ironic)
SHORT AND SWEET
Let’s keep it short and sweet. Just tell me what you want and then leave.
(of secrets) revealed, known
out in the open
Now that the scandal is out in the open, the Minister will have to resign.
the best chance to gain sth
golden opportunity
complete, total
out and out
what he promissed was impossible, he was an out and out liar.
in the presence of other people
IN PUBLIC
I always find it embarrassing when people argue in public.
misunderstand completely what has been said.
Clue: stick.
Es una manera muy fina de decir: “entender como el culo todo lo que el otro dijo”.
get the wrong end of the stick
dismantle sth/ things.
to separate something into smaller parts
take things to pieces
Being a car mechanic, John likes taking engines to pieces.
bribe sb
grease sb’s palm
When the traffic warden gave me a parking ticket, I tried to grease his palm which only got me into more trouble.
growing old/not at your best
past one’s prime
(of books) not available anymore
out of print
The book was published in the 1960s and is now out of print.
reach the main point of discussion
come to the point
I wish he’d come to the point and stop wasting everyone’s time.
lacking practice
be out of practice
I’d love a game of tennis even though I’m out of practice.
irrelevant.
Clue: point.
beside the point
Since we were discussing unemployment, his comment about football was totally beside the point.
make a proposal of marriage
pop the question
My husband popped the question on Valentine’s Day in 2005.
basic part of
part and parcel of
Doing the washing-up is part and parcel of living independently.
from a bad situation to a worse/similar one
out of the frying pan into the fire
Moving from that house to this one was a case of out of the frying pan into the fire. It’s much worse here.
a difficult fact to accept
a bitter pill to swallow
Failing the exam after so much hard work was a bitter pill to swallow.
become clear
fall into place
Everything fell into place at the end of the film.
to a great extent / generally
by and large
in weak or poor condition / needing replacement
on its last legs (inf)
exaggerated
larger than life
exaggerate
lay it on thick (informal)
make sb ill or weak, confine them to bed.
(often in passive voice)
Cuando, por ejemplo una enfermedad, te tira abajo.
lay sb low
She was laid low by a gastroenteritis.
improve / increase very rapidly
improve by/in leaps and bounds
take a long time to to / do sth in great detail
do sth at length
follow (e.g. instructions) exactly without question
follow / obey to the letter
sincere, truthful
on the level (informal)
treat sth as though it is not serious when in fact it is
make light of sth
make sb/sth comply with a standard/behaviour
bring into line with
refuse to do/tolerate sth
draw the line
risk, endanger
put sth on the line (informal)
have no effect on sb/not to be understood by sb
be lost on sb
by no means/for no reason
not for love nor money
whether you like it or not
like it or lump it (inf)
abandon/let sb down
leave sb in the lurch (inf)
looks very much like someone
the spitting image
feel discouraged/depressed
look down in the mouth
he’s been looking down in the mouth ever since he heard he’d failed all his exams.
make sth almost impossible happen
work a miracle
the surgeon seemed to have worked a miracle when he succeeded in separating the Siamese twins.
hurry up
get a move on
Would you get a move on? we’ve only hald an hour before the bus leaves
forget about sth
slip one’s mind
I know you told me about the meeting, but it completely slipped my mind
take advantage of favourable circumstances. make the most of a favourable situation while it lasts.
Make hay while the sun shines
Life is short, so make hay while the sun shines.
pretend that sb had said sth that they hadn’t actually said
Put words into one’s mouth
He put words into my mouth when he said I was willing to help. I simply haven’t got the time to.
grieve over sth that can’t be put right
cry over spilt milk
It’s no good crying over spilt milk so just get on with your life
occur to one/have a sudden idea
cross one’s mind
It never crossed my mind that she might be offended by what i said
give permission to proceed with sth
give the green light to sth/sb
The Mayor gave the green light to the builder to construct a new shopping center on the outskirts of town
Proverbs page 114 (unit 7):
it’s impossible for one to change their character, even if they will try very hard.
