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English > Idioms > Flashcards

Idioms Flashcards

1
Q

If you can’t explain it simply ….. (Albert Einstein)

A

you don’t understand it well enough

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2
Q

…. but the world is not large enough for two kings.

A

A carpet is large enough to accommodate two sufis,

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3
Q

The people think of wealth and power as the greatest fate,
But in this world a spell of health is the best state.
What men call sovereignty is …..
Worship of God is …..

A

a worldly strife and constant war;

the highest throne, the happiest of all estates

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4
Q

Nearly all men can stand adversity, …..

A

but if you want to test a man’s character give him power

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5
Q

I’m still ….. the ropes- (how to do a particular job)

A

learning

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6
Q

…..

to make yourself rich, especially in a way that is unfair or dishonest)

A

feather your own

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7
Q

Leave no … unturned

A

stone

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8
Q

When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that ….

A

four of his fingers are pointing at himself.

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9
Q

When you have done evil, be not secure from ….. For retribution is a … .. ….

A

calamity

law of nature.

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10
Q

Beware of festering inner wounds, for inner wounds surface in the end. Distress no one insofar as you are able, for one cry of ….

A

anguish can upset the whole world

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11
Q

Come back, O phoenix, for without the parrot of your down the raven is about to …..
(I’d you don’t use your eloquent tongue, I will be taken away)

A

carry away my bones

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12
Q

How could someone with greater ambition sit around as a ….?

A

spectator

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13
Q

If you don’t seize ….

A

what is at hand you will rue it until old age.

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14
Q

One must act in a timely fashion, for untimely acts are …..

A

ineffective

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15
Q

Baburnama: Turkish proverb- “Trist not your friend, he will ….

A

stuff your hide with straws”

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16
Q

The excuse is ….

A

worse than the crime

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17
Q

who reaches hastily for the sword will ….

A

bite the back of his hand in regret.

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18
Q

Other than my own soul I …/

other than my own heart I …

A

never found a confidant.

never found a faithful friend

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19
Q

Conquest tolerates not inaction, the world is his who ….

A

hastens most

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20
Q

….

(meaning struggle is an absolute necessity) Mao Tse-Tung

A

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun

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21
Q

Driven from pillar to …

to have to go from one person or situation to another without achieving much or being able to settle

A

post

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22
Q

Religion is excellent stuff to ……

sodalist imperialism

A

keep common people quite

sodalist imperialism

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23
Q

Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. ….

A

They’re in each other all along

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24
Q

Raise your words, not voice. It is ….

A

It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.

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25
Q

Real knowledge is to know ….

A

the extent of one’s ignorance.

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26
Q

Nationalism is a …..

A

Delusion of grandeur.

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27
Q

Knowing is not like …..

A

seeing

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28
Q

You can’t polish…-

no matter how much one tries to explain or help, they won’t take heed.

A

a turd

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29
Q

“Two things are ….: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the …..” - Albert Einstein

A

infinite

universe

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30
Q

The harder the conflict, the more …..

A

glorious the triumph

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31
Q

Who controls the past, controls the future, who controls the ….

A

present controls the past

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32
Q

The greatest prison that people live in is ….

A

the fear of what other people think.

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33
Q

A skeleton in your ….-

an expression that means you have a secret that could cause you harm in some form or fashion.

A

closet

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34
Q

You lie down with dogs, …..

If you associate with bad people, you will acquire their faults.

A

you get up with fleas

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35
Q

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. …..

A

Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a life time.

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36
Q

He who does not weigh the consequences ….

A

of his acts shall never prosper

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37
Q

A secret shared is a ….

A

secret lost.

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38
Q

Friendship without gold is ….

A

worth no more than a pip.

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39
Q

What the hand possesses ….

A

the soul never pines for.

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40
Q

a rolling ….

a person who does not settle in one place will not accumulate wealth or status, or responsibilities or commitments.

A

stone gathers no moss

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41
Q

Where candour fails, …..

Candour- Being sincere in speech and expression)

A

cunning thrives-

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42
Q

When a donkey dies it leaves …
when a man dies he leaves …

We will be remembered for this.

A

behind its saddle,

behind his works.

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43
Q

You never really understand a person until …..

