Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
once-over – quick look or examination. I didn’t have time to read
the contract, so I gave it a once-over.
. one for the books – very unusual, remarkable. She hates to be around children and she’s an elementary school teacher. That’s one for
the books.
. one’s cup of tea – something one enjoys, special interest. I don’t
like going to the opera. It’s not my cup of tea.
. one’s hands are tied – one is unable to help. I would like to lend
you money, but we just bought a car and a house. My hands are tied. . one’s heart is in the right (wrong) place – kindhearted,
sympathetic or well-meaning. Although she makes a lot of mistakes,
her heart is in the right place.
. one’s heart is in one’s mouth – one is nervous, fearful, or
anxious. I’m speaking in front of people tonight and am very
nervous. My heart is in my mouth.
. one-track mind – mind focused on a single idea. All he ever thinks
about is football. He has a one-tracked mind.
. out of line – not usual, incorrect, unacceptable. She tells her
husband what he can and cannot do. I think she is out of line.
. out of sorts – in a bad mood, irritable. I haven’t’ been feeling very
happy lately. I am out of sorts.
. out of the blue – unexpectedly, by surprise, from nowhere. I
haven’t’ heard from my college roommate in years. Last week, out of
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
the blue, he called me.
. out of the woods – no longer in danger, in the clear. The doctors
say she no longer has the disease. Her prognosis is very good and she is
now out of the woods.
. out of this world – wonderful, terrific. This chocolate cake is the best I have ever had. It’s out of this world.
. out on a limb – in a dangerous, exposed position, one’s ideas are openly known. By speaking up against her boss, she is putting herself
out on a limb.
. over a barrel – in a helpless, trapped position. He saw me cash my
paycheck and then asked me for a loan. I could not refuse. He had me
over a barrel.
. over one’s dead body – under no condition, never. I work six days
a week. Only over my dead body will I work another day.
. pad the bill – add false expenses. The insurance company found
out that the dentist had padded the bill.
. pain in the neck – bothersome, annoying thing or person. My
little brother is a pain in the neck.
. pan out – happen favorably. This new business is risky, but hopefully
it will pan out.
. pass away – die. I miss the neighbor who passed away last year.
. pass out – faint. I haven’t eaten all day, and I think I am going to pass out. . pass the buck – shift responsibility to others. I called their
customer service line, but everyone kept on passing the buck.
. patch up – fix. Even though we had a fight, let’s try to patch things up. . pay through the nose – pay too much. I had to pay through the
nose to stay at that fancy resort.
. peanuts – small amount of money. It only cost peanuts to fix the
scrape on the car.
. pep talk – a talk to arouse enthusiasm. The coach gave the players a
pep talk before the game.
. perk up – emerge from a depressed or uninterested mood. When the
owner of the company walks into the office, try to perk up.
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
. pick up – obtain, get. Please pick up a gallon of milk when you go to
the grocery store.
. pick up the tab – pay the bill. Since he came into a lot of money, he always picks up the tab whenever we go out to dinner.
. pick-me-up, a – a drink or snack taken to refresh oneself. “You look tired. Drink this, it’s a good pick-me-up”.
. piece of cake, a – easy. She has also been good at mathematics. She thinks algebra is a piece of cake.
. pile up – accumulate, put things on top of each other. Try not to let
the work on your desk pile up.
. pill – an annoying , disagreeable person. She is always mad about something and unpleasant to be around. She is such a pill.
. pin someone down – make someone tell the truth or agree to something. He needed to pin her down as to the date for the meeting.
. pinch pennies – be thrifty, careful how you spend money. If you
spend your time pinching pennies, eventually, you’ll have a lot of money.
. pink slip – notice of dismissal. He was fired and received a pink slip
on Friday and will not be showing up for work on Monday.
. pinpoint – find exact location or cause. We need to pinpoint the
cause of the problem.
. pitch in – help. Everyone needs to pitch in so that we can get the
work done and go home.
. pits, the – the worst, anything that is very bad. Having to clean out
my basement is the pits.
. play hooky – stay away from school or work without permission.
He played hooky from work so that he can do things around his house.
. play it by ear – make your decision according to the situation. I’m
not sure when I will arrive at the restaurant, so let’s play it by ear.