Clue: Leopard
a leopard never changes its spots
Proverbs page 114 (unit 7):
people sometimes misbehave when no one is there to watch them
when the cat’s away, the mice will play
Proverbs page 114 (unit 7):
To tell the truth for the sake of being honest and upright, even though doing so may not be to one’s personal advantage.
tell the truth and shame the devil
Proverbs page 114 (unit 7):
the real value of something can be judged only from practical experience or results and not from appearance or theory.
the proof of the pudding is in the eating
Proverbs page 114 (unit 7):
you shouldn’t criticize others when you have similar faults of your own.
People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones
Proverbs page 114 (unit 7):
you shouldn’t act without first considering the possible consequences or dangers.
look before you leap
Proverbs page 114 (unit 7):
you can’t expect to achieve anything if you never take any risks.
nothing ventured, nothing gained
Proverbs page 114 (unit 7):
What is good for one person may be bad for another; what is pleasant to one person may be unpleasant to another.
one man’s meat is another man’s poison
Proverbs page 114 (unit 7):
people of the same sort or with the same tastes and interests will be found together.
birds of a feather flock together
have/hold a party
throw a party
it’s traditional to throw a party when you move house.
to be unable to decide about something
Be in two minds (about sth)
I was in two minds whether or not to come this morning
very easy to hear
Clue: it’s a comparison
As clear as a bell
Clear as a bell, from the back of the theatre came a child’s voice saying, “I want to go home”.
used as a way of describing a person you see, and are surprised to see, in a particular place
Clue: it’s a comparison
As large as life
I looked up from my newspaper and there he was, as large as life, Tim Trotter!
to be full of energy and enthusiasm
Clue: it’s a comparison. “fresh”
as fresh as a daisy
After a good night’s sleep I’ll be as fresh as a daisy.
sb extremely tough and aggressive, either physically or in their attitude towards other people or other situations.
Clue: it’s a comparison.
“hard”
as hard as nails
I thought she was as hard as nails when I met her.
to be very close friends and share secrets, etc.
Clue: it’s a comparison
as thick as thieves
I’m sure she tells Ruth everything we say - they’re as thick as thieves, those two.
to be very heavy
pesado como el plomo
Clue: it’s a comparison
as heavy as lead
extremely stubborn.
Clue: it’s a comparison
as stubborn as a mule
Ah, she’s as stubborn as a mule. You might as well give her what she wants.
“very strongly built or well supported and not likely to break or fall
to be very strong”
Clue: it’s a comparison
as steady as a rock
I always thought their marriage was solid as a rock.
to forget things very easily.
tengo una memoria como un colador
Clue: it’s a comparison
have a memory like a sieve
to like each other very much and become friends very quickly
Clue: house
get on like a house on fire
I was worried that they wouldn’t like each other but in fact they’re getting on like a house on fire.
to punish someone very quickly and severely
Clue: bricks
go/come down on sb like a ton of bricks
Do that once more and I’ll come down on you like a ton of bricks!
to be the perfect size and shape for someone. Sth fits perfectly.
fits like a glove
I love these pants because they fit like a glove and they’re so comfortable.
to always eat a lot of food
eats like a horse
She’s so thin, yet she eats like a horse.
completely safe.
as safe as houses
to quickly affect or become known by more and more people
spread like wildfire
Once one child in the school has the infection, it spreads like wildfire.
very guilty, miserable, or ugly
as guilty/miserable/ugly as sin.
EJEMPLO:
What if he’s written ‘mine’ on my upper thigh
Only in my mind?
One slip and falling back into the hedge maze
Oh what a way to die
I keep recalling things we never did
Messy top lip kiss
How I long for our trysts
Without ever touching his skin
How can I be guilty as sin?
Taylor Swift - Guilty as sin
to be very obvious.
Clue: It’s a comparison. “plain”
be (as) plain as the nose on your face
He’s not happy here - that’s as plain as the nose on your face.
very old
as old as the hills
My grandfather seemed as old as the hills to me.
very light
as light as a feather
very eager and interested in everything
as keen as mustard
To be very pleased.
