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20 February 2017 22:52

✅beat around the bush | beat about the bush

☑️Meaning: If you beat around the bush, or beat about the bush, you don't say something directly, usually because you don't want to upset the person you're talking to.

For example:

💥I had trouble telling Pedro he'd lost his job. I started beating around the bush and talking about one door closing and another door opening.

💥Stop beating about the bush. Just tell me what's happened!

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#B

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20 February 2017 22:50

🔘backed into a corner🔘

☑️Meaning: If you're backed into a corner, you're in a difficult situation that will be hard to get out of.

For example:

💥When his business failed, Gerry felt he'd been backed into a corner and he didn't know what he could do.

💥Jimmy's drug addiction had backed him into a corner and his only way out was to go into rehab and kick the habit.

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19 February 2017 18:50

📚off the record📚

☑️Meaning: If you say something "off the record", you don't want it in the public record, or reported in the media.

For example:

✳️The minister has refused to speak to reporters since something he said off the record was reported in a newspaper.

✳️Most politicians realise that just saying something is "off the record" isn't enough to ensure it won't be reported.

🎯Note: 1⃣. Opposite to "on the record", which means something is said on the understanding that it will be part of the public record, and can be reported in the media.
2⃣. If used to modify a noun or a noun phrase, hyphens must be added, as in "off-the-record comments".

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#O

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19 February 2017 18:46

🔘more than meets the eye🔘

💢Meaning: You can say there's more to something than meets the eye if it's more complex, more important or more interesting than it seems at first.

For example:

✳️I'm sure there's more going on here than meets the eye. I don't think we've been told the full story.

✳️Mick might seem dull and boring when you meet him, but there's more to him than meets the eye, believe me! He's a really interesting guy.

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#M

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19 February 2017 18:42

🎯miss the point🎯

☑️Meaning: If you miss the point of something you hear or read, you don't understand what it really means.

For example:

💥I think you missed the point, so let me explain what I meant.

💥If she thinks it's losing the money that bothers me then she's missing the point. It's being treated like a fool that bothers me.

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#M

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19 February 2017 16:47

A chip on your shoulder - means you are holding a grudge
High as a kite - means you are drunk or on drugs
Sick as a dog - means you are very ill

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18 February 2017 05:13

🔘set your sights on

☑️Meaning: If you set your sights on something, or set your sights on doing something, it becomes the target of your ambition or the object of your attention.

▶️For example:

✳️Stanley has set his sights on coaching Liverpool, so he'll start getting to know people who have influence in the club.

✳️Microsoft has set its sights on one of the biggest search engine companies, so I wouldn't be surprised if the company's shares go up.

🎯Note: This idiom can also be expressed as "has its sights set on", "has her sights set on", "have their sights set on", and so on.
🎯Origin: Metaphorical, and related to the fact that a person using a gun looks through the gun's sights in order to aim, and will have his sights set on the target before shooting at it.

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#S

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17 February 2017 14:34

Idiom 🔘to make a rod for your own back.

Definition ☑️to do something that causes problems for yourself

Examples
💥If she marries that loser she's just making a rod for her own back.

💥If you invite people to comment on your proposals you will just be making a rod for your own back.

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17 February 2017 07:56

🔘above board🔘

☑️Meaning: If something is above board, it's been done in a legal and honest way.

▶️For example:

✳️I'm sure the deal was completely above board as I know James well and he'd never do anything illegal or corrupt.

✳️The minister claimed all the appointments were above board and denied claims that some positions had been given to his friends.

🎯Origin: Possibly derived from card playing and the fact that card players who keep their hands above the table (or above "the board") can be seen to be playing honestly, without cheating.

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#A

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15 February 2017 20:55

🔘carte blanche🔘
⭕️FORMAL

✅Meaning: If you give someone carte blanche, you give them freedom to do whatever they want in a situation.
For example:

✳️The boss has given us carte blanche to redecorate the offices.

✳️The president gave his generals carte blanche to fight the war however they wished.

☑️Origin: Originally borrowed from French. A literal translation would be "white (or blank) paper".

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#C

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13 February 2017 09:07

🔘a kick in the teeth🔘

✅Meaning: If you get a kick in the teeth, something bad happens to you or you feel that you've been treated poorly.
For example:

💥I'd just lost my job, so hearing that I had to move out of my apartment as well was a real kick in the teeth.

💥Gerry said that being told to get out of his apartment was a kick in the teeth after spending so much on doing it up.

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#A

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11 February 2017 07:05

🔘a wolf in sheep's clothing🔘

🎯Meaning: A wolf in sheep's clothing is someone who seems to be a good person but is really a bad person.
For example:

✳️The priest at our church seemed to be a very warm and caring man, but we later found out that he was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

✳️People in our town suspected that Henry was a wolf in sheep's clothing, but I think they were wrong.
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09 February 2017 20:33

#R
📕Ride High📕

✅it means to be successful at something or to feel good and happy at a certain time.

▶️For example:

🎯They finished their final exams and were riding high thinking about their summer holidays ahead.
🎯Their success in the trials had them riding high and excited for the main competition.
🎯After the proposal, the newly engaged couple were riding high. They couldn’t wait to tell their friends and family.
🎯I’ve been riding high ever since I got the promotion in work.
🎯The football team is riding high this year, they have won every home game and are certain to win the championship.

https://goo.gl/G1uf4m
Here is a dialogue with the idiom ride high:👇👇👇

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09 February 2017 20:17

#S
🔘Snowed under🔘
✅having too much to do

✳️I’d love to help you, but I’m completely snowed under at the moment.
✳️Could you come over and fix the tap in the bathroom? But of course, only if you aren’t snowed under, it’s not so urgent.
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09 February 2017 20:14

🔘Lightning fast🔘
✅extremely fast

✳️I don’t think we can keep up with him, he’s got a lightning fast bike.
✳️The robbery lasted only a minute, and then the robbers disappeared in a lightning fast car.

