When you don’t know
I don’t know
Beats me
(I’ve) no idea
(I) haven’t got a clue
I don’t have the faintest idea
I don’t have the foggiest (idea)
You’ve got me there
When you don’t understand
to be confused
to be puzzled
to be scratching your head
be the be-all and end-all
be the most important thing
a dish fit for the gods
the best possible food you can serve
be not for the faint-hearted
be not suitable for people who lack courage or determination
forever and a day
a very long time
be a foregone conclusion
be a result that is certain to happen
in one fell swoop
all at once and suddenly
have a heart of gold
be very kind and caring
a wild-goose chase
a situation where you waste time chasing something you can’t get
Idioms
the tip of the iceberg
only the beginning
in my mind’s eye
in my imagination
to be cruel to be kind
to do hurtful things in order to achieve a good thing
a wild-goose chase
a situation where you waste time chasing something you can’t get
a fool’s paradise
a state of being happy for stupid reasons
sick at heart
sad, depressed
Popular quotes
parting is such sweet sorrow
means that saying goodbye to someone you love is full of mixed emotion
to be or not to be: that is the question
’to be or not to be’ means ’to commit suicide or not to commit suicide'
a plague on both your houses
said to show frustration or anger at both sides of a fight or argument
O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?
means ‘Why are you Romeo?’
I haven’t got all day
do it quickly; hurry up
get a move on
do it more quickly
pull your finger out
start working harder (and more quickly)
as quick as a flash
very quickly
A.S.A.P.
(abbreviation) as soon as possible
a quick fix
fast and easy solution
franchise
an agreement to sell a company or brand’s products, using their name
merchandising
the business of selling products connected to a popular film or performer or event
cash cow
product or service that continually makes a lot of money
on the blink
not working correctly
knackered
(here) old and broken
packed up
stopped working
had it
no longer useful
cooking on gas
the situation is going well
Annoyance
don’t bite my head off
don’t speak to me in an angry way
it’s doing my head in
it’s making me annoyed and angry
for crying out loud!
said by someone to express their annoyance or irritation
you’re driving me crackers!
you’re making me annoyed
don’t make my blood boil
don’t make me angry
don’t blow your top
don’t get angry
hot under the collar
annoyed or angry
background checks
checks on the things a person has done in their past
bypass
to go around something in order to avoid it
executive action
an action taken by a person in charge which doesn’t follow the usual approval procedure
loophole 漏洞
announcement
the act of giving official information
suspended
not allowed to go to work for a period of time
bionic
electronic parts used to improve body parts that don’t work properly
To leave
Here are some phrases for when you’re suggesting to leave somewhere together with others:
- Time to make a move
- Let’s hit the road
- Off we go
- Let’s get outta here
- Shall we?
And here’s one for when you’re leaving by yourself:
I’m off
Happy
full of the joys of spring
very happy / cheerful
on cloud 9
very happy
on top of the world
feeling happy because things are going well for you
thrilled to bits
excited and pleased
music to my ears
information that makes you happy / pleased
jump for joy
show great excitement / happiness
(something) took me by surprise
(something) unexpected happened
how sweet
that’s very nice or kind
very touching
kind
a nice touch
a kind thought or action
Late
hold the fort
look after something while someone else is away
feels like an eternity
feels like a long time
better late than never
it is good someone has arrived rather than not at all
to make up for lost time
spend lots of time doing something now because it wasn’t done earlier
all in good time
there is no need to hurry
late in the day
too late to do anything about it
time is money
time wasted could be used earning money
Lucky
(someone’s) lucky day
a day when good things will happen to someone
one more (something) for luck
an extra (something) for good fortune
light up
(here) suddenly look happy or amazed
fell into my lap
obtained without any effort
a stroke of luck
a good thing that’s happened unexpectedly
better luck next time
(an expression of encouragement or sarcasm)
hope you have more success next time
Secrets
mum’s the word
keep it a secret
my lips are sealed
I won’t tell anybody
keep it under wraps
keep it a secret
a little dickie bird has told me
somebody has told me something in private
keep it to yourself
don’t tell anybody / keep it a secret
to let the cat out of the bag
tell somebody something that was supposed to be a secret
Angry
I’ve had it up to here
I have suffered enough because of something or someone
it’s driving me up the wall
it’s making me very angry
don’t blow a fuse!