Clue: it’s a comparison.
as pleased as punch
very pleased
(of a child) to behave very well
as good as gold
She’s been as good as gold all morning.
very kind and calm
Clue: it’s a comparison. “Gentle”
as gentle as a lamb
Brian was as gentle as a lamb and wouldn’t hurt anyone.
to be very healthy and strong
as fit as a fiddle
My grandmother’s 89, but she’s as fit as a fiddle.
to be very boring
as dull as ditchwater
Before she arrived, the party was as dull as ditchwater.
Brains, intellect. This expression refers to actual brain tissue that is gray in color. Agatha Christie’s fictional detective, Hercule Poirot, constantly alludes to using the little gray cells for solving a crime.
Grey matter
to have very good and detailed knowledge of something
como la palma de la mano
Like the back of one’s hand
wait a moment.
hold one’s horses
make someone conceited
make someone arrogant
go to one’s head
to help someone do something
lend sb a hand
have as much work as one can do.
have one’s hands full
become discouraged.
lose heart
In extremely close relationship or agreement.
hand in glove with
run away.
take to one’s heels
to keep (something) secret : to not tell anyone about (something)
Keep things under one’s hat
you heard the information from someone who has personal knowledge on the spoken matter.
straight from the horse’s mouth
to have a lot of free time and not know what to do with it
have so much time on one’s hands
without preparation.
off the cuff
be very alarmed or apprehensive.
have one’s heart in one’s mouth
turn out to be useful.
come in handy
it means that a particular effort is futile, being a waste of time without a positive outcome
flogging a dead horse
to become difficult to control
get out of hand
to learn how to do something, especially if it is not obvious or simple
get the hang of it
to think about sth (for example, a joke or criticism) seriously, often because it upsets you
take sth to heart
a person who keeps their interests and ideas secret, especially someone who has a surprising ability or skill
a bit of a dark horse
to make large profits or to become rich
strike gold
To remove the tension at a first meeting, at the opening of a party, etc
Break the ice
the small perceptible part of a much larger situation or problem that remains hidden.
The tip of the iceberg
uncomfortable or embarrassed. Uneasy
ill at ease
to be involved in many activities or commitments at the same time.
have many irons in the fire
all the details
the ins and outs
the pressure to “keep up” with your neighbor’s social status, wealth, or popularity. “
clue: el programa de las Kardashians, ahre
keep up with the Joneses
to be going to be punished for something you have done wrong.
be in for the high jump
to have difficulty
have a job
Suffer the consequences of one’s actions
stew in one’s own juice
“very quickly or suddenly.
used to say that something happens very quickly”
Clue: Jack
Before you can say Jack Robinson
make progress/become more popular
Gain ground
to use an opponent’s tactics/methods to defeat them
Clue: game
Beat sb AT their own game (informal)
inadvertently reveal something secret or your own feelings
give the game away
try to improve what is already beautiful or excellent.
To embellish sth unnecessarily
gild the lily
“issue a challenge.
challenge sb”
throw down the gauntlet
to have a lot of things in your favour
have a lot going for you
be exactly the right size; fit perfectly.
fit like a glove
unfairly alter the conditions or rules of a procedure during its course.
move the goalposts
very nearly/ almost
“por poco…”
as good as
“the editor as good as told him he was lucky to get £50 a week”
available to anyone who is interested.
Al alcance.
UP for grabs (informal)
to make an effort to understand and deal with a problem or situation. Consider sth seriously and start to take action.
come/get to grips with
do something foolish which causes one’s downfall. Cause one’s own failure.
Clue: dig.
dig one’s own grave
gradually slow down or lose momentum and then stop altogether.
grind to a halt
start. despegarse del suelo, comenzar
get off the ground
to suddenly fail in what you are doing, often because you have an accident. Be unsuccessful.
clue: grief
Come to grief
The Italian champion was in second position when he came to grief on the third lap.
forever; definitively, permanently
For good
having some success with sth
make a go of it/sth
“refuse to compromise or change, despite criticism.
Keep to your opinion”
clue: gun
Stick to one’s guns
