IDIOMS
ORGANISER
Organised by metaphor,
topic and key word
by
Jon Wright
Edited by Jimmie Hill and Morgan Lewis
Illustrated by Bill Stott
Australia Canada Mexico Singapore Spain United Kingdom United States
Idioms Organiser
Organised by metaphor, topic and key word
Jon Wright
Publisher/Global ELT: Christopher Wenger
Executive Marketing Manager, Global ELT/ESL: Amy Mabtey
Cover design: Anna Macleod
Cartoons: Bill Scott
Copyright © 2002 by Heinle, a part of the Thomson Corporation.
Heinle. Thomson and the Thomson logo are trademarks used herein under license.
Copyright ©formerly held by Language Teaching Publications and R.A. Close 1992.
Printed in Croatia by Zrinski d.d.
- 5 6 7 8 9 10 06 05 04 03 02
For more information contact Heinle, 25 Thomson Place, Boston, MA 02210 USA,
or you can visit our Internet site at http://www.heinle.com
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or
used in any form or by any means — graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, taping, Web distribution or information storage and retrieval systems — without the
written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 1 899396 06 3
The Author
Jon Wright is co-founder and Director of Studies of The Language Project, Bristol, a small school
With a special focus on developing innovative learner-centred materials. He has many years'
experience as a teacher, teacher trainer, materials writer and examiner. His other publications
include Basic Grammar, with Dave Willis, for Cobuild, and Dictionaries, in the OUP Resource
Books for Teachers Series.
Author's Acknowledgement
would like to thank my editors Jimmie Hill and Morgan Lewis, for their considerable guidance in
shaping this book, as well as acknowledging the many ideas and examples, which they gave so
generously. The staff and students of The Language Project in Bristol have helped me in many
ways both in and outside the classroom. As always, a special thank you to Etsuko.
Idioms are important
Dear
Student
Words don't come singly
You have probably spent a long time learning new words. Words, however, do not just
come individually, they also come in expressions - in groups. Idioms are among the
most common of these expressions. There are thousands of them in English:
I could eat a horse.
Money doesn't grow on trees.
It's not up to scratch.
I got there in the nick of time.
Language is literal and metaphorical
Sometimes when we use language we use it in a very literal way:
I've been out fishing, but caught absolutely nothing!
The same language can be used in a non-literal way - a metaphorical way:
Yesterday I caught the bus. My car wouldn't start.
Here are more examples of this metaphorical use of catch:
He caught my attention.
Wait while I catch my breath!
Look at that tan! You've caught the sun!
I didn't quite catch what you said.
The metaphorical uses of a word are often more common than the literal ones.
Idioms have grammar
Some idiomatic expressions are fixed and cannot change:
Two heads are better than one.
Very often you can change the tense and the pronoun:
I'm/She's/We were all at sixes and sevens.
How is Idioms Organiser organised?
This book organises the most important idioms in English in four sections:
1. Areas of metaphor
2. Individual metaphors
3. Topics
4. Key Words
Make sure you study the Introductory Unit of this book before you begin the main
units. Plan your study and work regularly through the units on your own or in class.
Jon Wright
CONTENTS
Introductory Unit
7
Section 1: Areas of Metaphor
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Time is Money
Business is War
Seeing is Understanding
Life is a Journey
Life is Gambling
A Company is a Ship
Moods are Weather
The Office is a Battlefield
A Project is a Race
Economics is Flying
Organisations are Gardens
People are Liquid
Review Unit
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
36
Section 2: Individual Metaphors
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
25
29
30
31
32
33
14
-
Animal Idioms
Bird Idioms
Body Idioms
Breaking Idioms
Building Idioms
Cat Idioms
Clothes Idioms
Colour Idioms: Black/White
Colour Idioms: Red/Blue
Driving Idioms
Eating Idioms
Eye Idioms
Face Idioms
Fingers and Thumbs Idioms
Fire Idioms
Fishing Idioms
Food Idioms
Foot Idioms
Hand Idioms
Head Idioms
Heart Idioms
38
40
42
44
46
48
50
52
54
56
58
60
62
64
66
68
70
72
74
76
78
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
Horse Idioms
House and Home Idioms
Life and Death Idioms
Metal Idioms
Mind Idioms
Number Idioms
Sports Idioms
Swimming Idioms
Temperature Idioms
Train Idioms
Water Idioms
Review Unit
80
82
84
86
88
90
92
94
96
98
100
102
Section 3: Topics
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
Advice
Agreeing and Disagreeing
Annoyance and Frustration
Being Positive
Certainty and Doubt
Change
Communicating
Dishonesty
Easy and Difficult
The Family
Good and Bad Quality
Health
Holidays
Knowledge and Ability
Memory
Mistakes
Misunderstanding
Money 1
Money 2
Moods
People
Power and Influence
Problems 1
Problems 2
Reading
Relationships 1
Relationships 2
Safety and Risks
Similarities and Differences
Sleep and Dreams
Speed
106
108
110
112
114
116
118
120
122
124
126
128
130
132
134
136
138
140
142
144
146
148
150
152
154
156
158
160
162
164
166
5
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
Starting and Stopping
Success and Failure
Suitability
Surprises
Time
Work 1
Work 2
Review Unit
168
170
172
174
176
178
180
182
Section 4: Key Words
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
All
And 1
And 2
Back
Cut
End
Fall
Good / Better / Best
Ground
Half
Know
,
Life
Light and Heavy
Like
Line
Lose and Lost
No
Of
Or
Point
Side
Something, Anything, Nothing
Thing
To + infinitive
Top and Bottom
'Very'
Way
Word
Review Unit
186
188
190
192
194
196
198
200
202
204
206
208
210
212
214
216
218
220
222
224
226
228
230
232
234
236
238
240
242
Section 5: Index of Expressions
245
Section 6: Answer Key
279
6
1: What is an idiom?
