Ready for C2 Idioms List | Baamboozle - Baamboozle

believe that something dishonest, illegal or wrong has happened (s/a/r)

smell a rat

informal conversation about trivial things (s/t)

small talk

an embarrassing secret about your past that you don't want anyone to know (s/i/y/c)

skeleton in your cupboard

make someone feel extremely frightened (s/t/w/o/o)

scare the wits out of (someone)

cause problems by changing a situation that is considered satisfactory (r/t/b)

rock the boat

something that sounds familiar although you cannot remember the exact details (r/a/b)

ring a bell

waste time and effort trying to do something that someone else has already done well (r/t/w)

reinvent the wheel

something that is not relevant that makes you confused or takes your attention away from what you should be concentrating on (r/h)

red herring

used for saying that someone should do something to show they mean what they say (p/y/m/w/y/m/i)

put your money where your mouth is

discover or understand exactly why a situation is the way it is (p/y/f/o)

put your finger on (something)

someone who enjoys being with other people and makes friends easily (p/p)

people person

behaving in a way that other people do not approve of (o/o/l)

out of line

not well controlled (o/o/h)

out of hand

doing or thinking the right things (o/t/r/t)

on the right track

likely to get the result that you are trying to achieve (o/t)

on target

be very quiet and shy (n/s/b/t/a/g)

not say boo to a goose

used for emphasizing that something is not available or possible, or that you won´t do it (n/f/l/n/m)

not for love nor money

used for saying that a situation is still difficult, although it has improved (n/b/o/o/t/w/y)

not be out of the woods yet

someone who is unkind or unpleasant (n/p/o/w)

nasty piece of work

definitely decide the details of something (n/d/t/f/p)

nail down the finer points

change the rules part way through something (m/t/g)

move the goalposts

money that you earn very easily without much work or effort (m/f/o/r)

money for old rope

agree to do something that someone wants, if they do something you want (m/h/w)

meet (someone) half way

make you feel angry (m/y/b/b)

make your blood boil

to cause problems by making suggestions or criticisms (m/w)

make waves

to make someone feel suddenly very frightened or worried (m/s/b/r/c)

make (someone´s) blood run cold

used for saying that when you love someone, it is difficult to see their faults (l/i/b)

love is blind

be very enthusiastic about a particular activity and spend all the time you can doing it or talking about it (l/a/b)

live and breathe (something)

used for saying that someone does not listen or react to youwhen you talk to them (l/t/t/a/b/w)

like talking to a brick wall

to tell someone something that was intended to be secret

let the cat out of the bag

to have a very strong and long-lasting effect

leave your mark

to learn how to do something, especially a job

learn the ropes

to manage to live or keep a business running even though you are not earning much money

keep your head above water

to keep something secret

keep (something) under wraps

to do or say something too soon, before you know that it is suitable or correct

jump the gun

used for saying that you didn´t know about something, especially when you are annoyed about this

it´s news to me

not calculated exactly, but within a similar general range

in the same ballpark

being planned or prepared in order to happen or be available soon

in the pipeline

no longer believed to be guilty of something bad or illegal

in the clear

to be in a difficult situation

in a tight spot

to have an advantage over other people in the same situation

have a head start

to have a very negative attitude, particularly somebody who is offended or angers easily and irrationally

have a chip on your shoulder

not having much money, poor

hard up

without doubt

hands down

a situation in which the rules aren´t clear or where there is no right or wrong answer

grey area

someone who is determined to succeed and works hard to achieve this

go-getter

to do something for a long time without success, always returning to the same problem that you cannot solve

go round in circles

to be very popular

go down a storm

to start again because your first idea was unsuccessful

go back to the drawing board

to find something that all people can agree about, especially where there is disagreement

find common ground

to be short of money

feel the pinch

to say that you will definitely not allow or accept something

draw the line at (something)

used for referring to a situation in which you become so interested in something that you cannot stop trying to find out about it or doing it

down the rabbit hole

used when you want to make sure that someone understands your comments correctly, especially when you are criticising

don´t get me wrong

a situation in which no further progress is possible

dead end

someone who likes to do the same thing at the same time every day

a creature of habit

to stop being shy and begin to confidently show your real character and feelings

come out of your shell

a rare or valuable object that collectors want to own

collector´s item

an exciting end to part of a book or TV programme which makes you excited for the next part

cliff-hanger

to give someone control or an advantage

give someone the upper hand

to make someone feel nervous or frightened

give someone the creeps

when 2 people get confused because they think that each other is talking about something else

get your wires crossed

to understand something completely incorrectly

get the wrong end of the stick

to immediately establish a bad relationship with someone

get off on the wrong foot

to talk to someone about something that has been worrying you, so that you feel better about it

get something off your chest

to become very good at doing something

get something down to a fine art

from the beginning again, not using all the work that you have done before

from scratch

work done by a person who is not permanently employed by a particular company but who sells their services to more than one company

freelance

for an extremely small amount of time

for a split second

to discuss a problem in order for all parties to get past it

clear the air

a set of problems that it is impossible to escape from

catch 22 situation

to suddenly notice something, particularly something interesting or attractive

catch (someone´s) eye

to understand the basic meaning that someone is trying to say

catch (someone´s) drift

to do something correctly, follow the rules in a strict way

(do something) by the book

to change a situation completely or do something in a completely new way

break the mould

to surprise someone by being very beautiful, impressive, unexpected etc (often used in the passive)

bowl over (be bowled over)

used when you are telling someone something that you don´t want them to pass on

between you and me

to spend a long time getting to the main point (usually used in a negative sense)

beat around the bush (don´t beat around the bush)

to look completely different to someone or something

bear no resemblance to

to be something that provides your main income

be your bread and butter

to be in a position where you can only make a choice between 2 bad options

be stuck between a rock and a hard place

to have a lot of money (usually in a positive sense)

be rolling in it

to be outside of a group that has information or makes decisions about something

be out of the loop

to have persistent success or good luck

be on a roll

to have a lot of money (often used in a negative sense)

be made of money (I´m not made of money)

to be always talking about yourself or your achievements in a way that annoys other people

be full of yourself

to be caught in the act of doing something wrong

be caught red-handed

to be doing something that will not get the result you want

be barking up the wrong tree

at the most modern and advanced point in the development of something

at the leading edge

used for saying what you think is true when you think that there may be facts that you or others do not know

as far as anyone can tell

completely dead or not working

as dead as a doornail

to accept that someone else does not have the same opinion as you and agree not to argue about it

agree to differ

a weak feature of someone or something

Achilles heel

a thing that slowly develops into something interesting or powerful

a slow burner

someone or something that you are pleased to see

a sight for sore eyes

an attempt or guess that it is not likely to be successful but is worth trying

a long shot

used for telling someone that you don´t believe what they have just said

a likely story

someone or something that is new, interesting and exciting (a/b/o/f/a)

a breath of fresh air

something that can be developed or changed in many different ways (a/b/c)

a blank canvas