Idioms 5

Question 1

to give somebody spots or a rash

Answer 1

to bring somebody out in spots or a rash

e.g. I love chocolate milk, but I can’t drink it. It brings me out in spots

Question 2

to use one’s power and influence to try to get what one wants from another group/person

Answer 2

to bring pressure to bear on somebody

e.g. The only way the unions could bring pressure to bear on the government was to organise a strike.

Question 3

to be likely to experience something

Answer 3

to be in for something

e.g. If he thinks getting into university is going to be easy, then he’s in for a big surprise.

Question 4

somebody is going to be in trouble

Answer 4

somebody is in for it

Question 5

• when food has spoilt

- when a sports match has been cancelled

Answer 5

to be off

Question 6

it is not acceptable or reasonable

Answer 6

something is not on

e.g. She expects me to work for four more hours a week without any extra pay. It’s not on, is it?

Question 7

to talk about something, often for a long time or in an annoying way

Answer 7

to be on about something

e. g. She’s been on about getting a new car again. I reckon she thinks we’re made of money.
e. g. What are you on about?

Question 8

a reduction or pause in something (fighting, bad weather, the amount of work that you have to do)

Answer 8

a let-up

e.g. There was no sign of any let-up in the rain.

Question 9

a review written in a newspaper or magazine

Answer 9

a write-up

e.g. It should be good. It was given excellent write-ups in the press.

Question 10

from/at the beginning

Answer 10

from/at the outset

Question 11

to be continually telling somebody to do something in an annoying way

Answer 11

to keep on (at somebody about something)

e.g. I said I would fix the fence, so why do you have to keep on at me about it?

Question 12

• to not leave a path
• to not break the rules
• to do what you agree to do

Answer 12

to keep to something

• keep to the path
• keep to the rules
• keep to an agreement

Question 13

to pay the bill at a restaurant or hotel

Answer 13

to settle up (with somebody)

e.g. you settle up with the waiter, while I fetch the coats.

Question 14

the change from one television channel to another

Answer 14

to turn over

e.g. This is rubbish. Do you mind if I turn over?

Question 15

when the back of a building faces something

Answer 15

to back on to

e.g. Our old house backed on to the river Ouse.

Question 16

to stay away

Answer 16

to hold of (for bad weather)

e.g. The sky was heavy with black clouds. We hurried, hoping the rain would hold off until we got the tents up.

Question 17

to refuse to accept something which you think is insufficient and continue to demand more

Answer 17

to hold out for

e.g. In the end, the miners agreed to 10% pay rise, despite the fact that union leaders had promised that they would hold out for at least 20%

Question 18

agreeing to something without realising that it won’t be good for you

Answer 18

to let yourself in for

You agreed to working for them? You do know what you are letting yourself in for, don’t you?

Question 19

to not be allowed to forget

Answer 19

to not live it down

e.g. If they beat us, we’ll never live it down.

Question 20

to increase production/efforts or intensify a campaign/publicity drive

Answer 20

to step up something

e.g. The firm is stepping up its economy drive.

Question 21

to try for some time to persuade somebody to do/agree to something

Answer 21

to work on somebody

e.g. I’m sure we can persuade them. You work on mum, and I’ll work on dad.

Question 22

to be equal to (with reference to money)

Answer 22

to work out at

e.g. They won 12% of 354000 pounds. So how much does that work out at?

Question 23

to give answers, opinions, reasons, excuses that everyone has heard before so that people get fed up with hearing them and no longer believe them

Answer 23

to trot out (ideas/information/opinions/reasons/excuses)

e.g. Every time he’s late, he trots out the same excuse.

Question 24

to consider your options, or the advantages and disadvantages of doing something, so that you can make a choice

Answer 24

to weigh (something) up

Question 25

to sped time in a pleasant way doing something that doesn’t not require too much physical activity.

Answer 25

to while away the/one’s time.

e.g. He would while away the afternoons doing crosswords by the pool.

Question 26

to get rid of a cold

Answer 26

to shake a cold off

Question 27

to quickly take off an article of clothing

Answer 27

to slip (something) off

Question 28

to pass through something which is intended to stop such a movement

Answer 28

to slip through

e.g. You let him slip through your fingers again!