Atticus- To kill a mockingbird

A

You consider things from his point of view.

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44
Q

Laissez- faire- meaning?

A

let people do as they choose

Described a system or point of view that opposes interference or regulation from the government in economic affairs beyond the minimum necessary to allow the free enterprise system to operate according to it’s own laws

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45
Q

For what we love ….

A

determines what we seek, for what we seek determines what we think and do, for what we think and do determines who we are and who will we become

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46
Q

A mind that is stretched ….

Oliver wendall Holmes

A

by a new experience can never go back to its old dimension.

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47
Q

Nations have ….

Lord Palmerston

A

no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests-

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48
Q

Education forms the ….

A

background of every nation

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49
Q

To educate a man is to ….., but to educate a woman is to …

A

educate an individual

educate a generation

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50
Q

Wind does not brake ….

A

a rock

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51
Q

The tongue is the ….

A

interpreter of the heart

52
Q

A person who never made a mistake ….

A

never tried anything new. (Albert Einstein)

53
Q

The only thing worse than being blind ….

A

is having sight but having no vision.

54
Q

….

(Hannibal ante portas)- when expressing fear or anxiety or a client comes through the door.

A

Hannibal is at the gates

55
Q

Books, Sir, are the ….

A

repository of wisdom- Von Holstein- ETW

56
Q

God is the ultimate repository ….

A

of all knowledge - Ibn Khaldun pg 30

57
Q

I love you neither with my heart nor with my mind. Just in case the heart might …, the mind can ….. I love them with my soul. Soul never ….. .. …..

A

stop
forget
stops or forgets

58
Q

Keep your breath to ….

(Look after your own affairs, and do not put your spoke in another person’s wheel. Husband your strength to keep your own state safe and well, and do not waste it on matters in which you have really no concern. Don’t scold or rail at me, but look at home)

A

cool your porridge

59
Q

Laws are silent….

A

in times of war- Cicero

60
Q

Leaves will grow in the …. and seaweed on the …. before my feeling for Scylla change. (Glaucus)

A

sea

mountain tops

61
Q

Odysseus’s comments referring to Ajax’s dead body:
….

Don’t let force have such control of you that you allow your hate to trample justice down”.

A

“Do not fling his body out unburied, but treat it so unfeelingly”.

62
Q

Aeschylus- in a play called the Persians:

“You see how insolence, once opened into …., produces fields ripe with … & reaps a harvest home of ….”

Be careful of hubris- excessive pride of self confidence.

A

flower
calamity
sorrow

63
Q

It’s a wise man’s part to ….

A

practise a smooth-tempered self-control.”

64
Q

The fault lies solely in the …, not in the idea it …

A

expression

attempts to convey

65
Q

Romans always prided themselves by being …

A

ruled by laws and not men

66
Q

No one is going to love …

A

u better than me

67
Q

Democracy is only ever as effective as the ….

A

education surrounds it

68
Q

Don’t do as ….

A

I do, do as I say

69
Q

When your bull starts nibbling in your neighbourhood’s garden, do you blame the ….

A

bull or the neighbour?

Bull being the husband flirting with next door.

70
Q

Where you stand is dependant on ….

A

where you sit

71
Q

To obtain you ….

A

may have to lose

72
Q

If you want a wider view, ….

A

you have to go up a higher floor.

73
Q

….will have good fortune. God will give prize to ….

A

Diligent people

diligent person.

74
Q

A person with good ….

A

inner tranquility will go far.

75
Q

Is it not a pleasure to ….

Analects

A

meet friends from afar? (Analects)

76
Q

“Good governance makes one’s … happy and attracts people from far way places to come and …..” (Analects)

A

neighbours

learn from you

77
Q

“Simply to believe in rationality is to accept the … … … and that is a dominant arrogant posture”

A

dictatorship of intelligence

78
Q

Tai T’ung- were I to await perfection, …..

A

my book would never be finished.

79
Q

Ptah-hotep- consider, how thou mayest be ….. an expert in council.

It is foolish to speak on every kind of work.

A

opposed by

80
Q

Geopolitics, as usual, is apathetic towards ….. Hard interests reign …..

A

ideology

supreme

81
Q

Off on a bit of a ….

