Bridging the gap Flashcards
(115 cards)
1
Q
What does ‘keep one’s chin up’ mean?
A
Remain cheerful
2
Q
What does ‘by the skin of one’s teeth’ refer to?
A
By a very narrow margin
3
Q
What does ‘(not) stomach sth’ mean?
A
Be (un)able to accept sth
4
Q
Define ‘a pain in the neck’.
A
A nuisance, an annoying person
5
Q
What does ‘have the guts’ imply?
A
Have the courage
6
Q
What does it mean to ‘thumb through a book’?
A
Look through a book
7
Q
What does ‘down at heel’ describe?
A
Poor and shabbily dressed
8
Q
What does ‘get one’s back up’ mean?
A
Annoy
9
Q
What does it mean to ‘be at odds with sb’?
A
In disagreement
10
Q
What does ‘at one’s disposal’ signify?
A
Available
11
Q
What does ‘to toe the line’ mean?
A
Obey the rules
12
Q
What does ‘do sb a good turn’ refer to?
A
Help sb
13
Q
What does ‘keep a straight face’ entail?
A
Not expose emotions
14
Q
Fill in the blank: ‘set foot in’ means _______.
A
Go to
15
Q
What does ‘hear sth from one’s own lips’ imply?
A
16
Q
What does ‘do wonders for’ mean?
A
To have a very good effect
17
Q
What does ‘be at a low ebb’ signify?
A
Depressed
18
Q
What does ‘risk one’s neck’ mean?
A
Risk
19
Q
What does ‘head for’ mean?
A
Go towards
20
Q
What does ‘be at a loose end’ refer to?
A
Have nothing to do
21
Q
What does ‘do/work miracles’ mean?
A
Extremely effective
22
Q
What does ‘know sb by sight’ imply?
A
Look familiar
23
Q
Fill in the blank: ‘on account of’ means _______.
A
Because of
24
Q
What does ‘be at a loss for words’ convey?
A
Not to know what to do or say
25
What does 'be at large' mean?
Be free
26
What does 'cost sb an arm and a leg' signify?
Very expensive
27
What does 'fight tooth and nail' mean?
Fight fiercely
28
What does 'hold one’s tongue' imply?
Restrain oneself from saying sth
29
What does 'make one’s blood boil' refer to?
Make one very angry
30
What is meant by 'a bone of contention'?
A cause of dispute
31
What does 'bite one’s lip' mean?
Refrain from saying sth/restrain a cry
32
What does 'be glad to see the back of sb' mean?
Be happy to see sb go/leave
33
What does 'bone idle' describe?
Extremely lazy
34
What does 'have a (good) head for sth' imply?
Be good at sth
35
What does 'be in deep water' mean?
Be in trouble
36
What does 'be out of character for sb' signify?
Unlike sb to
37
What does 'be in (deep) debt to sb' mean?
Owe money to
38
What does 'give sb a big hand' refer to?
Applaud
39
What does 'set eyes on sth' mean?
See
40
What does 'set one’s heart on doing sth' imply?
Be determined to do sth
41
What does 'lose one’s head' mean?
Panic
42
What does 'be over one’s head' signify?
Difficult
43
What does 'make sense of sth' mean?
Understand
44
What does 'fall into place' mean?
Go smoothly
45
Fill in the blank: 'in place of' means _______.
Instead of
46
What does 'be an old hand at' refer to?
Be an experienced/skilled person
47
What does 'in light of' imply?
Because of
48
What does 'make head or tail of' mean?
Understand
49
What does 'make ends meet on sth' signify?
Manage on sth
50
What does 'make a meal of sth' imply?
Spend ages on
51
What does 'it is open to question whether….or…' mean?
Nobody knows for sure…
52
What does 'in the event (that)' mean?
In case
53
What does 'on condition (that)' imply?
If
54
What does 'egg sb on' mean?
Urge/encourage sb to do mischief
55
What does 'turn tail' refer to?
Run away
56
What does 'his bark is worse than his bite' mean?
