Audible Idioms, John Peter Sloan

MONSTERS 1

1. ‘Speak of the devil’

- when the person you are talking about appears unexpectedly present during the conversation

2. ‘See eye to eye’

- when you view something in the same way as someone else

3. ‘Waste not want not’

- if something has been thrown away and it might still be useful to the person speaking, they can say
this

4. ‘Once in a blue moon’

- an event that happens infrequently

5. ‘to take it with a pinch of salt’

- to be sceptical about the truth of a statement

MONSTERS 2

1. ‘the calm before the storm’

- a quiet or peaceful time before a period during which there is great activity, argument or difficulty

2. ‘it takes two to tango’

- means that a situation or argument involves two people and they are both responsible

3. ‘To feel under the weather’

- means to feel a little sick

4.‘To kill two birds with one stone’

- to solve two problems at the same time

5. ‘To cut corners’

- to do something in the quickest, cheapest or easiest way so that the end result is low quality or
even dangerous

MONSTERS 3

1. ‘To add insult to injury’

– to make a bad situation even worse
2. ‘A blessing in disguise’
- something that at first appears to be bad or unlucky but is actually a good thing

3. ‘Once bitten twice shy’

- if someone has been hurt in the past, they will be extra-cautious in the future

4. ‘Break a leg’
- used to wish a performer "good luck" before a show or performance

5. “To hit the hay”

- to go to bed

6. “To hit the nail on the head”

- when someone says something completely right

MONSTERS 4

1. “To call it a day”

- to stop working or retire

2. “Get out of hand”

- used when a situation or person can no longer be controlled

3. “Get something out of your system”

- when you do something that you have wanted to do for a long time

4. “Get your act together”

- to organize your life or work in a better way, especially by having clear goals and a plan for
achieving them

5. “It’s not rocket science!”

- used to say that you do not think something is very difficult to do or understand.

6. “Make a long story short”

- means that you are telling someone just the basic facts, rather than giving a long explanation for
something

MONSTERS 5

1. “Cross that bridge when I come to it”

- to delay worrying about something that might happen until it actually does happen

2. “Your guess is as good as mine”

- used when you don't know the answer to a question or problem

3. “You can say that again”

- used to express complete agreement with something someone has just said

4. “To break the ice”

- to say or do something to make people feel relaxed and comfortable

5. “To cry over spilled milk”

- to be upset about something that has already happened and cannot be changed

6. “To put something on ice”

- To delay a plan or project until a later time

Categories

AGE

1. ‘Act your age’

- it means you should behave like an adult, not a child.

2. ‘Feel your age’

- to realize that you are becoming older and it’s difficult to do things that younger people do

3. ‘In this day and age’

- this means now, in the present

4. ‘Over the hill’

- means that someone is too old to do something

5. ‘Leave the nest’

- to move from your parents' home and live independently

6. ‘Under age’

- too young to do something legally, for example smoking or drinking

7. ‘Young at heart’
- this means that even though someone is old they still feel young

ANIMALS: BIRDS

1. ‘A little bird told me’

- means that someone told you something but you don’t want to say who it was

2. ‘Water off a duck’s back’

- when something bad happened in the past but you are prepared to forget it

3. ‘No spring chicken’

- when someone is no longer young

4. ‘Chicken out’

- if someone doesn’t do something because they are afraid

5. ‘Birds and the bees’

- explaining sex to a young person

6. ‘Like a duck to water’

- if you are able to do something well when you try to do it for the first time

ANIMALS: FISH

1. ‘Be like a fish out of water’

- be in an unfamiliar situation

2. ‘To have bigger fish to fry’

- have something more important to do

3. ‘Fishing for compliments’

- trying to make someone say something nice about you

4. ‘Be a cold fish’

- when someone is unemotional

5. ‘Drink like a fish’

- if someone drinks too much (alcohol)

6. ‘Shooting fish in a barrel’

- something that’s very easy, not really challenging

ANIMALS: DOGS

1. ‘Dog eat dog’

- a situation where everyone is competing and doesn’t care about other people

2. ‘Bark up the wrong tree’

- when someone is completely wrong about something

3. ‘Going to the dogs’

- gradually be in a terrible situation

4. ‘Fight like cat and dog’

- fight or argue a lot with someone

5. ‘Raining cats and dogs’

- when the rain is falling hard

6. ‘In the doghouse’

- be in a lot of trouble with someone because of something you’ve done

5.

