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🇬🇧 Daily English Leassons
🇬🇧 the tip of the iceberg
You can say something is the tip of the iceberg when it's just a small part of something much bigger.
🇬🇧 belong to
If something belongs to a person, it is owned by that person.
🇬🇧 old bat
an unpleasant old woman
🇬🇧 get to the bottom of
If you get to the bottom of something, you find out its real cause or the true story behind it.
🇬🇧 call off
to cancel an event that was planned or scheduled
🇬🇧 ex-con
someone who has spent time in jail
🇬🇧 All that glitters is not gold
The attractive exterior of something is not a good indicator of its real nature. It may look valuable, but not be valuable.
🇬🇧 the cream of the crop
If something or someone is in the cream of the crop, they are among the best of a class of things or people.
🇬🇧 invite over
If you invite somebody over, you invite them to your home, usually for a meal.
🇬🇧 veggy | veggie
a vegetable
🇬🇧 A bad penny always turns up
Bad or nasty people have a habit of showing up or returning.
🇬🇧 see through rose-coloured glasses | rose-colored glasses
If someone sees things through rose-coloured glasses, they see things as being better than they really are.
🇬🇧 go off
If something goes off, it stops working because of a power cut.
🇬🇧 loaded
wealthy, rich
🇬🇧 Talk of the Devil, and he is bound to appear
1. Speaking about the Devil may invite him to come. 2. We often say "Talk of the devil!" (or "Speak of the devil!") when somebody that we have just been speaking about suddenly appears.
🇬🇧 zero tolerance
If something is given zero tolerance, it won't be accepted even once.
🇬🇧 take up
to fill an area of space or a period of time
🇬🇧 totally
very, really
🇬🇧 It is best to be on the safe side
1) Don't take risks. Be careful and cautious. 2) It's best to be sure. It's best to be absolutely certain.
🇬🇧 teething problems | teething troubles
If someone or something is having teething problems, or teething troubles, they're having problems during the early stages of something.
🇬🇧 figure out
If you figure something out, you find the solution to a problem or the answer to a question.
🇬🇧 high
intoxicated, under the influence of a mind-altering drug
🇬🇧 Man does not live by bread alone
This proverb suggests that people have a spiritual side as well as a physical side. We need to take care of our spirit as much as our body.
🇬🇧 going down
If you know what's going down, you know what's happening in a situation.
🇬🇧 put down
to stop carrying something or someone
🇬🇧 XYZ
"code" said to alert someone that their zipper, or fly, is open
🇬🇧 can of worms
If you say a situation or an issue is a can of worms, you think that getting involved in it could lead to problems.
🇬🇧 move up
If you move up, you make space for someone else to sit down by moving a little.
🇬🇧 ear candy
pleasant-sounding music
🇬🇧 The pen is mightier than the sword
This proverb suggests that written material like books or poetry has more influence than fighting or war. We may also understand from it that ideas (as often set down in writing) are more effective than violence.
🇬🇧 pick up the tab | pick up the bill
If you pick up the tab, or pick up the bill, you pay for yourself and your friends in a restaurant or a bar.
🇬🇧 help out
If you help someone out, you do something to help them.
🇬🇧 chockablock | chock-a-block | chock-full
completely full of people or things, crammed full
🇬🇧 out of the blue
If something happens out of the blue, you're not expecting it to happen and you're surprised when it does.
🇬🇧 talk back
to reply rudely to someone in a position of authority
🇬🇧 knackered
severely damaged
🇬🇧 Great minds think alike
This saying suggests that very intelligent people think like each other. It is often said as a joke when two people think of the same thing.
🇬🇧 jump for joy
You can say someone "jumped for joy" if they were very happy about something.
🇬🇧 weigh in
to join a discussion by expressing a viewpoint
🇬🇧 earner
a good source of money
🇬🇧 A fool and his money are soon parted
Stupid people spend their money carelessly and soon become poor.
🇬🇧 talk over
to discuss a situation with someone, usually before making a decision
🇬🇧 flake
an unreliable person who says they'll do something, but then doesn't do it
🇬🇧 indulge in
to do something that gives you pleasure, even though there could be some negative consequences
🇬🇧 dweeb
a studious but socially inept person
🇬🇧 Boys will be boys
This somewhat humorous saying is often used to excuse male behaviour (of both boys and adult men).
🇬🇧 Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me
A physical attack may injure me but a verbal attack cannot injure me.
🇬🇧 part and parcel of
If something is part and parcel of an experience or a role in life, it is an important part of it and it cannot be avoided.
