Phrases, Idioms & Collacations¶

We’re in the Pink¶

Scots speakers use pink to mean a small gleam of light, as in the expression the pink of the evening i.e., late afternoon, early evening.

As a verb, pink has been in English since 1307 with the sense of pierce, stab, make holes in. It’s from this verb that pinking shears get their name.

Thackeray, uses the expression in the very pink of the mode to mean at the very height of fashion. Charles Dickens called an Italian town he’d visited the very pink of hideousness and squalid misery.

I Got the Blues¶

Obscene language is said to be blue, yet blue laws are those that forbid activities considered irreligious to take place on Sunday. A common blue law in the United States forbids the sale of liquor on Sundays.

A blue mood is a sad mood. To have the blues is to be sad.

People who talk so much that others can hardly get a word in edgewise are said to talk a blue streak. (One can also “cuss a blue streak).

A blue blood is a person of aristocratic lineage.

To say that something happens in a blue moon is to say that it rarely happens.

Will o’ the Wisp¶

Something that misleads or deludes; an illusion:

“Global warming: Chasing a “Will o’ the Wisp” while ignoring a real monster in the sky”.

Idioms & Phrases¶

1	2	3	4
early doors	treading on eggshells	close shave	nobody can hold a candle to
bottle and bottler	the boot’s on the other foot	red tape	I’ve got egg all over my face
the special relationship	beat around the bush	barrel of laughs	to go against the grain
in the nick of time	go the extra mile	do not give up the day job	on the house
jump the gun	pie in the sky	It is a steal!	on target
playing up	off the back of a lorry	across the pond	on the dot
head over heels	until the cows come home	down the pan	to give someone the benefit of the doubt
sinking feeling	beat the drum	I am game	to get out of hand
all the trimmings	everything but the kitchen sink	in good nick	to get something out of your system
paint the town red	have a lot on my plate	there is method to my madness	to get your act together
call it a day	look like the back end of a bus	make a monkey out of me	to hang in there
a spanner in the works	proof is in the pudding	test the water	let someone off the hook
no strings attached	eat humble pie	six of one, half a dozen of other	no pain, no gain
catch your eye	take to the cleaners	a recipe for disaster	pull yourself together
put your money where your mouth is	give the cold shoulder	You are pulling my leg!	go to great lengths
go to town	plain sailing	clean up your act	something has to give
the writing is on the wall	the skin of your teeth	the last straw / final straw	on a more even keel
take (something) on board	finding your feet	close, but not cigar	break the mould
see red	a finger in every pie	have an axe to grind	nothing ventured, nothing gained
a leopard can’t change its spots	throw the book at somebody	it takes two to tango	cut and dried
It’s doing my head in!	my mind has gone blank	wash your dirty linen in public	live on borrowed time
straight from the horse’s mouth	things are looking up	at the drop of a hat	to have an axe to grind
What’s his face?	drop dead gorgeous	knock her socks off.
have a ball	hit the ground running	he was ready to jump ship
cut to the chase	know your onions	they were apples and oranges
out o the picture	be on the ball	he got the short end of the stick
Why the long face?	keep a lid on it	her bark was worse than her bite
go bananas	put a sock in it	was run of the mill
bits and bobs	done and dusted	he should have hitched his horse to a different wagon
use your loaf	go around the houses	to get all of her ducks in a row
take a rain check	sleep on it	keep his nose to the grindstone

Dating¶

We are in an open relationship.
She has taken.
We hooked up.
We are on a break.
She is sleeping around.
We are seeing each other.

30 British Phrases That Always Confuse Americans ¶

A right bodge job — refers to something someone has done poorly.
Getting pissed — getting drunk
I’ll give you a bell — call someone on the phone later
Horses for courses — different people like or are made for different things
Totally chuffed — pleased or thrilled
Having a chinwag — having a chat or a talk
That’s pants — when something is nonsense
Cashpoint — ATM
Like chalk and cheese — two people or things are fundamentally different or incompatible
Pop your clogs — to die
Spanner in the works — someone or something messed up the plan
Pull a blinder — to do something skillfully or give an excellent performance
Spend a penny — you need to use the bathroom
They’re such a chav — informal (and somewhat derogatory) saying refers to someone who is brash, low-class, or cheap
It’s a real dog’s breakfast — a mess
He waffled on — speak or write in a long, vague, or trivial manner
Taking the mickey — to make fun or someone or something
She wants to splash out on a … — spending lots of money on a luxury item
Sod’s Law — back luck or misfortune. It’s the British version of Murphy’s Law.
You’re full of beans — to be in high spirits
Have a kip — British people use “kip” instead of nap
Give me a tinkle on the blower — This phrase refers to calling someone
Fancy dress — costume
Bob’s your uncle — when everything is alright, or you’re all set
Bog-standard — the bare minimum or ordinary
Chinese whispers — there are untrue rumors circulating a group
This is a doddle — A “doddle” is a simple task

