unit 10 vocabulary development

as deaf as a post

completely deaf

as blind as a bat

completely blind

as bald as a coot

totally bald

as mad as a hatter

completely crazy

as quiet as a mouse

very quiet

as large as life

used as a way of describing a person you see, and are surprised to see, in a particular place

as miserable as sin

very miserable

as warm as toast

comfortably or pleasantly warm

as white as a sheet

if someone is (as) white as a sheet, their face is very pale, usually because of illness, shock, or fear

as right as rain

to feel healthy or well again

as safe as houses

if you say that something or someone is as safe as houses, you mean that they are completely safe

as old as the hills

very old

as pleased as Punch

very pleased

as cool as a cucumber

very calm or very calmly, especially when this is surprising

as clean as a whistle

well-behaved and not involved in illegal or questionable activities

as different as chalk and cheese

different from each other

as fit as a fiddle

to be very healthy and strong

as fresh as a daisy

to be full of energy and enthusiasm

as clear as crystal

very clear; transparent / very clear, easy to understand

as neat as a new pin

tidy, clean, in good or neat order

to hurl

to throw something with a lot of force, usually in an angry or violent way

to bang one’s head against a brick wall

to do, say, or ask for something repeatedly but to be unable to change a situation

to have sth to hand

if you have something to hand or near to hand, you have it with you or near you, ready to use when needed

to be a pain in the neck

to be very annoying

to be short of sth

not having enough of sth

down-at-heel

wearing old clothes, or in a bad condition, because of not having much money

to have one’s back to the wall

to have very serious problems that limit the ways in which you can act

a bone of contention

something that two or more people argue about strongly over a long period of time

not turn a hair

to not show any emotion when you are told something bad or when something bad happens

to foot the bill

to pay for something, esp. something expensive

to lay a finger on someone

to touch someone as a threat

to be blue in the face

to be exhausted from anger, strain, or other great effort

to try one’s patience

to makes someone less patient

to cling to sth

to refuse to stop believing or hoping for something

to come to hand

to be available easily and immediately

to be foreign to sb

sth can be described as foreign to a particular person if they do not know about it or it is not within their experience

contempt

a strong feeling of disliking and having no respect for someone or something

sb’s frame/state of mind

the mood that you are in, which causes you to have a particular attitude to something

indifferent

not thinking about or interested in someone or something

beguiling

interesting or attractive, but perhaps not to be trusted

keenness

the quality of being eager or enthusiastic; eagerness

a venture

a new activity, usually in business, that involves risk or uncertainty

a wishful thinking

the imagining or discussion of a very unlikely future event or situation as if it were possible and might one day happen

a mixed blessing (for sb)

something that has advantages and disadvantages

a raw deal

bad or unfair treatment

second nature

If something is second nature to you, you are so familiar with it that you can do it easily without needing to think very much about it

to hold out an olive branch

to do or say something in order to show that you want to end a disagreement with someone

to be a far cry from sth

to be completely different from something

a sweeping statement

something that you say or write that is too general and that has not been carefully thought about

to look at sth through rose-coloured spectacles

to see only the pleasant things about a situation and not notice the things that are unpleasant

prudish

easily shocked by rude things, especially anything relating to sex

puritanical

believing or involving the belief that it is important to work hard and control yourself, and that pleasure is wrong or unnecessary

estrangement

the fact of no longer being on friendly terms or part of a social group

to look to sb for sth

to hope that someone will provide something for you

to look down on sb

to feel that someone is less important than you or does not deserve respect

to look over sth

to quickly examine something

to look in on sb

to visit someone or something for a short time

to look on

to watch something happen but not become involved in it

to look up to sb

to admire and respect someone

to look sb up and down

to look carefully at someone from their head to their feet as if you are trying to make a judgment about them

to look daggers at sb

to look very angrily at someone

to look down one's nose at sb

to regard with contempt

never look a gift horse in the mouth

said to advise someone not to refuse something good that is being offered

to look to one’s laurels

to make an extra effort to succeed because there is more competition

to look before you leap

to think of the consequences before you act

to look the worse for wear

to look tired or in poor condition because of a lot of work or use

to look on the bright side

to find good things in a bad situation

at a glance

immediately

give/have/take one/a glance at sth

to read something quickly and not very carefully

to trifle with sb

to treat someone or something carelessly or without respect

ludicrous

stupid or unreasonable and deserving to be laughed at

to be full of oneself

thinking that you are very important in a way that annoys other people

to act on sth

to do something because you have been advised or told to do it

To be subject to sth

If an action or event is subject to something, it needs something to happen before it can take place

to be endowed with sth

to have a particular quality or feature

to be on show

sth that is on show has been made available for the public to look at

at times

sometimes; on occasions

to flap

(of a bird’s wings) to wave up and down while flying, or (of objects that cannot fly) to move quickly from side to side or up and down

to cast a cloud over sth

to cause people to stop trusting something

to have your head in the clouds

to be thinking your own thoughts and not concentrating on what is happening around you

a rainy day

a time when money might unexpectedly be needed

a storm in a teacup

a lot of unnecessary anger and worry about a matter that is not important

to take sth by storm

to be suddenly extremely successful in a place or popular with someone

way/direction the wind blows

if a person tries to discover which way the wind blows/is blowing, they try to discover information about a situation, especially other people's opinions, before they take action

to make heavy weather of sth

to find something hard to do and spend a lot of time on it, although it is not difficult

to feel under the weather

If someone is or feels under the weather, they feel ill

to take the wind out of one’s sails

to make someone feel less confident or less determined to do something, usually by saying or doing something that they are not expecting

to weather the storm

if someone or something weathers the storm, they successfully deal with a very difficult problem

recession

a period when the economy of a country is not successful and conditions for business are bad