IDIOMS AND

PHRASES
IDIOM- DAY 1

• It cost me an arm and a leg to take my trip to Australia.

MEANING

• VERY EXPENSIVE
IDIOM- DAY 1

• I was over the moon when he asked me to marry him.

MEANING

• Extremely pleased or happy

VOCABULARY- DAY 1

• Perspicacious- ADJECTIVE
• “It offers quite a few facts to the perspicacious
reporter"
MEANING

• having a ready insight into and understanding of things/ SHREWD

VOCABULARY- DAY 1

• PERPETUAL- ADJ
• "their perpetual money worries"
MEANING

• Never ending or changing/occurring repeatedly; so

frequent as to seem endless and uninterrupted.
PHRASAL VERB- DAY 1

• CALL OFF
MEANING

• To decide that something will not happen/ Cancelled

• She’s called off the wedding.

• If we have much more rain, the game might be called off.
IDIOM- DAY 2

• You are taking your IELTS test next week?? Aren’t

you jumping the gun. You’ve only just started studying.
MEANING

• Doing or starting something too early

IDIOM- DAY 2

• He comes round to see me once in a blue moon.

MEANING

• Happening very rarely

VOCABULARY- DAY 2

• PREPOSTEROUS
• ADJECTIVE
• "a preposterous suggestion"
MEANING

• Contrary to reason or common sense; utterly absurd or

ridiculous.
VOCABULARY- DAY 2

• Plethora- NOUN
MEANING

• A large or excessive amount of something.

PHRASAL VERB

• You both need to talk over what happened that day.

MEANING

• To discuss a problem or a plan.

IDIOM- DAY 3

• He’s got a chip on his shoulder.

MEANING

• Feeling inferior or having a grievance about something

IDIOM- DAY 3

• I reckon getting a band 7 in IELTS will be a piece of cake!

I’m very good at English.
MEANING

• Very easy
VOCABULARY- DAY 3

• Swelter- VERB
• "Barney sweltered in his doorman's uniform"
MEANING

• be uncomfortably hot.
• Similar:
• hot
• stifling
• suffocating
• humid
IDIOM- DAY 4

• The money sent by comic relief to help poverty in Africa is

just a drop in the ocean. They need far more than this.
MEANING

• A very small part of something much bigger

IDIOM- DAY 4

• Getting a low score the first time I took IELTS was a

blessing in disguise. It forced me to study extremely hard
so I got a much better score the next time.
MEANING

• Something positive that isn’t recognized until later

VOCABULARY- DAY 4

• JEOPARDIZE/ ENDANGER- VERB

• "he was driving in a manner likely to endanger

life"
MEANING

• put (someone or something) at risk or in danger.

VOCABULARY- DAY 4

• Vicissitude- NOUN

“her husband's sharp vicissitudes of fortune"

MEANING

• a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is

unwelcome or unpleasant.
PHRASAL VERB- DAY 4

• What time does your alarm go off in the morning?

MEANING

• If an alarm ‘goes off’ then it starts, makes a sound or rings.

• The phrasal verb ‘to go off’ is used to talk about alarms –

alarm clocks, car alarms, fire alarms, and so on.
IDIOMS- DAY 5

• We have to actually do something about global

warming. Actions speak louder than words.
MEANING

• It’s better to actually do something rather than just talking

about it
IDIOMS- DAY 5

• Oh well, I got 5.5 in IELTS again. Back to the drawing

board!
MEANING

• When an attempt to do something fails and it's time to start

all over again using different methods
VOCABULARY- DAY 5

• Transgression- NOUN

• "I'll be keeping an eye out for further transgressions"

MEANING
• offence
• crime
• sin
• wrong
• wrongdoing
• Misdemeanour
• felony
• misdeed
• lawbreaking
• vice
• evil-doing

an act that goes against a law, rule, or code of conduct; an offence.

IDIOMS- DAY 6

• I hate my job so much I can’t bare going to work, but if I

quit I don’t think I can get another job. I’m really stuck /
caught between a rock and a hard place.
MEANING- DAY 6

• Having two very bad choices.

• (note: stuck/caught can be omitted)
IDIOMS- DAY 6

• I have to bite my tongue so I don’t say what I really think

of him!
MEANING

• Wanting to say something but stopping yourself.

VOCABULARY- DAY 6

• Contemplate- VERB

• "she couldn't even begin to contemplate the future"

MEANING

• think deeply and at length/ look thoughtfully for a long

time at.
VOCABULARY

• "low wages were supplemented by surreptitious payments

from tradesmen”
• SURREPTITIOUS- ADJ
MEANING

• kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of.

PHRASAL VERB

• I ran into my teacher at the movies last night.