An idiom is an expression with the following features:
1. It is fixed and is recognised by native speakers. You cannot make up your own!
2. It uses language in a non-literal - metaphorical - way.
The following are examples:
1. Tin up to my eyes in work at the moment.
2. At the meeting I felt a bit out of my depth.
3. I was over the moon when I heard she'd had twins!
4. It broke my mother's heart to see her home burn to the ground.
If you are up to your eyes, you are very busy. If you are out of your depth, you might
be in the sea, but you are more likely to be in a situation which you do not understand
for some reason. If you are over the moon, you are extremely happy about something.
If something breaks your heart, you are very sad about it.
In these examples it is clear that the idiom is a whole expression. This is the traditional
view of idioms. But there is a lot more language which is idiomatic. For example, there
are lots of individual words with idiomatic uses. On page 3 we saw that catch has many
more uses than the literal one of catching a fish. Here are more examples:
Literal Use
1. The river flooded several villages.
2. Piles of rubbish lay everywhere.
3. I love roast potatoes.
4. I've got an uncle at sea.
Idiomatic Use
The crowd flooded on to the pitch.
He's got piles of money.
Euthanasia. Now, that's a very hot potato!
I'm all at sea.
7
We are familiar with the idea of heavy rain causing a river to overflow and flood the
surrounding area; crowds are often described as water and the same verb flood is used.
The literal meaning of pile is a heap of something; piles of money, however, simply
means lots of money. A hot potato is not for eating; it means a controversial issue.
An uncle at sea works on a boat; if you are at sea,
it means you are in a situation which you do not
understand and where you cannot cope.
Idioms Organiser takes a broad view of idiom. In
this book you will practise common idioms such
as the black sheep of the family, but you will also
practise the huge area of idiomatic usage where
words are used with non-literal - metaphorical meanings.
2: What is a metaphor?
Metaphors exist in all languages. You use them in your own language. A metaphor uses
one idea to stand for another idea. Above, we saw the simple idea: A crowd is water.
When you have that idea in your mind, the crowd can flow, flood, or trickle. Here are
some of the common metaphors practised in this book:
1. Time is money.
We save time. We can spare 5 minutes. We can run out of time.
2. Business is war.
Advertising is a minefield in which you have targets and keep your sights on
what your competitors are doing.
3. Life is a journey.
You can be on the road to recovery. You might be at a crossroads in your life
because you are in a dead-end job.
6
3: Why are idioms and metaphors so important?
Firstly, they are important because they are very common. It is impossible to speak,
read, or listen to English without meeting idiomatic language. This is not something
you can leave until you reach an advanced level. All native speaker English is
idiomatic. Every newspaper is full of metaphorical language. You cannot avoid it or
leave it till later.
The second reason is that very often the metaphorical use of a word is more common
today than its literal use. For example, we know that farmers plough their fields, but
you can plough through a long novel or report;
you can plough on with your work; you can
plough money into a business; profits can be
ploughed back into a company; a lorry can
plough into a row of parked cars. Using plough
in its literal farming meaning is now much
rarer than all its other non-literal uses.
But it is important for you to know the
literal meaning. Often the literal meaning
creates a picture in your mind and this
picture makes the other meanings easier
to understand.
The third reason that this kind of language is important is because it is fun to learn
and to use. Because there is so much to learn, anything which helps you to remember
things is important and if the language you are learning is more colourful and
interesting, there is more chance that you will remember it. You will also sound more
natural if your English contains more idioms.
