IDIOMS 7

Feel the pinch

Having financial problems all of a sudden

Fell back

Turned back

Fell foul of

Got into trouble with

Fell through

Failed

Few and far between

Rare or seldom-seen / Not frequent, unusual

Fifth wheel

An unneeded person

Fight fire with fire

To fight against an opponent by using the same methods or weapons that the opponent uses

Fight shy of me

To avoid encountering

Fight your own battles

To try to overcome challenges without help from anyone else

Figure out

Finally understood

Find yourself in troubled waters

In a difficult situation or time

Finding their feet

Beginning to understand the work and feeling confident

Finish with something

Be through

Fire in one’s belly

Strong determination to succeed

Fire the imagination

To make someone feel very interested in something and excited about it

First and foremost

Highest priority / Most important aspect

Fit like a glove

To fit snugly

Flash in the pan

Someone or something whose success or popularity is short-lived / Something that is unlikely to be repeated and is not an indication of future achievements or success

Flea market

A place where antiques and second-hand goods are sold

Flex one’s muscles

Give or make a show of one’s strength

Fly into a rage/passion

To become extremely angry

Fly off at a tangent

Starts discussing something irrelevant / Change the subject immediately

Fly the nest

Children leaving their parents’ home to live on their own

Flying high

Very successful

Flying off the handle

Suddenly becoming enraged / To lose one’s temper

Follow his nose

To go straight ahead

Follow suit

To do as others have done

Foot the bill

To pay for something / To pay for everything

For better or worse

Under any circumstances

For good

Permanently / forever

For keeps

Forever

For old times’ sake

Because of sentimental memories of the past

Forty winks

A short nap / sleep during the day

Fought to the bitter end

Carried on a contest regardless of the consequence

Foul play

Unfair or dishonest behaviour

Four corners of the earth

From all parts of the world

From far and wide

From all directions

From rags to riches

To go from very poor to being very wealthy

From scratch

From the beginning

From stem to stern

All the way from the front of the ship to the back

From the bottom of my heart

Sincerely

Full of beans

Lively and energetic / Full of energy

Full of hot air

Full of nonsense

Full of sound and fury

Merely loud and angry words but ineffective

Full steam ahead

Move onward with determination

Gall and wormwood

Hateful / Strong feelings of resentment and bitterness

Game is up

Deception is at an end

Gate crasher

Uninvited guest

Gave away

Distributed

Gave the game away

Gave out the secret

Gave vent to something

Expressed forcefully

Gear up for

Get ready for

Gerrymander

In a manipulative and unfair way

Get a foot in the door

To have a chance to do something

Get a gold star

To earn a merit point for doing well

Get a second wind

Have renewed energy after having been tired / Burst of energy

Get a taste of your own medicine

To be given the same treatment that you have given to others

Get away

To leave

Get cracking

To start doing something

Get down to brass tacks

Start taking up the most important facts of a situation

Get into a scrape

Involved in a problem

Get into a soup

To make things difficult

Get into hot water

To get into trouble / To be in a difficult situation in which you can be criticised

Get mixed up

Get confused

Get off on the wrong foot

To start a relationship or activity badly

Get on like a house on fire

To become friends quickly

Get on somebody’s nerves

To be irritating / annoy me

Get one’s dander up

Lose one’s temper

Get one’s Ducks in a Row

Be absolutely and properly organized

Get out of hand

To become uncontrollable / beyond control

Get someone’s goat

To irritate someone

Get something off one’s chest

Express something that has been worrying you, and you want to say

Get the axe

Lose the job

Get the hang of

Learn how to use / get the main data

Get the message

Understand what is implied by a remark or action

Get the picture

To understand what’s happening

Get the sack

Be dismissed

Get the upper hand

To get an advantage

Get up on the wrong side of the bed

Start the day in a bad mood, which continues all day long

Get wind of something

Hear about something / Come to know / To learn something secret

Get your act together

Organise your work in a better way

Get your money’s worth

To pay and get something of good value

Get your own way

Persuade other people to let you do what you want

Gets in his teacher’s hair

Annoys his teachers

Getting a new lease of life

A chance to continue living or to become successful or popular again / Become energetic again

Getting in everyone’s hair

Annoying them

Gift of the gab

Ability to speak eloquently / talks well and persuasively / Ability to convince

Give a free hand

To exercise complete control over something / Complete liberty

Give a piece of one’s mind

To rebuke someone strongly / speaking sharply / scolding

Give a wide berth

To stay away from

Give and take

Adjustment / Obliging each other mutually

Give in

Yield

Give it a shot/whirl

To try out something

Give me a hand with

Help me with / assist

Give oneself airs

Pretend to be good

Give somebody a ring

Call someone on the telephone

Give someone the cold shoulder

Deliberately ignore, avoid or be unfriendly towards someone

Give someone the slip

Evade or escape from someone

Give the benefit of the doubt

Accepting something/someone as honest or deserving of trust even though there are doubts / Regard someone as innocent until proven otherwise

Give up

stop doing it