CPE 11B

be as thick as a brick

→ That man is as thick as a brick. He can’t even add up two and two without making a mistake

be stupid [głupi jak but]

on second thoughts

→ “Write this essay for homework” the teacher said.
“No, on second thought, do it now” he added.

having changed one’s mind [po namyśle / jednak]

lay the table

→ Dinner is ready. Will someone lay the table please?

prepare/set the table for a meal [nakryć do stołu]

play truant

→ When he was at school he always played truant on Mondays, to go to the cinema.

stay away from school without permission [wagarować]

red tape

→ With so much red tape involved, the government have made it very difficult for foreigners to obtain a work permit.

unnecessary bureaucracy [biurokracja]

touch and go

→ “Will he live?” asked the nurse.
“Well, it’s touch and go whether he will or not”

with uncertain result [niepewny, ryzykowny]

put two and two together

→ Although she didn’t say anything directly, we put two and two together and realised that she was about to resign from her job.

arrive at the truth by looking at the facts [połączyć fakty]

in a thick

→ Dinner will be ready in a thick, so don’t go far.

shortly, soon [za chwilę / wkrótce]

through thick and thin

→ Don’t worry, we will be together through thick and thin.

whatever happens [na dobre i na złe]

out of turn

→ The debate became unmanageable when everyone started speaking out of run.

not in the correct order/time [nie w kolejności / bez pozwolenia]

by trial and error

→ The chef often comes up with his best recipes after a tedious process of trial and error.

learning from one’s mistakes [metodą prób i błędów]

not be one’s cup of tea

→ Opera isn’t my cup of tea; I prefer rock music.

not suit one’s taste [nie być czyjąś bajką]

be ahead of one’s time

→ The inventor was ahead of his time when he invented a space rocket in the last century.

have progressive ideas [wyprzedzać swoje czasy]

be behind the times

→ My grandfather still writes letters instead of using email — he's a bit behind the times.

opposite for progressive ideas [być zacofanym]

for the time being

→ You can stay in the guest room for the time being

temporarily [na razie]

in the nick of time

→ The ambulance men arrived in the nick of time to resuscitate the heart attack victim.

just in time [w samą porę]

kill time

→ They went for a walk to kill time while they waited for the ferry.

 pass time while waiting for sb/sth [zabić czas]

come to terms with

→ After six years, she still cannot come to terms with the fact that her husband left her.

accept a difficult situation [pogodzić się z czymś]

be tickled pink

→ My grandmother was tickled pink when she won at bingo last week.

be really pleased [być wniebowziętym]

paint the town red

→ John and several of his friends went out to pain the town red on his stag night.

have a great time [zaszaleć na mieście]

take one’s time

→ You can take your time with the test; there’s no rush.

not hurry [nie śpieszyć się]

be prone to

→ Sheila is prone to getting really bad headaches.

likely to do or suffer from something [mieć skłonność do]

thoughtless of sb

→ It was thoughtless of him to take your book.

inconsiderate, not thinking of others [bezmyślne z czyjejś strony]

abundance

→ There is such an abundance of oranges on the market that the price has fallen.

a large quantity of something [obfitość]

prohibit

→ It is prohibited to park in the street.

 officially stop something from happening [zabronić]

dawn on sb

→ It suddenly dawned on him that she was never coming back.

someone suddenly realizes something [dotrzeć do kogoś]

depend on

→ I am depending on your help with this work.

need someone/something to succeed or happen [zależeć od / polegać na]

lack sth

→ The new presenter certainly does not lack confidence.

not have something [brakować czegoś]

hear of sth

→ My husband won’t hear of our going to London for your holiday.

refuse to allow or consider something [nie chce o czymś słyszeć / nie zgadza się na coś]

be swamped with

→ Since the advertisement, we have been swamped with applications.

have too much to deal with [być zawalonym (czymś)]

earmark (for)

→ I feel it is wrong that this site has been earmarked for development by the council.

 reserve something for a specific use [przeznaczyć na]

be dwarfed by sth

→ When Rania stood next to the basketball players, she was dwarfed by them.

seem small or unimportant next to something bigger [być przyćmionym przez coś]

be the butt of someone’s jokes

be the person others laugh at [być obiektem żartów]
→ John was always the butt of Mary’s cruel jokes.

take sth in stride

→ Susy took so many problems in her stride when she declared bankrupt.

deal with something calmly, without fuss [przyjąć coś ze spokojem]

be out of step with

→ The M.P was often out of step with his party policies.

 not in agreement or not fitting in [nie nadążać za / nie pasować do]

have too much on one’s plate

→ I have so much on my plate at the moment that I can’t take any extra work.

