CJS EFL - 120 IDIOMS

Intermediate Verb Structures

I want you to go ... / I don't want you to go ...
I'd rather you went ... / I'd rather you didn't go ...
I'd prefer you to go ... / I'd prefer you not to go ...
I'd like you to go ... / I wouldn't like you to go ...

INTERMEDIATE

All's well that ends well.
Scenario: Miss Jones is talking to her secretary.		START WITH
A)	“Fax this letter to Manchester asap.”	She ...
B)	"Please don't mention the matter to anyone else."	"I'd rather ..."

Convert these sentences using the structure shown on the HOMEpage.
Use an object pronoun rather than repeating the object noun.

All's well that ends well.
Scenario: Miss Jones is talking to her secretary.
A)	She wants her secretary to fax a letter to Manchester asap.
B)	"I'd rather you didn't mention the matter to anyone else."

Actions speak louder than words.
Scenario: Miss Jones is talking to her secretary.		START WITH
A)	"Don't tell the Boss where I am going this morning."	She ...
B)	"It would be better if you rang Head Office rather than emailed."	"I'd prefer ..."

Actions speak louder than words.
Scenario: Miss Jones is talking to her secretary.
A)	She doesn't want her to tell the Boss where she's going.
B)	"I'd prefer you to ring Head Office rather than email."

He who laughs last, laughs longest.
Scenario: Miss Jones is talking to her secretary.		START WITH
A)	"Can you arrange a meeting with the sales reps at 11.00.”	She wants ..
B)	“Please don’t leave any windows open when you go home.”	She doesn't ...

He who laughs last, laughs longest.
Scenario: Miss Jones is talking to her secretary.
A)	She wants her to arrange a meeting with the sales reps at 11.00.
B)	She doesn't want her to leave any windows open when she goes home.

Many hands make light work.
The coach is talking to his team.		START WITH
A)	"Haggis, you have to mark Messi as closely as possible.”	He wants ...
B)	“Don't go out clubbing the night before matches.”	He doesn't ...

Many hands make light work.
The coach is talking to his team.
A)	He wants Haggis to mark Messi as closely as possible.
B)	He doesn't want them/his team to go out clubbing the night before matches.

A fool and his money are easily parted.
Mum is talking to her sixteen-year-old son.		START WITH
A)	"Tidy up your room before you go out."	She wants ...
B)	“Please don't go out on your bike in this icy weather.”	"I'd rather ..."

A fool and his money are easily parted.
Mum is talking to her sixteen-year-old son.
A)	She wants him to tidy up his room before he goes out.
B)	“I'd rather you didn't go out on your bike in this icy weather.”

Strike while the iron is hot.
The Boss is taking to his P.A.		START WITH
A)	“Don’t open any letters addressed to me marked ‘personal’.”	He ...
B)	“It would be better if you came to the meeting rather than Jim."	"I'd rather ..."

Strike while the iron is hot.
The Boss is taking to his P.A.
A)	He doesn't want him to open any letters addressed to him marked 'personal’.
B)	“I'd rather you came to the meeting rather than Jim."

Make hay while the sun shines.
The Boss is taking to his P.A.		START WITH
A)	“Please call the caretaker to repair the lock on my door.”	He ...
B)	“I'd be grateful if you would go to the meeting instead of me."	"I'd ..."

B) use 'prefer'

Make hay while the sun shines.
The Boss is taking to his P.A.
A)	He wants him to call the caretaker to repair the lock on his door.
B)	“I'd prefer you to go to the meeting instead of me."

The grass is always greener on the other side.
The Boss is taking to his P.A.		START WITH
A)	“Please don’t let anyone into my office if I’m not there.”	He doesn't ...
B)	“I'd be grateful if you would go to the meeting instead of me."	"I'd ..."

B) use 'rather'

The grass is always greener on the other side.
The Boss is taking to his P.A.
A)	He doesn't want him to let anyone into his office if he's not there.
B)	“I'd rather you went to the meeting instead of me."

Too many cooks spoil the broth.
The local G.P. is talking to a patient. (General Practitioner = local doctor)		START WITH
A)	“Take one tablet a day with plenty of water.”	He wants ...
B)	“It would be better if you would make an appointment next time."	"I'd ..."

B) use 'prefer'

Too many cooks spoil the broth.
The local G.P. is talking to a patient. (General Practitioner = local doctor)
A)	He wants him to take one tablet a day with plenty of water.
B)	“I'd prefer you to make an appointment next time."

Rome was not built in a day.
Bill is telling his wife about his visit to the G.P.		START WITH
A)	"He told me to eat less processed food."	He wants ...
B)	“He said it would be better if I gave up alcohol completely."	"He said ..."

