IELTS Vocabulary – Part 136

Is the Pope Catholic?: Isn’t the answer obvious?

Sentence – “Are you going to the party tonight?” B: “Is the Pope a Catholic? Of course I’ll be there!”

It Never Rains but It Pours: Bad luck and bad things tend to happen at the same time.

Sentence – After months of looking for a job, I suddenly have three job interviews this week. It never rains but it pours.

It Takes Two to Tango: When something goes wrong involving two people, it’s likely that they share the blame; cooperation is necessary.

Sentence – We won’t be able to get this deal underway unless your company is willing to compromise. It takes two to tango, after all.

It Takes Two to Tango: You say this when you think that a difficult situation or argument cannot be the fault of one person alone.

Sentence – The company is ready to sign the agreement now, but it takes two to tango and the negotiations may continue for several days yet.

It Won’t Fly: It won’t work; it won’t be approved.

Sentence – You can submit the plan, but it won’t fly. The boss told us to cut $3,000 out of the budget, and your plan doesn’t do that.

Itchy Feet: A person who has itchy feet is someone who finds it difficult to stay in one place and likes to travel and discover new places.

Sentence – Every so often, Claire has itchy feet and sets off for a foreign destination.

It’s a Wash: A positive and a negative development cancel each other out, so the situation has neither improved nor gotten worse.

Sentence – We added two new employees, but our workload increased. So it’s a wash.

It’s a Wash: A positive and a negative development cancel each other out, so the situation has neither improved nor gotten worse.

Sentence – We added two new employees, but our workload increased. So it’s a wash.

It’s No Skin off My (Your) Nose (Back): The outcome will not affect me personally.

Sentence – We all knew that the head chef was stealing from the kitchen, but it was no skin off our noses so we just kept our mouths shut.

It’s Not Over Till the Fat Lady Sings: Do not give up too soon; things may improve.

Sentence – “We’re down by six points with only two minutes remaining. There’s no way we can win now!” B: “Hey, it ain’t over till the fat lady sings!”

It’s Not Rocket Science: It’s not difficult to understand.

Sentence – Look, all you need to do is reformat the hard drive on your computer. It isn’t rocket science!

I’ve Had It Up to Here: My patience is almost exhausted.

Sentence – I’ve had it up to here with the lack of raises at this job. Why do I even bother putting forth effort every day?

Jack of All Trades: A person with a wide variety of skills.

Sentence – My father could fix cars, build furniture, and program computers—he was a jack of all trades.

Jam Session: Playing improvised music in an informal setting.

Sentence – I love this bar. A lot of talented musicians hang out here having jam sessions nearly every night of the week.

Jim Crow: The system of racial segregation in the American South prior to the American civil rights movement.

Sentence – Back during Jim Crow, a black person couldn’t even use the same drinking fountain as a white person!

Join the Club (excl.): I feel sympathy for you because I have experienced something similar.

Sentence – Yeah, join the club—I hardly got any sleep night either.