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122 Cards in this Set
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on/from the sidelines Watch from the sidelines |
If you are on the sidelines or do something from the sidelines, you are not actively involved in something.
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The cancer moonshot |
The aim of The cancer moonshot is beating cancer. |
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a Running mate |
running mate [ C ]
in the US, a political partner chosen for a politician who is trying to get elected:
If a candidate for president wins the election, his/her running mate becomes the vice president. |
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Honest to god
Honest to goodness
Honest |
honest (to God/goodness) informal
used to emphasize that what you are saying is true:
I tried to be nice to him, honest to God I did!
used for trying to make someone believe that what you say is true
I don’t know anything about it, honest.
I wouldn’t lie to you, honest to God I wouldn’t. |
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Follow through with something Follow through on something
Follow through something
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If you follow through an action, plan, or idea or follow through with it, you continue doing or thinking about it until you have done everything possible.
The leadership has been unwilling to follow through the implications of these ideas.
I was trained to be an actress but I didn't follow it through.
He decided to follow through with his original plan. follow through on/with to complete (an activity or process that has been started) He doesn't follow through on his good intentions. We feared they would follow through on/with their threat. |
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Conflate something with something |
to Mix |
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an Aircraft carrier |
an Aircraft carrier |
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Penetrable
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penetrable adjective (THAT YOU CAN GET INTO)
If a place or substance is penetrable, you can move into it or through it:
The riverside bushes were certainly very thick, but the undergrowth behind was evidently penetrable.
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as a Sideline
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[C] (JOB) an activity that you do as well as your main job:
Jim works in a bank, but teaches French in the evenings as a sideline. |
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A sideline |
A sideline |
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Penetrable |
If something such as a security system or device is penetrable, it is possible to get through or into it illegally in order to get information or do something illegal:
The U. S. airport security systems established in the early 1970s are penetrable by minimal ingenuity.
Everybody has a smartphone nowadays, and we are concerned about the safety of these vulnerable and penetrable devices. |
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Impenetrable |
impenetrable adjective
that cannot be entered, passed through or seen through
an impenetrable jungle
impenetrable darkness |
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Moonshot
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1. the launching of a spacecraft, rocket, etc, to the moon
2. a plan or aim to do something that seems almost impossible: |
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A Moonshot
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[ C ] (TRIP TO MOON)
the act of sending a spacecraft to the moon:
This is technology that can be used in another moonshot or a Mars mission. |
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A Riverside |
A Riverside |
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A Riverside |
[ S ] the land along the edges of a river: a riverside restaurant |
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Undergrowth (U) |
undergrowth [ U ] a mass of bushes, small trees, and plants, especially growing under the trees in a forest: Police discovered the body hidden in thick undergrowth. |
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Follow through |
to continue something until it is completed:
The city has raised the money for more teachers – now it has to follow through and hire them. |
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Give someone some slack |
give/cut (someone) some slack informal : to treat (someone) in a less harsh or critical way Would you give/cut me some slack? I'm doing the best I can. |
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Cut someone some slack slack (NOT TIGHT) [ U ] the fact that something is too loose |
cut sb some slack informal to not judge someone as severely as you usually would because they are having problems at the present time: "Andrew's late again." "Cut him some slack - his wife just had a baby." |
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Hear on the grapevine Hear through the grapevine grapevine [ C ] (also vine) a type of climbing plant on which grapes grow |
I heard through /on the grapevine that tom and Sera are getting a divorce. |
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In black and white |
If you say that something is in black and white, you mean that you have a written proof of it. We have a clear rule in black and white that this action is illigal. |
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I have it in black and white that I can take three weeks of vacation each year. |
I have it in black and white that I can take three weeks of vacation each year. |
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To be in the loop to be out of the loop a loop: the curved shape made when something long and thin, such as a piece of string, bends until one part of it nearly touches or crosses another part of it |
To be a part of a group who has information about something. Not everyone was knowing what was going on , but the president was certainly in the loop. |
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Keep someone posted |
She made me promise to keep her posted on everything while she was in London. |
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To put someone in the picture |
Is to give someone the information that they need
Before you start working, let me put you in the picture and tell you how this office works. Make sure to put the boss in the picture about the progress of this project. He wants to know every detail. |
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He was afraid that I was going to spill the beans to the police. |
He was afraid that I was going to spill the beans to the police. |
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If you communicate with someone, especially someone you have not communicated with recently, you can say that you touch base with them. [informal]
Being there gave me a chance to touch base with three friends whom I had not seen for a year.
