Idiom Meaning

Rubsaltintothewound Tomakesomeonespainorsorrowevenworse

Giveapieceofonesmind Punishorscold

hightime itistherighttimetodosomething.

Lookonthebrightside consider the positive aspects of a negative

situation/[ignoring the bad for a moment]
considering the positive aspects of a
situation/every bad situation has some
positives

Lendahand Toassistorhelp

Flyingcolors withgreatsuccess

Makebothendsmeet toearnandspendequalamountsofmoney/to
havejustenoughmoneytopayforthethings
thatyouneed
Makeoffwith Todepartinhaste;runaway.
wakeuponthewrongside tofeelgrumpy,irritable;tobeeasilyannoyed
ofbed
Rubsaltintothewound Tomakesomeonespainorsorrowevenworse

Stonethrow Near

Aleopardcantchangeits can't change who they are/a person cannot

spots changewhotheyare,apersoncannotchange
theiridentity

Pieceofcake somethingeasytodo/easy

look after someone or totakecareofsomeoneorsomething

something
putoff Todelay;postpone:
Aspleasedaspunch Verypleased
laststraw The last of a series of annoyances or
disappointmentsthatleadsonetoafinalloss
ofpatience,temper,trust,orhope.

Asighttobehold seeing it is in some way special, either

spectacularly beautiful or, equally, incredibly
uglyorrevolting
Afarcryfrom verydifferentfromsomething

boggeddown stuck;preventedfrommakingprogress.
Outofquestion Impossible

Heartisseton(something) tobedesiringandexpectingsomething/tobe
determinedtogetordosomeoneorsomething./
towantsomethingverymuch

pulltogether Tomakeajointeffort.
yourword(ofhonour)
haveyourpromises

Abedofroses Apleasantoreasysituation.

Longface looksad

Experienceisthebest Youwilllearnmorefromthingsthathappento
teacher. you in real life than you will from hearing
aboutorstudyingthingsthathappentoother
people/Lifeteachesmoreeffectivelythanbooks
orschool.

Thedevilsadvocate toputforwardargumentsagainstorobjections
toapropositionwhichonemayactuallyagree
withpurely to test the validity of the
proposition./topretendtobeagainstanideaor
planwhichalotofpeoplesupportinorderto
makepeoplediscussitinmoredetailandthink
aboutitmorecarefully
Bornwithasilverspoonin bornintowealthandprivilege/tobethesonor
hismouth daughter of a very rich family/Born into a
wealthyfamily.
Takethebullbythehorns toconfrontaproblemheadonanddealwithit
openly
Inthenickoftime Just in time; at the precise moment./Just
beforeitistolate.

Letthecatoutofthebag Totellwhatshouldbekeptasecret
Cometoblows Toreachthepointoffightingaboutsomeoneor
 something

Carryon Tocontinue(withsomething)
Cutdown(on)something Tocausesomething/toreduce
Wheretheressmoke,theres Whenthereisanindicationorsignofsomething
fire bad,usuallytheindicationiscorrect.

Tagalong Tofolloworjoinothers,evenifnotinvited.
Haveawhaleofatime toenjoyyourselfverymuch/tohaveaverygood
time.

Spreadlikewildlife Rapidlyandintensely
Catchsomeoneredhanded Catchsomeonewhiletheyaredoingsomething
wrong
Feelingblue depressionorunhappiness.
Turnoveranewleaf Tochangeonesbehaviorforthebetter.

Greenlight Togivepermissionforsomeonetodosomethingor
forsomethingtohappen.

Kickoff Tostart
Cryoversplitmilk Toregretsomethingcannotbeundone.

Cupoftea tobesomethingthatoneprefersordesires

Takeoneshatoff(to Toshowrespectandadmirationforsomeone.
somebody)

Counton/uponsomeone Torelyonsomeone
hypedup Slangstimulatedorexcitedby
haveone'sheartseton tobedesiringandexpectingsomething/tobe
something determinedtogetordosomeoneorsomething

Inthered Indebt.
Pickup Todrivesomeonetoanotherplace/tolearn
gradually,withoutformalteaching/torecover/to
improve/toincrease.
Facethemusic Takepunishment

Keeponesfingerscrossed Towishorhopeforsomething/towishforluckfor
someoneorsomething,sometimesbyactually
crossingone'sfingers;tohopeforagoodoutcome
 forsomeoneorsomething.

talkitover discussit,hashitover
butter(someone)up toflattersomeone

Keepsastiffupperlip actinawaythatdoesntshowanyemotions

Grababite togetsomethingtoeat;togetfoodthatcanbe
eatenquickly
Make hay while the sun to do something while the situation or
shines conditionsareright/Ifyouhaveanopportunity
to do something, do it before the opportunity
expires
Blowonesowntrumpet Whensomeonespeaksinpraiseofhimselfor
herself.

Turnup toarriveorappear/tofindorbefound,espby
accident/toincreasetheflow,volume/Informal
tocausetovomit
Beataboutthebush Keepevadingthepointinsteadofstatingthe
matterclearly/toavoidansweringaquestion;
tostall;towastetime/toavoidtalkingabouta
difficult or embarrassing subject because you
areworriedaboutupsettingthepersonyouare
talkingto

Cleanup to make a place completely clean and tidy/to

washsomeonewhoisdirty/tostopbad,unfair,
orcriminalbehaviourinaplaceoractivity
Keeponesfingercrossed Towishorhopeforsomething

Letbygonesbebygones Forgivesomeoneforsomethingheorshedidin
thepast
Takeiteasy(v) Torelax
Giveapieceofonesmind Punishorscold

getonyournerves toannoysomeonealot
Heardof (usuallyinquestionsandnegatives)toreceive
informationaboutsomeone/something
Keepintouch totalkorwritetosomeone,tomaintaincontact
withsomeone

Throwinthetowel toquit(Fromboxing,wherethisisdonebya
boxer'strainertostopthefight.)/Giveup.

Chipofftheoldblock aperson(usuallyamale)whobehavesinthe
samewayashisfatherorresembleshisfather.

standonyourowntwofeet tobeindependentandprovideyourselfwithall
thethingsthatyouneedtolivewithouthaving
toaskanyoneelsetohelp
turndown torefusetoacceptoragreetosomething,orto
somebody/something someone'sidea
Justaroundthecorner goingtohappenverysoon/notfaraway,going
tohappensoon

Inthelimelight Atthecentreofattention.

Providefor