🇬🇧 get at
to get hold of something
🇬🇧 busted
to be charged with a criminal offence
🇬🇧 a vested interest
If you have a vested interest in something, you have a strong personal interest in it because you stand to gain from it.
🇬🇧 mouth off
to speak in a loud and annoying way, especially when criticizing or complaining about something
🇬🇧 veggy | veggie
a vegetarian
🇬🇧 vis-a-vis
You can say vis-a-vis instead of saying "in relation to".
🇬🇧 make out
to create a false idea or image of someone or something
🇬🇧 nifty
skillful, agile, very good
🇬🇧 Poor men go to heaven as soon as rich
God makes no distinction between people with money and people without money.
🇬🇧 jump out of your skin
You jump out of your skin when something suddenly shocks you and your whole body jumps.
🇬🇧 stand by
to do nothing to stop something wrong or something bad from happening
🇬🇧 twit
a silly, stupid person
🇬🇧 Easy come, easy go
If we get something (like money) easily and without effort, we can lose it easily too.
🇬🇧 a knuckle sandwich
If you give someone a knuckle sandwich, you punch them.
🇬🇧 infer from
to believe something is true because you have some indirect evidence of it
🇬🇧 job
a crime, especially one that involves detailed planning
🇬🇧 The wish is father to the thought
Our opinions or beliefs are often influenced by our desires and hopes. The phrase "father to" is used in the sense of parentage: the thought is born from the wish.
🇬🇧 talk through your hat
If you're talking through your hat, you're talking about something without knowing much about it, or you claim something is true when it isn't.
🇬🇧 wash away
If something is washed away, it's carried off by the force of running water, as in a storm or a flood.
🇬🇧 upper
a stimulant drug, a drug that stimulates the heart and the nervous system
🇬🇧 Money makes money
If you have money, you can use it to get more money through investment.
🇬🇧 can't see the wood for the trees
If you can't see the wood for the trees, you can't see the whole situation clearly because you're looking too closely at small details, or because you're too closely involved.
🇬🇧 nothing to write home about
If you say something is nothing to write home about, you mean it isn't very important or it isn't very good.
🇬🇧 make out
to hug, kiss and touch in a sexual way
🇬🇧 easy as pie | easy as abc
If something's as easy as pie, or easy as abc, it's very easy.
🇬🇧 Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
A woman rejected in love can be very angry and dangerous.
🇬🇧 in deep water
If you're in deep water, you're in some sort of trouble or in a difficult situation.
🇬🇧 jot down
If you jot something down, you quickly write it down on a pad or piece of paper.
🇬🇧 yank
to quickly pull something (v.) | a quick pull (n.)
🇬🇧 Truth has no answer
It is difficult to argue against facts. We cannot refute what is true.
🇬🇧 make a killing
If you make a killing, you make a lot of money from a sale or a deal of some sort.
🇬🇧 incline to
If somebody inclines to something such as a certain way of thinking, they will usually think in that way.
🇬🇧 Death is a remedy for all ills
When we die, all our problems are solved.
🇬🇧 jobs for the boys
If you say "jobs for the boys" you're referring to the fact that people in positions of power sometimes use their power to give jobs to their friends or family members.
🇬🇧 tool
a stupid person
🇬🇧 go over
to cause a reaction of some sort, especially from an audience
🇬🇧 knock off
to kill someone, to murder someone
🇬🇧 Ignorance of the law is no excuse
It is no defence to say that we didn't know that something we did was illegal.
🇬🇧 fall over
If someone falls over, they fall to the ground.
🇬🇧 ugg boots | ugh boots
soft sheepskin boots that originated in Australia
🇬🇧 Zeal, when it is a virtue, is a dangerous one
According to this saying, "good zeal" cannot exist. It seems that zeal is inherently dangerous. When zeal is not a virtue, by definition it is not good. When zeal is a virtue, according to this saying it is dangerous, which is also not good. This saying relies heavily on paradox for its effect.
🇬🇧 quarrel with
to disagree about something, or to believe something is untrue or incorrect
🇬🇧 rap
to recite lyrics over a rhythmic beat
🇬🇧 agree to differ | agree to disagree
If two people agree to differ, or agree to disagree, they accept that they have different opinions about something and stop trying to change each other's opinion.
🇬🇧 storm out
to leave a place quickly when you are angry or upset about something
🇬🇧 afters
dessert, sweet dish eaten after the main course of a meal
🇬🇧 The early bird catches the worm
Birds that wake early in the morning will find worms to eat, but birds that wake late will find no worms. The saying suggests that the same is true for us in life. If we do something early, before other people, we will be successful.