Glossary of Idiomatic Expression - Part 2 pps

Glossary of Idiomatic Expression

Part 2

A Have an ace up your sleeve.

If you have an ace up your sleeve, it means that you have

something in reserve with which you can gain an

advantage.

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."

Get your act together!

If you tell someone to get their act together, you mean

that they need to organize their affairs more effectively

in order to be more successful.

Much ado about nothing. If people make "much ado about nothing", they make

a lot of fuss about something which is not important.

All ears

To say that you are all ears means that you are listening

very attentively.

"Of course I want to know - I'm all ears!"

All hell broke loose

To say that all hell broke loose means that there was a

sudden angry,

noisy reaction to something.

" All hell broke loose when it was announced that the plant

was going to close down."

All thumbs/all fingers and

thumbs

If you are all fingers and thumbs, you are awkward and

clumsy and do things

incorrectly.

"Would you mind wrapping this for me? I'm all fingers and

thumbs!"

Any port in a storm

When you are in difficulty, any port in a storm refers to a

solution you accept,

which in normal circumstances you would find

unacceptable.

"The hotel was substandard, but it was a case of any port in

a storm; all the others

were full."

The apple of your eye.

If somebody is the apple of your eye, this means that you

like

them very much :

"My grandson is the apple of my eye".

To upset the applecart

To upset (or to overturn) the applecart means to spoil a

satisfactory plan or situation

"I hope Julie doesn't attend the meeting - she could upset

the applecart!"

Give your right arm

If you say "I'd give my right arm for that", you mean that

you want it a lot

and would do almost anything to obtain it.

"I'd give my right arm to have a apartment on Central Park."

Cost an arm and a leg If something costs an arm and a leg, it is very expensive!

"The house cost us an arm and a leg, but we have no

regrets."

To be up in arms

If you are up in arms about something, you are very angry.

"The population was up in arms over the demolition of the

old theatre."

A rude awakening If you get a rude awakening, you are forced to accept

the unpleasant truth.

Have an axe to grind

If you have an axe to grind, you have personal reasons for

adopting

a particular attitude about something.

"It was decided that the best candidates would be selected

by a recruitment agency

who had no axe to grind within the company."

B

Leave somebody holding the

baby

If someone is left holding the baby, they are made

responsible for a problem

that others don't want to deal with.

"When the angry customer started to complain,

my colleague disappeared and left me holding the baby."

Get off my back!

If you tell somebody to get off your back, you ask them to

stop

finding faults or criticizing you.

In the back of beyonds

This expression is used to describe an isolated place

located far from any town.

"It took us hours to find Jack's house. He lives in the back

of beyonds!"

On the back burner

If you put a project or issue on the back burner, you

decide to deal with it

at a later date because you do not consider it to be that

urgent or important.

"When Julie was offered a promotion, she put her MBA

plans on the

back burner."

Back to square one

To say that someone is back to square one, means that

they have not succeeded

in what they were trying to do, and so they have to start

again.

"When the plans were refused, it was back to square one

for the architect."

Backhanded compliment

A remark that appears to express admiration but could also be

interpreted as an insult

is called a backhanded compliment.

"He said my presentation was 'surprisingly clear' -

how's that for a backhanded compliment!"

Backseat driver

A backseat driver is a passenger in a car who gives

unwanted advice to the driver.

"I can't stand backseat drivers like my mother-in-law!"

A bad egg

To refer to someone as a bad egg means that they cannot

be trusted.

"I don't want my son to be friends with Bobby Smith.

Bobby's a bad egg."

Badger someone into doing

something

If you badger someone into doing something, you

persistently nag or

pester them until you obtain what you want.

"Sophie badgered her parents into buying her a new

computer."

In the bag

If you think something is in the bag, you are almost certain it will

be achieved.

"An hour before the polling stations closed, victory seemed

in the bag for the

Conservative candidate."