. play the field – go out with many people romantically. She is not dating anyone seriously and is still playing the field.
. play up to someone – flatter or please for selfish reasons. He is playing up to his boss because he is hoping to move up in the company.
. play with fire – invite danger, trouble. You are playing with fire if you drive with your car on ‘empty’.
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
. plenty of – a lot of, abundance. She had plenty of food at the party,
so everyone ate a lot.
. point out – explain, show, call attention to. Let me point out the problem with your plan.
. pop the question – ask to marry. He popped the question and
asked her to marry him when they were scuba diving.
. pound the pavement – look for a job. It took him months of pounding the pavement before he landed a job.
. pour it on thick – flatter profusely, exaggerate. He poured it on
thick to his boss, because he wanted to get a raise.
. pull a fast one – cheat, deceive. She pulled a fast one when she got away with stealing all the company’s profits.
. pull punches – hide unpleasant facts or make them seem good. She told him why she wouldn’t date him anymore, and she didn’t
pull any punches.
. pull someone’s leg – trick, playfully tease, fool. If you think I
believe that you won the lottery, your pulling my leg.
. pull something off – accomplish something remarkable. He
never thought he would be able to put on a show, but he pulled it off.
. pull strings – secretly use influence and power. I’ll see if I can pull strings so that you can get an interview.
. pull the rug out from under – spoil someone’s plans, withdraw support. I felt like someone pulled the rug out from under me when he said he wouldn’t pay my tuition.
. pull the wool over one’s eyes – deceive, mislead. He pulled the wool over her eyes and married her just for her money.
. pull up stakes – move to another location. They pulled up stakes
last year and moved to another state.
. push someone around – boss, make a person do what you want. I don’t like it when she pushes me around.
. put a damper on – discourage, spoil a person’s fun. I hate putting a damper on the party, but it is getting late and everyone has to go home.
. put anything past someone – be surprised by what someone
does. I wouldn’t put it past her to talk about me behind my back.
. put down – make someone look bad, criticize. He embarrassed her
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
by putting her down in front of her family.
. put in one’s two cents – give one’s opinion. I put in my two cents,
so that everyone knew how I felt.
. put one’s cards on the table – be frank, tell everything. She
put her cards on the table and told everyone what she really thought. . put one’s finger on – find precisely, remember exactly. She didn’t
know what was causing the problem, but she finally put her finger on it. . put one’s foot down – object strongly, take firm preventative
action. I cleaned the whole house. When she told me that I had to
clean the garage too, I finally put my foot down.
. put one’s foot in one’s mouth – speak carelessly, make a rude
or insensitive comment. I said something that embarrassed my friend,
and really put my foot in my mouth.
. put our heads together – confer, discuss. Let’s put our heads
together and figure out a way to solve this problem.
. put someone in his or her place – scold someone for rude,
improper behavior. When she embarrassed me in front of my friends, I
angrily answered her back and put her in her place.
. put someone on a pedestal – idolize, worship. He has great
respect for his coach, and has put him on a pedestal.
. put something out of one’s mind – try not to think about it.
I’m worried about next week’s test, but I am going to relax and put it out of my mind.
. put through the wringer – cause severe stress. The attorney
asked me many questions and put me through the wringer.
. put two and two together – make a conclusion knowing the facts. She put two and two together and realized that he was stealing from the company.
. put up a good front – pretend to be happy, fool people about
one’s status. Even though she is upset about the fight she had with her
friend, she put up a good front and smiled the whole time
they were together.
. put up with – patiently accept, endure. He has had to put up with
her terrible disposition if he wanted to remain married to her.
. quack – an ignorant or fraudulent doctor. The man paid the doctor $. to fix his problem, but he still had a lot of pain.
I think that doctor is a quack.
. rack one’s brain – try to hard to think or remember. I racked my
brain to remember who I was supposed to call back.
. racket – easy, well-paying job, business that cheats customers. That
company is running a racket. They take money from people, but never
provide them with a service.
. raise eyebrows – cause surprise or disapproval, shock. It raised
some eyebrows when the mother hit the little child in the store.
. rake it in – make a lot of money. Since business has improved, he is really raking it in.
