IDIOMS for IELTS
A hot potato- People talking about a current topic which cannot be agreed upon.
Sentence-The subject of Brexit is a hot potato.
Give someone the benefit of the doubt-Believe what the person is or has said, until there is proof.
Sentence- Give him the benefit of the doubt, he may not have been there.
Let sleeping dogs lie- Leave the situation as it is, do not get involved.
Sentence- Let sleeping dogs lie, you were not there so you cannot comment.
Steal someone’s thunder- Take the credit for a situation that someone else deserves
Sentence- He stole his colleague’s thunder about doing an excellent job.
Best of both words- A person has all the advantages of a given situation.
Sentence- They have the best of both words as they spend half the year in England. And the rest of the year in Switzerland.
Don’t count your chickens before the eggs have hatched- Do not plan something as the event may not occur.
Sentence- Don’t count your chickens before the eggs have hatched as the deal may not happen.
It takes two to tango- Two or more people could be involved in a situation.
Sentence- It takes two to tango, so there are more people involved in the problem in the firm than you think.
Your guess is as good as mine- A person does not know the answer.
Sentence- Your guess is as good as mine as to where they both went last night.
See eye to eye- To agree with someone else on a subject.
Sentence- We see eye to eye on how to progress the matter further.
A picture paints a thousand words- To make a presentation to visually show what you want to do or achieve.
Sentence- The picture painted a thousand words of how he thought the firm should develop.
Catch someone off guard- To catch someone by surprise.
Sentence- He was caught off guard when they asked him to be the new chairman.
Hear it on the grapevine- To hear rumours about a person or an event which may or may not have happened.
Sentence- She heard it on the grapevine that he had been promoted.
Get down to business- To get the meeting started properly.
Sentence- As every member of the team is now here, we can get down to business and start the meeting.
Back to square one- To go back to the beginning and start again.
Sentence- The project was not good enough. We need to go back to square one and start again.
Fifty fifty- To divide something equally i.e. to divide in half.
Sentence- Divide the cakes fifty fifty.
Go the extra mile- To do more than is expected of you
Sentence- He went the extra mile to ensure everything was finished on time.
On the same page- Two people are in agreement about a situation.
Sentence- We are on the same page as to how to take the situation forward now.
Don’t rock the boat- Do not cause a problem or make an issue.
Sentence- Don’t rock the boat about the costs of the project.
Don’t upset the apple cart- Rather like don’t rock the boat, do not make a fuss.
Sentence- Don’t upset the apple cart by making a scene.
The sky’s the limit- A person can achieve anything they want.
Sentence- The sky’s the limit, work hard and you will progress to the top of the firm.
Take the bull by the horns- Deal with the problem.
Sentence- Take the bull by the horns, you must sort out the major problems.
In the black- The business is earning money and making a profit.
Sentence- Finally, the business is in the black as we have had a good year and made more profits than we thought we would make.
