Idioms Inglesa IV Unidad 1-4

All but

Almost (The game was all but over by the time we arrived.)

All in

Very tired, so you are unable to do anything more (I'm going home now - I'm all in.)

All told

As a complete total/altogether (There were 550 people at the festival all told.)

For all

Despite (For all her qualifications, she's still useless at the job.)

Of all people

Used to show that you are especially surprised at a particular person's behaviour because it does not seem typical of them (I thought that you, of all people, would believe me!)

All along

From the very beginning (Do you think he's been cheating us all along?)

All the same

Despite what has just been said (It rained every day of our holiday - but we had a good time all the same.)

All in all

Considering all the different parts of the situation together (All in all, I think you've done very well.)

For all someone knows

As far as someone knows (There's still one suspect left, And, for all i know, she might be a flight risk.)

For all someone cares

Said to show that something is not important to someone (You could be the Queen of England, for all I care - you're not coming in here without a ticket.)

To take something into account

To consider or remember something when judging a situation (A good architect takes into account the building's surroundings.)

On account of

Because of something (He doesn't drink alcohol on account of his poor health.)

On no account

Something that it must not be done at any time or for any reason (Employees must on no account make personal phone calls from the office.)

On this/that account

For this/that reason (It is on this account that the sky looks blue.)

On the air

To be broadcasting on the TV or radio (The radio station is on air from 6 a.m.)

In the air

Happening or about to happen (Love is in the air.)

Up in the air

Uncertain, often because other matters have to be decided first (The whole future of the project is still up in the air.)

To clear the air

To remove the bad feelings between people (I had a massive argument with Sue, but at least it has cleared the air.)

To be up in arms

To be very angry (The union is up in arms over the reduction in health benefits.)

To hold something in abeyance

To stop something from happening or being used at present (The criminal charges are held in abeyance until the drug treatment programme is completed.)

To be of/have no fixed abode

To be homeless (I was of no fixed abode for a few months after leaving college.)

Out and about

Travelling from one place to another (The musicians were out and about, performing in different venues.)

In the abstract

As a general idea, without referring to particular ideas, details, or examples (So far we've only discussed the question in the abstract.)

Of someone’s own accord

To do something without being asked to do it (She came of her own accord. No one asked her to come.)

To agree to differ

to accept that you have different opinions from another person about a particular thing, and stop trying to persuade each other that you are right (Her parents are Republicans, and they have agreed to differ with their daughter.)

In arrears

Owing money that should have been paid already (My account is badly in arrears.)

To cast aspersions on someone/something

To criticize or make damaging remarks or judgments about someone or something (His opponents cast aspersions on his patriotism.)

To cost and arm and a leg

To be very expensive (The repair work cost an arm and a leg.)

Throw someone off balance

To confuse or upset someone for a short time by saying or doing something that they are not expecting (The question threw him off balance for a moment.)

To be on the ball

To be quick to understand and react to things (I didn't sleep well last night and I'm not really on the ball today.)

Below the belt

Very insulting and unfair (It's below the belt to criticize someone's appearance during an argument.)

To be beside oneself with

If someone is beside oneself with a particular feeling or emotion, it is so strong that it makes they almost out of control (He was beside himself with grief when she died.)

To bide one’s time

To wait patiently for a good opportunity to do something (He’s just biding his time until a permanent job opens up.)

In the black

Earning more money than you spend (This year our business is in the black.)

To blaze a trail

To do something that has never been done before (Le Corbusier blazed a trail in architecture.)

To be on the blink

Not working correctly (The DVD player is on the blink again.)

To go by the board

To be forgotten or not used (Does this mean our holiday plans will have to go by the board?)

To cut to the bone

All the way through (We had to cut the budget to the bone)

Out of bounds

If an area is out of bounds, people are not allowed to go there (The garden is open to the public, but the house is out of bounds.)

To pick someone’s brain

To ask someone who knows a lot about a subject for information or their opinion (Can I pick your brain about how you got rid of those weeds?)

To be black and blue

With dark marks on your skin caused by being hit or having an accident (His arm was black and blue.)

By and large

When everything about a situation is considered together (There are a few small things that I don't like about my job, but by and large it's very enjoyable.)

Behind bars

In prison (He's spent most of his life behind bars.)

To be full of beans

To have a lot of energy and enthusiasm (I've never known anyone be so full of beans before breakfast.)

To drop a brick

To do or say something that makes you feel embarrassed (You really know how to drop a brick at the worst times.)

Browned off

Annoyed (I think she gets a bit browned off with him borrowing the car all the time.)

To have a brainwave

To have a sudden clever idea (I couldn't see how I could get home from the station - then I had a brainwave.)

Out of the blue

Suddenly and unexpectedly (One day, out of the blue, she announced that she was leaving.)

To break even

To have no profit or loss at the end of a business activity (After paying for our travel costs, we barely broke even.)

To cost a bomb

To cost a lot of money (That new car cost a bomb.)

To beat around the bush

To avoid talking about what is important (Don't beat around the bush - get to the point!)

To take the bull by the horns

To do something difficult in a brave and determined way (Why don't you take the bull by the horns and tell him to leave?)

To ring a bell

To sound familiar (His name rang a bell, but I don’t know where I met him.)

To lay bare

To make something known (It's been promoted as the biography that lays bare the truth behind the legend.)