MEANING

• When you run into someone, you either physically bump against them, or you unexpectedly
encounter them.
IDIOMS- DAY 7

• KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF (INFORMAL)

• I'm going to take you to a restaurant that'll knock your socks off.
MEANING

• you find it extremely exciting or good: To amaze

VOCABULARY- DAY 7
• INHABITANTS- noun
• Fluttering inhabitants occupy birdcages at either side of
the porch
MEANING

• a person or animal that lives in or occupies a place..‘

VOCABULARY- DAY 7

• SPECTACULAR
• "spectacular mountain scenery“
• Scotland is famous for its spectacular countryside.
MEANING

• beautiful in a dramatic and eye-catching way.

IDIOM- DAY 8

• You have to pull yourself together, go out there and talk to them.
MEANING

to control your emotions and behave calmly after being very upset, angry, shocked etc
IDIOMS- DAY 8

• Come on, cut to the chase. We haven’t got all day!

MEANING

• Leave out all the unnecessary details and just get to the point
VOCABULARY- DAY 8

• ADVOCATE
• NOUN
• "he was an untiring advocate of economic reform"
MEANING

a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or

policy.
VOCABULARY- DAY 8

• succour
• /ˈsʌkə/
•
noun

• Helicopters fly in appalling weather to succour shipwrecked mariners

MEANING

• assistance and support in times of hardship and distress .

PHRASAL VERB

• TOLD ON ME
• If you don’t stop hitting, I’m going to tell on you.
MEANING

• To report someone's misdeed or bad behavior to someone in a position of authority or

someone who is affected by it.
IDIOMS- DAY 9

• Driving feels awkward when you're new to it, but it's easy
once you get the hang of it.
MEANING

• To learn to handle something with some skill, through practice or

diligence, which can lead to an almost unconscious performance
thereof.
IDIOMS- DAY 9

• Are you putting all of your savings into that company? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
MEANING

• Putting all of ones resources into one possibility

IDIOMS- DAY 10

• Try not to worry about it. Every cloud has a silver lining.
MEANING

• Believing that every bad situation has a positive side / eventually

leads to something good
IDIOMS- DAY 10

• It was difficult when I moved to another country but I eventually found my

feet.
MEANING

• To become comfortable in what you are doing

VOCABULARY- DAY 10

• Rendezvous

• This restaurant is a popular rendezvous for local artists.

MEANING

• a meeting at an agreed time and place.

VOCABULARY

• Covet

• "I covet one of their smart bags"

MEANING

• yearn to possess (something, especially something

belonging to another).
PHRASAL VERB

• TAKE AFTER
He takes after his mother/his mother's side of the family.
MEANING

• to be similar to an older member of your family in appearance or character

IDIOMS-DAY 11

• She’s feeling under the weather today so she won’t be going to work.
MEANING

• UNWELL
VOCABULARY

• BOLSTER- VERB
MEANING

• Support or strengthen.
COLLOCATIONS

• Collocation is a series of words or terms that co-occur more often than would be expected by
chance
MASS-COLLOCATIONS- DAY 11

• Mass unemployment
• Mass audience
• Mass murder
MASSACRE

• Die/be killed in a massacre

• Bloody massacre
• Carry out a massacre
IDIOMS-DAY 12

• We've had some big disagreements over the years, but it’s all water under the bridge now. We
get on fine.
MEANING

• Things from the past that are not important anymore

IDIOM

• We're really working against the clock now. We must hurry.

MEANING

• Not having enough time to do something

DAY 12- WEB QUEST
VOCABULARY

• MITIGATE
MEANING

• make (something bad) less severe, serious, or painful.

VOCABULARY

• ALLEVIATE- VERB
MEANING

• make (suffering, deficiency, or a problem) less severe.

COLLOCATIONS WITH ROUGH- DAY 13
BINGO- MAKE A SENTENCE WITH
COLLOCATION- DAY 13
VOCABULARY

• DILIGENT- ADJ
MEANING

• having or showing care and conscientiousness in one's work or duties.

• "after diligent searching, he found a parcel"

VOCABULARY

• ERUDITE- ADJ
• "Ken could turn any conversation into an erudite discussion"
MEANING

• having or showing great knowledge or learning.

VOCABULARY- DAY 14

• MAMMOTH
MEANING

• You can use mammoth to emphasize that a task or change is very large and needs a lot of
effort to achieve.
• [emphasis]
VOCABULARY

• OPULENT- ADJ
MEANING

• "the opulent comfort of a limousine“

• COSTLY AND LUXURIOUS
IDIOM- DAY 15

• Ok, I'm playing devil's advocate here, but if marijuana is legalized, isn't it more likely young
people will smoke it?
MEANING

• To put forward a side in an argument that may not be your own in order to show the counter-
argument / ensure all sides are discussed
VOCABULARY
• carbon footprint
MEANING

the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a
particular individual, organization, or community.
VOCABULARY

• DEMURE
MEANING

• (of a woman or her behaviour) reserved, modest, and shy.

• "I shared a compartment with a child and his demure governess"