9
4: Can you translate idioms?
The simplest answer to this question is NO. This is an area where languages can be
very different. Sometimes you can translate an idiom from one language to another, but
most often this is not possible. For example, there is an English idiom to let sleeping
dogs lie. The German and Italian equivalents also speak of sleeping dogs, but not the
French or Spanish.
It is important that you are very careful if you have to translate idioms. Never translate
an idiom word for word. You must translate the whole expression. Sometimes you will
be able to translate the English idiom into an idiom in your own language. However,
there may be no idiom and you may just have to explain the meaning.
One of the reasons idiomatic language is difficult to translate is because it is the area
of language closest to culture. The metaphors of one culture will be different from those
of another.
5: Are idioms spoken or written English?
Both! Some people think that idiomatic language is more informal and, therefore,
common only in spoken English. This is not true. Idiomatic language is as fundamental
to English as tenses or prepositions. If you listen to people speaking, or if you read a
novel or a newspaper, you will meet idiomatic English in all these situations.
10
SECTION 1
Areas of Metaphor
Some ideas are small and very particular. Other ideas are big.
They bring lots of related ideas to mind. For example, we all
know what a 'coin' is. It is a small piece of metal which we use
to pay for things. It is a part of a much bigger idea - 'money'.
When we think of money we think of saving it, earning it,
wasting it, spending it, being generous with it, being mean with
it. Money is a bigger idea than coins or banknotes. When we use
the common metaphor - time is money - we know what we
mean. Many of the words we use with money, we also use with
time:
We have time to spare.
We waste time.
We spend time doing something.
We run out of time.
We save time.
In this section you will learn about 12 important metaphors
which cover major areas of English.
11
1: Literal meanings
We spend money. We spend time doing something. We even spend a lot of time
spending money! The idea that time is money is very common. Here are 16
sentences - 8 literal and 8 metaphorical. Write the metaphorical sentence under
the one with the literal meaning:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Could you spare 5 minutes for a chat?
40 minutes waiting for a bus! What a waste of time!
It's worth spending at least two days in Oxford.
You'll have to finish now. We've run out of time.
I'm busy today, but I can make time for you tomorrow afternoon.
Let's get a taxi. It'll save at least 20 minutes.
Venice is definitely worth a whole week.
I'm so busy at work. I can't afford more than a week off at a time.
1. I spent over £100 today.
2. I've been trying to save at least £10 a week all year.
3. £2000 for a holiday! What a waste of money!
4. Can you spare me 50p for a cup of tea?
5. I could manage £70 a week, but I simply can't afford £100 for a flat.
6. I've run out of cash. Is there a cash machine anywhere near here?
7. Buy a second-hand car. New ones just aren't worth the money.
8. We made over a thousand pounds at our Christmas Fair.
Note: You can say He spent his life working for the poor.
12
2: Spending time
Fill in one of the following words in each space to complete the idioms:
afford
waste (verb)
plenty
make
save
ran out of
spare
waste (noun)
value
short of
precious
spend
1. I've had to go the doctor about my eyes. I
at least 6 hours a day
in front of my computer.
2. If you want to get to college quicker,
time: don't drive, buy a bike!
3. I don't get home till 10 o'clock every night, so I
the free time I have
at weekends.
4. If you're thinking of going to see the new Bond movie, don't bother. It's a
of time.
5. Sorry I wasn't able to get that book for you. I just
time.
6. Can you
a minute or two? I just want to ask you something.
7. I'm sorry I can't
the time right now. I've got a plane to catch.
8. I work long hours so the time I spend with my family is very
to me.
9. I hate airports. You
so much time just queuing!
10. I think we should hurry up. We're
time.
11. There's
of time. Don't worry! The train doesn't leave for an hour.
12. There's no way I can
the time to see you before the end of the week.
3: Revision
Complete these common expressions with words from this unit:
1.1 seem to
all my time dealing with other people's mistakes.
2. I'm sorry I just can't
the time at the moment.
3. Could you
me a minute or two?
4. Stop
your time! Get on with your work.
5. Why not ring the helpline? It'll
you hours trying to solve the problem
on your own.
6. We'd better get a taxi to the station. We're
of time.
Are you well-organised or do you waste a lot of time?
1: Literal meanings
In business many words are used which come from the area of fighting and war.
Use the following words to complete the definitions below:
minefields
battle
captures
march
casualties
targets
flak
bombard
sights
surrounded
reinforcements
forces
1. The worst weapon used against civilians is the mine. The campaign by Princess
Diana made the clearing of
an international priority.
