IDIOMS & USEFUL PHRASES:

about to Peter is about to leave.

in advance We booked the tickets in advance.

alive and kicking I love Berlin. It's alive and kicking.

all of a sudden I went out in the sun. Then, all of a sudden, it started
to rain.

all over the place There are environmental problems all over the
globe.

to go from bad to worse My marks went from bad to worse last term.

to bag something. Tom bagged this special offer at an online-shop.

beat-up Mark is too beat-up to play tennis this evening.

to do the best He always does his best.

blabber Don't listen to him, he's a blabber.

to blag something Once in a while young Tim blags his father's pennies.

bloody What a bloody day it is!

to be blue She's been feeling blue all day.

a closed book Holmes’ life is like a closed book.

bouncer A bouncer's task is to keep out those who cause

trouble.

bowl of cherries Marriage it's not always a bowl of cherries.

be broke I can't go to the cinema with you, I'm broke.

to brush up on something I have to brush up on my Spanish.

buck You can buy a DVD player for less than 100 bucks.

buzz Parachuting gives me a real buzz.

Buzz off! Buzz off! I have told you not to come to my place
anymore.

a close call I had a close call. A stone almost hit me!

like cat and dog The boys fought like cat and dog.

to catch something Sorry, I didn't quite catch your telephone number.

to catch (a) cold I walked out in the rain, so I caught (a) cold.

not to have a clue I don't have a clue about repairing the faucet.

Come off it! Come off it! This isn't the truth.

as far as I'm concerned As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to watch the film.

cop A big crowd of cops gathered in front of the Bank of

England.

corner shop Mother really liked the corner shop when she was a
child.

cram school Many pupils have to go to a cram school in the

afternoon.

on credit I would not buy the new TV on credit.

to dig in one's heels If you take or express an opinion and refuse to change
it, you dig in your heels.

dirt-cheap Certain flea markets offer casuals at a dirt-cheap price.

to disrespect someone Poor people shouldn't be disrespected.

to do one's best He does his best to fix the car.

to do someone good Let's go on a holiday. The sun will do us good.

to do without If there's no milk for the tea, it'll do without.

down under (AUZ & NZ) Down under will be my next destination.

to be up to one's ears Sorry, I can't go out with you. I'm up to my ears in

work.

to eat like a horse/ pig My brother eats like a horse when he comes home for
vacations.

every now and then Every now and then I play the piano.

every other He comes to me every other week.

to see eye to eye World Bank and IMF see eye to eye on Asia

fair enough Fair enough! Let's go out for dinner tonight.

to keep fingers crossed I have to see the doctor for a check-up- I'll keep my
fingers crossed for you.

flutter The old lady loves a flutter on the slot machine.

folk We all are fond of the Irish folk.

for free I was lucky. I got this CD for free.

freak out Rose freaked out when she heard that Peter had
broken his arm.

fridge Butter must be kept in the fridge.

to get a lot of stick In his new job, Jack gets a lot of stick. (unfair criticism)

to get cold feet He wanted to speak to the boss, but he didn't as he got
cold feet.

to get fed up with something They get fed up with their neighbour's parties.

to get rid of something We have to get rid of that old car.

to get something Jason, did you finally get your exercise?

to take something for granted I took it for granted the meeting was on Tuesday.

greasy spoon I'd rather starve instead of eating at a greasy spoon.

groovy The new merchandise looks groovy.

guy Jennifer called up that guy from the supermarket.

grumpy John is a grumpy man and does not care about anyone.

had better You'd better go now.

on the other hand Sue likes pop music, on the other hand she doesn't like
discos.

to give a hand Can you give me a hand with the cupboard?

hard graft Building our house has been a hard graft.

by heart My brother has to learn the poem by heart.

hip Molly always knows what's hip.

to hold one's horses Hold your horses, I said, when John began to leave the
room.

to be hooked on something Bill is hooked on car racing.

to jump the gun Adolescents, try to jump the gun to opine when not
asked in preference.

to keep an eye on someone/ Will you keep an eye on my baby?

something

little by little Andrew had an accident while playing ice-hockey. Little

by little did he recover.
to look forward to someone/ I look forward to my holidays in Rome.

something

to make ends meet She's been out of work for years. How can she make
ends meet with four children?

to make friends easily Chris makes friends easily.

to make oneself at home Come in, please. Make yourself at home.

to make the most Let's make the most of the last day of our holidays.

to make up one's mind Did you make up your mind to buy a new computer?

mash (potato mash) I love Grandma's homemade mash.

What's the matter? You look sad. What's the matter with you?

to be mean Grandfather is mean with money.

to meet someone halfway I don't like his ideas wholly, but also I feel that we
could meet halfway.

to mess around The caretaker messed around to make the children

laugh.

to mess up Sandy has really messed up this time.

from now on From now on I'm going to drive more carefully.

to be pissed off Leave me alone, I'm pissed off!

pitch-dark It was pitch-dark while driving through the forest.

to come to the point Dad asked her to come to the point rather than
discussing what had happened.

to pop in I’ll pop in to the salon before wearing the new dress.

to put in a word for someone My mother doesn't let me go out. Can you put in a
word for me, please?
pretty much They earn pretty much money together.

out of question We can't come to the party. This is out of question.

red tape Red tape reduction is important to meet project

deadlines.

right as rain Your baby is right as rain.

to sack someone Tim was sacked because he had lost his driving licence.

scruffy Her apartment is very scruffy.

to see about Let's have a party on Saturday. I'll see about the drinks.

sharpish After a quarrel, Mike left sharpish.

to be in someone's shoes I don't want to be in Peter's shoes.

to shut up Shut up or disappear before I get furious.

can't stand I can't stand the smell coming from there.

in the sticks During their holidays, the Josephs lived in the sticks, far
away from towns.

stuff Where is all that stuff I bought from New York City
yesterday?

take it easy You can take it easy as it is not the final test.

telly You're a couch potato. All you can do is sit in front of

the telly.

thick Are you thick? This is the right number.

think nothing of it. Its just a small breakage on the glass, you think nothing
of it.

to be on time Please be on time.

to take one's time Some people feel its okay to take one’s time.
tipple (drink) After walking through the cold rain, everyone enjoyed
a tipple.

to loose track Do you know where Tim lives? - I've lost track of him.

to take turns My sister and Ann take turns babysitting.

weary James looked so weary after the match.

watch your step You'd better watch your step if you don't want trouble
with your boss.

to wear many hats You've got to wear many hats if you want to run your
own hotel.

to feel under the weather I think I'll stay at home tonight. I'm feeling a little under
the weather.

as white as snow Tintin’s dog, Snowy is white as snow.

no wonder No wonder he is ill. He went out in shorts in winter.

a word in your ear Could I have a word in your ear?

to eat one's words I'm sorry if I eat my words in between, I m in a rush, so

listen carefully.

in other words In other words, you can't answer the question.

to have words with sb. I had words with the teacher of my son's school as she
was blaming him all the time.

to work like a dog Even if you work like a dog, it seems unworthy.

would rather I would rather die than live such a life.

to wow someone His appearance at the party wowed me.

to zing through something The arrow zinged through the trees as fast as lightning.