A) use 'prefer'

Rome was not built in a day.
Bill is telling his wife about his visit to the G.P.
A)	"He wants me to eat less processed food."
B)	“He said he would prefer me to give up alcohol completely. "

Every cloud has a silver lining.
Bill is telling his wife about his visit to the G.P.		START WITH
A)	"He told me I have to do a lot more exercise."	He wants ...
B)	“He said I should get a dog!"	"He advised ..."

Every cloud has a silver lining.
Bill is telling his wife about his visit to the G.P.
A)	"He wants me to do a lot more exercise."
B)	"He advised me to get a dog!"

One man's meat is another man's poison.
A teacher is talking to his class.		START WITH
A)	"You should write at least three pages in your report."	"I want ..."
B)	“Don't look up anything on Google."	"I don't ..."

One man's meat is another man's poison.
A teacher is talking to his class.
A)	"I want you to write at least three pages in your report."
B)	“I don't want you to look up anything on Google."

The night is darkest just before the dawn.
A teacher is talking to his class.		START WITH
A)	"It would be better if you waited at the door until I arrive."	"I'd ..."
B)	"It would be better if you waited at the door until I arrive."

A) use 'rather' B) use 'prefer'

The night is darkest just before the dawn.
A teacher is talking to his class.
A)	"I'd rather you waited at the door until I arrive."
B)	"I'd prefer you to wait at the door until I arrive."

It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
A teacher is talking to his class.		START WITH
A)	"You shouldn't take everything he says too seriously."	"I don't ..."
B)	"My advice is to get me to check the final draft."	"I ..."

B) use 'advise'

It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
A teacher is talking to his class.		START WITH
A)	"I don't want you to take everything he says too seriously."	"I don't ..."
B)	"I advise you to get me to check the final draft."	"I ...."

Fortune favours the brave. (also: "Who Dares, Wins": the motto of the S.A.S.)
An army recruit is reporting to his parents what an officer said.		START WITH
A)	"Stand when an officer enters; that's an order."	"He ..."
B)	"Never point a loaded weapon at a fellow soldier."

A) & B) use "to order"

Fortune favours the brave. (also: "Who Dares, Wins": the motto of the S.A.S.)
An army recruit is reporting to his parents what an officer said.		START WITH
A)	"He ordered us to stand when an officer enters."	"He ..."
B)	"He ordered us never to point a loaded weapon at a fellow soldier."

