Unit 1
Stick your neck out
To take a risk to help or support someone
Give it a whirl
To try something for the first time
Be swamped
be overwhelmed by too much work
read smn's mind
know what somebody is thinking
catch someone red-handed
to discover someone while they are doing something bad or illegal:
give or take
approximately
On a roll
To be doing very well repeatedly or successfully
a drop in the ocean
a very small amount compared to the amount needed: My letter of protest was just a drop in the ocean.
bear something in mind
to remember a piece of information when you are making a decision or thinking about a matter
be up to no good
to be behaving in a dishonest or bad way:
He certainly looked as if he was up to no good.
fight tooth and nail for
To fight very fiercely, using every effort
Take the plunge
Make a big or risky decision
slippery slope
a bad situation or habit that, after it has started, is likely to get very much worse:
Allowing an employee to take one long lunch break is a slippery slope to them skipping work altogether
cross someone's mind
think of, remember:
It never once crossed my mind that she might be unhappy.
get off lightly
when your punishment is less than you deserve
A safe pair of hands
Someone you can rely on in a difficult situation
On a whim
Without any real plan or reason
be bogged down
to become so involved in something that you cannot do anything else:
Try not to get too bogged down in details.
mind of its own
when something acts independently in a way you don’t want it to:
Look at the state of my hair! I swear it has a mind of its own.
give someone the benefit of the doubt
I didn't know whether his story was true or not, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
get the hang of something
get the hang of it "I've never used this program before." "Don't worry - you'll soon get the hang of it."
boot someone out (of something)
to force someone to leave a job or not allow them to continue with an activity:
She was booted out of her highly paid job.
an uphill struggle
when making progress is very difficult
hark back
to remember or to cause someone to remember something from the past:
The director’s latest film harks back to the era of silent movies
Big-Brother-ish
referring to authorities that use surveillance and censorship to control people
The neighbors installed cameras covering my entire backyard; it's getting quite Big Brother-ish