Learn English Idioms Language

27 февраля 2017 16:00

✳️calculated risk
☑️A calculated risk is a risk taken with full knowledge of the dangers involved.

💥"The company took a calculated risk when they hired Sean straight out of college."

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27 февраля 2017 15:58

⭕️in cahoots with someone

☑️If one person is in cahoots with another, they are working in close partnership, usually conspiring to do something dishonest.

💥"There was a rumour that the Mayor was in cahoots with a chain of supermarkets"

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25 февраля 2017 20:48

A big cheese- an important or a powerful person in a group or family

A bird's eye view- a view from a very high place which allows you to see a large area

A bone of contention- something that people argue for a long time

A cock and a bull story- a story or an explanation which is obviously not true.

At the crack of the dawn- very early in morning

A cuckoo in the nest- someone in a group of people but not liked by them.

A litmus test- a method which clearly proves something

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25 февраля 2017 11:32

🔘made of money

☑️Meaning: If you are made of money, you have lots of money.

🔹For example:

✳️When I was in poor countries, everyone thought I was made of money because I could afford to take time off work and travel so far to their country.

✳️That guy Howard acts as if he's made of money, but I know for a fact that he's actually quite poor.

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25 февраля 2017 11:30

🔘a means to an end

☑️Meaning: You can say something is a means to an end if it's the way to reach a goal, or the way to achieve something.

🔹For example:

⭕️Rupert plays golf, but he doesn't really enjoy it. It's just a means to an end for him because so much business is done on the golf course these days.

⭕️The medical school interviews all candidates and tries to weed out people for whom becoming a doctor is just a means to an end. They don't want people whose real goal is making money.

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25 февраля 2017 11:26

🔘hold all the aces

✔️A person who holds all the aces is in a very strong position because they have more advantages than anyone else.

🔹"Given the high unemployment figures in some countries, employers hold all the aces."

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25 февраля 2017 11:24

⭕️above and beyond the call of duty

☑️If a person does something which is above and beyond the call of duty, they show a greater degree of courage or effort than is usually required or expected in their job.

💥"The fire-fighter received a medal for his action which went above and beyond the call of duty."

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22 февраля 2017 04:37

⭕️jog your memory

☑️Meaning: If something jogs your memory, it helps you to remember something.

For example:

✳️The song really jogged my memory and I could clearly picture the scene thirty years ago when my friends and I first heard it.

✳️The police had a sketch of the suspect drawn and showed it to people in the area in the hope of jogging their memories.

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22 февраля 2017 04:35

🔘up for grabs

❎INFORMAL
☑️Meaning: If something is up for grabs, it's available for anyone who wants to try to get it.

For example:

💥Do you remember when all the best website URLs were still up for grabs? Anyone could get one just by being the first person to claim it.

💥There are some great prizes up for grabs in their latest competition.

🎯Origin: Possibly related to the idea of someone throwing a lot of banknotes into the air, and many people reaching up trying to grab them. As such, the banknotes are "up for grabs".

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22 февраля 2017 04:33

🔘under lock and key

☑️Meaning: If something is under lock and key, it is kept in a very secure place.

For example:

🔴Make sure these documents are under lock and key until we need them.

🔴Poor Josie. Her parents were very strict and they kept her under lock and key throughout her childhood, so she never learned about life's dangers.

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22 февраля 2017 04:30

🔘the upper crust

☑️Meaning: If you are one of the upper crust, you are a member of society's highest class.

For example:

💥If Laura was really part of the upper crust, she wouldn't need to borrow money all the time, would she?

💥Marge does a great imitation of an upper-crust "society queen". It's really funny, and her upper-crust accent is perfect.

🔴Note: If used to modify a noun or a noun phrase, a hyphen should be added, as in "upper-crust party"

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20 февраля 2017 22:53

⭕️beat the rap⭕️

🔹American English INFORMAL
☑️Meaning: If someone beats the rap, they avoid being found guilty of a crime.

For example:

💥Everyone knows that Jimmy the Snitch did the robbery in Green St., but he beat the rap because he's in with the cops.

💥Henry was charged with drunk driving, but his lawyer helped him beat the rap on some technical detail.

🎯Variety: This idiom is typically used in American English but may be used in other varieties of English too.

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20 февраля 2017 22:51

✅bear the brunt✅

☑️Meaning: If you bear the brunt of something, you suffer the worst of its impact or its effects.

For example:

✳️The driver bore the brunt of the crash because he was right at the front of the bus.

✳️The team's coach bore the brunt of the criticism because he'd selected the players who'd performed so badly.

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19 февраля 2017 18:53

🔘off the top of your head🔘

🔴INFORMAL
✅Meaning: If you give someone information off the top of your head, you do so from memory, without checking beforehand.

For example:

💥I can't tell you Maxine's phone number off the top of my head. I'll have to check.

💥I don't know for sure, but off the top of my head I'd say that renting a two-bedroom apartment would cost about a thousand dollars a week.

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19 февраля 2017 18:48

✅much ado about nothing✅

☑️Meaning: If you say something is much ado about nothing, you think it's an overreaction to something that shouldn't have caused so much trouble.

For example:

✳️Some people make a big fuss about which table they get in a restaurant, but as far as I can see it's much ado about nothing as long as the food's the same.

✳️All this nonsense about status and "losing face" is much ado about nothing as far as I'm concerned.

🎯Origin: "Much Ado about Nothing" is the title of a well-known play by William Shakespeare, and as a result the phrase has survived into modern English in its original form.