I was calling to touch base since I haven't heard from you for a long time. |
Let me ask my friend to touch base with you and help you with that. (in general) |
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Save face |
to keep your reputation and avoid others losing respect for you: We said he left "to pursue other interests" to let him save face, but actually we fired him. I was late to the meeting but I tried to save face by blaming it to the traffic. |
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Sparks fly a spark: [ C ] a very small piece of fire that flies out from something that is burning, or one that is made by rubbing two hard things together, or a flash of light made by electricity: |
If sparks fly between two or more people, they argue angrily: When they get together in a meeting the sparks really fly. |
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Treat someone like dirt |
treat someone like dirt to deal with someone in a way that shows a lack of respect: You shouldn't treat your little brother like dirt. |
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Your flesh and blood (U) |
your own flesh and blood your family or relations: It's hard to believe that he could treat his own flesh and blood so badly. |
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Play it by ear |
to decide how to deal with a situation as it develops, rather than acting according to plans made earlier: We can't make a decision yet. Let's just play it by ear. He never prepared for his speeches.he always played things by ear. |
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Sit on the fence |
sit on the fence
to delay making a decision:
You can't sit on the fence any longer
-you have to decide whose side you're on. |
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Split hairs |
disapproving to argue about small details of something |
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Take a back seat |
to deliberately become less active, and give up trying to control things I’ll be happy to take a back seat when Robin takes over. |
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Stick to your guns on something |
to continue to have your beliefs or continue with a plan of action, even if other people disagree with you:
Despite harsh criticism, she's sticking to her guns on this issue. |
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Have an ax to grind |
If someone has an axe to grind, they are doing something for selfish reasons. |
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Jump on the bandwagon
Get on
Climb on |
Jump on the bandwagon |
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Keep a low profile |
keep a low profile to avoid attracting attention to yourself: He's been in a little trouble recently so he's trying to keep a low profile. |
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A labor of love |
A labor of love Something that you do because you love it not because of money |
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A labor of love |
a piece of hard work that you do because you enjoy it and not because you will receive money or praise for it, or because you need to do it:
He's always working on his car - it's a labour of love. |
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A Labor of love |
If you do something as a labour of love, you do it because you really want to and not because of any reward you might get for it, even though it involves hard work.
Writing this book has been a great pleasure, a true labour of love. |
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A low-profile event |
low-profile ADJECTIVE deliberately not attracting public attention It’s been a relatively low-profile campaign |
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Keep a low profile |
Until his appointment becomes official, Ted is keeping a low profile. |
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Keep a low profile |
to avoid doing things that will make people notice you The Home Secretary was keeping a low profile yesterday when the crime figures were announced in the House of Commons. |
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Jump on the bandwagon |
I finally jumped on the bandwagon and bought a smart phone. All his friends were getting married, so he decided to jump on the bandwagon and get married too. You’re always jumping on the bandwagon! You just want to be a part of everything that’s popular at the moment! |
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Have an ax to grind |
to have a strong personal opinion about something that you want people to accept and that is the reason why you do something: Environmentalists have no political axe to grind - they just want to save the planet. |
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Mean business |
If you mean business, you are very serious about something. You are not joking. One of them pointed a gun at me.i could see he meant business. |
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A nosey Parker A Nosy parker
Someone who loves to know so much about other people. |
Olive is such a nosey parker. She likes to spy on her neighbors |
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Poke your nose into something Stick your nose into something تحشر نفسك في اللي ملكش فيه |
To get yourself in something that is not your business |
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Nancy keeps her nose out of everyone's business. That is what I like most about her. |
Nancy keeps her nose out of everyone's business. That is what I like most about her. |
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If you steer clear of something or someone, you avoid them on purpose. |
If you have dry skin, steer clear of soap. |
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Try your hand at something |
To try something new or for the first time. I need a new hoppy. Maybe I will try my hand at painting. |
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Up to your ears |
If you are up to your ears in work or in an unpleasant situatuin , you are very busy with it or very involved in it.
There is no way I am taking a vacation this month. I am up to my ears in work.
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Whet someone's appetite |
The first chapter of that book really whetted my appetite. I am looking forward to reading more of it tonight.
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You heart is not in something |
If your heart isn't in it, you do not feel interested or enthusiastic about something: I tried to look interested, but my heart wasn't in it. |
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Whet someone's appetite for whet (SHARPEN) [ T ] old use to sharpen the blade of a knife or similar tool: He whetted his knife against the stone. |
If someone or something whets your appetite for a particular thing, they increase your desire to have it or know about it, especially by giving you an idea of what it is like.
