idiomy

Question 1

zła passa

Answer 1

a bad patch

Last year our football team hit a bad patch, but I’m optimistic about this season

Question 2

bułka z masłem

Answer 2

a piece of cake

Passing this exam was a piece of cake because I’d been studying for a long time.

Question 3

przejęzyczenie

Answer 3

a slip of the tongue

I meant to say Mr Cavill, not Mrs Cavill, so it was just a slip of the tongue.

Question 4

błędne koło

Answer 4

a vicious circle

I gave up and started smoking at least ten times last year. It’s a vicious circle.

Question 5

prosić się o kłopoty

Answer 5

ask for trouble

If you don’t obey the rules, you ask for trouble.

Question 6

mieć dwie lewe ręce

Answer 6

be all fingers and thumbs

I tried to put this cupboard together according to the manual, but I guess I am all fingers and thumbs.

Question 7

całkowicie się mylić

Answer 7

be all wet

She is all wet if she thinks that I’m going to clean the flat on my own. v

Question 8

znać się na rzeczy / umieć coś bardzo dobrze

Answer 8

be at home with

Mark is at home with computers. If you have any problems, just ask him for help

Question 9

mieć czegoś powyżej uszu/ dość

Answer 9

be sick and tired

I’m sick and tired of this job. They want us to work overtime.

Question 10

owijać w bawełnę

Answer 10

beat about the bush

Stop beating about the bush and tell me why you’ve come here

Question 11

ugryźć się w język

Answer 11

bite back

I believe sometimes it’s better to bite back instead of saying what you really think.

Question 12

posiniaczony

Answer 12

black and blue

I fell off a horse and now I’m black and blue.

Question 13

tracić przytomność

Answer 13

black out

After my operation, I was advised to avoid driving a car for a week for fear of blacking out anytime.

Question 14

zakomunikować komuś złą wiadomość

Answer 14

break the news

It seems to be hard to break the news to someone about unpleasant events.

Question 15

wtrącać się, wcinać się (np. w rozmowę)

Answer 15

butt in

Could you stop butting in, please? It’s impolite!

Question 16

podlizywać się komuś

Answer 16

butter somebody up

If you want me to do you a favour, just ask me. You don’t have to butter me up.

Question 17

nie dorastać komuś do pięt

Answer 17

can’t hold a candle to someone

You can attempt to show off, but you can’t hold a candle to my fiance.

Question 18

złapać kogoś na gorącym uczynku

Answer 18

catch someone in the act of

The police caught the thief in the act of stealing valuable paintings.

Question 19

pójść na łatwiznę

Answer 19

choose a soft option

No matter what you think, my brother didn’t choose a soft option.

Question 20

przydawać się

Answer 20

come in handy

Never throw your documents. They might come in handy one day.

Question 21

co ma być to będzie

Answer 21

come what may

I’m confused about my exam. Come what may.

Question 22

dziecinnie proste

Answer 22

dead easy

English grammar is dead easy on condition that you do lots of exercises

Question 23

igrać ze śmiercią

Answer 23

dice with death

When you watch Hollywood films it seems as if stuntmen diced with death.

Question 24

jak kto lubi

Answer 24

each to their own

They like porridge, but I hate it. Well, each to their own.

Question 25

kompletnie spłukany

Answer 25

flat broke

Peter was flat broke, but he didn’t give up.

Question 26

wygłupiać się, obijać się

Answer 26

fool around

If you want to pass the final exams, you’d better stop fooling around.

Question 27

na czarną godzinę

Answer 27

for a rainy day

Finn regularly puts some money away every month for a rainy day if it ever comes.

Question 28

na litość boską

Answer 28

for crying out loud

For crying out loud, could you leave us alone, please?

Question 29

z głębi serca

Answer 29

from the bottom of one’s heart

I’m grateful for your help from the bottom of my heart.

Question 30

pospiesz się

Answer 30

get a move on

Get a move on! Everyone’s waiting for you outside.

Question 31

złapać kogoś, skontaktować się

Answer 31

get hold of

We will get hold of you as soon as we know more information.

Question 32

załapać, zrozumieć

Answer 32

get the message

It took me some time to get the message. I’ve never liked riddles.

Question 33

dotrzeć do sedna czegoś

Answer 33

get to the bottom of something

She’s trying to get to the bottom of the problem.

Question 34

wrócić do punktu wyjścia

Answer 34

go back to square one

I admit that this essay is awful. I’m afraid I’ll have to go back to square one

Question 35

zbankrutować

Answer 35

go bust

If it hadn’t been for her help, our business would have gone bust last year.

Question 36

poradzić sobie samodzielnie z czymś

Answer 36

go it alone

No matter how hard I tried to go it alone, I was forced to ask John to give me a hand.