ANIMALS: CATS

1. ‘Cat got your tongue’

- you use this if someone is being silent and not talking

2. ‘Let the cat out of the bag’

- reveal a secret
2. ‘A cat in hell’s chance’

- not have a real chance of doing something very difficult or impossible

4. ‘Put the cat amongst the pigeons’

- cause a terrible situation and a lot of trouble

5. ‘Something the cat dragged in’

- look very untidy or disordered after being out all night

7. ‘The lion’s share’

- the largest part of something

CLOTHES

1. ‘At the drop of a hat’

- if you do something immediately, without waiting

2. ‘I’ll eat my hat’

- means that you are very sure that something will or won’t happen

3. ‘Take my hat off to’

- Show respect or admiration for someone

4. ‘Big boots to fill’

- try to replace someone who was very impressive or famous

5. ‘Lick someone’s boots’

- be submissive and too nice to someone in authority

6. ‘To quake in your boots’

- to be very afraid

7. ‘Die with your boots on’

- to die fighting or lose an argument without giving up

7

COLOURS

1. ‘Until you are blue in the face’

- To do something unsuccessfully until you have no energy

2. ‘Out of the blue’

- means suddenly or without warning

3. ‘Between the devil and the deep blue sea’

- if you have a dilemma, with two equally bad options

4. ‘Green eyed monster’

- this means jealousy

5. ‘To be green with envy’

- if you really want something that someone has or you want to be like them

6. ‘Green light’

- permission or agreement to do something

CRIME

1. ‘Behind bars’

- be in prison

2. ‘To get away with something’

- do something and avoid punishment

3. ‘I could murder something’

- if you are really hungry and want to eat something

4. ‘Thick as thieves’

- be very close and secretive with someone

5. ‘On the run’

- be a fugitive who has escaped from prison

6. ‘Daylight robbery’

- if something is too expensive

7. ‘To serve time’

- means to be in prison

DEATH

1. ‘Another nail in the coffin’

- another bad thing that means something will eventually fail

2. ‘Wouldn’t be seen dead’

- if something is very embarrassing or it would make you look bad

3. ‘Bite the dust’

- this means to die

4. ‘Over my dead body’

- if you refuse to do something or let it happen

5. ‘Kiss of death’

- means a fatal action that will cause something to fail

6. ‘Something is killing me’

- an intolerable situation that you cannot allow to continue

10

FOOD

1. ‘Food for thought’

- something important or interesting to think about

2. ‘You want your cake and eat it’

- means that you want to keep something while consuming it, or two contradictory things

3. ‘Selling like hot cakes’

- sell a lot, be very popular

4. ‘Apple of my eye’

- the person you love the most, usually one of your children

5. ‘Cool as a cucumber’

- act in a cool way without showing fear

6. ‘Cream of the crop’

- the best one in the group

11

DREAMS

1. ‘A dream come true’

- when something you have always wanted becomes a reality

2. ‘In your wildest dreams’

- something impossible that thought would never happen

3. ‘Dream on’

- means keep dreaming about something because it will never become real

4. ‘In your dreams’

- telling someone that something will never become a reality

5. ‘Works like a dream’

- when something works or functions really well

6. ‘Pipe dream’

- a fantasy that will never be realised

12
FURNITURE

1. ‘Under the table’

- do something illicit, without declaring it

2. ‘Bring to the table’

- means to contribute to the situation

3. ‘Part of the furniture’

- be very familiar and always there

4. ‘Sweep something under the carpet’

- keep something secret

5. ‘Too much on your plate’

- this means you’re too busy to do something

6. ‘Memory like a sieve’

- when you can’t remember anything

7. ‘Turn the tables’

- reverse the situation so that you beat someone who was beating you

13

HEALTH

1. ‘White as a sheet’

- have a shock and be very scared

2. ‘Just what the doctor ordered’

- something that makes you feel very good

3. ‘Alive and kicking’

- still be alive or exist

4. ‘A taste of your own medicine’

- if you do something bad to someone that they were going to do to you

5. ‘To be sick and tired’

- be bored by something

6. ‘In good (or bad) shape’

- in a healthy (or unhealthy) condition

14

HOUSE

1. ‘A roof over your head’

- have somewhere to live, a home

2. ‘Go through the roof’

- when prices go up a lot

3. ‘Hit the roof’

- be extremely angry

4. ‘Close to home’

- if something makes you uncomfortable because it’s also true about you

5. ‘Make yourself at home’

- tell a guest to feel relaxed in your house

6. ‘Wake up on the wrong side of the bed’

- be in a bad mood all day

15

Law

1. ‘Unwritten law’

- an unofficial rule that everyone accepts

2. ‘Above the law’

- if someone thinks they are so important they don’t have to respect the law

3. ‘Law of the jungle’

- survive by fighting against other people

4. ‘The long arm of the law’

- the power of the police and the government to find criminals anywhere

5. ‘Lay down the law’

- tell someone what they can or can’t do

6. ‘His or her word is law’

- when someone has total authority and everyone is afraid of them

THE BODY

16

EYES

1. ‘To catch your eye’

- something that is very attractive or interesting

2. ‘Easy on the eye’

