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METAPHOR
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MEANING
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1.
Bend over backwards
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to try as hard as you possibly can to do something,
usually to please or help someone
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2.
The ball is in your court
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If you say to someone, “the ball is in your court,” you are telling them that it is their turn to do something
or to decide what to do next before progress can be made.
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3.
Start the ball rolling
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to start an activity, particularly if it is something
with which other people will join in.
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4.
Scrape the bottom of the
barrel
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If someone scrapes the bottom of the barrel, they are forced to use or choose an idea, person or
thing that is not very good, because they cannot think of or find a better
alternative.
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5.
Full of beans
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To be full of beans means
to be full of energy, and be very active.
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6.
Spill the beans
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to give someone information, particularly information
that is meant to be secret.
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7.
Got out of the wrong side
of the bed
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Means someone is in a bad mood – usually for no
obvious reason
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8.
Rings a bell
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If you say that something rings a bell, you mean that it sounds familiar, but you can’t remember it
exactly.
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9.
Rocks the boat
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. If someone rocks the boat,
they are disrupting a stable, settled situation, usually by interfering, or
by trying to do things differently.
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10.
A bone to pick with
someone
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When you have a bone to pick with someone, it means that you are annoyed about something they have said
or done, and you want to talk to them about it.
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11.
Judge a book by its cover
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If someone says, “you can’t judge a book by its cover,” they mean that you can’t tell what someone is like
just by looking at them. You need to get to know them better before you
decide what you think of them.
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12.
Cross that bridge when you
come to it
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Saying that you will cross that bridge when you come to it means that you don’t intend to waste time worrying
about what might happen, but will deal with a problem if and when it does
happen.
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13.
Take the bull by the horns
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If you take the bull by the horns, you deal with a tricky situation in a direct, determined
way.
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14.
Butterflies in the tummy
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If someone is said to have butterflies in their tummy, it means that they are feeling nervous and jittery
about something that they have to do.
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15.
Opening a can of worms
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doing something would lead to all sorts of complicated
problems, and that it would be better to leave things as they are.
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16.
Burn the candle at both
ends
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If you burn the candle at both ends, you are staying up late and getting up early.
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17.
Lay (or put) the cards on the table
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To lay (or put)
your cards on the table means not to hide the way you feel or what you plan
to do, but to let other people know.
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18.
Let the cat out of the bag
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means to give away a secret – usually without meaning
to, or against someone else’s wishes.
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19.
Raining cats and dogs
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If it is raining cats and dogs,
it is raining heavily.
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20.
That’s the way the cookie
crumbles
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If someone says, “that’s the way the cookie crumbles,” they mean that you have to accept the way things
have happened, even if they haven’t worked out as you wanted.
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21.
Too many cooks spoil the
broth
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means that an activity or plan goes wrong because too
many people are involved in it.
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22.
Not my cup of tea
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It’s a way of saying that something is not to my
taste. If something is not
your cup of tea, you don’t like it very much.
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23.
Call it a day
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To call it a day means
to stop doing something, usually because you are tired or bored, or because
you realize that continuing is unlikely to achieve the result you would like.
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24.
Put all your eggs in one
basket
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If you put all your eggs in one basket, you are putting all your effort, money or resources
into one thing. The danger is that if that thing is unsuccessful, you risk
losing everything.
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25.
Make ends meet
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If you can’t make ends meet or
you find it difficult to make
ends meet, it means you don’t have enough
money to buy food, clothes and other things you need.
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26.
Find your feet
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To find your feet means
to come to feel confident in an unfamiliar situation – such as starting a new
job or a new school, or learning a new skill
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27.
Land (or fall) on one’s feet
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To land (or fall)
on your feet means to be in a good situation through luck rather
than effort or planning.
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28.
Sit on the fence
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means to not give a definite opinion about something,
or not say which side you support in a conflict.
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29.
Keep your fingers crossed, or cross
Your fingers
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means that you are wishing for success or good
luck. Saying “fingers crossed”
can mean “good luck” or “with luck”.
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30.
Play with fire
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To means to do something that could get you
into trouble.
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31.
Move the goalposts
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means to change the aims, the limits or the rules of
a situation or activity, with the effect that other
people are confused and don’t know what is expected
of them.
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32.
Lend (or give) a hand
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to help someone
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33.
Bury the hatchet
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to make up and become friends again after an
argument.
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34.
Head in the clouds
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If someone has his or her head in the clouds, it means that they spend their time imagining
things that they would like to happen, rather than paying attention to things
that actually are happening.
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35.
Speaking off the top of
one’s head
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If you are speaking off the top of your head, you are saying something without thinking about it
much or considering it carefully, so that what you say may not be correct.