. rake over the coals – scold, reprimand, blame. My boss raked
me over the coals for losing the big account.
. rat race – endless, competitive striving ; hurried material existence. Working in the big city can sometimes feel like a rat race.
. raw deal – unfair treatment. I was the lowest paid worker in the
office. I believe I was given a raw deal.
. read between the lines – understand things that are not said,
find a hidden meaning. If you read between the lines, you will see that
this contract only protects the company and not the customer.
. real McCoy – the genuine thing. This artifact actually came from
the Titanic. It is the real McCoy.
. red tape – excessive formalities in official business. Many businesses
have been complaining about the amount of red tape that they must
deal with in order to get anything done with the government.
. right off the bat – in the beginning , immediately. Before
anything else happened, right off the bat he welcomed everyone
to the meeting.
. right under one’s nose – in an obvious nearby place. Even
though I never to my eyes off of the jewelry counter, someone stole a
watch right under my nose.
. ring a bell – remind one of something familiar. I’m sure I’ve seen
that man before. His name rings a bell.
. rip off – cheat, rob. This product I bought doesn’t work and is made
poorly. I was ripped off.
. road hog – person who takes too much room on the road. That
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
road hog is driving between two lanes and I think may cause
an accident.
. rock the boat – upset the status quo. If you tell everyone in
the office about the company’s plans to close, you may cause a lot of
problems. Don’t rock the boat.
. roll out the red carpet – greet a person with great respect, give
a big welcome. When the King of Jordan visited Washington, they
rolled out the red carpet and gave him a great welcome
. rope into – trick, persuade or pressure. She got roped into going to
the meeting even though she doesn’t work in that department.
. rough – approximate. This computer sells for roughly $.
. rub one the wrong way – annoy, bother, make angry. There is
something about his personality that just rubs me the wrong way.
. rub something in – constantly refer to a mistake or fault. She used
to rub it in that I was fired from my job. She is no longer my friend. . rule out – decide against, eliminate. You will need some medical
tests because your doctor needs to rule out whether or not you may
have a virus.
. rule the roost – be the dominant one in the family. Although she
is very quiet and soft-spoken, I was told that she rules the roost
in her family.
. run around in circles – act confused, do a lot, but accomplish
little. I had so much to do that I was running around in circles.
. run out of – finish the supply, use up. The car’s gas tank was empty and I was afraid that we were going to run out of gas.
. run ragged – tire, exhaust. I haven’t had a day off in months and
feel like I’m running ragged.
. run (take) a risk – be open to danger or loss, unprotected.
Everyone is sick in your friend’s house. If you go and visit him, you are
running the risk of getting sick too.
. run down – in bad condition. Nothing seems to be working in this
car. It seems to be very run down.
. scalper – a person who buys a ticket at the regular rate and sells it at
a profit. There were many scalpers selling tickets before the game.
. scam – a plan to cheat someone. The woman finally got in trouble,
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
because it was found out that she was running a scam.
. scatter around – carelessly put in different places. Clothes were
scattered around the messy room.
. scrape the bottom of the barrel – take whatever is left after
best has been taken. We need to find employees for the new company
but all the talented ones are already working. It looks like we need to
scrape the bottom of the barrel and hire people with less talent.
. scrape together – get money little by little. I’ll need to scrape together some money so that I can buy your car.
. scratch the surface – merely begin to understand or accomplish something. He has been looking through the accounting books to find all of the errors. There seems to be so many that he is only beginning to scratch the surface.
. scrounge around – look in a lot of places for a certain item. I
need a inch screw that will hold a part tight in the light fixture. I’ve
been scrounging around for an hour, but can’t seem to find one.
. second hand – not new, previously used. The little girl has been
wearing second hand clothes from her older sister for the past year. . see daylight – achieve or expect a favorable result. Now that most
of the inventory is done, we are beginning to see daylight.
. see eye to eye – have the same opinion, agree. My partner and I are
splitting up. We do not see eye to eye.
. see red – become very angry. I saw red when he told me that he
wouldn’t be at work tomorrow.
. sell like hotcakes – sell quickly, rapidly. His CD is becoming so
popular, it is selling like hotcakes.