Phrasal Verbs and Collocations¶

Cause & Effect collocations ¶

The government’s policy produced the results.
The election provoked an outcry.
The blizzard wreaked havoc.
The strike spelled disaster.
The Prime Minister’s behaviour prompted speculation.
The boss’ favouritism bred resentment.

verb oneself adjective: eat yourself skinny ¶

eat yourself skinny (eat until you become skinny)
sleep yourself to death (sleep until you die)
run yourself thin (run until you become thin)
laugh yourself silly
run yourself ragged
eat yourself fat
study yourself smart

You also can use different from yourself reflective pronouns:

she laughed herself silly
he ran himself ragged
They ate themselves fat

Expressions with verb to sit¶

to sit around means to spend time doing very little: They just sit around and do nothing all day. We sat around in the hotel until it stopped raining.
to sit back means to wait for something to happen while deliberately not being involved: She just sat back and waited for us to do everything. You can’t just sit back and expect me to do everything.
to sit down means to lower your body into a sitting position: We looked for somewhere to sit down. She sat down beside me on the sofa and started talking.
to sit in on something means to be present during a meeting or event but not participate: He asked me to sit in on the discussion and report back to him. When I was new to the department, I sat in on meetings to learn the procedures.
to sit on a committee or panel means to be a member: As the representative of the personnel, I sat on the board of directors. He sat on many committees dealing with education.
to sit out means to be outside rather than inside: While the weather was good, we sat out and had lunch. We went to the pub and sat out at the tables in the garden.
to sit out something means to wait for it to finish: His injury meant that he had to sit out the rest of the competition. When it started raining, we decided to sit out the storm in the café.
to sit over someone is to watch them very carefully to check up on them: I sat over him and made sure he took his medicine. She sat over me until I had finished everything.
to sit through means to remain until something is finished, especially if it is unpleasant: They sat through a very long meeting. We had to sit through a very boring lecture before we could go for a drink.
to sit up means to not go to bed until it very late: I sat up and waited for him to come home. She sat up all night to finish her project before the deadline.

Expressions with verb to stand¶

to stand around mean to stand in a place doing very little or waiting for something: We just stood around for half an hour waiting for the concert to begin. Lots of teenagers just stand around on street corners because they have nothing to do.
to stand aside means to move to a position where you do not block others: I told everyone to stand aside to let them pass. Everyone stood aside to let the rescue workers pass.
to stand back means to move a short distance away from something: Please stand back from the objects. You must not touch them. You can see the paintings better if you stand back a little.
to stand back also means to take a bit of distance from a problem in order to understand it: It’s difficult to stand back and be objective when you are talking about your children. We need to stand back and think about this.
to stand by means to be waiting and ready for something: Riot Police were standing by in case the demonstration got out of hand. Ambulance teams were standing by in case any of the participants got into difficulties.
to stand by also means to continue to support someone or something: We stand by our decision in spite of the opposition to it. His wife stood by him through the scandal.
to stand down mean to leave or resign from an important position: The Prime Minister stood down after the defeat in the elections. Even though he still had the support of the shareholders, he decided to stand down.
to stand for means is an abbreviation for: BBC stands for British Broadcasting Corporation. What does PGCE stand for?
to stand for can mean to support or represent an idea or attitude: I agree with everything that Greenpeace stand for. The Conservative Party stands for family values.
to stand for also means to accept someone’s behavior without complaining: I don’t see why I should stand for his bad behaviour. I don’t know how she stands for it. He’s impossible to live with.
to stand in means to replace or represent someone for a short time: I’ll ask one of my colleagues to stand in while I’m away. Another actor stood in for him while he was ill.
to stand out means to be much better than similar things or people: One person stands out from all the candidates that we have met. There is one solution that stands out clearly as the best.
to stand out also means to be noticeable because they are very different from others: With her height and red hair, she always stands out in a crowd. Children never want to stand out but to be just like everyone else.
to stand over means to supervise closely, watch what someone is doing: She stood over me while I did the work just to be sure that I had done it properly. I had to stand over my children otherwise they didn’t do their homework.
to stand round means to spend time standing, waiting for someone or something or doing nothing: They just stood round and watched. They didn’t help. We stood round in the cold for half an hour waiting for them to arrive.
to stand up means to rise into a standing position: At school, we had to stand up whenever a teacher entered the room. When she came in the room, everyone stood up to greet her.
to stand someone up means to fail to meet them on purpose, usually for a romantic date: He didn’t come. He stood me up! I waited in the restaurant for an hour before I realised I’d been stood up.
to stand up for something means to defend it because you believe in it: You have to stand up for what you believe in. You have to stand up for yourself, no one else will.
to stand up to means to not give in to someone in a powerful position, to argue your case: He was never afraid to stand up to his father even when he was very small. The management is too weak to stand up to the union and their demands.