A really good catalogue can also whet customers' appetites for purchasing. |
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be up to your ears in sth |
be up to your ears in sth to be very busy, or to have more of something than you can manage: I'm up to my ears in work. She's up to her ears in debt. |
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As Cheap as chips British informal |
Very cheap |
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Barking up the wrong tree |
be barking up the wrong tree informal to be wrong about the reason for something or the way to achieve something: She thinks it'll solve the problem, but I think she's barking up the wrong tree. |
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Barking up the wrong tree |
INFORMAL doing something that will not get the result you want If you think she’s going to help you, you’re barking up the wrong tree. |
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Slack |
[U] (LOOSE STATE) the state of being too loose or not tight enough:
There was too much slack in the cable. |
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In the loop |
informal to be one of a group of people who have particular knowledge, make important decisions, or deal with important situations:
Entry-level workers want to feel like they're in the loop. |
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Spark |
(FIRE/ELECTRICITY) C2 [ C ] a very small piece of fire that flies out from something that is burning, or one that is made by rubbing two hard things together, or a flash of light made by electricity: |
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Call it a day |
Call it a day |
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Call it a day |
informal to stop what you are doing because you do not want to do any more or think you have done enough: I'm getting a bit tired now - let's call it a day. After 14 years living and working in this country, she thinks it's time to call it a day. |
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Don't give up the day job |
don't give up the day job!
humorous
used for telling someone that you do not think they are very good at something:
"What did you think of my singing, then?" "Er, don't give up the day job!" |
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Easy does it |
easy does it! informal used to tell someone to do something slowly and carefully |
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Redundant |
redundant adjective (NOT EMPLOYED) having lost your job because your employer no longer needs you: To keep the company alive, half the workforce is being made redundant. figurative New technology often makes old skills and even whole communities redundant. |
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Get out of hand |
Get out of hand get out of hand to become difficult to control: It was the end of term and the children were getting a little out of hand. |
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Get something out of your system |
Get something out of your system |
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Get your act together |
get your act together informal to start to organize yourself so that you do things in an effective way: She's so disorganized - I wish she'd get her act together. |
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Give someone the benefit of the doubt |
give someone the benefit of the doubt
to decide that you will believe someone, even though you are not sure that what the person is saying is true:
She said she was late because her flight was canceled, and we gave her the benefit of the doubt. |
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Go back to the drawing board |
go back to the drawing board to start planning something again because the first plan failed |
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Hang in there Hang on in there |
hang in there (UK also hang on in there) said as a way of telling someone to not give up, despite difficulties: Work can get tough in the middle of a term but hang in there and it'll be OK. |
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Hit the sack Hit the hay |
hit the sack (also hit the hay) infml
to go to bed in order to sleep:
I’ve got a busy day tomorrow, so I think I’ll hit the sack. |
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Ignorance is bliss |
used to say that a person who does not know about a problem does not worry about it He never keeps up with the news or cares about the troubles in the world because he believes that ignorance is bliss. |
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In a nutshell |
using as few words as possible: Well, to put it in a nutshell, we're lost. |
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in a nutshell |
very briefly, giving only the main points: "What went wrong?" "In a nutshell, everything." |
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Ignorance is bliss |
Ignorance is bliss Not knowing something is often more comfortable than knowing it. |
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Go back to the drawing board |
We need to go back to the drawing board on this project. I think it had some fundamental flaws from the start. Their latest product was a financial disaster, so they had to go back to the drawing board and come up with a fresh, new idea. |
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Give someone the benefit of doubt |
the state of accepting something/someone as honest or deserving of trust even though there are doubts He might be lying, but we have to give him the benefit of the doubt and accept what he says for now. |
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your guess is as good as mine |
informal something you say when you do not know the answer to a question: "What's he doing?" "Your guess is as good as mine." |
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couch potato |
couch potato noun [ C ] informal disapproving
a person who watches a lot of television and does not have an active life |
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don’t count your chickens before they hatch |
you should not make plans that depend on something good happening before you know that it has actually happened: She wanted to buy a dress in case someone asked her to the dance, but I told her not to count her chickens before they hatched. |
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go cold turkey |
To stop doing or using something abruptly and completely. Most commonly said of drug, alcohol, or tobacco use, it can also refer to any bad habit |
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Go with the flow |
If you go with the flow, you let things happen or let other people tell you what to do, rather than trying to control what happens yourself. There's nothing I can do about the problem, so I might as well go with the flow. |
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Grin and bear it |
to accept something bad without complaining: I really don't want to go, but I guess I'll just have to grin and bear it. |
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Have a sweet tooth |
sweet tooth [ S ]
If you have a sweet tooth, you like eating sweet foods, especially sweets and chocolate. |
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In hot water |
be in hot water(also get into hot water) to be in or get into a difficult situation in which you are in danger of being criticized or punished: He found himself in hot water over his comments about immigration. |
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The final straw
The last straw Straw (U) |
the final/last straw(also the straw that breaks the camel's back)
the last in a series of unpleasant events that finally makes you feel that you cannot continue to accept a bad situation:
Losing my job was bad enough, but being evicted was the final straw.
