Idioms de Language (too many)

Lengua Inglesa III

raise/sound the alarm (about/on sth)

To warn people that STH bad or dangerous is happening so they can take action.

(Put/be) on alert (for STH)

To watch for danger and be ready to notice and deal with a situation or problem.

Come under fire from SB/STH (over STH)
Come under fire for (doing) STH
Come under fire over STH

• to be severely criticized for STH that SB has done

• to be attacked by shooting

(be/feel/look) ripe for STH

To be ready or suitable for STH such as change to happen, especially when it should have happened sooner

have a smattering of STH

to have a small amount of knowledge about a subject, especially a foreign language.

to be at a loss of words

to be so amazed or shocked by STH that you don’t know what to say.

to steer clear of a subject

to stay away from or to avoid a subject

to explain in layman’s terms

to explain STH in simple language, so that SB who isn’t an expert can understand.

talk about SB behind their back

to talk about SB without them knowing or without their knowledge or permission.

talk the hind leg(s) off a donkey

to talk a lot, especially about unimportant things.

to talk a blue streak

to talk quickly and without stopping.

set tongues wagging

to do STH that people will talk about in an unkind way.

can’t get a word in edgeways

to not be able to say anything because someone else is talking all the time.

say STH under SB’s breath

to say STH in a quiet voice so that people cannot hear.

give SB the silent treatment

to not speak to SB for a period of time because you are angry with them.

the tool(s) of SB’s trade/the trade

the thing(s) that SB needs to do their job.

• Language is the tool of my trade.

be burdened with STH

to be carrying STH heavy.

• Apple is burdened with higher development costs than its competition; yet it has had to cut prices to compete.

be SB’s strong suit

to be a subject that SB knows a lot about and is good at.

• While my English skills were never judged

  as poor, compared to math, English could

  not be considered my strong suit.

be rooted in STH

to have developed from something and be strongly influenced by it.

• The argument concerning the use, the

  status, or the reality of black English is

  rooted in American history.

it goes without saying

to say that STH is so clearly true, very obvious or easy to predict that it does not need to be said.

• It goes without saying, then, that

  language is also a political instrument,

  means, and proof of power.

put STH in the street

to make STH known publicly.

sock it to SB

to do STH or tell SB to do STH in a direct and strong way.

• She would keep complaining about her low grades instead of actually studying for the exams, so I had to sock it to her by telling her to sit her ass down and study or drop out and switch the career.

let it all hang out

to relax completely and express your feelings freely without worrying about hiding your emotions or behaving politely.

have your cake and eat it (too)

to have or do two good things at the same time that are impossible to have or do at the same time.

be wrapped up in STH

• to be devoted to STH

• to be absorbed or engrossed in STH

• to be involved or implicated in STH

(be) on the needle

(to be) intoxicated by, or addicted to drugs

in concert with SB/STH

working together with SB/STH

crash and burn

an occasion when STH fails very quickly or suddenly, especially in a dramatic way.

die the death

to gradually fail, dissapear or be forgotten

get the gist of STH

to understand the main or general idea and meaning of a piece of writing , a speech or a conversation.

• If I’m to be entirely honest, I’ll admit that

  I’m not sure I know the difference, but I

  got the general gist of it.

in the same vein

in the same particular style, manner, mood, or subject, specially of speaking or writing about sth.

have mixed feelings (about STH)

to have both good and bad qualities, attitudes, opinions or feelings about STH.

• If English is your mother tongue, you may

  have mixed feelings about the way English

  is spreading around the world.

give rise to STH

To cause STH to happen or exist

• They are feelings which give rise to fears,

  whether real or imaginary, and fears lead

  to conflict.

come into being/existence

to start to exist

• At a more restricted level, multinational

  regional or political groupings have come

  into being, such as the Commonwealth

  and the European Union.

put a strain on SB/STH

to increase the severe or excessive demand on the strength, resources or abilities of SB/STH

be in the running for STH

to have some hope or chance of winning, succeeding or achieving STH.

• The arguments are each illustrated with

  reference to English, but the same

  arguments would apply whatever

  language was in the running for global

  status.

make SB’s way

to gradually become successful in a particular job, activity, profession, etc. To make progress.

• It is all too easy to make your way in the

  world linguistically with English as your

  mother tongue. We all have to make a

  greater effort.

bear no relationship to STH

to not show a relationship or connection to STH.

put the blame on SB/STH

to say who or what you think is responsible for STH bad that has happened, often unfairly or wrongly.

take the strain

to do the difficult work, or to deal with the pressure of STH, so that SB else does not have to.

bear/keep in mind

to remember, consider, or think about SB/STH when you are doing STH else.

• Those making the decisions need to bear

  in mind that we may well be approaching

  a critical moment in human linguistic

  history.

miss the boat

to be unable to take an opportunity or advantage of STH because you are too late.

(Reach) the point of no return

(to reach/pass) a stage in a process pr activity when it becomes impossible to stop it or do STH differently.

poke fun at SB/STH

to make fun of SB/STH in an unkind way in order to make other people laugh at them.

assert itself

when an idea or belief starts to have an influence or effect on STH

at the expense of SB/STH

to achieve STH by doing STH that could harm or damage SB/STH.

• Native speakers might manipulate the

  language to their advantage at the

  expense of those who have another

  language as their mother-tongue.

make an allowance for STH

to consider STH, for example when you are making a decision or planning STH.

• Brits tend to speak without making

  allowance for the fact that they are not

  talking to other Brits.

fall victim to STH

to be badly affected, injured, cheated, damaged, destroyed, or killed by STH.

be teetering on the edge of STH

to be very close to being in a very unpleasant, difficult, or dangerous situation.

• More than a thousand are listed as

  critically or severely

  endangered—teetering on the edge of

  oblivion.

shake the foundations of STH

to completely change the way something is done or the way people think by having a completely new idea.

on the brink of STH

To be almost in a vert new, dangerous, or exciting situation.

• It is imperative for us to try and preserve

  the linguistic diversity or richness of many

  of the languages on the brink of

  extinction.

be on the verge of something

to be at the point where something is about to happen

take STH into account/consideration

to consider circumstances and include particular things or facts when you are forming an opinion or making a decision about STH.

to be a chatterbox

to be a person who engages in much idle talk.

to talk down to somebody

to talk to somebody in an overly simple way which suggests that they are not intelligent.

to be long-winded

A long-winded speech, letter, article, etc. is too long, or uses too many words.

to gloss over

to avoid considering something, such as an embarassing mistake, to make it seem not important, and to quickly continue talking about something else.