. sell oneself short – underestimate oneself. Even though she is
the only one who knows how to fix all of the computers, she doesn’t
realize how valuable she really is. She is always selling herself short.
. send someone packing – tell someone to leave, dismiss. When he broke up with his girlfriend, he didn’t want her living in his apartment anymore. He sent her packing.
. serve time – be in jail. He served time in the county jail for driving without a driver’s license.
. set one back – cost. These new shoes set me back $.
. settle down – live a quiet normal life. After they marry, they plan
to move out into the country, settle down and have a family.
. shape up – begin to act and look right. The school boy was hitting
other children and talking out in class. He was told by the teacher that
he better shape up or he will have to stand in the hallway.
. sharp – smart, witty, quick thinking. The supervisor is very sharp.
She knows how to quickly fix any problem that may arise.
. shell out – pay. We shelled out a lot of money to eat at that
fancy restaurant.
. shook up – upset, worried fearful. I got all shook up when I heard
the awful news.
. shoot full of holes – find great fault with. I thought my idea
was great, but my boss said it would never work. He shot it full of holes. . shoot the breeze – talk idly or gossip. Let’s go out after work and
shoot the breeze for awhile.
. shop around – look in many stores. She shopped around for the
perfect dress to wear to the party.
. shoplifter – one who steals goods from stores. The shoplifter was
stealing some merchandise and was caught by the security guard.
. short end of the stick – unfair, unequal treatment. I was the only
employee who had to work all weekend. I got the short end of the stick. . shrug off – dismiss, not be bothered or hurt. Even though his
classmates treated him badly, he didn’t let them bother him. He always shrugged off their mean comments.
. sick and tired – disliking some continual behavior, annoyed. I
am sick and tired of listening to the loud music that my neighbors are
always playing.
. side with – favor, support one position in a dispute. My father
always sided with my sister even though he knew she was wrong.
. side-swipe – hit the side of a car. My car needs to be repaired. It was
side-swiped by a bus on my way to work today.
. simmer down – become quiet, calm. The teacher told the children
to simmer down because they were too loud.
. sink one’s teeth into – go to work seriously. I can’t wait to sink
my teeth into this exciting new project.
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
. sink or swim – fail or succeed by your own efforts. This venture is going to be successful or a complete failure. It’s either going to be sink
or swim.
. sit right – be acceptable. His father doesn’t want him to go to a far
away university. It doesn’t sit right with him.
. sit tight – wait patiently. Sit tight while I run back to my house and
get my keys.
. sitting pretty – in a favorable situation. Their team is points
ahead in the game. It doesn’t look like they can lose. They are sitting pretty. . six feet under – dead. The old man that used to live in that house
is now six feet under. He died a few months ago.
. size up – form an opinion, assess. Before I can give you my opinion, I
need to size up the situation.
. skeleton in one’s closet – a family secret. She has always
seemed distant and secretive. She has many skeletons in her closet.
. skip – forget, pass over. The teacher needed to skip a few questions on
the test because he ran out of time.
. sky high – expensive. After purchasing the new bed with all the
sheets and pillows, the bill was sky high.
. sleazy – shoddy, dirty, in poor condition. Her apartment was sleazy.
There was dirt and garbage all over the floor.
. sleep on it – think about, consider, decide later. Even though you
want me to take the new job, I need to sleep on it before I give you my
decision.
. slip one’s mind – be forgotten. I’m sorry I missed our appointment.
It must have slipped my mind.
. slob – a person who isn’t clean and neat. I don’t think that man has washed his clothes in two weeks. He looks like a slob.
. smell a rat – become suspicious. When $ dollars was missing from the company, I began to smell a rat and thought it may be internal theft.
. smooth something over – make better or more pleasant. Even though there has been many family problems, her mother likes to smooth everything over and act like things are all good.
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
. snap – an easy task. Putting these folder files in order won’t take very long. It is a snap.
. snap out of it – free oneself from the control of panic, fear,
hysteria. He was upset and crying so hard that he couldn’t snap out of it.
. snow job – insincere or exaggerated talk intended to trick or impress. Even though he never worked a day in his life, he told everyone that he was a successful attorney. He was giving everyone a snow job.
