A bag of bones – a very thin person/animal |
A blockhead – a stupid person |
A change of heart – change that turns you into a better person |
A good head on one’s shoulders – to be practical; sensible |
A skeleton in the cupboard – a domestic problem; a family secret which involves scandal |
A slip of the tongue – something said accidentally |
All thumbs – clumsy |
An old hand – a person with experience |
At arms’ length – to avoid being friendly with |
At hand – close by |
At wit’s end – to be puzzled |
Backbiting – saying bad things about a person behind his back |
Bad blood – angry or bitter feeling |
Behinds one’s back – unknown to the person involved |
Blood is thicker than water – family relationship are more important than relationship with other people |
Blue-blood – of noble descent or birth |
By word of mouth – orally |
Eagle-eyed – sharp-sighted |
Face value – the value of something as it appears at first |
From top to toe – from head to foot; completely |
Hair standing on end – to be terrified |
Hands off – do not touch |
Head over heels – completely |
In black and white – in written form |
In cold blood – in a cruel or deliberate way |
In one ear and out the other – something that has made no impression on someone |
In the dark – to be unaware of something |
My blood froze(ran cold)in my veins – a feeling of terror |
Nothing but skin and bone – without flesh on his/her bones; very thin |
Offhand – casual |
On the spur of the moment – without planning |
One foot in the grave – a short time to live |
One’s own flesh and blood – a relative |
Out of hand – cannot be controlled |
Out of the question – not possible or not allowed |
Rule of thumb – method based on practical sense and experience |
The ins and outs – the full details |
Thick-skinned – not easily hurt or embarrassed |
To back out – to try to get out of a difficult situation |
To be all ears – to listen eagerly |
To be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth – having money and social advantage from birth |
To break one’s heart – to cause emotional pain to another |
To bring a person to his knees – to force a person to submit |
To come to a head – to come to a critical moment |
To cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face – to damage one’s own interest because of anger |
To end in smoke – to have no result |
To escape by the skin of one’s teeth – a narrow escape |
To foot the bill – to pay for something |
To give a piece of one’s mind – to scold, nag or lecture |
To go back upon (from) one’s word – unable to keep a promise |
To have a bone to pick with – to have something to complain about |
To have a finger in the pie – to meddle in other people’s business |
To have lost one’s tongue – to be too shy to say something |
To have one’s tongue in one’s cheek – to say something that is not to be taken seriously |
To hold one’s tongue – to keep quiet about something |
To keep a straight face – to try and show no sign amusement |
To keep an eye on – to attend to; to watch carefully |
To keep one’s head – to be calm |
To keep one’s head above water – to avoid being in debt |
To lay (put)one’s finger on – to identify the cause of a problem |
To lead somebody by the nose – to have complete control over a person |
To leave no stone unturned – to do everything possible |
To lend a hand – to help; assist |
To lend an hand – to help; assist |
To live from hand to mouth – spending money as soon as it earned, thus saving nothing |
To look somebody in the face – to look at someone steadily |
To lose heart – feeling discouraged |
To lose one’s head – to lose control |
To make eyes – to look lovingly; to be flirtatious |
To make neither head nor tail of something – unable to understand |
To make no bones – to say or proclaim publicly without shame or doubt |
To one’s face – to say openly |
To pay through the nose – to pay too much |
To pick another’s brains – to get information from someone knowledgeable |
To poke one’s nose into – to interfere without reason |
To pull one’s leg – to play a joke on someone |
To put on a long face – to look sad |
To put one’s foot down – to refuse in a firm manner |
To put one’s foot into it = to say or do something wrong or unsuitable |
To put out heads together – to work together |
To put words into someone’s mouth – to tell someone what to say |
To save one’s skin – to escape safely |
To see eye to eye – to be in agreement |
To shake one’s head – to show disagreement or disapproval |
To show one’s face – to make an appearance |
To smack one’s lip – a way of showing satisfaction |
To split hairs – to argue about small matters |
To stand on one’s own legs(feet ) – to be independent |
To take heart – to have hope |
To take into account – to consider |
To take someone’s breath away – to surprise someone |
To take the words out of someone’s mouth – to say something which was about to be said |
To turn a deaf ear – to be unwilling to listen |
To turn one’s back upon someone – to avoid/to refuse help |
To twist somebody round one’s little finger – to have control over a person |
To wash one’s hands of – not wanting to be involved with the matter anymore |
To win hands down – an easy win |
Unable to make head or tail of something – being unable to understand something |
Unable to see the wood for the trees – unable to understand something because one is looking at the small details rather than the whole picture |
Up in arms – ready to argue or fight |
With open arms – in a very friendly way |
Within a stone’s throw of – very nearby |
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