Proverbs and Idiomatic ExpressionsLecture 13

Make a long story short Anyway to cut a long story short, we left

at midnight and James left somewhat later.

Be at loose ends If you find yourself at a loose end over

the weekend, you could always clean out the garden shed.

Go under the knife To have a medical operation More and more women are choosing to

go under the knife just to improve their appearance.

Go (all) round the houses To waste time saying a lot of things that

are not important before you get to the subject you want to talk about

There’s no need to go all round the houses, just tell me straight out what’s wrong.

Eat like a horseShe eats like a horse, so I don’t know how she manages to stay so thin.

Bring sth home to sb Make someone understand sth much

more clearly than they did before, especially sth unpleasant

These photographs finally brought home to us the terrible realities.

It took an international crisis to bring it home to British politicians that they desperately needed allies in Europe.

Put in a good word for sb I’m applying for a job in your office.

Could you put in a good word for me with your boss?

A strong stomach The ability to watch very unpleasant

things without getting upset or feeling ill Some of the war scenes are fairly

horrific – you need to have a strong stomach to watch them.

Take the long view If you take the long view, of course, you

can regard staff training as an investment for the company.

Make sb’s toes curl Feel extremely embarrassed and

ashamed for someone else The very thought of what she said

makes my toes curl. She gave a toe-curling performance on

the guitar.

Go up in smoke (A plan or some work) be spoiled or

waste Then his business went bankrupt and 20

years of hard work went up in smoke.

Roll your sleeves up To prepare for hard work Our local team need to roll their sleeves

up and put a bit more effort into their football.

Sell sb/sth short To not value sb or sth as much as they

deserve to be valued I’m fed up with people selling this

country short. Who’d employ me at my age? Don’t sell yourself short. You’re

intelligent and you’ve got loads of experience.

Be nothing to shout about Not be especially good or exciting The pay rise wasn’t much to shout

about, but I suppose it’s better than nothing.

Proverbs Absence makes the heart grow fonder. 久别情深。

All good things must come to an end. 好景无常。

All things are difficult before they are easy.万事开头难。

All your swans are geese. 希望成为泡影。 The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. 苹果落地，离树不远。

A beggar’s purse is bottomless. 乞丐的口袋填不满。

Care kills a cat. 忧虑伤身。 Better be the head of an ass than the tail

of a horse. 宁为鸡口，无为牛后。 A close mouth catches no flies. 口紧不招祸。 Don’t try to run before you can walk. Enough is enough. 适可而止。