A

tangent here

82
Q

One who gets up in anger, ….

A

sits backs down in loss.

83
Q

Hide brightness, nourish …., bide your time and build up your …..
(China)

A

obscurity

capabilities

84
Q

This is our motto- ‘Not angling for …., I would be content that my ….. fills the universe’

A

compliments

integrity

85
Q

So much information but …..

A

not enough knowledge

86
Q

Take care of the pennies and ….

(Be careful what you wish for) Jeffrey Archer

A

the pounds will take care of themselves.

87
Q

If you’ve struck gold, …….

(Be careful what you wish for) Jeffrey Archer

A

why go in search of brass

88
Q

That I have experienced both ….. and …. and to quote Kilping, have treated those two …. just the same.

A

triumph
disaster
imposters

89
Q

When it comes to killing a rival , it must …..

(Mafia dictum- Be careful what you wish for) Jeffrey Archer.

A

only ever be business, never personal.

90
Q

Just because a man is physically frail, doesn’t mean ….

A

his mind isn’t physically sharp.

91
Q

The pen is …..

Jeffrey Archer.
The pen dictates where the sword strikes.

A

mightier than the sword

92
Q

There’s only one excuse to be late for a ….; ….. (Mightier than the sword)

A

lady

death

93
Q

Vulgar is what gets you on …

(Mightier than the sword) Jeffrey Archer

A

the best seller list

94
Q

Ignorance of the … is not a …. (This was a man)

A

law

defence

95
Q

My mythical superiority had …. more quickly than the morning …. once the …. had risen (This was a man)

A

evaporated
mist
sun

96
Q

Brandish the sword against corruption, caging … as well as trapping …..

A

tigers

flies

97
Q

A sword is made on a … … and a man is forged in …..

A

grinding stone

hardship

98
Q

…..

to be so worried, confused or annoyed that you do not know what to do next.

A

be at one’s wits’ end

99
Q

Don’t challenge the person, challenge the …

A

idea

100
Q

Religion does not prosper under ….; the senses liberate themselves from pious … and formulate philosophies that will justify their …..

A

prosperity
restraints
liberation

101
Q

As the Chinese saying goes; even a tree that has grown thousands of inches high ….

A

should not forget its roots.

102
Q

Be humble when you are …. and smile when you are at ….

A

victorious

loss

103
Q

Every search begins with …. luck. And every search ends with the …. being severely tested.

A

beginners

victor’s

104
Q

The darkest hour of the …. came just before the …..

A

night

dawn

105
Q

Everything that happens once can never happen …. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a …. time.

A

again

third

106
Q

The secret of life, though, is to fall … times and to get up …. times.

A

seven

eight

107
Q

How seamless …..

Hafez.

A

seemed love, and then came trouble,

108
Q

…..

a skill added

A

A feather in your cap

109
Q

Rest on your ….

complacent

A

laurels

110
Q

The ocean is … because it rejects no ….

A

vast

river

111
Q

The riches go where the ….

A

road goes

112
Q

An old horse knows the …..

A

way

113
Q

lacking unusual or special aspects; ordinary.

….

A

run-of-the-mill

114
Q

to chat about inconsequential manners, to converse casually in order to pass the time or simply entertain each other.

….

A

Shooting the breeze

115
Q

Description of a person that is all talk and no substance; full of big talk but lacking action; a person who canot back up his/her words; a fake; a pretender

…

A

All hat, no cattle

116
Q

The palest ink is …..

A

better than the best memory: Chinese saying.

117
Q

Modern feminism wants the …. of men, the …. of women and the ….. of neither

A

power
privileges
responsibilities

118
Q

You make friends through …. but never do business with …..!

A

business

friends

119
Q

Elvis has left ….

A

the building

120
Q

(balance between confidence in one’s self and reality

….

A

Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground

121
Q

“The dogs bark, …..”

A

but the caravan goes on

122
Q

Hero worship, is a sure road to …. and to eventual …..”.

John Stuart mill

A

degradation

dictatorship

123
Q

Not all heroes ….

A

wear capes.

124
Q

….

good and competent at what they do

A

Worth their salts

125
Q

“attacking imaginary enemies”

…

A

Tilting at windmills

English (15 decks)

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