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20 February 2017 22:51

✅bear the brunt✅

☑️Meaning: If you bear the brunt of something, you suffer the worst of its impact or its effects.

For example:

✳️The driver bore the brunt of the crash because he was right at the front of the bus.

✳️The team's coach bore the brunt of the criticism because he'd selected the players who'd performed so badly.

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#B

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19 February 2017 18:53

🔘off the top of your head🔘

🔴INFORMAL
✅Meaning: If you give someone information off the top of your head, you do so from memory, without checking beforehand.

For example:

💥I can't tell you Maxine's phone number off the top of my head. I'll have to check.

💥I don't know for sure, but off the top of my head I'd say that renting a two-bedroom apartment would cost about a thousand dollars a week.

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19 February 2017 18:48

✅much ado about nothing✅

☑️Meaning: If you say something is much ado about nothing, you think it's an overreaction to something that shouldn't have caused so much trouble.

For example:

✳️Some people make a big fuss about which table they get in a restaurant, but as far as I can see it's much ado about nothing as long as the food's the same.

✳️All this nonsense about status and "losing face" is much ado about nothing as far as I'm concerned.

🎯Origin: "Much Ado about Nothing" is the title of a well-known play by William Shakespeare, and as a result the phrase has survived into modern English in its original form.

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#M

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19 February 2017 18:44

⭕️more often than not⭕️

☑️Meaning: If something happens more often than not, it happens quite often, but not all the time.

For example:

💥If I listen to BBC 3's "Late Junction" online, more often than not I'll hear some great music that I've never heard before.

💥Bob loves browsing around second-hand bookstores, and more often than not he finds something great to read.

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#M

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19 February 2017 18:41

⭕️mend your ways⭕️

☑️Meaning: If you mend your ways, you improve your behaviour and stop doing things that cause trouble.

For example:

✳️Terry had better mend his ways or Rosie will leave him forever.

✳️It took him a long time to mend his ways, but these days Jack is a good father and husband.

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19 February 2017 16:31

➡️A Bird In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush⬅️
☑️Having something that is certain is much better than taking a risk for more, because chances are you might lose everything.

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17 February 2017 20:56

Idiom 🔘to take a back seat.

Definition ☑️to allow others to take control or make decisions

Examples 💥 I'm quite happy to take a back seat and let her make all the decisions.

💥 The doctor recommended that I take a back seat until I have fully recovered from my illness

🔴Explanation If you sit in the back seat of a car, you allow someone else to drive it.

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17 February 2017 13:36

Tip of the Iceberg📕

💢If something is said to be 'the tip of the iceberg' it means that something is only a small part of a much bigger problem. The 'tip of the iceberg' is the part of a problem that can be easily observed, but not the rest of it, which is hidden.
💥Example:
✳️The problems that you see here now are just the tip of the iceberg. There are numerous disasters waiting to happen.
🎯Origin: This idiom comes from the fact that only the tip of an iceberg can be seen and the rest of the iceberg, which is much larger, is underneath the water and cannot be seen.

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#T
http://bit.ly/2kFridq

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16 February 2017 05:06

🔘a dark horse🔘

☑️a person about whom little is known

🅰 Mary's a bit of a dark horse. Do you think she's got any chance of being elected?

🅱He's a real dark horse. He sits in the corner at parties, saying very little to anyone, but he always seems to go home with the best-looking girl!

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#A

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15 February 2017 07:49

Idiom: 📕nothing to write home about.
Definition: ☑️not very interesting or exciting
Examples: ✳️We visited the old church on the edge of town, but it was nothing to write home about.
✳️Her new book is quite entertaining, but nothing to write home about and certainly not as good as her last one.
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#N

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11 February 2017 21:58

Idiom of the Day

🔘dressed (up) to the nines🔘
⭕️INFORMAL

✅Meaning: If you are dressed to the nines, or dressed up to the nines, you are wearing very smart clothes for a special occasion.
For example:

✳️Have you seen Harry? He's dressed to the nines and he looks amazing.

✳️Everyone was dressed up to the nines for the Academy Awards, with the men in tuxedos and the women in evening gowns.

📕Origin: This phrase is derived from the earlier idiom "to the nines" which was used to indicate that something was of the highest standard. The earlier idiom only survives today as part of the phrase "dressed to the nines".

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#D

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10 February 2017 04:52

🔘now or never🔘

✅Meaning: If you say it's now or never, you mean that something has to be done now or it can't be done at all.
For example:

✳️The band is going to break up after this tour, so if you want to see them perform, it's now or never.

✳️It was my last day with the company, so it was now or never. I went up to Jenny and asked her out on a date.

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09 February 2017 20:18

#U
🔘Under the weather🔘
✅ill, sick, feeling unwell, sad or lacking energy

✳️Do you mind if I stay out of work today? I’m feeling under the weather, I may have the flu.
✳️I heard you were ill yesterday. Are you feeling better now or are you still under the weather?

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09 February 2017 20:15

🔘Head in the clouds🔘
✅having unrealistic or impractical ideas, daydreaming

✳️Is your sister in love? I see her walking around all day with her head in the clouds.
✳️You have your head in the clouds if you think Mary will come to your birthday party after the nasty things you’ve done to her.
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09 February 2017 20:13

🔘Chase rainbows🔘
✅waste time trying to achieve something impossible

✳️My wife never believed I would make it as an executive manager; she always thought I was just chasing rainbows.
✳️Can’t you see you’re only chasing rainbows? There’s no way to get this girl marry you.