2. Murphy’s Law: when anything can go wrong, it will 3. Place in the sun: a dominant or favourable position 4. Wooden spoon: a prize given to one who finishes last in a contest 5. Go bananas: go insane 6. Beard the lion in his den: to confront risk or danger head on 7. Groan inwardly: feel dismayed by something but remain silent 8. Chicken out: to cower; shy away 9. Itching palm: a desire for money; greed 10. The primrose path: easy life full of pleasure but bad for one 11. Break one’s fall: to cushion a fall; to lessen the impact 12. Wash one’s hands of: to end one’s association of someone or something 13. To become reconcile to: to forgive, accept, or make peace with someone or a situation 14. To militate against: to work against something or someone 15. To be cognizant of: have information about something 16. Wages of sin: results or consequences of evildoing 17. To bring grist to the mill: to be a source of profit; to bring profit 18. With one’s tongue in one’s cheek: in a way that is not serious, although it appears to be 19. To keep one’s fingers crossed: to hope for a good outcome for someone or something 20. A storm in the teacup: disproportionate reaction of anger over a trivial matter 21. To talk through one’s hat: to brag or exaggerate; to talk nonsense 22. Hum and haw: to avoid giving an answer by speaking unclearly 23. To let the grass grow under one’s feet: waste time by delaying doing something 24. Penny wise and pound foolish: unwise because doing sth small now would prevent much trouble later 25. The milk of human kindness: natural kindness and sympathy shown to others 26. A rule of thumb: a suggested method or guideline 27. Out and out: overall dimension 28. To wash one’s dirty linen in public: expose private matters to public view 29. To pay through the nose: to pay too much for something 30. To lose face: to lose status; to become less respected 31. Wool gathering: indulging in wandering fancies and purposeless thinking 32. Under the harrow: under distress, affliction or oppression 33. Cold comfort: slight or no consolation 34. A gold digger: a person who cultivates personal relationship in order to attain wealth 35. Walk with God: to live according to the doctrine of faith; in obedience to faith 36. On the thin ice: in a risky or uncertain situation 37. A queer fish: strange personality 38. Unearthly hour: unreasonably early or late; at an inappropriate time 39. To eat one’s words: to admit that something you said before was wrong 40. Dog in the manger: someone who keeps something that he doesn’t want just in order to avoid someone else using or enjoying it 41. A close shave: a narrow escape 42. A Freudian slip: an error in speech that reveals repressed thoughts or feelings 43. A Gordian knot: a complicated problem that can only be solved with creative thinking 44. A cog in the machine: sth functionally necessary but small within a large organization 45. A sugar daddy: wealthy, older man who gives expensive gifts to younger people in return for sexual favours or companionship 46. A wet blanket: someone who ruins other people’s fun 47. Make for: to result in; to cause something 48. Yeoman’s service: service that is good enough, but in no way extravagant 49. Discretion is the better part of valour: it is good to be brave, but better to be careful 50. A casting vote: the decisive vote casted after a tie in the results of some poll 51. Look down upon: consider someone or sth inferior than one 52. Iconoclast: someone strongly opposing generally accepted beliefs 53. Out of the wood: out of difficulties, danger or trouble 54. A swan song: a final accomplishment or performance; one’s last work 55. Leave in the lurch: to leave someone waiting for or anticipating your actions 56. Hard and fast: strictly adhered to; strong, binding or clearly defined 57. Weather the storm: to experience something and survive it 58. Bear the brunt: to withstand the worst part of something, such as an attack 59. Meet halfway: to compromise with someone 60. Turncoat: one who traitorously switches allegiance 61. Where the shoe pinches: where trouble or stress originates 62. Blow one’s tops: to lose one’s temper; to get made quickly 63. A cock and bull story: an unbelievable tale that is intended to deceive; a tell tale 64. Find one’s feet: become aware of what one wishes for and can do best in life 65. Call it a night: to stop working for the rest of the night 66. The tip of the iceberg: only a little visible part of something much bigger that is hidden 67. Below par: not as good as desired; below average 68. From pillar to post: from one place to another; from one person to another (gossip) 69. Hang up: to cut a call; an impediment of some kind, emotional or psychological 70. Turn someone in: to take or report someone to the police or authority 71. By and by: at some time in the future 72. Twiddle with: to play with something using one’s fingers 73. Vamp up: to refurbish, improve or embellish something 74. Whittle away: to cut or carve something away 75. Winkle out: remove or displace from a position 76. Give someone the bum’s rush: to hastily and forcefully remove someone from a place 77. Loom large: to be of great importance, esp. in the face of an upcoming danger 78. Besetting sin: a fault to which a person or an institution is especially prone 79. To hang fire: delay or be delayed in taking action or progressing 80. Keep one’s nose to the grindstone: work hard and continuously 81. Throw someone for a loop: surprise or astonish someone; catch someone off guard 82. Letter perfect: accurate to the smallest verbal detail 83. Off the wall: eccentric or unconventional; angry; without basis or foundation 84. Out to lunch: unaware of or inattentive to present conditions 85. Salt something away: secretly store something, esp. money 86. Take someone to the cleaners: inflict a crushing defeat on someone 87. Wear the pants in the family: be the dominant one in the family 88. Set one’s cap at: to choose something as a goal 89. To draw the long bow: to exaggerate in telling stories 90. To send a person to Coventry: to exclude someone from a group (of friends) 91. Beer and skittles: enjoyment or pleasure 92. The acid test: a conclusive test 93. A skeleton in the cupboard: an embarrassing or shameful secret 94. To discover a mare’s nest: a very confused situation 95. Kick the bucket: to die 96. Bolt from the blue: a sudden surprise 97. Put your foot down: to assert something strongly 98. Worth your salt: worth what it costs to keep one 99. Down the drain: wasted or lost 100. All ears: ready and eager to hear what one has to say 101. Cheek by jowl: positioned very close together 102. In a nutshell: in summary; precisely 103. Give me five: high five; greeting with a slap on hand 104. Take aback: surprise; shock 105. Take after: to resemble a close, older relative 106. Take to task: to scold or reprimand someone 107. Take to one’s heels: to begin to run away 108. Take with a grain/pinch of salt: to consider something to be not completely true 109. The teeming meanings: 110. To push to the walls: to put someone in a defensive position 111. To read between the lines: to try to understand what is meant by something that is not written explicitly or openly 112. To be at daggers drawn: angry or ready to fight or argue with each other 113. To throw down the gauntlet: declare or issue a challenge 114. To be a Greek: incomprehensible; not understandable 115. To stand on a ceremony: to hold rigidly to protocol or formal manners 116. From the horse’s mouth: from an authoritative or dependable source 117. To carry the cross: to take heavy burden of sorrow