Blue-eyed boy/golden boy

A boy or man who is liked very much and is treated well by someone, especially someone in authority (He is the manager’s blue-eyed boy.)

In the balance

To reach a stage where a situation will soon be decided one way or another (The future of his shops and those of his 57 staff are in the balance.)

Broke

Without money (I can't afford to go on holiday this year - I'm flat broke.)

In someone's bad/black books

If you are in someone's bad/black books or black books, they are angry with you (He's in Melanie's bad books because he arrived two hours late.)

To make a clean breast of it

To tell the truth about something (Julia finally made a clean breast of it and admitted that she had stolen the money.)

A bolt from the blue

Something important or unusual that happens suddenly or unexpectedly (The resignation of the chairman came like a bolt from the blue.)

In black and white

In writing (I had to believe it, because it was there in black and white.)

To get your own back on someone

To do something unpleasant to someone because they have done something unpleasant to you (I'll get my own back on her one day.)

To make someone's blood boil

To make someone extremely angry (The way they have treated those people makes my blood boil.)

To feel it in your bones

To believe something strongly although you cannot explain why (It's going to be a good summer - I can feel it in my bones.)

To bark up the wrong tree

To try to do something in a way that will not work (His attorney suggested that the investigators might be barking up the wrong tree.)

To butter someone up

To be very kind or friendly to someone or try to please someone, so that that person will do what you want them to do (You'll have to butter them up a bit before they'll agree.)

Don’t hold your breath

Used to tell someone not to expect something to happen for a very long time (She said she'd get back to us, but don't hold your breath!)

To catch someone red-handed

To discover someone while they are doing something bad or illegal (He was caught red-handed taking money from the till.)

To deal a blow to somebody/something

To cause someone or something, usually a plan or hope, to fail or to be affected very badly (The latest trade figures have dealt a severe blow to hopes of an early economic recovery.)

To see the back of something/someone

To be pleased that you no longer have to be involved with someone or something (The hotel staff were glad to see the back of such a difficult guest.)

A chip off the old block

Someone who is very similar in character to their father or mother (He is a chip off the old block, just as stubborn as his father.)

A wet blanket

A person who says or does something that stops other people enjoying themselves (Auntie Edna's always a wet blanket at family parties.)

Big-headed

Thinking that you are more important or more intelligent than you really are (She's so bigheaded!)

Above board

When a plan or a business is honest and not trying to deceive anyone (The deal was completely open and above board.)

To show one’s true colors

To see someone's real character for the first time, especially when it is unpleasant (It was only when they started to work together that she began to show his true colors.)

A lost cause

Someone or something that has no chance of succeeding (I used to try to get him to do some exercise but then decided he was a lost cause.)

To put a damper on something

To make something less active or less enjoyable (Both the kids were sick while we were in Boston, so that put a damper on things.)

To be in the dark about something

To not know about something that other people know about (I'm completely in the dark about the company's restructuring plans.)

To not give up the day job

To tell someone that they will never be successful with something they are trying to do and should keep doing their real job instead (“What did you think of my singing, then?" "Er, don't give up the day job!”)

In broad daylight

When a crime is comitted during the day, when it could have been seen and prevented (Thieves had broken into the house in broad daylight.)

To be on the defensive

Ready to protect yourself because you are expecting to be criticized or attacked (As always when forced on the defensive, she protected herself by criticizing others.)

By definition

Because of its own definitions (Psychology is by definition an inexact science.)

For donkey’s years

A very long time (She's been in the same job for donkey's years.)

On the dot

Exactly at the stated or expected time (The plane landed at two o'clock on the dot.)

To lend an ear

To listen to someone with sympathy (Claire's always willing to lend a sympathetic ear if you have problems.)

To play it by ear

To decide how to deal with a situation as it develops, rather than acting according to plans made earlier (We can't make a decision yet. Let's just play it by ear.)

To ease up/off

To gradually become less or stop (At last the rain began to ease off.)

At the cutting edge

The most modern stage of development in a particular type of work or activity (a company at the cutting edge of mobile communications technology.)

On edge

Nervous and not relaxed (Is something wrong? You seem a bit on edge this morning.)

To no effect

An action was taken or an effort was made, but it produced no result, impact, or success (All her efforts were to no effect.)

To not see eye to eye with somebody

To disagree with somebody (My sisters don't see eye to eye with me about the arrangements.)

To have an eye for something

To be able to recognize, appreciate, and make good judgements about (applicants should have an eye for detail.)

To be more to something/someone than meets the eye

To be more difficult to understand or involves more things than you thought at the beginning (He seems quiet, but there's more to him than meets the eye—he's actually a skilled artist.)

Off-colour

Slightly ill (I'm feeling a bit off-colour today.)

To have the cheek

To have the audacity, nerve, or impudence to do something unreasonable, disrespectful, or rude (She had the cheek to ask me to pay for her!)

To get hot under the collar

To get embarrassed or angry about something (When I suggested he was mistaken he got rather hot under the collar.)

To keep one’s chin up

To remain cheerful in difficult circumstances (Keep your chin up, we're not lost yet.)

With flying colours

Passing an exam very succesfully (She passed her driving test with flying colors.)

To get something off your chest

To tell someone about something that has been worrying you or making you feel guilty for along time (I had spent two months worrying about it and I was glad to get it off my chest.)

To be like chalk and cheese

To be very different (My brother and I are like chalk and cheese.)