. snowball’s chance in hell – no chance at all. We’ve got a snowball’s chance in hell to win the lottery next week.
. sob story – sad story that makes the listener sympathetic. The boy forgot to bring in his homework. He gave his teacher a sob story and told her that his dog ate it.
. sore loser – person who gets angry when he loses. That little girl is
a sore loser. She cries every time she doesn’t win a game.
. sort of – almost, not quite, similar to. I’m not sure what color this
shirt is. It is sort of blue and sort of green.
. sourpuss – a disagreeable person who seldom smiles. My teacher is always in a bad mood. He is such a sourpuss.
. spic and span – very clean, very neat. Now that we have cleaned our house, it looks spic and span.
. spill the beans – tell a secret, inform. She found out a secret and
told all of her friends. She spilled the beans.
. spine chilling – terrifying , thrilling. I don’t think that young children should see this movie. It is spine chilling.
. spitting image – exact resemblance. The boy is the spitting image
of his father. They look like twins.
. split hairs – make trivial, unnecessary distinctions. The lawyers
were splitting hairs over the wording in the contract.
. split up – separate. Although they have been married for over
years, the couple decided to split up because they could no longer get along.
. splurge – spend a lot of money for something. When it came to
buying a new car, they splurged and bought one that was luxurious.
. spoiled – getting and expecting everything one wants. Their
children are so spoiled. They have every toy that you can imagine and
don’t seem to be appreciative.
. sport – a person generous with money. He took me out to dinner
and paid for everything. He was very sporty with his money.
. spring – pay. Because he just won some money in a contest, he
sprang for dinner.
. spruce up – clean, redecorate. We wanted to make our home look
good for the holiday party. We spent days sprucing it up.
. square one – in the beginning. Now that the computer had lost all
the information in the report, we will have to begin at square one.
. squeal- inform. Even though he was involved in the bank robbery,
he squealed on his partner so that he wouldn’t have to go to jail.
. stab someone in the back – betray someone. We were always so friendly in the office. I cannot believe that he stabbed me in the back and tried to have me fired.
. stand – tolerate, like. The president would not stand for corruption
in his administration.
. stand on one’s own two feet – be independent. Once he graduated from college, he was able to get a job and an apartment and
he was able to stand on his own two feet.
. stand someone up – fail to keep an appointment or date. They
decided to meet at :. She waited for him for an hour and then
realized that he stood her up.
. stand up to someone – be brave, courageously confront someone. Even though the bully was twice his size, the boy wasn’t afraid and was able to stand up to him.
. start the ball rolling – take the initiative, begin an action. It takes approximately one year to be accepted into that school. We completed an application to start the ball rolling.
. stay away from – avoid. I always try to stay away from mean people. . stick one’s neck out – look for trouble, take risks. Although I
had nothing to do with the problem that he was having , I stuck my
neck out to help him.
. stick it out – endure, continue. The girl was miserable at sleep
away camp but she only had one more week before it was over. She
decided to stick it out and stay.
. stick to one’s guns – to defend an action or an opinion despite an
unfavorable reaction. Everyone told me this idea was stupid.
I didn’t listen to them and stuck to my guns.
. stick up for – defend, help, support. Even though everyone makes
fun of her friend at school, she always sticks up for her and stands
by her side.
. stink – to be extremely bad quality, to be terrible. I was treated badly
on the phone when I called the company about the problem I was having. I think their customer service department really stinks.
. straight from the horse’s mouth – directly from the person involved. Even though we all heard about the John’s accident, it was nice to here about it from John himself. We finally heard it straight from the horse’s mouth.
. straighten out – put in order. He spent Saturday straightening
out his clothing drawers and making everything neat.
. strapped – having no money available. Can you please buy my
lunch today? I am strapped for money until payday next week.
. strike while the iron is hot – take advantage of an
opportunity. He has been working very hard on his new business. It
has been taking off and he wants to strike while the iron is hot.
. strings attached – restraining circumstances, obligations. He
became company president, but he had to marry the owner’s daughter.
There were strings attached.
. stuck – unable to understand. I am stuck on this math problem and I cannot figure it out.
. stuff – things. We need to buy a lot of stuff for the party.
