Definitions and Expressions

a bitter pill to swallow

a difficult fact to accept

a different kettle of fish

a totally different sitation from the one just mentioned

a red rag to a bull

action, comment, etc. liable to provoke sb

a red-letter day

a very important day

a sitting duck

an easy target

a storm in a teacup

a lot of fuss about sth that is not important

a wild-goose chase

a hopeless search

above board

honest

chop and change

keep changing (your mind)

in a tick

shortly, soon

a bear with a sore head

irritated/bad mood

a fish out of water

sb who feels uncomfortable

a long shot

a wild guess/ a risk

a memory like a sieve

a poor memory

a night owl

person who enjoys staying up late

a pain in the neck

annoying person/thing

a piece of cake

sth very easy to do

at large

free, not caught

for all I know

as far as I know

lose one's head

lose self-control

make one's blood boil

cause sb to become very angry

put one's heart and soul into sth

be devoted to sth

strike a chord

make sb feel sympathy

the year dot

a long time ago

turn over a new leaf

make a new start

a bit of a dark horse

person with hidden abilities

a dog's life

a difficult, hard life

Achilles heel

weakest point of sb's character

against all odds

despite the difficulties

agree to disagree

stop arguing because there is no chance of agreement

all along

from the beginning until now

all but

nearly, almost

all in

exhausted

all in all

when everything is considered

all the same

yet, however

all told

altogether; in total

an old wives' tale

false belief

an unknown quantity

person or thing that one has no experience of

as a last resort

when all else has failed

as the crow flies

in a direct line/ by a direct route

at close quarters

from a short distance

at the cutting edge

at the forefront of

bark up the wrong tree

have a false idea about sth

be ahead of one's time

have modern ideas

be all at sea

be in a state of confusion

be all fingers and thumbs

be awkward, clumsy

be all very well

appear satisfactory but in fact not be

be as busy as a bee

very busy

be as thick as a brick

be stupid

be beside oneself with anger

to be extremely angry

be born yesterday

be easily deceived/ naive

be broke

have no/very little money

be caught red-handed

be caught while committing a crime

be dying for sth

really want sth

be fit for

be good enough for

be for the high jump

about to be punished

be full of beans

be very lively

be green

be inexperienced

be in a quandary

be confused; undecided

be in sb's black books

out of favour

be in sb's shoes

be in sb's position

be in the dark about sth

be unaware of sth

be in the doghouse

be out of favour, in trouble

be in the know

be well-informed

be in the same boat

be in the same (usually bad) situation

be in two minds about sth

not be able to decide what to do

be on the cards

be likely to happen

be on the defensive

protect oneself because one feels insecure or threatened

be on the up and up

improve steadily

be out of practice

lacking practice

be over the moon

be elated

be second to none

be the best

be sound asleep

sleep deeply

be the apple of sb's eye

be very precious to sb; be sb's favourite

be the perfect image of sb

look exactly like sb

be the splitting image of sb

look exactly like sb

be thrown off balance

be surprised

be tickled pink

be really pleased

be up and about

have recovered from an illness

be up in arms

be very angry

be worn out

be very tired

be/get soaked to the skin

be/get very wet

be/have a close shave

barely avoid an accident/ a bad situation

bear fruit

be successful

beat about/around the bush

avoid saying what one means directly

beat sb black and blue

hit sb repeatedly until bruised

before one can say Jack Robinson

extremely quickly

beg the question

makes people want to ask a particular question

behind bars

in prison

behind the scenes

in secret

below the belt

cruel and unfair

bide one's time

wait for a good opportunity

big cheese

person with important job/position

big-headed

conceited; boastful

bite off more than sb can chew

try to do sth which is too difficult

black and blue all over

covered with bruises

black tie

formal clothing

blaze a trail

discover sth new

blessing in disguise

sth which appears bad at first but then turns out favourably

blow a fuse

become very angry