2. When one side takes prisoners, it
them.
3. Nelson was killed at the
of Trafalgar.
4. Left, right, left, right. Learning to
properly - in step with others
- is one of the first things you have to learn when you train as a soldier.
5. People who are killed or wounded during a battle are
6. When you learn to shoot, at first you use circular
After a while.
you learn to shoot at
in the shape of people.
7. If you shoot from the ground at aircraft, you use shells known as
8. If you shell a place for a very long time without stopping, you
it.
9. You aim a rifle by looking through the
10. The Army, Navy, and Air Force are normally called the armed
11. If you need extra troops, they are called
12. If you have completely encircled your enemy, you have
him.
2: Gaining ground
Use the following words and expressions
to complete these sentences:
reinforce
surrounded
gaining ground on
bombarded
joined forces
give up without a fight
1. Sales are up! That means we're definitely
our
main competitors. They'll soon be trying to take us over!
2. It looks as if we are going to be closed down. We don't want to
so why don't we try to organise a management buy-out?
3. Our image is too old-fashioned. We need to modernise our product range in order
to
our market position. Otherwise, we'll lose it!
4. It was obvious that Smiths would close down. They were
by
big modern supermarkets with more buying power.
5. In order to expand in the Middle East, we've
with
a company who have been working successfully in the region for over 20 years.
6. The new advertising campaign has been a huge success. We've been
with thousands of new enquiries.
14
3: Keep your head down
Fill in the following words and expressions in the sentences below:
a. minefield
f. taken a lot of flak
b. capture
g. casualties
c. targets
h. own worst enemy
d. marching orders
i. set our sights on
e. keep your head down
j. battle
1.I think the boss is in a bad mood. J u s t get on with your work and
2. We have
a 10% increase in turnover this year.
3. Promotions and Marketing are having their usual
Finance Director over next year's advertising budget.
with the
4. If you park in the Manager's space, you'll soon get your
!
5. Luke was late again this morning. He's brilliant at his job, but if he's not careful,
he'll get the sack. He's his
6. If you don't set
, you never know if you haven't achieved them!
7. Exporting to some countries can be a
- corrupt customs officials,
endless paperwork and red tape, and slow communications.
8. Because we had to lay off 500 people, we've
in the press.
9. We need a more aggressive marketing policy if we want to
a
bigger share of the market. Look at Nike. They're everywhere!
10. Small businesses are always the first
in a recession.
4: Revision
Fill in the missing verbs to complete these idioms:
1
ground
2
targets
3
market share
4
your sights on
5
up without a fight
6
your market position
7
a lot of flak
8
forces with
Do you know someone who is his/her own worst enemy?
15
1: Literal meanings
We use the verb see in English to mean with our eyes, but also to mean
understand. We say Seeing is believing and I see what you mean. Complete the
following definitions with these words:
view
hindsight
mud
wide
blinkers
short-sighted
eye-opener
sight
1. If your eyes are very open they are
open.
2. Something which is very surprising is often called an
3
is when you understand something in the past because of new
things you have learned.
4. To make horses go in a straight line without looking to either side, they are fitted
with
so that they can only see straight ahead.
5. Very wet earth is called
6
people cannot see things which are far away.
7. If something disappears along a road, eventually you lose
of it.
8. You usually get a good
of the surrounding countryside from the
top of a hill.
2: See the point
Use the following words to complete the sentences below:
a. see past the end of his nose
b. made myself perfectly clear
c. opened your eyes
d. saw through
e. through my eyes
f. saw reason
g. eyes wide open
h. see the point
1. Why do you want me to complain? I can't
2. I thought I'd
, but I still ended up with the
mushroom pizza when I ordered the ham and mushroom!
3. Try to see the situation
I simply can't afford
to spend £1,000 on a holiday.
4. Jane and Fred are both in their forties so they're going into marriage with their
5. It took a long time to persuade Pete, but he finally
6. My boss is really selfish and small-minded. He can't
7. Look, you need to change your job. They're paying you peanuts! They make you
work all hours. It's time you
and looked for
something better.
8. I knew all Justin's stories were exaggerated. I
him
the first time I met him.
16
3: A real eye-opener
Match the two parts of the dialogues below:
1. Why doesn't Steve ever listen to other people's point of view?
2. Did you see the way Simon spoke to his wife?
3. Not you again! What do YOU want?
4. We should never have bought this car. It's been nothing but trouble.
5. Oh, so you didn't know that Jill got the job because her dad knows the Director.
6. These instructions are incomprehensible.
a. > Yes. It was a real eye-opener, wasn't it? I never knew he could get so angry!
b. > It's easy to say that with hindsight.
c. > Because he's blinkered, that's why.
d. > Ah! Now I get the picture.
e. > Let me have a look. Yes, I see what you mean.
f. > I want to clear up the misunderstanding we had earlier.