. stuffed shirt – a person who is rigid or too formal. It is fun
working in my office. Everyone likes to laugh and have a good time
except for Ed. Ed is always serious, businesslike and never wants to
relax and have a good time. He is such a stuffed shirt.
. swamped – overwhelmed. I need to complete four reports by
tomorrow. I am swamped with work.
. swan song – final appearance. The actress died after completing the role in this movie. This was her swan song.
. sweat bullets – be nervous, be very hot. I didn’t know how the interview would go and was very nervous. I was sweating bullets.
. sweatshop – a factory that has poor conditions, long hours, low pay.
I feel bad for people who have to work in that chemical plant.
I have heard it is like a sweatshop in there.
. swell – terrific. Your boss has said great things about you. She says
that you are a swell guy.
. take a beating – lose money. Last year, everyone took a beating in
the stock market.
. take a crack at – try, attempt. Even though you tried to fix the toy
and couldn’t, let me take a crack at it.
. take advantage of – treat unfairly for your own gain, make good
use of time or conditions. Because I had a few days off of work, I took advantage of all the time I had a read a few books.
. take after – resemble or act like a parent or relative. I see that he
takes after his dad in his ability to play basketball.
. take it – endure trouble, criticism, abuse, pressure. Everyone in
school told her how ugly and stupid she was. She was unable to take it
and eventually changed schools.
. take on – begin to handle, commit oneself to, accept. He took on a
great challenge when he became the CEO of a bankrupt company.
. take one’s hat off to someone – admire, respect, praise. I am
very impressed that you actually had your book published. I take my
hat off to you!
. take over – take control, command. When the pilot became ill, the
co-pilot had to take over the controls of the aircraft.
. take someone for a ride – cheat, swindle. When my car broke down for the third time, I realized that the car salesman really took
me for a ride.
. take someone to the cleaners – win all of someone’s money, cheat someone. He invested money in a business deal that went bad. They took him to the cleaners.
. take something lying down – suffer without having a fight. Someone said the he stole money from the company. He’s not going to
take that lying down.
. take something to heart – consider seriously. His parents
spoke to him about improving his grades. I hope he took it to heart. . take a bull by the horns – take strong action. He needs more money, so he is going to take the bull by the horns and ask for a raise.
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
. take the Fifth – refuse to testify against oneself, as guaranteed by
the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. He asked the fat girl how much she weighed. She was embarrassed and took the Fifth.
. take the plunge – do something decisive. I realized I gained a lot
of weight, so I finally took the plunge and decided to seriously go on a diet.
. take the words out of someone’s mouth – say something someone else was going to say. I was just going to say that he was a liar.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
. take up – begin an activity or hobby. She plans to take up golf
next summer.
. take with a grain of salt – listen with skepticism. He told me
that he got all A’s in college. I don’t believe him. You should take it
with a grain of salt.
. talk through one’s hat – make exaggerated or inaccurate statements. She’s always talking about how much she is investing in the
stock market, but I think she is talking through her hat.
. talk turkey – discuss seriously, in a business-like manner. If you are
really serious about buying my car, let’s talk turkey.
. tearjerker – story that makes you cry. The movie we saw last night
was a real tearjerker.
. tell someone off – speak to angrily. Whenever she becomes too
arrogant, it is time to tell her off.
. think up – invent, create. The theme for this year’s party will not
work. We need to think up a new idea.
. third degree, the – prolonged questioning. When I returned
home from my date, my roommate wanted to know everything that
had happened and gave me the third degree.
. through the grapevine – via gossip from other people. I heard through the grapevine that you are pregnant. Is that true?
. through the mill – experienced in difficulties of life. She’s had a difficult life. She’s been put through the mill.
. throw cold water on – discourage. I really don’t want to throw cold water on your business proposal, but I really don’t think that it is a
good idea.
. throw in the towel – surrender, give up. When he realized that there
was no way he was going to finish the race, he finally threw in the towel.
. throw one’s weight around – use one’s influence in a showy manner. Because she was the boss’s daughter, she liked throwing her weight around the office and tell everyone what to do.
. throw the book at – punish severely for breaking rules or the law. They have a lot of evidence against that criminal. They are going to throw the book at him at the trial.
