Glossary
Unit one
To take the bull by
the horns: Means to
deal with a difficult situation in a brave and firm way.
Two heads are better
than one: Means that
when two or more people work together, they’re more likely to solve a problem
than one person doing it alone.
To keep your head
above water: Means that you
are just trying to survive despite not, having much money.
To shit: To make your physical necessities.
It’s as easy as pie: If something is very easy.
Pie-eyed: If someone is very drunk.
To have a finger in
many eyes: It means you
are involved in lots of different activities.
Junk food: Fast food.
A bad egg: If we want to say that someone is bad or
dishonest.
Don’t pull all your
eggs in one basket: You
should never rely on only one plan it goes wrong.
He got eggs on his
face: If someone
makes a mistake, which makes him/her look stupid, we use this expression.
Self-esteem: When you’re self-confident.
Dropped (Weight): When you have lost weight.
Purging: When you make yourself vomit.
Compulsively: When you do a thing, and you can’t help it.
Long term effects: Consequences in a long period of time.
Short term effects: Consequences in a short period of time.
Follow in your
footsteps: Want to be
like someone.
Full of beans: If someone is full of beans means that
he is full of energy.
I don’t have a bean: Means that you have no money at all.
Spill the beans: If someone wants to tell us something
secret, we can say to them “spill the beans”.
It’s a hot potato: If there’s a delicate issue and people
can’t agree, we call it “a hot potato”.
They are like two
peas in a pod: If two
people look very similar, we use this expression.
It’s not my cup of
tea: If there’s
something we don’t like too much.
I wouldn’t do it for
all the tea in China: We use this expression if there’s something we would never do it.
It’s as good as
chocolate teapot: If
something is complete useless we use this expression.
He’s gone bananas: If someone gets very emotional and
starts shouting and behaving in a crazy way we can say this expression.
It’s a case of sour
grapes: If somebody
pretends not to be impressed by something because she/he feels jealous.
A second bite of the
cherry: If we try to
do something a second time because we failed out first, we use this expression.
To be in a good mood:
When you are happy.
Raw: Food that isn’t done, like sushi.
There are plenty more
fish in the sea: It
means that there are other choices in a situation. It’s often said to comfort
someone who had a romantic break up.
The icing in the
cake: It is used
to refer to something good which is added to an already good thing or
situation.
It’s just not
cricket: Is used in
English to say that something is unfair or dishonest.
To toy with (Somebody
or something): Means
no to take someone’s feelings seriously.
A toyboy: Is the younger of an older person.
Like a ton of bricks:
It is used to express
something that is very heavy. This expression can be used literally (To
describe a heavy weight) or idiomatically (To describe a great surprise or
someone that is overweight)
To fly the nest: Means to leave your parents’ home for
the first time to go and live somewhere else.
A nest egg: Is an amount of money you have saved in
the future.
I wasn’t born yesterday:
If someone is telling you
a very obvious lie, you can use this expression.
To have a whale of
time: Means to
have a lot of fun while doing something.
Size of a whale: It is an impolite way of saying they are
large and overweight.
GE: Genetically engineered (Food natural and
organic)
GM: Genetically modified (Food changed)
GMO: Genetically modified organism (Organism
of food change)
Mug: Like a cuppa.
Factual: Realistic.
Tarots readers: Someone who reads the future.
Omission: When you are not telling all the truth.
Banned: Not allow.
Take it with a pinch
of salt: Doing something
slowly and carefully.
UNit two
The big cheese: Is the most important or powerful person in a group of
organization.
Chalk and cheese: We use this expression to define two people who are
very different to each other.
A little bird told me: If you have some information but you do not want to
reveal who told you, then you use this expression.
To be or to have a big mouth: It means you talk too much especially about things
which should be kept in secret or avoided.
All the colors of the rainbow: It means
it’s very colorful.
Chasing rainbows: Refers to someone who is always looking for something
more exciting rewarding but it is unlike to find it.
If you are playing with fire: You are
doing something which could be dangerous.
If you add field to the fire: If you make a bad situation even worse.
Blow your own trumpet: You are bursting about your achievements and
abilities.
Have a bee in your bonnet: You are obsessed with something and you can’t stop
thinking about it.
It’s in someone’s genes: When that person has the same personality traits as
their parents, or does a similar job.
You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours: Means if you do something for me, I’ll
do something for you especially if it’s something you wouldn’t have been able
to do for yourself.
If you say someone does not have a hair out of place: It means their appearance is very tidy
or is perfect.
Per capita: Per
person.
Cattle station: Where the
cattle resides.
Methane: a colorless odorless flammable gas, the
simplest alkane and the main constituent of natural gas.
Smog: a mixture
of smoke, fog, and chemical fumes.
Lost for words: You
cannot speak because you are shocked.
Coal: a
combustible compact black or dark-brown carbonaceous rock formed from
compaction of layers of partially decomposed vegetation.
Sail: Like sand.
If you have a flash of inspiration: It means that you get a sudden idea that
helps you create or achieve what you were hoping to do.
A big fish in a small pond: If we describe someone with this expression, it means
that he/she is very important or has a lot of influence but only in a small
area or group.
Cold fish: If
someone is described with this expression it means that he/she is unfriendly
and doesn’t show his/her feelings or emotions.
Cans: Tins.
Packed like sardines: To describe people in a crowed space.
Chock a block: The streets are chock a block with cars.
Like a duck to water: It means that you discover when you start doing
something new, that you are very good at it.
