IDIOMS for IELTS Part – 37

hit the books – to study, usually intensively

Sentence- As an academic, my first response was hit the books

(Go) back to the drawing board – to start planning something again because the first plan failed

Sentence- Tell your graphic artists to go back to the drawing board for our new logo design.

Go the extra mile – To make an extra effort; do more than usual

Sentence-  The President vowed to go the extra mile for peace in the region.

crash course – a quick lesson

Sentence- For Rufus this was a crash course in race relations and show business.

up-to-the-minute – the very latest or most recent

Sentence- State-of-the-art visual equipment complements our extensive facilities, with up-to-the-minute computer links available in two of the lecture theatres.

On the go – busy

Sentence-  She seems to be on the go all the time.

up-market – Relatively expensive and designed to appeal to wealthy consumers

 Sentence- In spite of its superb production values, Granta remains a kind of up-market Reader’s Digest.

cram – to try to accomplish a lot quickly, also can mean to try to put a lot of items in a tight fit

Sentence-  I managed to cram down a few mouthfuls of food.

in high spirits – extremely happy

Sentence-  They are in high spirits this Thursday evening in late February.

keep one’s chin up – remain brave and keep on trying ; remain cheerful in difficult circumstances.

Sentence-  Keep your chin up. Don‘t take your troubles to bed with you

get the ball rolling – start doing something, especially something big

Sentence- Early arrivals heard one of our own, the superb John Hurley, get the ball rolling in the upstairs bar.

for ages – for a very long time

Sentence- We had to queue for ages at passport control.

fill in for someone – do someone‘s work while he is away; substitute for

Sentence-  Are you prepared to fill in for someone who has different, even lower – level, responsibilities?

antsy – getting restless.

Sentence-  It was a long drive and the children started to get antsy.

(as) easy as pie – very easy

Sentence-  Baking great bread is as easy as pie with this new bread maker.

fingers-crossed = keep one‘s fingers crossed (for someone or something) – to wish for luck for someone or something

Sentence- fingers crossed for your driving test

have a chin-wag – have a long conversation between friends; have a chat

Sentence- We had a good chin-wag over a bottle of wine.

chicken scratch (n) – the handwriting that is crammed or illegible

Sentence-  Your writing looks like chicken scratch.

the wee hours – after midnight

Sentence-  Their video-age medicine shows run on dozens of cable and broadcast outlets in the wee hours.

a blessing in a disguise – something that seems bad or unlucky at first, but results in something good happening later

Sentence- Losing that job was a blessing in disguise really.

a breath of fresh air – something that is new & refreshing

Sentence-  Her smile is a breath of fresh air in this gloomy office.

keep your nose to the grindstone – continue to put forward a good effort

Sentence- If you keep your nose to the grindstone, you will finish this job tonight.

know something [it, this] inside out – to be totally familiar with

Sentence- He knows that subject backwards and forwards.

leave well enough alone – to not try to change something that is good enough

Sentence- Two days earlier I’d cancelled an appointment with a psychic healer, thinking perhaps I should leave well enough alone.

now and then– on an occasional basis, often “every” is used as the first word of this idiomatic phrase.

Sentence- Most teachers hold that students will come to no great harm if they go to a discotheque now and then.

A Penny for Your Thoughts – ask someone who is being very quiet what they are thinking about

Sentence-  For several minutes they sat silently, then finally she looked at him and said, ―A penny for your thoughts, Walter.‖