Idiomatic English verses - a - Christina Cherry

Here you will find words and phrases that are commonly used in English colloquial language. They are also called idiomatic expressions.

Idiom	set example	German translation
A
about to	Peggy is about to leave.	to be there
in advance	We booked the tickets in advance.	in advance
alive and kicking	I love Berlin. It’s alive and kicking.	alive
all of a sudden	I went out in the sun. then, all of a sudden, it starts to rain.	suddenly
all over the place	There are environmental problems all over the place.	all around the world)
B
to go from bad to worse	My marks went from bad to worse last term.	getting worse
to bag sth.	Tom bagged this special offer at online shop.	to capture something
beat-up	Mark is too beat-up to play tennis this evening.	exhausted
to do the best	He always does his best.	give the best
blabber	Do not listen to him, he’s a blabber.	chatterbox
to blag sth.	Once in a while young Tim blags his father‘s cigarettes.	to scrounge something
bloody	What a bloody day!	crappy
to be blue	She’s been feeling blue all day.	Sad
a closed book	A book with seven seals
bouncer	A bouncer’s task is to keep out those who might cause trouble.	bouncer
bowl of cherries	Marriage it’s not always bowls of cherries.	Marriage is not always picnic.
be broke	I can not go to the cinema with you, I’m broke.	to be broke
to brush up on sth.	I have to brush up on my Spanish.	refresh something
buck	You can buy a DVD player for less than 100 bucks.	dollar
butt	You’re a pain in the butt.	You are annoying. You are a nuisance.
buzz	Parachuting gives me a real buzz.	kick
Buzz off!	Buzz off! I have not come to my place anymore.	get lost!
C
a close call	I had a close call. A stone almost hit me!	That was close.
like cat and dog	like dog and cat
to catch sth.	Sorry, I did not quite catch your telephone number.	noticed something
to catch (a) cold	I walked out in the rain, so I caught (a) cold.	catch a cold
not to have a clue	I do not have a clue about repairing the faucet.	I do not know
Come off it!	Come off it! This is not the truth.	Do not talk nonsense!
as far as I’m concerned	As far as I’m concerned, I’d like to watch the movie.	as for me
cop	A big crowd of cops gathered in front of the Bank of England.	Policewoman)
corner shop	Mother really liked corner shosp when she was a child.	Aunt-Emma shop
cram school	Many pupils have to go to a cram school in the afternoon.	Nachhilfeinstitut
on credit	I’d not buy the new TV on credit.	buy something on credit
cut	Mr Brown made big cuts of $ 500 million.	proportion of
D
damned	I hate going through that damned rush hour.	damned
to drive like the devil	how the hell drive
to dig in one’s heels	If you take or express an opinion and refuse to change it, you dig in your heels.	to insist on his point of view
dirt cheap	dirt cheap
to disrespect sb.	Poor people should not be disrespected.	look down on something
to do one’s best	He does his best to fix the car.	to do his best
to do someone good	Let’s go on a holiday. The sun wants do us good.	do well
to do without	If there’s no milk for the tea, it’ll do without.	it works without it
down under	Down under want to be my next destination.	Australia
e
to be up to one’s ears	Sorry, I can not go out with you. In the up to my ears in work.	up to your ears
to eat like a horse	to have a bear hunger
to eat like a pig	eat like a pig
every now and then	Every now and then I play the piano.	from time to time
every other	He comes to me every other week.	every second
to see eye to eye	World Bank and IMF see eye to eye on Asia	to agree
F
fair enough	Fair enough! Let’s go out for dinner tonight.	good
fiddle	Especially fiddles are necessary to play folk music.	violin
to keep the fingers crossed	I have to see the doctor for a checkup. – I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.	keep your fingers crossed
flutter	The old lady loves a flutter on the slot machine.	small games of chance
folk	We are all fond of the Irish folk.	People
for free	I was lucky. I got this CD for free.	free
freak out	Ron freaked out When he heard that Peter had broken his car.	freak out
fridge	Butter must be kept in the fridge.	fridge
G
to get a lot of stick	In his new job Jack gets a lot of stick.	have to take a lot of criticism
to get cold feet	He wanted to speak to the boss, but he did not. He got cold feet.	get cold feet
to get fed up with sth.	They get fed up with their neighbors parties.	are fed up with something
to get rid of sth.	We have to get rid of that old car.	getting rid of
to get sth.	Jason, did you finally get your exercise?	to get something
to take sth	I took it for granted the meeting was on Tuesday.	to suppose something
greasy spoon	I’d rather starve instead of eating at a greasy spoon.	cheap fast food restaurant
groovy	This cocktail tastes greasy spoon.	class
guy	Jennifer fell in love with the guy from the supermarket.	Type
H
had better	You‘d better go now.	You’re better now.
on the other hand	Sue likes pop music, on the other hand she does not like discos.	on the other hand
to give a hand	Can you give me a hand with the cupboard?	to help out
hard graft	Building our house has been a hard graft.	hard work
by heart	My brother has to learn the poem by heart.	by heart
hip	Molly always knows what’s hip.	>in< (his)
to hold s.o.’s horses	> Hold your horses <, I said when John started to leave the room.	>Take it easy<, I said as John went to leave the room.
to be hooked on sth.	Bill is hooked on car racing.	be addicted to something
J
to jump down sb.’s throat	The boss jumped down my throat because I was late for work.	to sniff someone
K
knackered	What has happened? You look like that knackered.	Done
to keep an eye on sth./sb.	Will you keep on eye on my baby?	take care of someone
L
little by little	Andrew had an accident while playing ice-hockey. Little by little he begins to walk.	bit by bit
to look forward to sb.	I look forward to my holidays in Rome.	look forward to something
M
to make ends meet	She’s been out of work for years. How can she make ends meet with four children?	get along with the existing money
to make friends easily	Chris makes friends easily.	easily make friends
to make oneself at home	Come in, please. Make youreself at home.	feel like home
to make the most	Let’s make the most of the last day of our holidays.	make the best out of something
to make one’s mind	Did you make up your mind to buy a new computer?	consider something
mash	I love Grandma’s homemade mash.	Mashed potatoes
What’s the matter?	You look sad. What’s the matter? with you?	What’s happening?
to be mean	Grandfather is mean with money.	being stingy
to meet sb. halfway	I do not like his ideas, but I can imagine that we should meet halfway.	hit halfway
to mess around	The clown messed around to make the children laugh.	fool around
to mess up	Sandy really has messed up this time.	to fail

Thanks to Arenas, Caloi, Josef, Randall and Ulrike.

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Idiomatic English verses – a

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