Idioms Tab Booklet - Doodles Book Cover

IDIOMS

IDIOMS

IDIOMS

IDIOMS

Idioms Meaning SentencesRaining cats and dogs Raining very heavily It was raining cats and dogs so all flights were cancelled and I could not reach

in time to my native town to join the marriage ceremony of my brother.Face like thunder Being clearly very angry or upset She suddenly came into the room with a face like thunder.

Storm in a teacup Exaggerate a problem The whole controversy turned out to be a storm in a teacup

Chase rainbows Try to achieve the impossible He thought he could convince the boss to appoint him as the new manager, but in fact he was chasing rainbows.

Lightning fast Being very fast The robbery lasted only a minute, and then the robbers disappeared in a lightning fast car.

Head in the clouds Have unrealistic or impractical ideas My brother has his head in the clouds if he thinks he is going to become an Engineer, because he is terrible at Mathematics.

Snowed under Having too much to do He was snowed under with e-mail.

Under the weather Feeling unwell, sad or lacking energy I noticed that the cat was looking a little under the weather.

WEATHER

Idioms Meaning SentencesMonkey business Mischievous or deceitful behavior Our teacher warned us not to try any monkey business while she was out of

the room.Rat race An exhausting and repetitive

routine.Martin left the rat race for a few months. He quit his job and went travelling.

Cat burglar A thief who climbs into buildings. Alex had his laptop taken from his room on the fourth floor. Police suspect it was a cat burglar.

Top dog The most important person in a group.

Michael felt like the top dog when he became captain of the football team.

Cash cow A dependable source of income. The company relied heavily on their best-selling product. It was their cash cow.

Eager beaver An enthusiastic hard worker. When she first started working she was a real eager beaver.

Road hog A dangerous driver. Philipp is a serious road hog. He was banned from driving for six months.

Black sheep An undesirable member of a group. When Peter went to jail he became the black sheep of the family.

ANIMALS

Idioms Meaning SentencesAll ears Awaiting an explanation. I cannot wait to hear what you have to say. I am all ears!

Cold shoulder To pay no attention to. Steve would not take to James after their argument. He has given him the cold shoulder.

Itchy feet A strong impulse to travel Julie could not wait to go on her travels. She has itchy feet!

Long arm of the law The far-reaching power of the authorities

Tony was caught by the police for speeding. He could not escape the long arm of the law.

Old hand A person with a lot of experiences in something

Shirley has been with the bakery for a long time. She is an old hand at making cakes.

Sweet tooth A great liking for sweet-tasting foods I bought John a big box of chocolates for his birthday. He has such a sweet tooth!

Elbow room Enough space to move or work in I did not like working in that cramped office. There was not enough elbow room.

Eye – catching Tending to attract attention Did you see Candida in her pink dress? She is very eye – catching!

Idioms Meaning SentencesGreen thumb A special ability to make plants grow Robert us an expert gardener. Everyone says he has a green

thumb.Yellow - bellied A coward Billy was called yellow – bellied after he was too scared to go

on the rollercoaster.Pink slip A notice of dismissal from

employmentMike was devastated to lose his job after his boss gave him a pink slip.

White elephant An expensive item that is costly to maintain

Planners said the sports stadium would become a white elephant after the tournament was finished.

Golden opportunity A very good chance to achieve something

Tony had a golden opportunity to win the chess tournament after the favourite was beaten

Red tape A set of rules which stop progress Daniela was unable to get her visa application approved due to red tape.

Silver screen The film industry Matthew went to Hollywood so he could see the stars of the silver screen.

Blue collar Working in a manual labour job Hank was much happier doing blue collar work compared to his office job.

COLOUR