1001 IDIOMS TO MASTER YOUR ENGLISH

A piece of cake ― Very easy to do E.g. After studying hard, the test was a piece of cake. The icing on the cake - The best part of something E.g. Christmas last year was wonderful, but the icing on the cake was my sister’s surprise visit. That takes the cake That’s the worst, that’s the limit, that’s too much E.g. Did you hear that James lost his wallet with $5000 in it? That takes the cake, doesn’t it? A slice of the cake –- a share of profits, benefits, etc.. E.g. The eldest brother expected the biggest slice of the cake when their parents died. Can’t have your cake and eat it too ― can’t have something after you have spent it. E.g. You want lose weight but you mustn’t eat so much bread. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too. Sell like hotcakes -Sell fast E.g. Danielle Steel’s new book is selling like hotcakes. A tough cookie - A stubborn, strong person E.g. Don’t get her upset. She is a tough cookie. A smart cookie ― Intelligent person E.g. My brother has always been a smart cookie. Get caught with your hand in the cookie jar - to be caught when doing sth that is dishonest or not legal E.g. Mike denied cheating in the test, but he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Life is just a bowl of cherries - Life is wonderful E.g. Ann always says: “Life is just a bowl of cherries.” The apple of one’s eye ― Someone’s favourite person E.g. Arba is the apple of my eye. A rotten apple ― Undesirable character E.g. Mike is the rotten apple in your group. In apple-pie-order ―Neat and orderly arranged E.g. When mother went home, she found everything in apple-pie-order. Her children had put all their toys away. Upset the apple cart ―Cause big problems E.g. Don’t tell dad I drove his car last night today. You’ll upset the apple cart. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree ―Kids are like their parents E.g. Toni is good at fixing things like his dad. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Big Apple – New York city E.g. They had a great vacation in the Big Apple. Pie in the sky – Unrealistic A pipe dream E.g. Going on vocation on the Moon for almost all of us is a pie in the sky. Your salad days ― Time when you were young and inexperienced E.g. when we get together with school friends, we talk about our salad days. Bring home the bacon ― Earn enough to support the family E.g. Amy is a single mom and she works long hours to bring home the bacon. Save your bacon ― Save you from risk E.g. My son’s quick idea to solve my problem saved my bacon.