VOCABULARY - IDIOMS

Call a Spade a Spade

Meaning: To speak frankly and directly about a problem

Call It a Day

Meaning: Decide that one has worked enough on something for the day

Call It a Night

Meaning: End an evening’s activities and go home

Call the Shots

Meaning: Make the important decisions in an organization

Call the Tune

Meaning: Making important decisions and controlling a situation.

Can’t See the Forest for the Trees

Meaning: Is unable to maintain a wider perspective

Can’t Swing A Dead Cat In (Place)

Meaning: Without Hitting A (Thing) There are many examples of [thing] in this [place].

Carrot-and-Stick (Approach)

Meaning: A tactic in which rewards are offered, but there is also the threat of punishment

Carry a Torch (for)

Meaning: To continue to be in love with someone even after a relationship has ended

Carry Coals To Newcastle

Meaning: Supply something that is unneeded; engage in useless labor

Carry the Can

Meaning: To take the blame for something one did not do

Cash In One’s Chips

Meaning: A. To take advantage of a quick profit B. To die

Cash-Strapped

Meaning: In need of money

Cast the First Stone

Meaning: To be the first to criticize or attack someone

Castle in the Air

Meaning: An impractical plan

Cat Fight

Meaning: A fight between two women

Cat Got Your Tongue?

Meaning: Don’t you have anything to say?

Cat on a hot tin roof

Meaning: Be extremely nervous

Cat-and-Mouse (adj.)

Meaning: In a toying way; playful in an unpleasant way

Catch One’s Death of Cold

Meaning: To become very ill (with a cold/flu etc.)

Catch Some Rays

Meaning: To sit or lie outside in the sun

Catch Someone’s Eye

Meaning: Attract someone’s attention

Catch-22

Meaning: A difficult situation from which there is no escape because options for avoiding it involve contradictions

Cat’s Paw

Meaning: A person being used by someone else, a tool

Caught Red Handed

Meaning: Apprehended while committing a crime

Circle the Wagons

Meaning: To prepare as a group to defend against attack, adopt a defensive posture

Claim to Fame

Meaning: Unusual feature or offering

Clean Up Nicely

Meaning: describe someone who looks significantly better after putting effort into their appearance, typically for a special occasion or event

Clear the Air

Meaning: Defuse tension, be honest about conflict so as to reduce it

Clip Someone’s Wings

Meaning: To limit someone's power, freedom, or authority.

Close But No Cigar

Meaning: You are very close but not quite correct.

Cock and Bull Story

Meaning: A far-fetched story, probably untrue

Cock-A-Hoop

Meaning: Elated, excited

Cold Day in Hell

Meaning: A condition for something that would be extremely unlikely to occur

Come By Something Honestly

Meaning: Acquire something honestly, or inherit it

Come Clean

Meaning: To confess; to admit to wrongdoing

Come Hell or High Water

Meaning: No matter what happens

Come Out in the Wash

Meaning: To be resolved with no lasting negative effect

Come Out of the Closet

Meaning: Reveal a secret about oneself, usually that one is gay (homosexual)

Come Out Swinging

Meaning: Respond to something very aggressively

Come Rain and Shine

Meaning: Do regularly, whatever the circumstances

Come to Grips With

Meaning: To acknowledge a problem as a prelude to dealing with it

Come to Terms With (Something)

Meaning: Feel acceptance toward something bad that has happened

Coming Down the Pike

Meaning: Likely to occur in the near future

Cook Someone’s Goose

Meaning: To insure someone’s defeat, to frustrate someone’s plans

Cook Up a Storm

Meaning: Cook a great deal of food

Cooking Up a Storm

Meaning: Cooking a great deal of food

Cool as A Cucumber

Meaning: Calm and composed even in difficult or frustrating situations; self-possessed

Cool Cat

Meaning: Someone who has the respect of their peers in a young, casual way.

Cool Your Heels

Meaning: Wait

Couch Potato

Meaning: A lazy person who watches a great deal of television

Crash a Party

Meaning: To attend a party without being invited

Crickets

Meaning: Silence

Cross to Bear

Meaning: A problem one must deal with over a long time, a heavy burden

Crunch Time

Meaning: A period of high pressure when one has to work hard to finish something

Crunch the Numbers

Meaning: Do calculations before making a decision or prediction

Cry Over Spilt

Meaning: Milk To waste energy moaning about something that has already happened

Cry Wolf

Meaning: To issue a false alarm, to ask for help when none is needed

Cry Your Eyes Out

Meaning: Cry hard for a very long time

Curiosity Killed The Cat

Meaning: Stop asking questions, don’t be too curious

Cut (Someone) To the Quick

Meaning: To deeply hurt someone emotionally

Cut Corners

Meaning: Economize by reducing quality; take shortcuts

Cut It Fine

Meaning: To do something at the last moment

Cut Off Your Nose to Spite Your Face

Meaning: To act in a proud way that ultimately damages your own cause

Cut Someone Some Slack

Meaning: Avoid treating someone strictly or severely

Cut to the Chase

Meaning: Get to the point; explain the most important part of something quickly; skip the preliminaries

Cut the Gordian Knot

Meaning: To solve a complex problem in a simple way

Cut the Mustard

Meaning: Do something adequately

Cut Your Teeth on Something

Meaning: To learn basic skills in a field

Cutting-Edge

Meaning: Very novel, innovative

Champagne taste on a beer budget

Meaning: Expensive or extravagant tastes or preferences that are beyond one’s economic means.

Change Horses in Midstream

Meaning: Change plans or leaders in the middle of a process

Change of Heart

Meaning: A change in one’s opinion or outlook

Change One’s Tune

Meaning: To alter one’s opinion about something.

Changing of the Guard

Meaning: A change in leadership at an organization

Chase Rainbows

Meaning: To pursue unrealistic goals

Cheap Shot

Meaning: An unfair attack; a statement that unfairly attacks someone’s weakness

Cherry-Pick

Meaning: To present evidence selectively to one’s own advantage

Cherry Pick

Meaning: To select the best or most desirable

Chew the Fat

Meaning: Chat for a considerable length of time

Chickens Come Home To Roost

Meaning: The negative consequences of previous actions reveal themselves

Child’s Play

Meaning: A very easy task

Chill Out

Meaning: Do something that helps them to calm down and relax for a while.

Chin Music

Meaning: Meaningless talk

Chin Up/ Keep Your Chin Up

Meaning: Cheer up; try to be cheerful and strong

Chip off the Old Block

Meaning: Someone who resembles a direct ancestor, usually the father

Chomp (Champ) at the Bit

Meaning: Be eager to do something

Chomp at the Bit

Meaning: To be eager to do something

Chop Chop

Meaning: Quickly, without delay

Chop Shop

Meaning: A shop where stolen cars are disassembled for parts

Chuck a Wobbly

Meaning: To act in an emotional way