don’t lose your temper
fed up to the back teeth
angry because a situation has continued for too long
like a bear with a sore head!
in a very bad mood
at the end of his tether
so annoyed he can’t carry on
losing it
becoming very angry or upset
Success
feather in your cap
an achievement to feel pleased about
a lucky break
a piece of good luck / a good opportunity
a real success
very successful
a track record
a reputation based on performance or experience
the secret to your success
the main thing that lead to your success, that others don’t know about
a roaring success
very successful
don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched
don’t make plans based on something being succesful until it actually proves to be a success
taste success
get a feeling of what success is like
top dog
best or most important person in a group
Shock
a shock to the system
an unexpected surprise
what on earth!
(said to show complete surprise or anger)
the shock of my life
a very big shock
to jump out of your skin
to be very surprised or shocked
out of the blue
completely unexpected
stunned
very shocked or surprised
Resilience
a tough cookie
a person who is strong enough to deal with difficult situations
as tough as old boots
a person who is strong enough to deal with difficult situations
she wouldn’t say boo to a goose
timid, quiet and shy
a game old bird
a tough and smart woman
relentless
continually severe or cruel
as hard as nails
(also) a person who is strong enough to deal with difficult situations
tough luck
without sympathy for your situation
tough love
sort your own problems out
Clever
to think out of the box
think freely, creating new unexpected ideas
clever clogs
someone who is annoying because they think they know more than other people
a brainwave
a sudden good idea
the best idea since sliced-bread
an excellent idea
too clever by half
annoying because someone appears more intelligent than other people
a smart cookie
a very clever or intelligent
Sad
a face like a wet weekend
a miserable and sad appearance
feeling blue
feeling sad
down in the dumps
feeling sad
downhearted
sad and having no hope
cry your eyes out
cry a lot
worse things happen at sea
don’t worry too much about your own problems
beside himself with grief
very upset because someone has died
Calm
the calm before the storm
a quiet time before things get very busy or difficult
keep your cool
stay calm in a difficult situation
stay calm
don’t get in a panic/emotional
under control
sorted out in a calm way
act cool and collected
behave in a calm and composed manner
blows a gasket
suddenly becomes angry
Timing
it’s about time
you should have done this earlier
make it snappy
be quick
all the time in the world
lots of time available to do something
every second counts
don’t waste any time
in the nick of time
at the last moment
it’s a race against time
there’s a limited amount of time to finish something
with seconds to spare
just in time
that was a close one
we just managed to avoid something bad happening
Excellence
top-notch
high quality
pull all the stops out
make a big effort so that something is very successful
excel at
do something very well
first-class
best quality
gone above and beyond
done more than was expected
blown right out of the water
shown to be false
exceeded his expectations
be more extreme than what you thought would happen
Love
a secret admirer
somebody who likes someone else very much but doesn’t tell them
love (something) to bits
love (something) very much
got the hots for (someone)
is very attracted to (someone)
no love lost (between two people)
you don’t like each other
a love-hate relationship
a relationship with someone or something where your feelings often change from love to hate
for love nor money
impossible to get
a labour of love
work that is hard but enjoyable to do
Failure
get the better of you
cause you to fail
fall at the first hurdle(跳栏)
fail right at the start of something
cut our losses
stop doing something now before it gets worse
(to make) a pig’s ear out of something
(to make) a complete mess of something
a sense of humour failure
you are unable to see what is funny
Clean
spick and span
very clean and tidy
personal hygiene
ability to keep yourself clean
as clean as a whistle
very clean
spotless
very clean
you could eat your dinner off that
it’s very clean
a clean bill of health
official statement that something is in good condition
clean your act up
start improving your behaviour
a clean slate
forget the past and make a new start
Disaster
a recipe for disaster
something that will obviously go very wrong
up the creek without a paddle
in a difficult situation with no way of making it better
on the brink of disaster
about to go wrong
disaster averted
a bad situation has just been avoided
a close shave
(also) a bad situation has just been avoided
Sleepy
I didn’t sleep a wink
I didn’t sleep at all
slept like a log
slept very well
I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over it
don’t worry about it
let sleeping dogs lie
leave the situation alone to avoid causing trouble
sleeping partner
a partner in a business who provides money for it but doesn’t actively manage it
I slept like a baby
slept very well
a catnap
a short sleep
beauty sleep
an amount of sleep needed to look good and healthy
on the decline 呈下降趋势
Honesty
to be honest
let me tell you the truth
God’s honest truth!
