B Idioms 2/2

There are many things going on behind the scenes that we don’t know of.

Harry was lucky not to get injured in the accident he caused when he fell asleep behind the wheel.

The results of the last exam were below average. I don’t know what happened.

Our profits last year were unfortunately below the mark.

I have been bending over backwards all week to make sure that the clients are happy. I did everything they wanted and they still aren’t satisfied with our service.

I handed my application in too late, but the company agreed to bend the rules and accept it.

This is really beside the point. I won’t discuss it any further.

It all sounds amazing, best of all we are going to visit the castle.

It’s getting better and better, I have nothing to complain about.

Let’s hope I’ll have better luck next time. I don’t want to go through all that again.

It’s better than ever this time and it’s all thanks to Kate’s help.

His guilt was established straight away. It’s beyond doubt that he’s the one to blame.

Big deal! I would have done much better than he.

Harry is a big fish in the world of financial management. There aren’t many others who are more influential.

“Birds of a feather flock together”, as the popular saying goes.

I was just about to criticise my manager when she turned up in my office. Thank god I bit my tongue in time and didn’t say anything!

I didn’t have all the materials so had to use bits and pieces to work it out.

We are all trying to realise that this type of music is a blind alley and we won’t get any further with it.

I can’t believe Anne is blindly obeying her boyfriend at all times! She does whatever he tells her and never questions it!

I went to the cinema yesterday but didn’t really enjoy the film, mainly because the guy who was sitting in front of me was totally blocking my view.

I decided to be a blood donor. I had to have a blood test to determine what blood type I was. It turns out that I am type A.

I got absolutely soaked and was blue with cold.

She always dedicates herself body and soul to whatever she does.

It all boils down to the fact that he doesn’t want to do what he was asked for.

The last lecture I went to wasn’t particularly interesting. In fact I was bored to death and left before it was finished.

You should have been more careful and now you just botched the job.

Bottoms up! It’s been a good year and we should celebrate it!

Mary told me she would keep what I told her to herself, but she broke the promise! She is such a gossip, now everyone knows my secret!

I think Sam broke a record of not doing anything! How can you be that lazy?

I want to break free from your lies.

I was washing the dishes yesterday and dropped my mum’s favourite plate. It broke into pieces and she is now really upset.

I am breaking my back, trying to do it all on time.

I don’t really want to break his heart.

I am trying to break the habit and quit smoking, but it’s not easy.

No one wanted to tell Luke he was to lose his job. In the end, I had to break the news to him.

She brings bad luck to you.

The team’s victory in the finals has brought credit to the school.

We just introduced a new ad campaign and it’s bringing great results. We are selling more copies of the magazine than ever before.

Our boss brings a lot of pressure when he talks about sales results and nothing else.

Sally brought shame on me when she got really drunk at Peter’s party. No one else knew her, so she didn’t really make a good first impression.

I am about to change jobs, but I want to bring all of my current projects I am currently responsible for to an end.

Don’t even bring up the subject. I don’t want to talk about it, yet.

Their grandmother brought up my children as I was working at two different companies.

Kate is a real bundle of nerves. She gets stressed at even the most trivial of things.

Sam is now asleep after burning the midnight oil and trying to finish his essay.

It was a really scary sight when the car burst into flames.

I was managing myself really well all through the wedding, but I finally burst into tears. I couldn’t help myself, I was really moved.

I couldn’t stop myself. I burst out laughing in the middle of the meeting.

I couldn’t have done it in time but for you.

We are going on Holiday to Spain this year. I wanted to go to Norway. Peter said no, but that’s another story.

I would like to go to Italy. Then again, I have already been there and there are so many other places to see.

I really did not know the answer to question 5, but by process of elimination I chose answer A.

By a strange twist of fate, I met Sarah in the middle of London.

I am Polish by birth, but I grew up in England.

I met Sam totally by chance yesterday. We originally planned to meet next week.

We decided, by common consent, that we were going to sell grandma’s house.

I am a teacher by day and a DJ by night.

By default, we only used headed paper.

He always gets what he wants, by fair means or foul. I’m scarred to think of what he could potentially resort to.

The squatters refused to leave the building and had to be removed by force.

We had to learn about 200 words by heart to pass our first English test.

There was a parking space shortage and I got mine by lot.

This is a one-year course taught by means of seminars and field trips.

I am really sorry, I called you totally by mistake. I meant to call Mike.

Smoking is addictive by nature. The majority of people who start just can’t help but to get addicted sooner or later.

Paris by night looks totally different than during the day.

This is by no means out of the ordinary! In fact, it’s quite typical for the Spanish to have a siesta after lunch.

You have been our student for over a year. You should have learned by now that we do not accept lateness.

I am a teacher by profession but I currently work as a journalist.

His father works there so he got in by the back door.

Can you go to the shop and buy some sugar? By the way, do you know that Sam works there?

A large number of scientific discoveries have been found by trial and error.

His tone was by turns angry and aggravated.

“I get very worried about things like that”, she said by way of explanation.