Reading Comprehension Idioms Flashcards
Accorded to
Given or granted to. (Sometimes accorded is used without to, as in I was surprised by the
adulation accorded the elderly author at the high school assembly.)
Albatross or albatross around the neck of (a person or group)
A constant burden or worry; an
obstacle. Literally, an albatross is a bird. The expression an albatross around one’s neck creates the silly image of a person wearing a (dead?) bird—but that certainly sounds like a constant burden or worry!
(This expression comes from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, in which an old man had to wear an albatross around his neck as punishment for his sins.)
The city has done an admirable job rebuilding its infrastructure and marketing itself, but the
crime rate continues to be an albatross around the city’s neck in trying to attract tourists.
At loggerheads
In conflict, at a standstill.
The strike is not likely to end soon—the transit authority and the union representatives have
been at loggerheads for weeks.
(Verb) by so (verb)ing
The second verb is equivalent to or causes the first verb. He defaults by so refusing means when he refuses, he is defaulting (that is, neglecting to fulfill the duties of a contract). By so agreeing also occurs on its own, meaning by agreeing to do the thing that was just mentioned.
He agreed to run as the Green Party candidate though he already holds a Democratic party
chairmanship, which he effectively abandoned by so agreeing.
By the same token
This expression means that the speaker will then say something else based on the same evidence he or she just used to make a different point.
Colored by
Influenced or prejudiced by.
Her opinion about the prison system was colored by having grown up effectively an orphan
while both her parents served sentences in separate prisons.
Cut bait
Give up, abandon an activity. Often part of the expression fish or cut bait, to cut bait is to
stop fishing.
As much as he wanted to be an entrepreneur, after a year of struggling, he cut bait and asked
his former boss for his old job back.
Entree into
Admittance, permission to enter. Most people in the U.S. think of an entree as the main
dish o f a meal, but it originally was an appetizer—a dish that leads into the main course (the word is related to “enter”). A person who wants to rise in society might seek an entree into a certain social group. (You can also say “seek entree”—sometimes in that expression, the word an is omitted.)
For disadvantaged young people, good public schools can provide an entree into the middle
class.
Garden-variety
Ordinary, common.
Gloss over, paper over, whitewash
These are all expressions for covering up a problem, insult, etc., rather than addressing it or fixing it. Think of a dirty floor that you just put a pretty rug on top of instead of cleaning. Because gloss is slippery (think of lip gloss), gloss over often has the sense of trying to smoothly and quickly move on to something else.
He made a snide remark about short people and then tried to gloss over it when he realized
his 5 2 ” boss had overheard.
The journalist accused the government of trying to whitewash the scandal, implying that the
officials covered up the incident out of concern for national security rather than to protect
themselves.
Hand-wringing
An excessive expression of concern, guilt, or distress.
There has been much hand-wringing (or wringing of hands) over falling test scores, with so-called
“experts” acting as if the world will end if students do 1% worse in math and science.
Hold the line vs. toe the line
Hold the line means keep something the same. It is a reference to (American) football, in which you don’t want the opponent to get the ball past the line of scrimmage in the middle of the field. To toe the line is to conform to a policy or way of thinking, or follow the rules. One theory about the origin of the expression is that, on ships, barefoot sailors were made to line up for inspection—that is, to put their toes on an actual line on the deck of the ship.
My boss doesn’t want to hear original ideas at all—he just wants me to toe the line.
If colleges cannot hold the line on rising tuition costs, students will have to take on even more
crippling loan burdens.
Just cause
Just as an adjective means justified, legal, fair. Just cause means a legally sufficient reason.
In some legal codes, an employer must show just cause for firing an employee.
Opening salvo
A salvo is a simultaneous firing of guns or release of bombs. Metaphorically, an opening
salvo is something that starts a fight.
The introduction of Bill H.R. 2, given the inflammatory name “Repealing the Job-Killing
Health Care Law Act,” was seen by some as an opening salvo by the Republicans.
Per se
In itself, by itself, intrinsically. From Latin, often written in italics. Per se is often used to indicate
that while something isn’t naturally or the same as something else, it still has the same effect.
The policy isn’t sexist,per se, but it has had a disproportionate impact on women that deserves
further study.
