Idiomatic Expressions 20

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering idioms and collocations for common English words such as act, behaviour, cry, dead, and life, as presented in the lecture notes.

act out of desperation / necessity

do sth because you are desperate or have no chance

act the part/role of

play a role (like in theatre)

act on sb's advice/orders/behalf

follow advice or order/do sth for someone

put on an act

pretend / fake behaviour

get your act together

organize yourself/stop being careless

in the act (of doing)

caught while doing sth.

behaviour towards

the way you treat someone

pattern of behaviour

repeated way of acting

on your best behaviour

behave very politely

types of behaviour

aggressive / antisocial / violent / bad / good / exemplary behaviour

accept / face the consequences

accept the results of your actions

consequence of

result of sth

serious / disastrous / dire consequences

very bad results

as a consequence / in consequence

as a result

of no / little consequence

not important

cry with pain/happiness/relief

cry because of an emotion

cry over / about

cry because of sth

cry for help

asking for help

cry yourself to sleep

cry until you fall asleep

cry your eyes / heart out

cry alot

cry on sb's shoulder

emotional support

have a (good) cry

cry to feel better

cry of

shout

a far cry from

very different from sth / big different not even close

dead (battery / phone)

stop working

drop dead

die suddenly (informal)

dead (set) against (doing)

strongly opposed

in dead trouble

in very serious trouble (informal)

dead & buried

completely finished / in the past.

dead silence

complete silence.

dead centre

exactly in the middle

dead & gone

completely gone / no longer existing.

dead tired

extremely tired

dead ahead

straight in front

have an / no / little / some effect (on)

influence sth

come into effect

start being active / valid

put / bring sth into effect

make sth start

adverse / beneficial effect

negative / positive effect

for effect

done to impress or create a reaction.

in effect

in reality / actually

with effect from

starting from (formal, dates)

get / have a feel for

develop an understanding or skill.

feel free

you are welcome / allowed

feel like (doing)

want to do

feel as if / as though

it seems like

feel strongly about

have strong opinions about it

feel the effects / benefits of

experience results.

feel guilty

feel bad about sth you did.

feel your way

move carefully without a clear plan

feel at home

feel comfortable

in good / poor health

poor / good health

in ill health

in bad health

health & safety

safety rules at work / school

health hazard / risk

danger to health

health centre

local medical clinic

health club

gym / Fitness Center

health food

food considered healthy

health service

public medical system.

fall / be taken ill (with)

suddenly become sick

critically / seriously / terminally ill

very sick / life-threatening

kind of sb to do

polite way to say someone is nice

respond in kind

react in the same way

kind(s) of

types of

of some / any kind

no matter what type.

of a / the kind

this type that type.

kind regards

polite email / letter closing

laugh at / about

laugh because sth is funny.

laugh in sb's face

show disrespect

make sb laugh

cause laughter

have a good laugh

enjoy laughing together

have the last laugh

succeed in the end after others doubted in you

don't make me laugh

that's ridiculous / I don't believe you

for a laugh

just for fun

a laugh a minute

very funny

put sb's life at risk

endanger someone

lose a life

die (often in accidents / disasters)

bring sth to life

make sth lively / real

come to life

become active / alive

not on your life

absolutely not

save sb's life

prevent death

take your own life

commit suicide

and that's life

things happen / accept it

this is the life

life feels great

quality of life

general well-being / comfort of living

take medicine

use medication

alternative / complementary / herbal medicine

non-traditional treatments

medicine cabinet

small bathroom cabinet for drugs