Week 1 Day 1 Flashcards
Two heads are better than one (Ph.)
If two people work together they are more likely to solve a problem (My sister and I discussed lots of ideas to make mum’s party a success. Two heads are better than one.)
To have a whale of time (Ph.)
it means to have lots of fun while doing something (I spent my summer holidays in Mexico and had a whale of time!) (Mary is a party girl. She goes out every night and has a whale of time.)
Be the size of a whale
It’s an impolite way to describe someone like this, it means that the person is very large and overweight (If you eat too many cakes you’ll be the size of a whale.)
To take the bull by the horns (Ph.)
It means to deal with a difficult situation in a brave and firm way (Don’t suffer in silence while your flatmate takes up all the space. Take the bull by the horns; tell him to move his things out of your way or move out!) (Bob was treated very badly by his boss. When he left the company he decided to take the bull by the horns - and sued it for thousands of dollars.)
Someone is like a bull in China shop
They are too clumsy to deal with a delicate situation (I will be the one to go and ask our neighbour to stop playing his music so loud. You are like a bull in a china shop and are likely to start a serious argument with him.)
To put your feet up (Ph.)
to relax especially by sitting with your feet supported above the ground (I like nothing better than putting my feet up after a hard day at work.)
To find your feet
To become familiar with a situation or a place (I’m new in town. I need to find my feet.)
The icing on the cake
To add something good to an already good thing or situation (It is great to see my team in the final. And now I’ve got tickets to watch the match in the stadium - this is the icing on the cake!) (Mary’s salary will double with her promotion. All the foreign travel and luxury hotels she’ll be staying in are the icing on the cake.)
A piece of cake
Means something is very easy to do (I’m very good at maths. The final exam will be a piece of cake.)
mutton
the meat from a sheep
To squirrel something away
To hide or save something to use it in the future (Joan’s salary is very low but a few years ago she started to squirrel money away. It took her a long time, but she finally saved enough for a deposit for a flat.) (Just how much personal information are websites squirrelling away about us from our own computers?)
To weasel out
To avoid doing something or doing a job or taking responsibility for something (Mary wanted a promotion but didn’t want to work hard so she tried to weasel her way out of the most difficult tasks in the office.)
