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1-8 GETTING STARTED

08 Common English idioms

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8.1.1 COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS
Pronunciation
Spelling
Relation 1
Relation 2
1
/ɡɒt/ /kəʊld/ /fiːt/
got cold feet
2
/ˈfiːlɪŋ/ /ˈʌndə/ /ðə/ /ˈwɛðə/
feeling under the weather
3
/hɛd/ /ˈəʊvə/ /hiːlz/
head over heels
4
/hɪt/ /ðə/ /neɪl/ /ɒn/ /ðə/ /hɛd/
hit the nail on the head
5
/lɛnd/ /ə/ /hænd/
lend a hand
6
/ɒn/ /ðə/ /bɔːl/
on the ball
7
/hɜːd/ /ɒn/ /ðə/ /ˈɡreɪpvaɪn/
heard on the grapevine
8
/əˈɡɛnst/ /ðə/ /klɒk/
against the clock
9
/ə/ /peɪn/ /ɪn/ /ðə/ /nɛk/
a pain in the neck
10
/kiːp/ /ən/ /aɪ/ /ɒn/
keep an eye on
There are no rows in this table
8.1.2 COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS
Pronunciation
Spelling
Relation 1
Relation 2
1
/hæz/ /ə/ /hɑːt/ /ɒv/ /ɡəʊld/
has a heart of gold
2
/ɒn/ /ðə/ /fɛns/
on the fence
3
/ˈtiːʧəz/ /pɛt/
teacher's pet
4
/kʌt/ /ˈkɔːnəz/
cut corners
5
/teɪk/ ... /wɪð/ /ə/ /pɪnʧ/ /ɒv/ /sɒlt/
take ... with a pinch of salt
6
/feɪs/ /ðə/ /ˈmjuːzɪk/
face the music
7
/ˈəʊvə/ /ðə/ /tɒp/
over the top
8
/lɛt/ /jɔː/ /heə/ /daʊn/
let your hair down
9
/ˈpʊlɪŋ/ /jɔː/ /lɛɡ/
pulling your leg
10
/lɛt/ /ðə/ /kæt/ /aʊt/ /ɒv/ /ðə/ /bæɡ/
let the cat out of the bag
There are no rows in this table
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