Question 29

to make a mistake

Answer 29

to slip up

Question 30

to not be able to find the necessary words/answer

Answer 30

to be stuck for something

e.g. When asked about the scandal, the minister was clearly stuck for an answer.

Question 31

to fall asleep, often while sitting down

Answer 31

to nod off

Question 32

to look around somewhere curiously, to snoop

Answer 32

to nose around

Question 33

to achieve a score or total

Answer 33

to notch up

e.g. That’s the tenth medal he has notched up so far.

Question 34

to learn or acquire a new skill

Answer 34

to pick up

Question 35

to start to speak, especially when you have been silent for some time

Answer 35

to pipe up

Question 36

to give somebody a constant supply of something

Answer 36

to ply somebody with something

e.g. Auntie Edith plied us with so much food that I could hardly walk when it came time to leave.

Question 37

to spend time doing small unimportant things that require little effort

Answer 37

to potter about

e.g. He likes nothing better than to spend his Sunday mornings pottering about in the garden.

Question 38

to close/nearly close

Answer 38

to push (the door) to

e.g. It’s cold in here. Could you push the door to?

Question 39

to reply forcefully

Answer 39

to hit back at somebody

e.g. The minister hit back at his critics.

Question 40

to finish work for the day

Answer 40

to knock off (work)

e.g. What time do you normally knock off work?

Question 41

to prepare and write out a document

Answer 41

to draw up

e.g. The lawyer was busy drawing up the agreement.

Question 42

to find and bring to people’s attention an unpleasant or embarrassing fact or incident that had been forgotten

Answer 42

to dredge up

e.g. The old scandal they have dredged up could be very damaging for the government.

Question 43

to just manage to beat somebody or get in front of them

Answer 43

to edge out

e.g. The company has edged out others in the same field.

Question 44

to manage to earn just enough to live on

Answer 44

to eke out a living

e.g. For ten years he eked out a meagre living cleaning tables at the local fast food restaurant.

Question 45

to find it very difficult to explain/understand something

Answer 45

to fathom something out

e.g. We couldn’t fathom out why she would want to leave such an excellent job.

Question 46

to try and stop somebody complaining by giving them excuses, stories or explanations that are obviously untrue

Answer 46

to fob somebody off (with something)

e.g. I’ve rung up six times and I’m fed up with being fobbed off with your pathetic excuses.

Question 47

to produce something in great quantities

Answer 47

to churn something out

e.g. At one point, the factory was churning out a million plastic dolls a week.

Question 48

to make an obvious and special effort to do something

Answer 48

to be at pains to do something

e.g. He was a pains to emphasise that he had acted alone

Question 49

to be experiencing a difficult or unpleasant situation which probably lasts for a long time

Answer 49

to be in the throes of

e.g. The country was in the throes of its worst economic crisis on record.

Question 50

to be working towards/talking about different things without realising it

Answer 50

to be at cross purposes

e.g. He was talking about buying and his friend about renting. They were obviously at cross purposes.

Question 51

hoping to

Answer 51

with a view to

e.g. He bought the land with a view to building on it when he retired.

Question 52

if, and only if

Answer 52

on condition that

e.g. I will lend you my car on condition that you return it by ten o’clock.

Question 53

to be very excited and a little nervous while waiting for something to happen

Answer 53

to be/to keep (somebody) on tenterhooks

e.g. Howard had been on tenterhooks all day, waiting for his exam results.

Question 54

to be about to do something

Answer 54

to be on the point of (doing something)

e.g. We were on the point of signing the contract when he said he had changed his mind.

Question 55

one after the other in succession

Answer 55

on the trot

e.g. he has missed six classes on the trot.

Question 56

to not have paid something that must be paid on a regular basis

Answer 56

to be in arrears

e.g. He was horribly overdrawn at the bank and his rent was five months in arrears.

Question 57

to abruptly stop any hopes of

Answer 57

to put paid to any hopes of

to put paid to my hopes of

Question 58

with difficulty

Answer 58

at a push

e.g. I can be there by 5 o’clock at a push, but no earlier than that.

Question 59

to be covered in something

Answer 59

to be strewn with something

e.g. His bedroom floor was strewn with odd socks, dirty shirts and crumpled pieces of paper