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36.
Bury one’s head in the
sand
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To bury your head in the sand means to try to pretend something unpleasant isn’t happening,
because you don’t want to have to deal with it.
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37.
Straight from the horse’s
mouth
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To get information straight from the horse’s mouth means to learn about it directly from the person who
knows most about the subject.
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38.
Break the ice
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to do something that helps people to relax and feel
at ease, especially when they have just met.
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39.
Take a leaf out of
someone’s book
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If you take a leaf out of someone’s book, you copy the way they behave, because they set a
good example.
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40.
Turn over a new leaf
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start behaving in a better way than before.
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41.
Pull someone’s leg
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To pull someone’s leg means
to tell them something that isn’t true, as a joke
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42.
Draw a line under
something
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to put a bad situation into the past, and stop
worrying about it or talking about it any more. (To draw the line at something has a different meaning. It means to refuse
to do something.)
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43.
Over the moon
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If you are over the moon,
you are very happy about something. It’s a similar saying to “on top of the
world”
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44.
Face the music
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means to take responsibility for doing something
wrong, and to prepare yourself for criticism or
punishment.
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45.
A lot on their plate
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If someone has a lot on their plate,
they have a lot of work to do, or a lot of problems to deal with. To have
enough on your plate means the same thing.
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46.
Come out of your shell
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To come out of your shell means
to become less shy than before, and to start being more sociable.
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47.
Skeleton in one’s cupboard,
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If someone has a skeleton in their cupboard, they have a secret which would embarrass them or would cause
a scandal if it were known about.
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48.
Something up one’s sleeve
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If someone has something up their sleeve, they have a plan or a secret idea that they think will help
to achieve something.
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49.
Pull one’s socks up
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to try harder or to improve your behaviour.
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50.
The last straw or the final straw
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If you say that something is the last straw or the final
straw, you mean that one final thing
in a series of difficulties has made you feel that the situation is
intolerable.
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51.
Hold your tongue
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to keep silent.
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52.
Bite your tongue
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to keep quiet
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53.
On the tip of one’s
Tongue
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When someone says that something is on the tip of their tongue, they mean that they can’t quite remember something, such
as a name or the answer to a question, even though they are
sure that they do know it.
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54.
Barking up the wrong tree
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If someone is barking up the wrong tree, they have the wrong idea about something, or they
misunderstand the situation.
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55.
Drive someone up the wall
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to annoy them greatly
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56.
“A lot of water has gone (or flowed or passed)
Under the bridge
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“A
lot of water has gone (or flowed or
passed)
under the bridge since...” means that lots has happened since a
particular event or situation.
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57.
Wolf in sheep’s clothing
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If you say that someone is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, you mean that he or she is pretending to be nice or
harmless, but is really nastier or more dangerous than he or she appears.
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Showing posts with label GRAMMAR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GRAMMAR. Show all posts
00526--METAPHORS AND THEIR MEANINGS
00500--Adjectives and adverbs - Exercise 1
Adjectives and adverbs - exercise 1
Write a few, a little, much or many to complete these sentences. Do not use some, any, or a lot of.
1 There's some food, but not ...... drink.
2 ............people arrived before the party started, but not many.
3 There's not ....................food in the cupboard.
4 She hasn't got ............................ friends.
5 T'm sorry, I haven't got .............................. time.
6 The receptionist didn't give me .......................... information.
7 I can lend you ............................... money until tomorrow.
8 1 asked him to put ................................. milk in my coffee.
9 I've seen her ................................ Times this year, but not very often.
10 We only have ....................... petrol left.
11 She started feeling ill only ............................ days before the exam.
12 Not ............................... people come here in the winter.
13 Did they pay you .................................... money for working there?
14 There aren't ....................................... towns in this part of England.
15 I didn't drink ...................................... wine at the party.
16 There are only ........................... people at the beach.
17 1 didn't have ............................ opportunity to talk to him.
18 The bank only lent me .......................... money.
19 Can I ask you ............................. questions?
20 The journey was a short one: it didn't take .......................... time.
21 Only ........................... students are going to fail the exam.
22 I don't think ....................... people will come tonight.
23 1 haven't done ............................ work today.
24 I gave the cat ............................. milk.
25 1 don't think I've made ..................................... mistakes.
ANSWERS
1 much
2 A few
3 much
4 many
5 much
6 much
7 a little
8 a little
9 a few
10 a little
11 a few
12 many
13 much
14 many
15 much
16 a few
17 much
18 a little
19 a few
20 much
21 a few
22 many
23 much
24 a little
25 many
CONFUSABLES