| Idiom | Meaning |
A | Above and beyond the call of duty | If a person does something which is above and beyond the
call of duty, they show a greater degree of courage or effort
than is usually required or expected in their job.
"The fire-fighter received a medal for his action which went
above and beyond the call of duty |
| Have an ace up your sleeve. | If you have an ace up your sleeve, it means that you have
something in reserve with which you can gain an advantage. |
| Hold all the aces | A person who holds all the aces is in a very strong position
because they have more advantages than anyone else.
"Given the high unemployment figures in some countries,
employers hold all the aces." |
| Acid test | To refer to something as the acid test means that it will prove
how effective or useful something is.
"The training course was very interesting but the acid test will come
when I start my new job." |
| Get your act together! | If you tell someone to get their act together, you mean
that they need to organize their affairs more effectively
in order to be more successful. |
| Add fuel to the flames | If you add fuel to the flames, you say something that makes a
difficult situation worse.
"He forgot their wedding anniversary, and his apologies only
added fuel to the flames." |
| Much ado about nothing. | If people make "much ado about nothing", they make
a lot of fuss about something which is not important. |
| Afraid of one's own shadow | A person who is afraid of their own shadow is very nervous
or easily frightened.
"I've never seen anyone so easily scared - she's afraid of her
own shadow." |
| All ears | To say that you are all ears means that you are listening very
attentively.
"Of course I want to know - I'm all ears!" |
| All hell broke loose | To say that all hell broke loose means that there was a sudden
angry, noisy reaction to something.
"All hell broke loose when it was announced that the plant was going
to close down." |
| All thumbs/all fingers and thumbs | If you are all fingers and thumbs, you are awkward and clumsy and
do things incorrectly.
"Would you mind wrapping this for me? I'm all fingers and thumbs!" |
| Ambulance chaser | This terms refers to a lawyer who finds work by persuading people
injured in accidents to claim money from the person who caused
the accident.
"Peterson & Scott are well-known ambulance chasers - that's how
they make their money!" |
| Ants in one's pants | People who have ants in their pants are very restless or excited about
something
"I wish he'd relax. He's got ants in his pants about something today!" |
| Any port in a storm | When you have no choice, any port in a storm refers to a solution
you accept, which in normal circumstances you would find unacceptable.
"The hotel was substandard, but it was a case of any port in a storm;
all the others were full." |
| The apple of your eye. | If somebody is the apple of your eye, this means that you like
them very much :
"My grandson is the apple of my eye". |
| To upset the applecart | To upset (or to overturn) the applecart means to spoil a satisfactory
plan or situation
"I hope Julie doesn't attend the meeting; she could upset the applecart!" |
| Apron strings | If one person is tied to another's apron strings, they remain dependent
at an age when they should be independent.
"All his decisions are influenced by his mother. He's still tied to her
apron strings." |
| Give your right arm | If you say "I'd give my right arm for that", you mean that you
want it a lot and would do almost anything to obtain it.
"I'd give my right arm to have a apartment on Central Park." |
| Cost an arm and a leg | If something costs an arm and a leg, it is very expensive!
"The house cost us an arm and a leg, but we have no regrets." |
| To be up in arms | If you are up in arms about something, you are very angry.
"The population was up in arms over the demolition of the old theatre." |
| Keep someone at arm's length | If you keep someone at arm's length, you do not allow yourself
to become too friendly with them.
"It's not easy to become friends with Sophie; she tends to keep
everyone at arm's length." |
| Asking for trouble | Someone who is asking for trouble is behaving stupidly and is likely
to have problems.
"Driving fast on these roads is really asking for trouble!" |
| Of no avail | Something which is of no avail is not at all helpful or useful.
"The coffee machine wouldn't work and the instruction leaflet was
of no avail." |
| A rude awakening | If you get a rude awakening, you are forced to accept
the unpleasant truth. |
| Have an axe to grind | If you have an axe to grind, you have personal reasons for
becoming involved in something or adopting a particular attitude.
"It was decided that the best candidates would be selected by
a recruitment agency who had no axe to grind within the company." |