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27 февраля 2017 16:00

⭕️sell like hot cakes
🔹Things that sell like hot cakes sell quickly or in large quantities.

▶️"She's a very successful author. Her books always sell like hot cakes."

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27 февраля 2017 15:57

✳️about turn/about face

☑️This term refers to a complete change of opinion or policy.

💥"The ambassador's recent declarations indicate an about turn in foreign policy."

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25 февраля 2017 11:32

🔘make a killing

☑️Meaning: If you make a killing, you make a lot of money from a sale or a deal of some sort.

🔹For example:

💥My aunt made a killing when she bought some shares in a company as soon as they were issued, and sold them a few weeks later for three times what she paid.

💥Lots of people made a killing when property values went so high back in the nineties.

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25 февраля 2017 11:31

📕a mixed blessing

✅Meaning: You can say something is a mixed blessing if it seems to be good, but in fact has bad effects as well as good effects.

🔹For example:

✳️Many scientists said discovering the power of the atom was a mixed blessing as it led to nuclear power, but it also made nuclear weapons possible.

✳️Getting the promotion was a mixed blessing because it means I spend less time with my family.

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25 февраля 2017 11:29

🔘a matter of life and death

☑️Meaning: If something is a matter of life and death, it's extremely important and it could involve someone's survival.

🔹For example:

💥Education about HIV and AIDS is a matter of life and death. If people aren't told to protect themselves with condoms, they could die from the disease.

💥Getting someone to hospital quickly after an accident or a heart attack is a matter of life and death. Just a few minutes can make all the difference.

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25 февраля 2017 11:25

🔘accidentally on purpose

✅If you do something intentionally, but pretend it was an accident, you do it accidentally on purpose.

✳️"I accidentally-on-purpose erased his email address so I couldn't contact him again."

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25 февраля 2017 11:23

⭕️to the best of one's ability

☑️When someone does something to the best of their ability, they do it as well as they possibly can.

💥"I felt nervous all through the interview, but I replied to the best of my ability."

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22 февраля 2017 04:36

🔘upset the applecart

☑️Meaning: If you upset the applecart, you do something that causes trouble or upsets someone's plans.

For example:

💥The Stones upset the applecart by pulling out of the music festival. They were going to be the main act.

💥Kelly's sister really upset the applecart when she told Kelly that she'd seen her husband waiting for someone in a hotel lobby when he was supposed to be in New York.

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22 февраля 2017 04:34

🔘under the table

🇺🇸American English
☑️Meaning: If something is done under the table, it's done secretly, usually because it's illegal or unethical.

For example:

💥If I do any overtime, can you pay me under the table so I won't have pay tax on it.

💥If you make under-the-table payments to customs officials, you can get goods through the port without having them inspected.

🔴Note: If this idiom is used to qualify a noun or a noun phrase, hyphens must be used, as in "under-the-table payments".
🎯Origin: Probably related to the fact that if a package or an envelope is passed under a table, other people cannot easily see what's going on.

⭕️Variety: This idiom is typically used in American English but may be used in other varieties of English too.

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22 февраля 2017 04:32

⭕️um and ah⭕️

🇬🇧British English
☑️Meaning: If you "um and ah" you're having trouble deciding what to say, or you're having trouble telling somebody something.

For example:

✳️Stop umming and ahing and just tell me what happened!

✳️James ummed and ahed for a while, but he eventually agreed to help us get the deal.

🎯Variety: This idiom is typically used in British English but may be used in other varieties of English too.

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20 февраля 2017 22:55

🔘behind the times🔘

☑️Meaning: If someone is behind the times, they are old-fashioned and their ideas are out of date.

For example:

🔴How can we be a successful company if our executives are so behind the times that they don't know what people want these days?

🔴Neil is really behind the times. He doesn't even know what rap music sounds like!

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20 февраля 2017 22:52

✅beat around the bush | beat about the bush

☑️Meaning: If you beat around the bush, or beat about the bush, you don't say something directly, usually because you don't want to upset the person you're talking to.

For example:

💥I had trouble telling Pedro he'd lost his job. I started beating around the bush and talking about one door closing and another door opening.

💥Stop beating about the bush. Just tell me what's happened!

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20 февраля 2017 22:50

🔘backed into a corner🔘

☑️Meaning: If you're backed into a corner, you're in a difficult situation that will be hard to get out of.

For example:

💥When his business failed, Gerry felt he'd been backed into a corner and he didn't know what he could do.

💥Jimmy's drug addiction had backed him into a corner and his only way out was to go into rehab and kick the habit.

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19 февраля 2017 18:50

📚off the record📚

☑️Meaning: If you say something "off the record", you don't want it in the public record, or reported in the media.

For example:

✳️The minister has refused to speak to reporters since something he said off the record was reported in a newspaper.

✳️Most politicians realise that just saying something is "off the record" isn't enough to ensure it won't be reported.

🎯Note: 1⃣. Opposite to "on the record", which means something is said on the understanding that it will be part of the public record, and can be reported in the media.
2⃣. If used to modify a noun or a noun phrase, hyphens must be added, as in "off-the-record comments".

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19 февраля 2017 18:46

🔘more than meets the eye🔘

💢Meaning: You can say there's more to something than meets the eye if it's more complex, more important or more interesting than it seems at first.

For example:

✳️I'm sure there's more going on here than meets the eye. I don't think we've been told the full story.

✳️Mick might seem dull and boring when you meet him, but there's more to him than meets the eye, believe me! He's a really interesting guy.

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