Sunday, March 22, 2009

Advanced English Idioms for Effective Communication

I promised Miss C to post some of the Advanced English Idioms, and here it is - some extracted idioms from a book of 556 pages. I will continue posting this whenever I have time.

Abandon oneself to something : To give oneself up completely to something, especially to passions and impulses
Tom failed many times and finally abandoned himself to despair.

Above-board : Honest

Above oneself : Self- satisfied

Absence makes the heart grow fonder : We have more affection for our friends and relatives when they are away

Absence of mind : Inattention

Achilles' heel : Weakest point of a person's character

Act high and mighty : To act proudly and powerfully

Act in bad faith : To act dishonestly

Actions speak louder than words : What we do is more important than what we say

Add fuel to the flames : To cause someone more angry

Advanced in years : Old

After a fashion : In a way, but not very well

After a storm comes a calm : There must be something better after an unpleasant event

Against all odds : Despite strong opposition

Akin to : Similar to

Alive and kicking : Healthy and active

All agog : Eager, full of excited anticipation

All at once : Suddenly

All but : All except

All good things come to an end : No pleasure will go on forever

All in convulsions : In a violent fit of laughter, etc.

All is well that ends well : It is the end that matters, not the beginning

All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy : One should not play without working

All set for : Ready for

All skin and bones : Very thin because of undernourishment

All the rage : In great demand

All things are difficult before they are easy : Whenever we do something, it is always difficult in the beginning

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy : One should not work without some recreation.

New update:

Allow the heart to rule the head : To be influenced by one's emotions rather than by one's reasons

Analogous to : Similiar to

And the like : And so on

And whatnot : And so on

Angle for something : To try to get something by indirect means

Antagonistic towards : Unfriendly to

Antipathetic towards : Showing dislike

Antithetical to : Directly opposed to

Any stick will serve to beat a dog with : It is easy to find fault with a person if you want to

Appear for someone : To act for someone as a lawyer

Apple of discord : The cause of dispute, a bone of contention

Apply double standards : To treat one person differently from another

Apprehensive about : Worried about

Apt to : Likely to

pg.23

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a very nice feature, Aik! I hope you do add to it now and then, when you have time. It's fun to see all of the different kinds of idioms - some serious, some funny. It does make me feel sorry for anyone who is learning English though - there are soooo many idioms! :-)

Aik said...

Thanks for your lovely comment! =)
I'll add it whenever I have time.

Hugs,
Aik.

tinghui511 said...

owh...catherine asked u to post de?