UNIT 6: WEATHER/NATURAL ELEMENTS (I) EXPRESSIONS/IDIOMS* + TOPIC VOCABULARY

LONG ASS NAME GAP

take center stage

to be more important or receive more attention than anyone or anything else:

He was happy for his wife to take center stage.

stage an event

hold, put on an event

usher something in

to be at the start of a new period, especially when important changes or new things happen, or to cause important changes to start happening:

These changes could usher in a period of dramatic economic growth.

upstage

to take people's attention away from someone and make them listen to or look at you instead:

Most supporting bands tend to be youngsters, and rarely upstage the star.

the show must go on

said to encourage someone to continue with what they are doing, even if they are experiencing difficulties

clean up your act

to start to obey certain laws or generally accepted standards of behaviour:

You're going to have to clean up your act if you're serious about keeping your job.

be in the spotlight

(of a person) receiving a lot of public attention:

The senator has been in the spotlight recently since the revelation of his tax frauds.

get in on the act

to take advantage of something that someone else started:

We designed the Web page, and now everyone else in our class wants to get in on the act.

get your act together

to start to organize yourself so that you do things in an effective way:

She's so disorganized - I wish she'd get her act together.

make a song and dance about sth

to make something seem more important than it really is so that everyone notices it:

I only asked her to move her car but she made such a song and dance about it.

not a dry eye in the house

used to mean that all the people at a particular place felt very emotional about what they had seen or heard and many of them were crying

→ there wasn’t a dry eye in the house

full house

a situation in which every seat in a cinema, theatre, concert, etc. is filled:

We're expecting a full house tonight.

bring the house down

If someone or something brings the house down during a play or show, they make the people watching it laugh or clap very loudly:

The clown sang a duet with the talking horse, which brought the house down every night.

storm in a teacup

a lot of unnecessary anger and worry about a matter that is not important

a stone’s throw (away)

a short distance:

The animal was sitting just a stone's throw away from us.

the wind of change

an event or a series of events that has started to happen and will cause important changes or results

• A wind of change was blowing through the banking world.

cast a shadow/cloud on/over sth

to spoil a good situation with something unpleasant:

Her father's illness had cast a shadow over the birth of her baby.

the tip of the iceberg

a small, noticeable part of a problem, the total size of which is really much greater:

These small local protests are just the tip of the iceberg.

a cloud on the horizon

something that threatens to cause problems or unhappiness in the future:

The only cloud on the horizon is the physics exam in June.

fair-weather friend

someone who is a good friend when it is easy to be one and who stops being one when you are having problems

be on/off (the) air

If a programme or a person is on/off (the) air, they are/are not broadcasting on radio or television:

The radio station is on air from 6 a.m.

airs and graces

false ways of behaving that are intended to make other people feel that you are important and belong to a high social class:

put on airs and graces He was always putting on airs and graces.

guiding light/spirit

a person who influences a person or group and shows them how to do something successfully:

She was the founder of the company and its guiding spirit.

leading light

an important and respected person in a group or organization:

leading light of A leading light of the art world, she was a close friend of the director.

water something down

to deliberately make an idea or opinion less extreme, usually so that other people will accept it:

The party has watered down its ideals in order to appeal to the centre ground.

cloud

to make someone confused, or make something more difficult to understand:

cloud someone's memory When it came to explaining the lipstick on his collar, he found that drink had clouded (= confused) his memory.

fire

to cause a strong emotion in someone:

fire someone with something I had a brilliant English teacher who fired me with enthusiasm for literature at an early age.

fire someone’s imagination Talk of treasure and lost cities had fired their imaginations.

moon over

to spend time thinking about someone or something that you love, in a silly way that does not achieve anything:

He spends all his time mooning over a girl at school.

tide someone over (something)

to help someone to work or operate normally through a difficult period, usually by lending them money:

Can you lend me some money to tide me over till the weekend?

storm into/out of somewhere

to enter/leave a place in a way that shows that you are angry or very determined:

She stormed into the office, and all her coworkers avoided looking at her.

He stormed out of the house, slamming the door as he went.

stream in/out of somewhere

to move continuously in one direction:

stream out of We were all very excited as we streamed out of our final exam.

stream into Officials estimate that 20,000 refugees streamed into the city last week.

weather the storm

If someone or something weathers the storm, they successfully deal with a very difficult problem:

In the next few days we will see if the ambassador can weather the political storm caused by his remarks.

fire

to direct a series of questions or criticisms at someone:

The journalists were firing questions at me for two whole hours.

fire away "I'd like to ask you some questions about your childhood." "Fire away!" (= You can start asking them now.)

air

to make opinions or complaints known to other people:

air a grievance Putting a complaint in the suggestions box is one way of airing your grievances.

air your views He'll air his views on the war, whether people want to listen or not.