Expressions with verb to cut¶

to cut across means to take a shortcut over an area instead of going around the edge: It’ll be quicker to cut across the field. She quickly cut across the car park to where he was standing.
to cut back means to reduce the amount of money being spent: The government has cut back on education with less teachers. I’ve had to cut back on my spending as I’m not making any money at the moment.
to cut down means to remove a tree or plant by cutting it near the base: To make bigger fields, the farmer has cut down a lot of the hedges. We cut down the old tree in the garden as it blocked all the light.
to cut down also means to reduce the number or quantity of something: The article was too long and so I had to cut it down to fit the space. I have cut down the number of hours I work to only thirty a week now.
to cut in — to interrupt someone when they are speaking: I was trying to explain it when she cut in and started talking. He really annoys me. He’s always cutting in and never lets me speak.
to cut off — to stop supplies of something like electricity or water: They didn’t pay the bills and the electricity was cut off. The water was cut off while they repaired the leaking pipes.
to cut off can also mean to stop a telephone connection: I’ll ring him back. We got cut off in the middle of the conversation. I’m sorry but I pressed the wrong button and cut you off.
to cut out — when an engine or piece of machinery suddenly stops working: There’s a problem with my car. The engine keeps cutting out. When I stopped at the lights, the engine cut out.
to cut through difficulty means to be able to deal with the problems or bureaucracy quickly: To get the permits in time, we had to find a way to cut through all the bureaucracy. She can cut through the complex legal language and get to the point.
to cut up — to divide something into smaller pieces: It was too big to go into the bin so I cut it up. At the end, there was a cake left so we cut it up and each took a piece home.

Other Collocations¶

Directions: Why do not we retrace our steps and go back…
lifestyle fad
well off
It has been a shock to the system.
… when their story of a two-month job in New York resulted in friends promising to visit them.
… talk their way into the flat…
As is true of many of his stories, there is an autobiographical element, with the life of the main character…
Millions of women looked up to her as a role model.
I think you should give it a go.
fall for
be taken in by
be taken aback — to be very surprised about something
caught off guard — to surprise someone by happening when they are not expecting something or prepared for it
“Do you have the time?” — would be used to ask what time it is currently. “Do you have time?” — would be used to ask if the person has time in their schedule.
I am from a famous family and it is not easy to live up to my name.
He used to be a household name but he is not famous anymore.
I put my name forward for class president.
He was a king in name only.
My grandmother has the same routine every day. She is very set in her ways.
He is a whizzkid when it comes to computers.
If i had known that statistic when I was learning the ropes, I would be selling insurance today.
He found the portraits of the boys on the beach evocative of his childhood holidays.
Every once in a while there will be a book that makes you …, Every so often I would splurge on a box of the newfangled, expensive, disposable kind.
Cultural identities are in danger of being lost.
I would hazard a guess that it is …
She swore she would never set foot in his house again.
I would like to set the record straight on a few points.
The powers that-be don’t want the media to get hold of the story.
The police were catching the same kids stealing time and time again.