. tickled pink – very happy. I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to go home. I was tickled pink that the party had finally ended.
. tide someone over – help someone through a shortage. Can you please loan me $ and tide me over until I get paid next week?
. tie the knot – get married. She will tie the knot this spring.
. tied down – restricted by family or job responsibilities. When you
have children, pets and a mortgage, you feel tied down.
. tight squeeze – difficult situation financially. I don’t have the
money for that now. I am in a tight squeeze.
. tighten one’s belt – economize, spend and use less. Since he has
taken a cut in his salary, the family has needed to tighten their belt. . tightwad – person who is cheap and sting y. Whenever we go to
a restaurant, he always tries to leave without contributing any money
toward the bill. He is such a tightwad.
. tip someone off – warn, inform. The burglars were arrested
because the police were tipped off.
. to a T – perfectly, exactly. Although you have only been to my house once, you described it to a T!
. to boot – in addition, also. She is trying to lose weight. So I was surprised that after dinner, she ordered cake and ice cream to boot.
. to the hilt – completely, to the limit. He’s borrowed a lot of
money against his house. He is mortgaged to the hilt!
. tooth and nail – as hard as possible, fiercely. Although they were going to take that an account away from me, I fought tooth and
nail to keep it.
. top-notch – excellent, the best. He never loses a court case. He is a top-notch attorney.
. topsy-turvy – upside down, in disarray. When you move from one apartment to another, everything is topsy-turvy.
. total – completely ruin. After the accident, my car was totaled and was unable to be fixed.
. touch and go – very dangerous or uncertain. She was sent to the hospital in very poor health. The doctors said that it was touch and go.
. tough break – unlucky event, misfortune. Breaking his leg in the middle of football season was a tough break for John.
. tourist trap – any place that is overpriced and attracts tourists.
I hate going to that resort in the summer. They charge hundreds of dollars a night for a tiny room. I think it’s a tourist trap.
. track down – search for. The balances in both accounts are not matching. We need to track down the problem.
. treat – pay for someone else. He really helped me complete my project, so I treated him to lunch.
. try something out – test. The store told me that we can try the mattress out for days to see if we like it.
. turn one off – disgust, bore, repel. When he started saying bad
things about my sister, it really turned me off.
. turn out – result, end. Although the movie was boring at first, it turned out to be wonderful.
. turn over a new leaf – change one’s conduct for the better. My little boy has recently started lying to his mother. After I spoke with him, he told me that he is turning over a new leaf and won’t
do it anymore.
. turn someone down – reject. Although the job interview went
very well, he was turned down for the job.
. turn someone’s stomach – get someone sick and upset. It really turns my stomach when little children treat their elders poorly.
. turn the tables – reverse the situation. We lost the game last
night, but tonight, we’ll turn the tables.
. turn to – go to for help. He was such a good friend. I always knew
that I could turn to him if I needed some money.
. turn up – appear. Those keys have been lost for a month. I am
hoping that they turn up soon.
. twiddle one’s thumbs – not busy, not working. Our department has gotten slow this season. All we are doing is twiddling our thumbs.
. twist someone around one’s finger – influence someone
easily. He will do whatever she wants. It’s amazing how she has him
twisted around her little finger.
. two-faced – disloyal, untrustworthy. She’ll tell you that you have a
beautiful dress, but when you leave, she’ll say that you are fat and how
awful it looked on you. She is two-faced.
. under the table – illegal money transaction, such as paying a
bribe. She was paid under the table and continued to collect her unemployment checks illegally.
. under the weather – not feeling well. I started sneezing this morning and have had a bad headache. I am beginning to feel under
the weather.
. up one’s alley – something one enjoys, special interest. I’m going to
the art museum on Sunday. I know you love to paint, so this is right up
your alley.
. up the river – in jail. The judge found him guilty and he was sent
up the river for years.
. up to here with – disgusted with another’s continual behavior. My phone bills are always so high. I am just up to here with them.
. up to one’s ears – deeply immersed in. I have a lot of folders sitting
on my desk. I am up to my ears in paperwork.
. up to par (neg.)– meeting normal standards. I have a headache and don’t feel up to par.