120 COMMON IDIOMS

1	to	blow off steam	get rid by speech or act of pent-up energy or strong emotion
2	to	burn one's bridges	do something making it impossible to go back
3	to	bury your head in the sand	refuse to look at the evidence/ignore the truth
4	to	call a spade a spade	avoid euphemisms/be brutally honest and direct
5	to	call it a day	stop work for the day - finish & go home
6	to	call someone's bluff	refuse to fold and instead 'call' as in poker
7	to	chase rainbows	try to do or attain something unrealistic
8	to	cost an arm and a leg	extremely expensive
9	to	cut a long story short	be brief - get to the point
10	to	cut corners	take short cuts (usually negative)
11	to	cut our losses	write off losses and move on
12	to	cut someone some slack	allow someone some leeway in their conduct
13	to	cut to the chase	get to the point
14	to	dig one's heels in	refuse to budge on a decision
15	to	draw the line	set a limit on what one is willing to accept
16	to be	easier said than done	this one is self-explanatory
17	the	elephant in the room	the subject nobody wants/dares to mention
18	to	face the music	be confronted with criticism and/or punishment
19	to	feel under the weather	feel a bit ill, tired
20	to	find your feet	establish yourself satisfactorily in some new role
21	a	finger in every pie	involved in lots of businesses/organisations
22	a	fish out of water	out of place - in the wrong job or role
23	to	flog a dead horse	keep doing something pointless
24	to	get a move on	hurry up - stop wasting time
25	to	get cold feet	hesitate - lose the courage to do something
26	to	get out of hand	get out of control
27	to	get over it	accept it, recover from it and move on
28	to	give it a go	try
29	to	give someone the cold shoulder	pretty much ignore them
30	to	go back to the drawing-board	start over - go back to square one
31	to	go the extra mile	bend over backwards to do sth or help someone
32	to be a	hard nut to crack	a difficult problem to solve
33	to	hit the hay	go to bed
34	to	hit the nail on the head	be very apt - to sum up exactly and succinctly
35		in a nutshell	to cut a long story short
36	to be	in cloud-cuckoo land	crazy - with one's head in the clouds
37	to be	in the nick of time	just in time - at the last moment
38	to	jump the gun	start something prematurely
39	to	keep one's chin up	keep up one's spirits - not lose heart
40	to	let someone off the hook	release someone from a predicament
41	to	let the cat out of the bag	reveal confidential information
42	to be	like water off a duck's back	having no effect, such as personal insults
43	to	lose one's touch	no longer have the skills/abilities needed
44	to	make do	manage with what one has even if not ideal
45	to	make ends meet	survive financially but with difficulty
46	to	make the most of it	exploit/profit from a situation to the maximum
47	to	miss the boat	miss an opportunity - be too late
48		never in a million years	never - incredibly unlikely
49	to	nip it in the bud	stop something from becoming a bigger problem
50		not my cup of tea	I don't like it.
51		off the top of my head	an idea or thought derived spontaneously
52	to be	on the ball	alert - reactive & knowing what to do
53		once in a blue moon	incredibly rarely
54	to be	out of the woods	safe
55	a	piece of cake	easy
56	to	play Devil's advocate	argue against sth even if you are in favour of it
57	to	play one's cards close to one's chest	be very secretive
58	to	play the man not the ball	attack an opponent rather than the topic in debate
59	to	pull oneself together	calm down, focus, think clearly
60	to	pull someone's leg	make fun of them
61	to be	right from the horse's mouth	from the source - on good authority
62	to	rock the boat	irritatingly cause problems by irresponsible action
63	to	shoot from the hip	act spontaneously without thinking too much
64	a	short fuse	gets angry fast
65	to	sing from the same hymnsheet	share the same opinion
66	to	sit on the fence	refuse to choose between 2 options
67	to	sit tight	stay calm and wait
68	to	sleep on it	leave it for now and see what tomorrow brings
69	to	smell a rat	be suspicious
70	a	snowball effect	like an avalance or dominoes falling
71	to	spill the beans	reveal a secret
72	to	splash out	spend (a lot of) money freely
73	a	square peg in a round hole	someone in a role or place they are not suited to
74	to	steal someone's thunder	take credit which is due to them
75	to	step up to the plate	accept responsibility and take action in a demanding situation
76	to	stick my neck out	take a risk
77	to	stick to one's guns	refuse to change an opinion or decision
78	the	tail (is) wagging the dog	getting things the wrong way round
79	to	take it with a pinch of salt	be very sceptical
80	to	take one's eye off the ball	lose concentration and focus on a situation
81		through thick and thin	(being supportive) through whatever difficulties life throws up
82	to	throw a spanner in the works	to really mess things up
83	the	tip of the iceberg	there's much more hidden under the surface
84	a	turn-up for the books	a huge surprise
85	to	twist someone's arm	put pressure on someone to change a decision
86	to be	up in the air	unresoved - undecided
87	to	weather the storm	keep the head down till a crisis is over
88	a	wild goose chase	a pointless endeavour
89	to	wrap one's head around something	to understand something complex, astonishing or shocking
90	to	add insult to injury	act in a way making a bad situation worse
91	to	bark up the wrong tree	complain or worry about the wrong thing
92	to	be on the same page	have the same opinion about a subject
93	to	beat about the bush	prevaricate - not come to the point
94	the	benefit of the doubt	accept someone as innocent even if there is doubt
95	the	best of both worlds	a win-win situation
96	to have	bigger fish to fry	to have more important things to do
97	to	bite off more than one can chew	try to do something beyond one's capability
98	to	bite the bullet	accept sth and move on - 'suck it up'
99	a	blessing in disguise	something resulting in an unexpected positive outcome
100		Don't rock the boat.	Don't do anything to annoy anyone or upset the situation.
101		Get your ducks in a row.	Sort yourself out. Get organised.
102		Horses for courses.	Choose the right person for the right role.
103		It's a piece of cake.	it's easy
104		No pain, no gain.	Nothing valuable is achieved without some pain or effort.
105		That rings a bell.	That reminds me of something
106		That's the last straw.	I've reached the limit of what I am prepared to tolerate.
107		The ball's in your court.	It's your turn to act or decide. I'm waiting .....
108		We don't see eye to eye on this.	We don't agree on this,
109		What goes around, comes around.	Your own nastiness or bad actions will eventually come round to hit you.
110		When the going gets tough, the tough get going.	encouragement to someone in a difficult situation
111		Bob's your uncle	And there you go - everything's OK.
112		Don't give up your day job.	You're not funny enough to earn a living as a stand-up comic.
113		Don't throw your toys out of the pram.	Don't get cross like some spoils and immature kid.
114		I don't want to rain on your parade.	It's your party/show; I don't want to spoil it.
115		I think I'll take a raincheck.	not this time - next time
116		It takes two to tango.	It's not all my fault; someone else is also involved here.
117		It's not rocket science.	It's bleedin' obvious. An idiot could understand it.
118		Your guess is as good as mine.	I haven't got a clue.
119		to be one leg short of a table	feeble-minded - moronic: one pawn short of a chess set etc
120		to be up the creek (without a paddle)	be in a situation where you can't manoeuvre