Ready for C2 Idioms List | Baamboozle - Baamboozle

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no longer believed to be guilty of something bad or illegal

in the clear

to keep something secret

keep (something) under wraps

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

(do something) by the book

to be something that provides your main income

be your bread and butter

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

go round in circles

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

nasty piece of work

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

keep your head above water

without doubt

hands down

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

find common ground

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

be out of the loop

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

bowl over (be bowled over)

a thing that slowly develops into something interesting or powerful

a slow burner

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

make (someone´s) blood run cold

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

be full of yourself

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

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

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

clear the air

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

grey area

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

make waves

to immediately establish a bad relationship with someone

get off on the wrong foot

to learn how to do something, especially a job

learn the ropes

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

in the pipeline

to be caught in the act of doing something wrong

be caught red-handed

a rare or valuable object that collectors want to own

collector´s item

to make someone feel nervous or frightened

give someone the creeps

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

it´s news to me

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

go-getter

to understand the basic meaning that someone is trying to say

catch (someone´s) drift

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

to suddenly notice something, particularly something interesting or attractive

catch (someone´s) eye

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

come out of your shell

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

break the mould

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

money for old rope

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 be doing something that will not get the result you want

be barking up the wrong tree

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

on the right track

to have persistent success or good luck

be on a roll

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

a breath of fresh air

to be very popular

go down a storm

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

don´t get me wrong

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

jump the gun

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

to have an advantage over other people in the same situation

have a head start

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

smell a rat

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

reinvent the wheel

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

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

get something off your chest

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

at the leading edge

a situation in which no further progress is possible

dead end

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

a long shot

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

not say boo to a goose

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

rock the boat

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

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

make your blood boil

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

love is blind

to start again because your first idea was unsuccessful

go back to the drawing board

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

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

on target

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

agree to differ

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

move the goalposts

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

put your finger on (something)

a weak feature of someone or something

Achilles heel

a set of problems that it is impossible to escape from

catch 22 situation

to tell someone something that was intended to be secret

let the cat out of the bag

to be in a difficult situation

in a tight spot

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

be rolling in it

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

scare the wits out of (someone)

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

cliff-hanger

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

a creature of habit

to be short of money

feel the pinch

to give someone control or an advantage

give someone the upper hand

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

to understand something completely incorrectly

get the wrong end of the stick

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

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

out of line

informal conversation about trivial things (s/t)

small talk

someone or something that you are pleased to see

a sight for sore eyes

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

skeleton in your cupboard

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

people person

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

have a chip on your shoulder

to say that you will definitely not allow or accept something

draw the line at (something)

not having much money, poor

hard up

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

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

between you and me

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)

to have a very strong and long-lasting effect

leave your mark

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

get your wires crossed

to look completely different to someone or something

bear no resemblance to

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

a likely story

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

a blank canvas

not well controlled (o/o/h)

out of hand

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

ring a bell

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

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

nail down the finer points

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

meet (someone) half way

not calculated exactly, but within a similar general range

in the same ballpark

to become very good at doing something

get something down to a fine art

completely dead or not working

as dead as a doornail

for an extremely small amount of time

for a split second