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II. What do we call...
1. an irritating person who knows everything? 4. the one who gets the best marks?
2. the person who is the teacher's favourite? 5. a person who is very lazy?
3. someone who thinks they are the best and says so?
III. You can also learn idioms by associating them with a key word or words. Here is a work-fork based on to have + head. Use the expressions to finish the sentences below.
| to have | 
| one's head screwed on [be sensible] a head for heights [not suffer from vertigo] a head like a sieve [bad memory] a good head for figures [be good at maths] one's head in the clouds [unaware of reality] |
1. I'd better write it in my notebook. I have …………………………….....
2. Ask Martha to check those sums. She has …………………………………...
3. Don't ask me to go up that tower. I'm afraid I don't ……………………………….....
4. She's very sensible and knows what she's doing. She …………………………………...
5. He's quite out of touch with reality. He really ……………………………………...
IV. Which idioms do you think these drawings represent?
1 2 3
V. Try guessing from the context what the underlined idioms mean.
1. Don't get angry with him. His heart's in the right place.
2. Joe's a bit of a square peg in a round hole here. I think he should get a job which suits his character better.
3. A: Hey! I'm talking to you! B: Sorry, I was miles away.
Idioms describing people II
Animal names
These idioms are based on compound nouns related to animals.
| A person who ... | is... |
| is a dark horse | someone who is clever or skilful in a way that no one knew or expected |
| is a lone wolf | someone who does not mix socially with other people |
| is a cold fish | someone who is not very friendly and does not show their feelings |
| is/acts as a guinea pig/gını pıg/ | someone who acts as a subject in an experiment or trial of something |
| is a party animal | someone who loves parties and socialising |
| would love to be a fly on the wall | someone who would love to be present to see an important private or secret event |
Note also:
There was a fly-on-the-wall documentary on TV last night about hospital waiting-rooms. [programme filmed in a real-life situation, sometimes with hidden cameras]
People's characters and their actions
John's bark is worse than his bite. [he may seem fierce/tough, but he is not really]
You don't need to be afraid of him. He wouldn't hurt a fly. [is totally harmless and would never hurt anyone]
Larry's really got the travel bug ever since he won that holiday in the Caribbean. [a strong desire to travel (bug here means virus; the original meaning of bug is a small insect)]
She's working very hard for her exams. She's really got/taken the bit between her teeth. [has started to work/act in a very determined way (a bit is a piece of metal put between a horse's teeth to control it)]
They've given me free rein to do what I like in this new job. [complete freedom (reins are what you hold in your hands to control a horse when riding)]
Tim: How did you know I was getting married?
Linda: A little bird told me. [said when someone has told you a secret, but you do not want to say who]
As soon as the meeting was over, we all made a beeline for the food. We were so hungry! [went quickly and directly to]
I always have butterflies in my stomach just before an exam. [feel very nervous]
I made a real pig of myself last night, so I'm not going to eat any lunch today. [ate too much]
I have so much work to do these days. I'm just chasing my tail trying to catch up. [doing a lot, but it is all pointless / without effect]
Exercises
Date: 2016-03-03; view: 2385