it is the real truth/ I am not lying!
honesty is the best policy
it is better to tell the truth than to lie
come clean
tell the truth
to make an honest living
to work hard to earn some money
open and above board
completely honest
Sick
sick to death
very unhappy about something
off colour
feeling slightly ill
queasy
feeling that you might be sick
sick joke
nasty or unkind joke
I’m sick of this
I don’t like it anymore
as sick as a dog
very ill
as sick as a parrot
very disappointed or unhappy
Fashion
old-fashioned
not modern or fashionable
down with the kids
behaving and thinking as a young person would
all the rage
very popular
after a fashion
only to some extent
old hat
not modern; boring
a fashion statement
something you wear to show others you know a lot about fashion
a fashion victim
a person who wears fashionable clothes even if they don’t suit them
a fashion faux pas
a mistake related to wearing clothes that look stupid or silly
Empathy
empathy
being able to understand how someone else feels because you can imagine being in their situation
to be in someone else’s shoes
to experience something from someone else’s point of view
from where I’m standing
from my point of view; in my opinion
I hear you
I can hear what you’re saying
spare me a thought
think about me as well
I see where you’re coming from
I understand your situation
take pity on him
feel sorry for him
Competition
pulled out all the stops
made a special effort
ahead of the game
in an advantageous position
up for grabs
available
blow the competition away
surprise the other competitors
in competition with
trying hard to beat someone / other people
may the best man win!
hope that the person who deserves to win does win
you win some, you lose some
bad luck; too bad
Hope
last hope
final chance (to do something)
don’t get your hopes up
what you expect to happen probably won’t
on its knees
struggling; in a bad condition
pin your hopes on it
expect or hope it will happen
to be honest
what I really think
live in hope
hope that what you want to happen will eventually happen
not a hope in hell!
absolutely no chance of succeeding
a glimmer of hope
small chance of something succeeding
dashed my hopes
let me down; stopped me expecting something good
the last straw
the last of a number of events that has gone wrong
13 uses of ’take'
takes (A1)
brings a person or thing from one place to another
taken someone into (your) care (C1)
agreed to look after someone and be responsible for them
takes the opportunity (B2)
uses the situation to do something he wants to do
take (someone) off to (C1)
move (someone) from one place to another
take refuge (C2)
find shelter (from danger or unhappiness)
takes pity on (B2)
feels sympathy for
takes an instant dislike to(B2)
immediately feels hostility towards something or someone
seems/is taken with (C1)
is attracted to
taken advantage of (C2)
used a situation to get what you want (often by deceit)
takes up (B2)
begins a hobby, job or activity
take off (B2)
start to become successful
take a turn for the worse (C1)
start to go wrong
take care of (B1)
look after
Once in a blue moon.
not very often
Once in a blue moon
Rarely
On cloud nine
Very happy
Every cloud has a silver lining
Every bad situation has something good in it
gold diggers
person who choses his lover based on money not love.
a person who forms a relationship with another purely to extract money from them.