She's always been rude to me, but it was the last straw when she started insulting my mother. |
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Grin |
[ I ] -nn- to smile a wide smile:
He grinned at me from the doorway. What are you grinning about? |
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Flow |
(MOVEMENT) B2 [ C usually singular ]
the movement of something in one direction:
the flow of a river the flow of traffic the flow of blood |
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Hatch |
hatch verb (BREAK EGG) [ I/T ] to break an egg so a baby animal can come out: [ I ] The birds hatched out the next afternoon. |
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Like riding a bike |
Something that, once learned, is difficult to forget how to do/easy to recall how to do. "Man, I haven't gone sailing years" "Come on, man, it's like riding a bike!" |
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Make ends meet |
make ends meet C1
(Indian English make both ends meet) to have just enough money to pay for the things that you need |
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Devil's advocate |
[ C usually singular ]
someone who pretends, in an argument or discussion, to be against an idea or plan that a lot of people support, in order to make people discuss and consider it in more detail: I don't really believe all that - I was just playing devil's advocate. |
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Rain or shine |
If you say that someone does something rain or shine, you mean that they do it regularly, without being affected by the weather or other circumstances. Frances took her daughter walking every day, rain or shine |
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Sit tight |
To not do any thing new or change your mind until the right time Investors have been told to sit tight and wait until the economy improves. |
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Sit tight
To physically stay where you are and not move |
Please sit tight!the doctor is about to arrive. |
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Take a rain check on something |
take a rain check (on sth)informal used to tell someone that you cannot accept an invitation now, but would like to do so at a later time: Mind if I take a rain check on that drink? I have to work late tonight. |
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Teach someone a lesson |
teach someone a lesson to show someone, as a result of experience, what should not be done in the future: I sat in the sun all day at the beach and got a terrible sunburn – it really taught me a lesson. |
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Through thick and thin |
through thick and thin If you support or stay with someone through thick and thin, you always support or stay with them, even if there are problems or difficulties: She has stuck with me through thick and thin. |
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Under the table |
If something is done under the table, it is a secret, hidden action: They offered him money under the table to change his mind. |
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It takes two to tango |
If you say it takes two or it takes two to tango, you mean that a situation or argument involves two people and they are both therefore responsible for it. Divorce is never the fault of one partner; it takes two. It takes two to tango and so far our relationship has been one-sided. |
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Face the music |
to accept responsibility for something you have done:
If she lied to me, then she'll just have to face the music. |
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(down) in the dumps |
unhappy: She's a bit down in the dumps because she failed one of her exams. |
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Hit the spot |
to be exactly what is needed:
That bacon sandwich really hit the spot!
This cup of coffee hit the spot. |
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just what the doctor ordered |
just what the doctor ordered exactly what is wanted or needed: Thanks, a strong cup of coffee in the morning is just what the doctor ordered. |
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Feel like a new person |
feel like a new woman/man to feel very much better: That holiday was fantastic - I feel like a whole new woman since I came back. |
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Drive sb up the wall |
drive sb up the wall to make someone extremely angry: My flat-mate is driving me up the wall. |
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So far, so good |
so far, so good satisfactory up to this particular time:"How’s your new job?" "So far, so good." |
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Act your age |
act your age to behave in a way suitable for someone as old as you are:Stop being silly and act your age! |
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Burst into tears |
Cry suddenly |
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Full plate |
a large and onerous amount of work |
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Follow your heart |
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Follow your heart |
follow one's heart idiom : to do what one would really love to doI decided to follow my heart and take up acting. |
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Implication |
[ C or U ] an occasion when you seem to suggest something without saying it directly: [ + that ] From what she said, the implication was that they were splitting up. She accused the party and, by implication, its leader too.
[ C usually plural ] the effect that an action or decision will have on something else in the future: The company is cutting back its spending and I wonder what the implications will be for our department. What are the implications of the new law? |
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Exceptionally |
exceptionally adverb used before an adjective or adverb to emphasize how strong or unusual the quality is The weather, even for January, was exceptionally cold. I thought Bill played exceptionally well. There was an exceptionally high tide. an exceptionally gifted child |
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flesh and blood (U) |
flesh and blood [U] (FAMILY) someone from your family: I was surprised at how much I cared for this girl who wasn't even my flesh and blood. |
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flesh and blood [ U ] |
people: This decision is not about legal theory, it's about flesh and blood, about boys and girls who deserve a decent education. |