In the balance

If something is in the balance, it means the situation is

uncertain

and it is not clear what is going to happen.

"The future of the company is in the balance while the

takeover bid

is being examined."

Be on the ball If you are on the ball, you are aware of what is happening

and are able to react to the situation quickly.

Have a ball If you have a ball, you enjoy yourself.

"The party was great. We had a ball."

Start the ball rolling

If you start the ball rolling, you start an activity in which

other people will join.

"Let's start the ball rolling by calling on our first speaker."

Jump on the bandwagon

If a person or organization jumps on the bandwagon,

they decide to do something when it is already successful

or fashionable.

"When organic food became popular, certain stores were

quick

to jump on the bandwagon and promote it."

Bar fly

A bar fly refers to someone who spends a lot of time

drinking in bars and pubs.

"You'll find Johnny down at the pub - he's a real bar fly!"

Bare one's heart (or soul)

If you bare your heart or soul to someone, you reveal

your innermost

thoughts and feelings to them.

"John couldn't keep things to himself any longer. He

decided to bare his soul

to his best friend."

His bark is worse than his

bite

This expression is used to refer to a person who sounds

much more severe

or angry than they really are.

"Don't be afraid of him - his bark is worse than his bite."

Bark up the wrong tree

A person who barks up the wrong tree is doing the wrong

thing,

because their beliefs or ideas are incorrect or mistaken.

Have bats in the belfry

If you say that somebody has bats in the belfry, you are

saying that

their ideas are completely mad.

Be full of beans A person who is full of beans is lively, active and healthy.

Like a bear with a sore head

If someone is behaving like a bear with a sore head, they

are very irritable

and bad-tempered.

"When his team lost the match, Brad was like a bear with a

sore head."

At someone's beck and call

If a person is at somebody's beck and call, they are

always

ready to do things for them or obey orders to please them.

"Parents should not be at the beck and call of their children."

Have a bee in one's bonnet

A person who has a bee in their bonnet has an idea

which constantly occupies their thoughts.

"She's got a bee in her bonnet about moving to New York."

The bee's knees

If you say that someone/something is the bee's knees,

you think they are exceptionally good.

If you say "Julie thinks she's the bee's knees", it means

that

Julie has a high opinion of herself!

Been there, done that

This expression is used to indicate that the speaker is

familiar with the

situation mentioned. It can also refer to an attitude which

reflects a certain

boredom at the idea of repeating an experience that has

lost its novelty.

"His suggestions produced a 'been there, done that'

attitude which undermined

his enthusiasm."

Beggars can't be choosers.

This expression means that you should not reject an offer

if it is the only possibility you have. You have no choice.

"Beggars can't be choosers"!

Ring a bell.

If something rings a bell, it is vaguely familiar to you,

but you can't remember the exact details .

"John Bentley? The name rings a bell but I don't

remember him."

Below the belt

An action or remark described as below the belt means

that

it is considered unfair or cruel.

"Politicians sometimes use personal information to hit their

rivals below the belt.'

Tighten your belt

If you need to tighten your belt, you must spend your

money carefully.

"Another bill? I'll have to tighten my belt this month!"

Bend over backwards

If you bend over backwards, you try very hard to do

something,

especially to please somebody.

"The manager bent over backwards to try to make Jack stay,

but Jack wouldn't change his mind."

Bend the truth

If you bend the truth, you say something that is not

entirely true.

"OK, I bent the truth a bit; I told him it was my natural

colour,

but I didn't say that my hairdresser helped me to keep it

natural!"

The benefit of the doubt

If you give somebody the benefit of the doubt, you choose

to believe that

that person is innocent, honest or telling the truth, because

there is no evidence

to the contrary.

"Although he found it hard to believe Tom's explanation, the

teacher decided

to give him the benefit of the doubt."

The best of both worlds If a person has the best of both worlds, they have the

benefits and advantages

of two different things.

"We live in the centre of town, but only 5 minutes from the

beach.

