🔰an end in itself
☑️Meaning: If something is an end in itself, it's done for its own pleasure or benefit rather than for some other purpose like making money.
✨For example:
🔹Billy says playing music in a band is an end in itself for him, but I think he does it to meet girls.
🔹People used to think education was an end in itself, but these days kids study in order to make lots of money when they graduate.
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🔰warts and all
☑️Meaning: If you show something warts and all, you show it exactly as it is without trying to hide any of its faults or weaknesses.
✨For example:
🔹Are you sure you want to read the first draft? You'll see it warts and all, with all the mistakes and all the bad writing still there.
🔹People don't want to see an idealised version of his life. They want to know the real story, warts and all.
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📗lead the way
☑️Meaning: If you lead the way, you show others where to go or what to do.
💧For example:
🔹When it came to exploring new directions in popular music, the Beatles definitely led the way.
🔹We should ask Carlos to lead the way. He knows this area better than any of us.
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🔰a one-track mind
☑️Meaning: If someone has a one-track mind, they spend most of their time thinking about one subject.
✔️For example:
🔸Brian's had a one-track mind since he started his own company. All he thinks about now is business and making money.
🔸Mark's upset because Jenny said he's got a one-track mind and he's always thinking about sex.
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🔰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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Idiom of the Day
🔰blow your own horn | blow your own trumpet
☑️Meaning: If you blow your own horn, or blow your own trumpet, you proudly boast about your own talents and successes.
〽️For example:
🔘I hate the way Barry always blows his own horn, and I get sick of hearing about all the amazing things he's done.
🔘Lorraine says that if you want to be successful in the fashion business, you really have to blow your own trumpet.
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🔰plain sailing
☑️Meaning: If something is plain sailing, it's very easy to do and there are no problems to overcome.
💧For example:
♦️Golfer Tiger Woods hit a couple of bad shots early in his round, but it was plain sailing after that and he won the match easily.
♦️I answered the first few questions in the exam without any problems, and I knew it'd be plain sailing from then on.
🍭Origin: From sailing, in which plain sailing means to sail at good speed without facing any obstacles.
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📗(have) egg on your face
INFORMAL
☑️Meaning: You will have egg on your face if you've said or done something wrong, and it's made you feel embarrassed or stupid.
✨For example:
🔹Stan had egg on his face after saying he could easily do fifty push-ups, and then giving up after doing just twenty.
🔹The police force had egg on its face because they arrested and beat up an innocent guy who had the same name as a suspect they were looking for.
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📗worth its weight in gold
☑️Meaning: If something is worth its weight in gold, it's extremely valuable or extremely useful.
✨For example:
🔹Your grandmother's stories are worth their weight in gold, so you should try to record them or write them down.
🔹A personal recommendation from someone like Professor Clark is worth its weight in gold. You'll be able to get a job anywhere you like with that.
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📗a wake-up call
☑️Meaning: An event acts as a wake-up call if it makes people more aware of a danger.
✨For example:
🔹I slipped over on the wet floor in my bathroom. I didn't hurt myself badly, but it was a wake-up call and I went out and bought some non-slip mats to stick on the floor.
🔹Robert had a pain in the chest, and it was a wake-up call for him. Now he's eating much healthier food and he's exercising more.
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Idiom of the Day
📗a law unto themselves
☑️Meaning: If somebody is a law unto themselves, they do things their own way and follow their own ideas about how to live instead of following what others do.
📍For example:
🔹Our boy Billy is a law unto himself. Of course he sometimes makes mistakes and gets into trouble, but we're proud of him because he doesn't just follow the herd.
🔹Our boss does things a bit differently to most other managers, so it's no surprise that some people say he's a law unto himself.
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Idiom of the Day
🔰over the top
☑️Meaning: You can say something is over the top if you think it's too extreme or it's more than a situation needs or deserves.
✔️For example:
▪️I know you love your daughter, Bill, but don't you think giving her a Ferrari for her birthday was a bit over the top?
▪️After he'd calmed down, Brad admitted that punching the photographer and smashing his camera was a little over the top.
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🔰pull out all the stops
☑️Meaning: If you pull out all the stops, you do everything you can to make sure something is successful.
〽️For example:
🔹They pulled out all the stops for the launch of their new range of perfumes, and even paid movie stars to come along.
🔹The Chinese government pulled out all the stops in their efforts to make the Beijing Olympics the best Olympic Games ever.
✔️Origin: Metaphorical, and related to the fact that the volume and timbre of a traditional pipe organ can be controlled in part by pulling out small knobs called "stops". If an organist "pulled out all the stops" on the organ, it would create a very big sound when played.
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🔰put the brakes on
✔️Meaning: If you put the brakes on something, you stop it or slow it down.
💧For example:
🔸Many companies are putting the brakes on new investment until the economy improves.
🔸The government has to put the brakes on the water treatment project until the corruption enquiry is over.
🔘Origin: This metaphorical idiom is based on the fact that if you're driving a car and you "put the brakes on", the car slows down and stops.
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