useful idioms in listening 4

flyingty

above all - most importantly
account for - explain
as a matter of fact - in fact ,to speak the truth
as a rule - generally ;normally
about to - be ready to;be on the point of doing something
an old hand - be an experienced persom
any day now -soon
approach sb -talk to sb
be fed up with - be out of patience with
be on one’s own - live independently

be on the safe side - take no chances
be out of something - have no longer in supply
be tired of - be bored with ,frustrated with
be up to ones’ears - be extremely busy
be up to someone -be a person’s responsibility
be out for -trying to get
be out of the question - be unacceptable ,impossible
bite off more than one can chew - take on more than one can handle
break down - cease to function
break the ice - begin to be friendly wuth people one doesn’t know

break the news - inform or give bad news
brush up on - imporve noe’s knowledge of something through study
bump into - meet unexpectedly
by and large - in general
by heart - by memory
by all means - absolutely ,definitely
by no means - in no way
call off -cancel
cheer up - be happy
come down with - become sick with

come into -receive,especially after another’s death
come up with - think of
count on - depend upon
count out - eliminate
die down - become quiet ,become less
do without - manage without something
drop by - visit informally; pay a short visit
every other - alternate
fall behind - lag; fail to accomplish something on time
fall through - fail to happen or be completed

far cry form - completely different from;a long way
feel like - have a desire or wish for
feel up to - feel well enough to or be capabele of
few and far between - not happening often; rate
figure out - determine; reason out by thinking
fill in for -take another’s place
fill sb.in - tell what sb. should know
fish out of water - out of one’s element or natural environment
flying colors -success,victory
for good - permanently; forever

for the time being - for now; temporarily
get away with - escape without punishment
get rid of - give something away; sell, destroy, or throw away something
get the ball rolling - start something; make a beginning
get the hang of - understand; learn
give a hand - help
go without saying - understood; clear without needing to be stated
go off -begin to ring
hang on - keep hold of; persevere;keep doing something
hard to come by - difficult to obtain

have a heart - have kind feelings; be understanding
have a hunch - have an idea based on feelings rather than reason
hold off - delay;postpone
hop to it - get started on something quickly
hit it off - get along well with someone
ill at ease - uncomfortable
in hot water - in trouble
in the air -uncertain
in the dark - keep someone without knowdge; information from somenoe
in the lone run - looking toward the future; eventually

ins and outs - all the details; the various parts and difficulties to be seen
iron out - remove the difficulties or find an answer for
jump to conclusions - arrive too quickly at a decision or opinion
keep an eye on - watch closely
keep one’sfingers crossed - wish that nothing goes wrong
keep on one’s toes - be ready for action; prepared
knock oneself out - make a great effort
learn the ropes - learn the rules and routines of a place or activity
little by little -gradually
make ends meet - to get just enough money for noe’s needs

make out - manage;get along
mean to - intentional; on purpose
might as well - to have no strong reson not to
next to nothing - almost nothing; very inexpensive
not to mention - in addition
off balance - unaware; off guard
on the go - working or doing something all the time
on pins and needles - nervous; anxious; full of anticipation
on purpose - deliberately; intentionally
on the blink - not working properly;broken

on the right track - thinking or doing something correctly
on the tip of noe’s tongue - to be about to remember somthing
once in a blue moon - rarely; almost never
out of it - not involved in
pick up the tab - pay the bill or the cost of something
piece of cake - easy
play by ear - act spontaneously; without planning
pill it off - accomplish
pull one’s leg - make fun of somenoe in a playgul way; make somenoe believe something that is not ture
quite a few - many

raise the roof -angry
right away - immediately
run for office - compete for an elected position
save one’s breath - to keep silent because talking would not achieve anyting
say that again - a saying that means; I agree completely
stone’s throw - short distance
search me - an answer that means; I don’t know
serves one right - is deserving of
sleep on it - think about something for a while
straighten up - clean up; make tidy

take a break - rest for a while; stop one’s work or activity
think nothing of it - that’s all right
throw cold water on - discourage; lessen enthusiasm for
to say the least - at the lowest estimate
touch on - mention a subject briefly
under the water - not feeling well
wait around - waiting in vain
wait on - attend as a servant;serve
well worth the trouble - it deseres the inconvenience or trouble
whole new ballgame - an entirely different situation

with flying colors - succeed very well
without a hitch - without difficulty or delay