- something that looks nice

3. ‘Not bat an eyelid’

- not appear worried about something dramatic you have just heard or seen

4. ‘In the blink of an eye’

- if something happens immediately or very quickly

5. ‘To eye up’

- to look at someone you are attracted to

17

FEET
1. ‘Dead on your feet’

- be very tired or exhausted

2. ‘Feet first’

- go into a situation completely, without hesitation or thinking about it too much

3. ‘Run off your feet’

- means to be very busy all day at work

4. ‘Drag your feet’

- to delay or spend too much time doing something

5. ‘Back on your feet’

- recover after an illness or disaster

18

LEGS

1. ‘An arm and a leg’

- if something is very expensive

2. ‘Pulling his/her leg

- joke with someone and tell them something that isn’t true

3. ‘Have a leg up’

- be helped by someone to get a better job or position

4. ‘Pull the other one (leg)’

- tell someone that you don’t believe something is true

5. ‘Shake a leg!’

- tell someone to wake up

6. ‘To leg it’

- To run away if you are about to be caught

19

TEETH
 1. ‘Bare your teeth’

- show that you are angry

2. ‘Get your teeth into something’

- start working on something in a serious way

3. ‘Grit your teeth’

- show determination in a difficult situation

4. ‘Like pulling teeth’

- when it’s very difficult to make someone talk or give you any information

5. ‘Fed up to the back teeth’

- be extremely bored

6. ‘By the skin of my teeth’

- to escape or avoid something bad that was about to happen, be very lucky

20

HANDS

1. ‘In good hands’

- be looked after by someone who is competent

2. ‘Cap in hand’

- when you have to ask someone for something important or a large amount of money

3. ‘Be on hand’

- means to be available if someone needs help

4. ‘Hands on’

- do something in a practical way

5. ‘Helping hand’

- when you help someone to do something

21

LOVE

1. ‘To fall head over heels in love’

- to be completely in love with someone

2. ‘For the love of God!’

- something you shout out when you are angry or frustrated

3. ‘There’s no love lost’

- this means that two people hate each other

4. ‘Love you and leave you’

- when you have to go you can say this

5. ‘A labour of love’

- something that you do because you really want to do it, not for money

6. ‘Tough love’

- bring up a child in a strict way, without giving them everything they want, in order to help them

22

WORK

1. ‘All in a day’s work’

- something that you do that helps someone a lot, but it’s part of your job

2. ‘To bring home the bacon’

- earn money for your family

3. ‘Chew the fat’

- talk about things in a general way, chat

4. ‘To learn the ropes’

- to learn how to do a new job

5. ‘A dead end job’

- a job that is futile, with no opportunities

6. ‘To be snowed under’

- to be very busy with a lot of work to do

7. ‘A jack of all trades’

- someone who can do a bit of everything, but doesn’t specialise in one thing

23

SPORT

1. ‘New to the game’

- someone who has just started doing something

2. ‘Drop the ball’

- make a mistake because you weren’t concentrating, be careless

3. ‘To be on the ball’

- be very informed and able to do something well

4. ‘Throw in the towel’

- show that you cannot continue doing something, admit that you have lost

5. ‘Ball in your court’

- means you are waiting for the other person to say or do something

6. ‘Jump in at the deep end’

- go into a difficult situation without any preparation

24

TIME

1. ‘Any minute now’

- means very soon, in a short time from now

2. ‘At the end of the day’

- when you consider the whole situation

3. ‘At the eleventh hour’

- just before it’s too late

4. ‘It’s about time’

- when something happens that should have happened a long time ago

5. ‘It’s now or never’

- this is the moment to do something or it will never happen again

6. ‘Round the clock’

- constantly, twenty-four hours

25

CONFLICT

1. ‘A penny for your thoughts’

- when you want to know what someone is thinking about

2. ‘Best thing since sliced bread’

- an innovation that is very positive

3. ‘Method in the madness’

- even though someone is unconventional they do things in a way that achieves results

4. ‘Glad to see the back of (someone)’

- be happy that someone is leaving

5. ‘To beat around the bush’

- to hesitate and not tell someone something immediately

6. ‘Let sleeping dogs lie’

- when you should allow the situation to remain the same, without causing trouble

7. ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’

- means you don’t know what someone is really like just from their appearance

26

NERVES

1. ‘Get something off your chest’

- talk about something that has been troubling you

2. ‘To go down in flames’

- be a complete disaster, a total failure

3. ‘Butterflies in your stomach’

- be very nervous or anxious about something

4. ‘Pull yourself together’

- force yourself to stop worrying or panicking about something

5. ‘A piece of cake’

- Something that is very easy

6. ‘Easier said than done’

- means that it’s easy to talk about something but difficult to actually do it

7. ‘To cut (someone) some slack’

- stop demanding too much from someone and be more gentle with them