phrases Flashcards
throw caution to the wind
to take a risk; Even though he doesn’t have much experience, let’s throw caution to the wind and hire him.
by no means
definitely not; Of course you can run a marathon, but by no mwans is it going to be easy.
a close shave
a lucky escape from danger; That was a close shave. He almost caught me reading his private diary.
in the nick of time
just in time; I got paid just in the nick of time. I’d just run out of money.
run out of (something)
to use up all your supplies of something; We are about to run out of petrol/gas, so let’s stop at the next station.
to let go of staff
this is a nice way of saying ‘the staff member was fired or made redundant’. It is often used when it is not the employee’s fault, when the company can’t afford to employ them any longer; Because of the recession we have had to let half of our staff go.
rough patch
difficult period of time; After I lost my job I went through a rough patch financially.
ride it out
to endure a bad situation; I have no choice but to ride it out and wait for the economy to recover.
in retrospect
used when looking back at a situation/incident; In retrospect, I could have handed that better.
the upshot is
this is used when you want to say that there is a positive point to a (sometimes) negative situation; My job went from full time to part time so I have less money, but the upshot is that I get to spend more time with my family.
to pick (something) up
here we mean to gain or learn a new skill; He picks up languages very quickly.
to go out on a limb
to take a risk; Even though you don’t have that much experience, I’m goint to go out on a limb and hire you.
one thing after another
this phrase is always used about negative situations that happen repeatedly; First I lost my wallet and then my car was stolen. It’s been one thing after another recently.
to take a turn for the better/worse
this means when a situation changes for the better/worse, His health has really taken a turn for the worse.
to put one’s finger on something
to identify what the issue is, or to pinpoint the core of an issue; I can’t put my finger on it but I just don’t trust him for some reason.
things are looking up
when a situation is getting better or improving; Now that the economy is beginning to recover, things are really looking up for my company.
she/he can do no wrong
in my opinion they are perfect; I love that author, she can do no wrong in my opinion.
blow (something) out of proportion
to act or believe that something is more serious than it is (used in a negative way); I was only 5 minutes late but my boss is acting like I’ve just bankrupted the company. He’s always blowing things out of proportion.
vicious circle
this describes a bad situation that you can’t get out of. For example you have no money because can’t get a job > you can’t get job because you can’t afford the training > you can’t afford training because you have no money etc; If I work all the time I’m never at home and never see my family but if I take time off we won’t have enough money to survive. It’s a vicious circle.
to put something off
to delay something; I hate going there, so I keep putting it off.
it dawned on me that …
to realise something; It dawned to me that we are too busy, so we need to employ someone else.
there’s no time like the present
if you are going to do something you should do it now, not wait for some future time; I always wanted to go to Jamaica, then this morning I decided that there’s no time like the present so I booked my ticket and I leave next week.
over the moon
very happy; I was over the moon when I got my exam results.
bound to
this means that something is inevitable/that of course it happened/will happen; If you drink and drive, you are bound to have an accident.
as per usual
this means that what you are describing is unsurprising because it often happens; My bus was late this morning as per usual, so my boss got angry with me.
fly off the handle
to suddenly get overly angry; I always feel like I have to be careful with her as she has a tendency to fly off the handle over the smallest thing.
to back down
this is when you concede, or when you stop defending your position; Her husband backs down too easily and she always gets her own way.
to make up with someone
when you have a fight/argument with someone and make peace/become friends again with them afterwards; We do argue sometimes but we always make up afterwards.
I couldn’t believe my eyes/ears
used when what you are seeing/hearing is unbelievable; I couldn’t believe my eyes when he finally stood up to that bully.
to hold a grudge
to keep resenting (übel nehmen) someone/something; Usually I’m not one to hold a grudge, but I just can’t forgive him for what he did.
work out how to
to discover or think of the method for doing something; I could never work out how to iron a shirt properly.
make it to
to reach, or try to reach a destination; Even though I missed my train I still made it to work on time.
to let off steam
this is used when you use an activity (like drinking alcohol) to get rid of stress; I heard that lots of Japanese people go to karaoke to let off steam.
to give something a go
to try something new; I don’t usually like team sports but I’ll give it a go.
to come across something/someone
to find something/someone usually by chance; I came across this article about my old school when I was reading the paper this morning.
to go overboard
to do too much of something. For example if you go overboard with drinking, this means that you drank too much; I always go overboard at Christmas and spend too much money on presents.
make a run for it
to try to escape; The prisoner saw that the door was open so he tried to make a run for it.
not to mention
this is used when you are listing things and then mention something which is obviously important; This hotel is the best one I think, it’s close to the beach, clean, modern and not to mention it’s quite cheap.
turned out
was eventually; Even though it was raining this morning it turned out to be quite a warm sunny day.
once in a while
this means occasionally; Once in a while, I like go to the beach and swim in the sea.
to bring up children
this means to raise children. To have and look after children. It is often used as “I was brought up in England”; I was brought up near the sea so I could swim from an early age.
run into someone
to meet someone (usually someone you already know) by chance; I haven’t seen Bill since school, and then just by chance I ran into him on holiday in France.
it hit me
to have a sudden realisation; I didn’t know why I have been having trouble sleeping recently, then it hit me; the stress of work is causing it.
to draw the line at
this is a way of saying “this is the limit”. It basically means that one thing is acceptable but that another isn’t; I don’t mind people coming to work a few minutes late, but I draw the line at employees coming in around mid-morning.
to make excuses
to give (usually fictional) reasons why the situation is bad; The student was always making excuses as to why he didn’t do his homework.
to keep on
to continue; The experiment was a failure but the scientist decided to keep on trying.
to know where you stand with someone
This means that the other person is straight forward. Their position is clear; He may not be very friendly, but at least you know where you stand with him.
to get over with something
this means that you have recovered from a problem or an illness; I was sad when I broke up with my girlfriend but I got over it after a few months.
to get under one’s skin
this is very negative and describes the feeling that someone/something annoys or angers you and that you can’t stop this thing affecting you; I know that he is trying to help, but something about his manner really gets under my skin.
to give in
this means the same thing as “to give up”, so you submit or stop fighting/trying;
to stick to one’s guns
This is when you don’t back down and you stick to what you believe. Even if someone tries to change your mind you stay with your opinion; I respect people who stick to their guns. I find people who change their minds easily a bit difficult to deal with.
rub off on someone
when you are influenced by someone’s attitude or behaviour after spending time with them; After spending a week with such a nice family, I hope that some of that good behaviour has rubbed off on Harry.
