Lumiere English Academy; A Basic Grammar - Lesson 17.3 Set Expressions Idioms R to Y

Lumiere English academy

A Basic Grammar

Lesson 17.3

Set Expressions Idioms R to Y

The best way to begin to understand the language is by
keeping up with its expression.

So memorise the list and make another 

one of your own as you come across

 further ones in your reading.

 Idioms R to Y

R
Raking someone over the coals	Scolding someone
The rat race	Bitterly competitive commercial world
Rats deserting a sinking ship	People leaving when others are in trouble
Reading the riot act	Speaking strongly to badly behaved persons
Riding the storm	Waiting until the trouble is over
Rome wasn't built in a day	Don't be in too much of a hurry
Rule the roost	To be bossy
Run down	In bad health or in poor condition
Running out of steam	Running out of energy
Run the gauntlet of	To be exposed to all the hazards of
S
Sailing near the wind	Getting too close to danger
Saving for a rainy day	Saving so there will be money when trouble strikes
Shadow of himself	Looks far less healthy than before
Shifting the goal posts	Changing your line of arguing
Show me your friends and I'll tell you who you are	People are judged by the company they keep
To sing for one's supper	To pay for a privilege
Sink below reproach	Disgrace oneself
Sitting pretty	Well off, prosperous
Speak of the devil and you'll tramp on his tail	Often when you speak of someone he'll come in
Spilling the beans	Exposing the secret
Situations of our own making	Our own fault
Standing up for oneself	Defending oneself
Striking a blow for	Fighting for
Subsequently	Afterwards
Suffering in silence	Uncomplainingly
T
A touch of the old complaint	A recurrence of a former illness
The weary grind	The tiring, wearying effect of life
They live like cats and dogs	They are forever fighting
Throwing out one's theories	Contradicting one's beliefs
Throwing out the baby with the bath water	Not only abolishing unimportant details but also the essence of the matter you wish to improve
Time and tide wait for no man	Don't expect the world to stand back for you
To take a drop too much	To over-indulge in alcohol
Truth is stranger than fiction	Real life has unexpected situations
They're two of a kind	They are like one another
The unkindest cut of all	The worst blow
V
Variety is the spice of life	It is good to ring the changes
W
Waste not, want not	If you don't waste you won't go hungry
Water under the bridge	It's over and done with
Weather permitting	If the weather is clement
What does that have to do with the price of eggs?	That is irrelevant
What you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabout	What you save on one item, you often lose on another
When God made time He made plenty of it	Don't be in too much of a hurry
When poverty knocks at the door, love flies out of the window	Lack of money leads to quarrels
When you put your hand to the plough, you don't look back	When you undertake to do something, you keep your word and carry on until the job is finished
Where there's a will, there's a way	If you want to, you can
Wild horses wouldn't keep me from	Nothing will prevent me from
Working by fits and starts	Working spasmodically
The writing's on the wall	The warning has been sounded
Y
You can bet your boots	You may be certain
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink	People cannot be forced to make use of their opportunities
You catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than with a barrelful of vinegar	You win friends by being kind
You could knock me down with a feather	You have surprised me
You may as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb	If you're going to be getting into trouble anyway, you may as well make the point of contention a larger one