 be too busy with many responsibilities [mieć za dużo na głowie]

at one’s own pace

→ You are allowed to work at your own pace in this relaxed, friendly company.

at speed which is comfortable for one [we własnym tempie]

go to great pains

→ Victoria went to great pains to complete a high quality presentation.

try hard to do sth because it is important [bardzo się starać]

feel below/under par

→ I have no appetite and I am lethargic. I’ve been feeling under par for ages.

 feel tired and unable to work etc. as well as usual [czuć się niewyraźnie / gorzej niż zwykle]

pass up

→ You shouldn’t pass up that opportunity of a once-in-a-lifetime round the world cruise.

 not take a chance or opportunity [przepuścić (okazję)]

in passing

→ She mentioned your name in passing during the meeting.

 incidentally [mimochodem, przy okazji]

not put it past sb

→ I would not put it past Gus to leave the firm without giving notice.

not be surprised if sb did sth they should not [nie zdziwiłoby mnie, gdyby to zrobił]

not a patch on (inf)

→ Julia’s work is not a patch on Natalie’s.

not nearly as good as; not comparable [nie dorastać do pięt]

bring sb down a peg or two

→ Somebody as conceited as Ron needs bringing down a peg or two.

 reduce sb to their true status [sprowadzić kogoś na ziemię]

phase in

→ New technology is being phased in at work.

introduce gradually [stopniowo wprowadzać]

say your piece

→ You say your pieces, as you feel so strongly on this matter then I’ll tell you what I think.

give your view or opinion [powiedzieć, co się myśli]

pile up

→ Since I broke my leg last week, the housework has just been piling up.

mount up [nagromadzić się]

feel the pinch

→ Many people are feeling the pinch now that there is an economic recession.

be in a difficult financial situation [odczuwać brak pieniędzy]

play at (inf)

→ Just what did you think were playing at, going behind my back like that?

do sth others don’t understand [udawać, bawić się w coś]

take the plunge

→ The economic situation makes many people unwilling to take the plunge and open their own business.

take a risk [zdobyć się na odważny krok]

pluck up the courage

→ I do not know how I can pluck up the courage to tell him the awful news.

make an effort to be brave [zdobyć się na odwagę]

plumb new depths

→ The new soap opera on Channel 3 plumbs new depths in terms of tastelessness

be worse than ever [sięgnąć dna]

go to pot (inf)

→ Many people feel that the welfare system is going to pot, due to lack of funding.

deteriorate [popsuć się, zejść na psy]

keep sb posted

→ We’ll keep you posted of any further changes in the examination specifications.

keep sb informed [informować na bieżąco]

pit your wits against sb (or sth)

→ It is a pointless exercise to pit your wits against a computer in chess tournaments.

 compete with sb/sth in intelligence [zmierzyć się z kimś intelektualnie]

at a premium

→ Houses with gardens and garages are often at a premium in city centres.

a higher price than usual because it is scarce OR wanted/needed but difficult to get or achieve [na wagę złota / bardzo pożądane]

press on/ahead

→ Despite the rain, the hikers decided to press on.

continue determinedly [kontynuować z determinacją]

better safe than sorry

→ I always lock the door at night. Better safe than sorry.

it's wiser to be careful than take a risk and regret it later [lepiej dmuchać na zimne]

he who pays the piper calls the tune

→ You can’t complain; he who pays the piper calls the tune.

 the person who provides the money has control or makes the decisions [kto płaci, ten wymaga]

all that glitters is not gold

→ That cheap watch looks nice, but all that glitters is not gold.

 appearances can be deceptive; something that looks valuable may not be [nie wszystko złoto, co się świeci]

a trouble shared is a trouble halved
→ Talk to me about your problems — a trouble shared is a trouble halved.

talking about your problems makes them easier to bear [wspólny problem to połowa problemu]

blood is thicker than water

→ Family helps first because blood is thicker than water.

family relationships are the strongest and most important [więzy krwi są silniejsze niż inne]

he who hesitates is lost

→ Hurry up! He who hesitates is lost.

 if you delay or hesitate, you might miss an opportunity [kto się waha, przegrywa]

a stitch in time saves nine

→ Fix the leak now; a stitch in time saves nine.

fixing a small problem early prevents it from becoming bigger [lepiej zapobiegać niż leczyć]

in for a penny in for a pound

→ Since you’ve started the project, in for a penny, in for a pound.

once you start something, you may as well finish it completely [jak szaleć, to szaleć]

what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts

→ I lost money on this deal, but what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts.

 losses in one area are balanced by gains in another [raz się traci, raz się zyskuje]

familiarity breeds contempt

→ They used to be close friends, but over time, familiarity breeds contempt.

 knowing someone or something too well may lead to a lack of respect [zbytnia zażyłość rodzi lekceważenie]