. up to someone – someone’s choice. Because it is her birthday, it is
up to her what kind of birthday cake to buy.
. upset the applecart – ruin or spoil a plan or idea. Our plans are perfect. Don’t discuss them with anyone. We don’t want to upset
the applecart.
. use one’s noodle (head) – think. He wasn’t using his noodle
when he offered to stay and clean up the mess.
. walk all over someone – take advantage of someone. He loves
her so much and she walks all over him.
. wash one’s hands of – refuse responsibility for, abandon. If he lies
or hurts you, you should wash your hands of him.
. washed up – no longer successful or needed, failed. Since he was arrested, his movie career is all washed up.
. waste one’s breath – speak or argue with no result. I have told
her that she should stop smoking a thousand times. Don’t even mention it to her, you’ll be wasting your breath.
. watch (or mind) one’s P’s and Q’s – act very carefully, pay attention to detail. If you are having dinner with your boss, you have to
watch your P’s and Q’s.
. water down – dilute. The coffee is too strong. I think you need to
water it down.
. wear the pants – be the boss of the family. She makes all the big
decisions when it comes to finances. We all know who wears the pants
in that family.
. weigh one’s words – be careful of what one says. The boss is going to interview me today. I don’t want to talk too much. I should weigh my words.
. well-off – rich, wealthy. She has traveled extensively throughout
the world. I believe she’s very well-off.
. wet behind the ears – inexperienced. He can’t manage the office. He is still wet behind the ears.
. wet blanket – person who discourages others from having fun. She was no fun at the party. She is a wet blanket.
. wet one’s whistle – have a drink, especially alcohol. I am so
thirsty. I would like to wet my whistle.
. what it takes – any ability for a job, courage. She is smart and ambitious. She certainly has what it takes to be a doctor.
. when the chips are down – at the worst time, when one faces
the biggest obstacles. A true friend is someone who is always there when the chips are down.
. whistle a different tune – change one’s attitude, contradict previous ideas. The boss’s son doesn’t believe his father should pay anyone overtime, but when he can work extra hours, he whistles a different tune.
. white as a ghost – very pale because of fear, shock, illness. My
sister became as white as a ghost when she saw the man at the window.
. white lie – a harmless lie (told to be polite or to do something not seriously wrong ). I told my boss a white lie and said that I was sick yesterday when I actually wasn’t.
. wild goose chase – absurd or hopeless search. She did not want
the police to find her boyfriend so she gave them false information and
sent them on a wild goose chase.
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam
. will power – strength of mind. Some people say you need a lot of
will power to quit smoking.
. wimp – spineless, non-assertive person. He never speaks up for
himself. He is such a wimp.
. wind up – end, finish. It’s getting late and I want to finish this project and go home. Let’s wind things up.
. wing it – rely only on one’s knowledge, act without preparation.
They asked me to make a speech, but I did not prepare anything so I
just winged it.
. wisecrack – sarcastic or nasty remark. He is not very nice, so don’t
be surprised if he makes a wisecrack about your clothes.
. wishy-washy – having no definite opinion, unable to decide. He
never has his own opinion. He is very wishy-washy.
. with a fine toothed comb – very carefully. She lost her earring
somewhere in our house. We searched for it with a fine-toothed comb. . with flying colors – with great or total success. She passed her
course with flying colors and now wants to go out and celebrate.
. within reason – sensible, reasonable, reasonably. I know you want
to buy my car. If your offer is within reason, then it’s a deal.
. word of mouth – recommendation from other people. His
business does not advertise. He became successful all by word of mouth. . work one’s fingers to the bone – work very hard. I had to type
many pages to put this book together. I have worked my fingers to the bone. . work out – find an answer, solve. I have added these numbers three
times and still get different answers. This problem can’t seem to be
worked out.
. wrong side of the tracks, the – the poor section of town, implying social inferiority. She comes from a wealthy family. Her parents did not want her to marry anyone from the wrong side of the tracks.
. yell bloody murder – express loud, emotional anger. Some babies yell bloody murder if their mothers leave them with babysitters.
. You’re kidding – Really? Is it true? You’ve read every single entry
in this book? You’re kidding!
Best idioms for ielts students 2 Ielts Exam