Note: Another way of saying with hindsight is in retrospect.
4: As clear as mud
Put the words in italics in the correct order:
1. I can never understand his explanations, can you?
> No. They're
(as mud as clear)
2. So I think we should keep the women-only policy.
> Isn't that a
(view short-sighted very)
3. There are so many possibilities. We could also develop a new —
> Stop. Slow down. Don't
(lose of sight)
4. Don't worry. It's not really a problem.
> Well, it is
(my from view point of)
5. Management are giving the smokers their own room.
> At last. They've
(the seen light)
6. What exactly does he want us to do?
> I don't know. Ask him again
(It's very not clear)
7. So you add these figures to those and that's how you get this total.
> Ah, now
(what I mean you see)
?
our aims.
Have you ever gone into something with your eyes wide open, but regretted it
with hindsight?
17
1: Literal meanings
Many of the words we normally use to talk about going places are used to talk
about life - as a journey. Complete the following sentences with these words:
short-cut
take off
rails
dead-end
crossroads
tunnel
ruts
track
footsteps
steam
1. At Heathrow planes
and land every minute.
2. Do you think there will ever be a
between southern Spain and
North Africa?
3. The road up to her house has no surface and in the middle of winter it gets
full of
4. It's really difficult finding the way to her house. She lives in the country, five
miles from the nearest town, down a lane off the main road, and then up a little
past an old ruined church.
5. When you get to the
, take the road to the left, heading for Oxford.
6. Before the days of diesel and electric trains, there was only
7. A train came off the
just outside York station and 3 people were
killed.
8. Sh! Listen! Can't you hear the sound of
outside?
9. The police caught the 15-year-old boy who stole my car when he drove up a
street which turned out to be a
10. When we were small, we used to take a
over the fields to school,
but now they've built a housing estate on the farm.
2: In a rut
Use the following expressions to complete the sentences below:
a. in a rut
e. light at the end of the tunnel
b. coming or going
f. go our separate ways
c. short-cut to success
g. on the road to recovery
d. side-tracked
h. taken off
1. I've been doing the same job for 15 years. I think I'm
I need a change.
2. I've got so much work on my desk. I'm really confused. I don't know whether
I'm
3. It's been a very difficult year, but I'm happy to say there now seems to be
some
4. Our partnership didn't last. In the end we agreed to
5. Hard work, long hours, and lots of worry. When you are trying to build up a
business, I'm afraid there's no
6. I'm feeling much better now thanks. I'm well
7. Sorry it took so long. I got
8. She's getting frustrated. Her career hasn't really
yet.
18
3: No turning back
Use the following words to complete the sentences below:
a. at a crossroads
e. a dead-end job
b. right off the rails
f. going nowhere fast
c. no turning back
g. running out of steam
d. follow in his father's footsteps
h. arrived
1. Once you've made your decision, you realise there's
,
don't you?
2. I can't make up my mind. It's either stay where I am or apply for a job abroad.
I seem to be
in my present job.
3. His father's a doctor and it's obvious Harry's going to
4. I'm doing my best, but everything I do seems to involve ringing someone who's
either on holiday this week or out of the office. I feel as if I'm
5. Bill's wife died last year. I'm afraid he just hasn't come to terms with it yet. And
now he's started drinking. I'm afraid he's just gone
6. There's no prospect of promotion. I'm in
7. Now he's been given a company car, he thinks he's really
!
8. I just don't have the enthusiasm I used to have. I'm
4: Going nowhere fast
Using idioms from this unit, complete
the following dialogues. A key word is
given for each.
1. How are you getting on with your assignment?
> Terrible. I'm
2. What's Mark going to do after his college course?
> No doubt
3. It's a huge decision, you know.
> I know. And
4. Are you and Delia still together?
> No. We've
5. How's your dad?
> Much better
6. I'm sorry to hear Katy's still in hospital.
> Yes. It's been a long time, but there's
7. The full course takes 5 years, I'm afraid.
> Oh, I realise that. I know there's
8. Are you making much progress?
> Yes, we're getting there slowly, but we're
9. So, you're now European Sales Manager - and not yet 30!
> Yes, I suppose my career really has
10. You look a bit harassed. Is everything all right?
> To tell you the truth, I don't know whether
(nowhere)
(footsteps)
(turning)
(separate)
(recovery)
(tunnel)
(cut)
(steam)
(off)
(going)
Are you in a rut? If so, are you going to do anything about it?
19
- Xem thêm -