He’s nicer than he seems/sounds
57
What does 'pull the wool over sb’s eyes' imply?
Deceive/fool sb
58
What does 'bird’s eye view' mean?
Aerial view
59
What does 'haven’t seen hide or hair of sb' mean?
Haven’t seen sb at all
60
What does 'not have two hoots (about sth)' imply?
Not care (about sth)
61
What does 'spread one’s wings' mean?
Extend one’s activities/ move to a new place
62
What does 'bear no resemblance/ bear a great/strong resemblance to' signify?
(Not) look like
63
What does 'bear fruit' mean?
Produce successful results
64
What does 'monkey about/around with sth' imply?
Waste time
65
What does 'let the cat out of the bag' mean?
Reveal a secret
66
What does 'dog one’s footsteps' mean?
Follow
67
What does 'be in the same boat' refer to?
In the same situation
68
What does 'get the wrong end of the stick' mean?
Not understand sth correctly
69
What does 'be in two minds about' imply?
Cannot decide
70
What does 'like a fish out of water' mean?
Out of place
71
What does 'once in a while' signify?
Occasionally
72
What does 'cut sb/sth down to size' mean?
Show sb to be less important than they think
73
What does 'once and for all' imply?
Now, finally
74
What does 'once in a lifetime' mean?
Extremely rarely
75
What does 'once too often' refer to?
One more time than is desired/ needed
76
What does 'double your money' mean?
Make twice as much money
77
What does 'not budge/give an inch' imply?
Refuse to change an opinion
78
What does 'see/tell sth a mile off' mean?
Understand sth very obvious
79
What does 'out of the blue' signify?
Unexpectedly
80
What does 'cast one’s mind back to' mean?
Recall/try to remember
81
What does 'pull a fast one on sb' imply?
Trick sb
82
What does 'be on cloud nine' mean?
Extremely happy
83
What does 'go back to square one' signify?
Go back to the beginning
84
What does 'give someone a third degree' mean?
Ask someone a lot of questions in an aggressive way
85
What does 'as a token of' imply?
As evidence of
86
What does 'as a rule of thumb' mean?
A rule based on experience or practice
87
What does 'be under one’s thumb' refer to?
Be under the control or influence of someone
88
What does 'have second thoughts about sth' mean?
To change your opinion about sth or start to doubt it
89
What does 'under the weather' signify?
Unwell
90
What does 'speak under one’s breath' mean?
Speak quietly
91
What does 'donkey work' refer to?
The hard boring part of a job/task
92
What does 'go blue in the face' mean?
Turn a dark/bluish colour because of cold/fear/anger
93
What does 'black and blue' imply?
With bruises all over one’s body
94
What does 'in black and white' mean?
In writing/print
95
What does 'whiter than white' signify?
Exaggeratedly white or pure /good
96
What does 'be/go/turn red' refer to?
Blush /become pink in the face from embarrassment
97
What does 'in the red' mean?
Owing money in one’s account at the bank
98
What does 'roll out the red carpet' imply?
Give sb VIP treatment
99
What does 'in the pink' mean?
In an excellent state of health
100
What does 'take pleasure in doing sth' signify?
Enjoy doing sth
101
What are 'red herrings'?
Misleading information
102
What does 'be in one’s black books' mean?
Not popular with sb
103
What does 'be the black sheep' imply?
A person doing sth bad that brings shame to the family
104
What does 'once in a blue moon' mean?
Very rarely
105
What does 'take sb for a ride' refer to?
Cheat sb
106
What does 'take exception to sth' mean?
Object to
107
What does 'have green fingers' imply?
Good at gardening
108
What does 'within reason' mean?
Acceptable
109
What does 'red tape' refer to?
Unnecessary processes
110
What does 'see red' mean?
Become very angry
111
What does 'count the cost' imply?
Feel the bad effects
112
What does 'take sth for granted' mean?
Not appreciate
113
What does 'give the green light to' signify?
Agree
114
What does 'take sb into custody' mean?
Arrest
115
What does 'be within one’s budget' imply?
Affordable
