English Idioms B2 Pt 2

Front 1

Be down to earth

Back 1

Essere con i piedi per terra

Front 2

Have itchy feet

Back 2

(restlessness)

carattere irrequieto, temperamento irrequieto

Patrick's itchy feet always stop him settling down in one place. I've had this job for ten years and now I'm starting to get itchy feet.

Patrick non riesce mai a vivere a lungo in un posto a causa del suo carattere irrequieto. Faccio lo stesso lavoro da dieci anni e ora comincio a scalpitare

Front 3

Be a globetrotter

Back 3

Giramondo

Persona che viaggia sempre

Front 4

Be in the same boat

Back 4

Essere sulla stessa barca

Front 5

Dive (SB) up the wall

Back 5

/DAIV/ = tuffarsi

fare venire i nervi a [qlcn]

dare sui nervi a [qlcn]

dive/dived/dived

Front 6

Take sth in one´s stride

Back 6

deal calmly with [sth]

gestire [qlcs] senza problemi

Tim took the news of his redundancy in his stride; he had some savings and thought it might be a good opportunity to set up his own business.

STRIDE= passo, andatura

Front 7

LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG

Back 7

RIVELARE UN SEGRETO

reveal a secret carelessly or by mistake.

"now that Viola had let the cat out of the bag, she had no option but to confess"

Front 8

Drive/ send someone round the bend

Back 8

ROMPERE LE PALLE

make someone angry or bored

My mother's been driving me around the bend.

Front 9

Feel it in my bones

Back 9

CREDERCI FERMAMENTE

to believe something strongly although you cannot explain why

It's going to be a good summer - I can feel it in my bones

Front 10

PICK UP THE BILL

Back 10

PAGARE QUELLO CHE DEBI

to pay for what has been bought, especially a meal in a restaurant.

Paying money.

Front 11

come back down to earth with a bump

Back 11

ACCORGERSI DELLA REALTÀ DEI FATTI

Bump= URTO

they suddenly start recognizing unpleasant facts after a period of time when they have not been doing this. [emphasis]

Front 12

Stand my ground

Back 12

Essere decisi su quello su cui si crede

to refuse to be pushed backwards, or to continue in your beliefs in an argument:

Front 13

Stick the knife in

Back 13

Stick= infilare

Buttare merda

to deliberately do or say things which will upset another person or cause problems for them

Her colleagues, often eager to stick the knife in, defended her yesterday

Front 14

I am banging my head against a brick wall

Back 14

Mi sento frustrato

Brick = mattone

Brick wall= muro di mattone

emphasizing that you are frustrated because someone is stopping you from making progress in something.

Front 15

Scare the living daylights out of me

Creep up behind me

Back 15

Mi fici scantari

frighten someone very much

Strisciare dietro di me

Front 16

You hit where it hurt most by +ing

Back 16

to do or say something to someone that will upset them as much as possible:

Telling him that he has to lose weight

Front 17

Look a gift horse in the mouth

Back 17

Schifare un regalo

you shouldn't criticize a gift, even if you don't like it very much

Front 18

Be on the brink of

Back 18

Essere sul punto di

Brink= ORLO/BORDO

Front 19

Tie someone up in knots

Back 19

Confondersi, impapucchiarsi

I tried to explain the problem, but I toed myself up in knots

Knots= Nodo

Front 20

Be man enough for/ to

Back 20

a man is man enough to do something, you mean that he has the necessary courage or ability to do it

Front 21

Be a slimeball

Back 21

very unpleasant person whose friendly manner is not sincere:

How can she go out with him? He's such a slimeball!

Front 22

There is no peace/no rest for the wicked

Back 22

Una persona cattiva che si merita di non avere pace

Front 23

From time immemorial

Back 23

immeMÒrial

Front 24

An apple a day keeps the doctor away

Back 24

Idem in ita

Front 25

I stuffed my face

Back 25

Ingozzarmi

Front 26

Give someone pause to thought

Back 26

Dare spunti di riflessione

to cause (someone) to stop and think about something carefully or to have doubts about something