We have the best of both worlds."

Better safe than sorry

It's better to be too cautious than to be careless and have

regrets later.

"Let's book tickets in advance - better safe than sorry!"

Think better of something

If you think better of something, you decide not to do

something

that you intended doing.

"I wanted to go shopping, but when I saw the crowded car

park,

I thought better of it."

Between the devil and the

deep blue sea

If you are between the devil and the deep blue sea, you

are in a situation

where there are two equally unacceptable alternatives.

"When the new product didn't take off, the Marketing

Director was caught

between the devil and the deep blue sea!"

It's beyond me

The expression "it's beyond me" means: "it's impossible

for me to

understand"

"It's beyond me why Mary wants to marry John."

Beyond one's wildest dreams

If something is beyond your wildest dreams, it is better

than you imagined or

hoped for.

"The research team received a grant from the government

that was beyond their

wildest dreams."

Bide your time

If you bide your time, you wait for a good opportunity to do

something.

"He's not hesitating, he's just biding his time. He's waiting

for the price to drop."

Clean bill of health

If a person has a clean bill of health, they have a report or

certificate

declaring that their health is satisfactory.

Kill two birds with one

stone.

If you kill two birds with one stone, you succeed in doing

two things at the same time.

Birds of a feather.

To say that two people are birds of a feather means that

they

are very similar in many ways.

In/wearing one's birthday

suit

This humorous expression means that you are wearing

nothing!

"The bathroom door blew open, and there I was in my

birthday suit!"

Bite off more than you can

chew

If you bite off more than you can chew, you try to do

something

that is too difficult for you, or more than you can manage.

"As soon as I started to translate the report, I realized that

I had bitten off more than I could chew."

Once bitten, twice shy.

This is said by a person who has had an unpleasant

experience

which has made them cautious.

"I'm never going to get married again. Once bitten, twice

shy."

A bitter pill to swallow A bitter pill to swallow is something very difficult or

unpleasant to accept.

"Losing his job after organizing the merger was a bitter pill to

swallow."

In a black mood

To be in a black mood means to be irritable, angry or even

depressed -

also : to be in a bad mood.

In the black

To say that a person or organizaion is in the black means

that

they are financially sound, have a positive balance on their

account,

and that they owe no money.

Black gold Black gold refers to the black colour and high value of oil.

Black market The black market refers to the illegal buying and selling

of goods or currencies.

Black out If you black out, you lose consciousness.

Black sheep

The black sheep of the family is one who is very different

from the others,

and least respected by the other members of the family,

A blank cheque

If you give someone a blank cheque, you authorize them

to do

what they think is best in a difficult situation.

"Tom was given a blank cheque and told to negotiate the

best deal possible."

A wet blanket

To refer to someone as a wet blanket means that they

spoil other people's fun,

or make an event less enjoyable that it could have been

"Come on, Mike! Don't be such a wet blanket.You're

spoiling the party!"

A blessing in disguise

This expression is used to refer to something which is

unpleasant at first

but later turns out to have advantages.

"Missing the plane was a blessing in disguise - that's how

he met his wife.

She was a hostess on the next flight!"

The blind leading the blind

This expression refers to a person with very little ability

trying to help

or guide a person with no ability.

"Don't ask Sofia to translate it. She hardly speaks a word of

English herself.

It would be the blind leading the blind".

Blood, sweat and tears

A project or action which involves blood, sweat and tears

requires a lot of effort

and hard work.

"His success wasn't due to luck; it was blood, sweat and

tears all the way."

Blow a fuse

If you blow a fuse, you suddenly lose your temper and

become very angry.

"Charlie blew a fuse yesterday when he discovered that his

ipod had been stolen."

Blow hot and cold If you blow hot and cold about something, you constantly

change your opinion

about it.

"The boss keeps blowing hot and cold about the marketing

campaign -

one day he finds it excellent, the next day he wants to