Thẻ ghi nhớ: English Idioms in Use (Intermediate) | Quizlet

in the blink of an eye

in an extremely short time

a bone of contention

something which people argue and disagree over

cool, calm and collected

relaxed, in control, not nervous

give me a hard/rough/tough time

don't make things difficult for me

by hook or by crook

at any cost, any way at all

at loggerheads

engaged in a dispute

put one's foot down

to insist

feel sth in one's bones

to believe something very strongly

pick up the bill = foot the bill

to pay the bill

come back down to earth with a bump

to stop behaving or living in a way that is not practical

stick the knife in

do/say things which upset sb

bang one's head against a brick wall

to try in vain to get something

scare the living daylights out of sb
You scared the living daylights out of Michael

to frighten s.o

look a gift horse in the mouth

be ungrateful for what you are given

tie oneself up in knots

become very confused when you are trying to explain something

be man enough

mean that he has the necessary courage or ability to do it

a slime ball

a disgusting, despicable person

from time immemorial

long ago; beyond memory or

recall

stuff one's faces

to eat a lot of food, especially quickly and in a short period of time

give sb pause for thought

to cause (someone) to stop and think about something carefully or to have doubts about something

thrilled to bits

extremely pleased

get a real kick out of something

very much enjoy doing something

do something for kicks

do something because it's exciting, usually something dangerous

down in the dumps

(informal) feeling unhappy

put a damper on

stop an occasion from being enjoyable

be fed up to the back teeth

to be extremely unhappy, disappointed

at my wits' end

to be fed up

have/throw a fit

go off the deep end

go spare

do one's nut

blow a fuse

to express extreme anger

out for blood

determined to find someone to attack them

rub someone up the wrong way

get/put someone's back up

ruffle someones' feathers

make someone annoyed

be/feel on top of the world

very happy indeed

on cloud nine

extremely happy

in seventh heaven

extremely happy

be floating/walking on air

be very happy about something good that has happened

out of sorts

slightly unhappy or slightly ill

just grin and bear it

accept a situation you don't like because you can't change it

a misery guts

someone who complains all the time and is never happy

sour grapes

being jealous about sth you can't have

one's blood is up

very angry and may react in a violent way

after one's blood

want to catch sb in order to hurt or punish them

drive someone up the wall/round the bend/twist

make someone very angry

not be on speaking terms = send to Conventry

be so angry with each other that they refuse to speak to each other

give sb an earful

give sb a piece of one's mind

to tell sb for a long time how angry they are about sth

know one's stuff

has a very good knowledge of sth

has a familiar ring to it

sounds familiar

don't have a clue/the faintest idea/the foggiest idea

don't know at all

can't for the life of me

can't remember at all

put it down to experience

something bad has happened, but you decide to learn from it instead of being upset by it

know where I stand

you don't know what your position is or what your situation is with someone, and it's worrying you

give me food for thought

something happens or someone says something that makes you think very seriously about it

got the message

sb finally becomes aware of a fact

set/put the record straight

tell the true facts to someone who has believed a different set of facts up to that moment

hear it on/through the grapevine

heard sth from sb who had heard it from sb else

a figment of one's imagination

sth you have imagined which is not true

lost sight of

forgotten a central, important fat or truth about sth

what beats me

what I cannot understand

the ins and outs of

the details of

makes all the difference to sth

has a very good effect on a situati
To create a very noticeable effect, especially a vast improvement. A fresh coat of paint has made all the difference for that old houseon or a thing

works/goes/runs like a dream

works/goes/runs very well indeed

works like magic

works immediately and very well indeed

goes from strength to strength

gets better and better

does the trick

solves a problem very well

is a be-all-and-end-all

is the most important thing

is/turns out to be a blessing in disguise

has a good effect even though at first it seemed it would be bad

sb/sth is a victim of one's own success

one's success has negative effects as well as or instead of positive ones

sb doesn't have the ghost of a chance

one have no chance at all

sb/sth gives up the ghost

one stops working or they stop trying to succeed because they know they will not

sb/sth leave one's mark on sb/sth

one has an effect (usually negative) that changes them forever

would go places

would be successful

hit the big time

become successful

made a go of

been very successful with

come up against a brick wall

something is blocking me from doing what I want to do

in dire ( extremely bad ) straits
= serious predication= bleak situation

a state of extreme distress

dug oneself into a hole

have oneself caused a problem that will be difficult to escape from

spread oneself too thin

become involved in too many activities

left holding the baby

others have left sb to deal with a problem alone

over a barrel

unable to act independently

stumbling block

an obstruction

be clutching at straws now

am in such a difficult situation that sb will try anything

drawn a blank

am unable to find information or to achieve something sb'd hoped for

face the music

accept criticism or punishment for what you have done

a fact of life

an unpleasant situation which has to be accepted because it cannot be changed

easier said than done

something you say when something seems like a good idea, but is difficult to actually do

making do

managing with something that isn't as good as you would like

give it a shot/whirl

give sth a try

get to grips with

make an effort to understand or to deal with a problem or situation

to be on the safe side

to protect oneself even though it might not be necessary

get to the bottom of

try to discover the truth about sth

shed/throw light on sth

to help people understand a situation

in the bag

certain to be achieved

the answer to my prayers
Finishing moan is the answer to my prayers

sth or sb that you have needed for a long time

wave a magic wand

find an easy way to solve a problem

tie up a few loose ends

deal with the last few things that need to be done before sth is completed

fall into place= be clear

be understood or go well

pick up the pieces

try to return to normal

taking the law into one's own hands

taking action which should be taken by the police or the courts

have come a law unto oneself

are completely out of control and simply ignore the law

lay down the law = bring in

be very firm and clear about the law, and enforce it

carry the can # pass the buck

accept the blame/responsibility alone, even though other people were responsible

get/let someone off the hook

are free/leave someone free from all responsibility or from a difficult situation