CPE use of English unit 4

part company with

If two people part company, they end their relationship The world's number one tennis player and his coach _____ earlier this month.

be/have at one's fingertips

If you have information at your fingertips, you can get it and use it very easily He has all the latest statistics ____.

The early bird catches the worm

If you wake up and get to work early, you will succeed

Actions speak louder than words

What you do is more important than what you say.

guarantee for

a pledge that something will happen or that something is true My car is ____ rust/breakage for eight years.

claim to fame

a reason why someone or something is famous This little town's _______ is that a president was born here.

make common cause with sb

act together to achieve aim Environmental protesters have _______local people to stop the motorway being built.

come to

amount to a total The bill came ___ £48.50.

big cheese

an important person

as right as rain

to feel fine and healthy ou just need a good night's sleep, and then you'll be _____.

go off

to happen The protest march went ___ peacefully.

come into

to inherit She'll come _____ quite a lot of money when her father dies.

chop and change

to keep changing your mind After six months of _______,, we've decided to go back to our old system.

make hay while the sun shines

to make the best of a limited opportunity

keep a straight face

to manage to stop yourself from smiling or laughing It's hard to keep ______ ____ in class at times.

come by

to obtain, get How did you come ____ these pictures? Jobs were hard to come ____.

do out of

to prevent from having Pensioners have been done ___ ____millions of pounds as a result of the changes.

flee from

to run away from ALl the animals in the forest ___ the fire.

put one's foot in it

to say something by accident that embarrasses or upsets someone I really put ____ ____ - I asked her if Jane was her mother, but she said Jane is her sister.

rise to the challenge/occasion

to show that you can deal with a difficult situation successfully In the exam she ______and wrote a brilliant essay.

have the gift of the gab

to talk well and persuasively She's got the ___ ___ __ - she should work in sales and marketing.

come round to

1) change one's opinion to another point of view; be persuaded He'll come ____ _____ my point of view, given a bit of time. 2) regain consciousness

come over

1) happen; have a result or effect on sb I stood up too quickly and came _____ all dizzy/faint/peculiar. 2) seem to be a particular type of person He doesn't come _________ as particularly trustworthy. He came _______ as very knowledgeable.

Every cloud has a silver lining.

All bad things have a good side.

It never rains but it pours

When trouble comes it usually comes in many ways

do with

Would find useful or would like to have or do I could have done ____ some help this morning.

get cold feet

be nervous or frightened because sth might fail

come down to

be passed on to sb by inheritance The text which has come ____ ___ us is only a fragment of the original.

In answer to

be under the command of sb _____ your question, the meeting will take place next Tuesday.

be at odds with

to disagree They're _____ over the funding of the project. Her version of events was ___ ____ ___ (= very different from) the police report.

flat broke

completely broke

as different as chalk and cheese

completely different My brother and I are _______.

as silent as the grave

completely silent

give and take

compromise In politics there's always a little give and ___.

hold/keep in check

control; prevent from becoming too powerful to limit something We need to find ways of ____ our expenditure _____.

come out in

develop If I eat eggs, I come ___ ___ a rash.

come on

develop, make progress The heating comes ____ at six in the morning.

cut corners

do something the cheapest or easiest way, be less thorough

grieve over

to express deep sadness because of a loss You mustn't _____ ___ one trivial mistake.

furious with smb about smth

extremely angry I was ____ my daughter ____ always borrowing my phone without permission.

as thin as a rake

extremely thin He eats like a horse and yet he's _____.

fidelity to

faithfulness; loyalty His ___ the firm has won him great respect.

one's flesh and blood

family member

give chapter and verse

give every exact detail I can't give you ______chapter and verse but I think it's a line from "Macbeth".

come up

grow; happen unexpectedly; become available A position has come ____ in the accounts department.

come about

happen How did the problem come ____in the first place?

feel one's ears burning

have a feeling that sb is talking about you She often felt _____ ____burning in the evening and used to thing that her parents were talking about her.

hear through the grapevine

hear gossip, hear a rumor I heard ____ ____ that we're going to get a rise next month.

glee at

high-spirited joy His ___ the news of his success was a joy to see.

drive at

imply, suggest I still couldn't understand what Toby was driving ___.

without fail

in every case, or for certain She takes a walk every morning ____.

have a frog in one's throat

inability to speak due to nervousness I was asked to make a speech but I couldn't because I had a ____ ____.

grievance against

injustice; complaint If you've a ____ ___ the company, please lodge a written complaint.

get off on the wrong foot

make a bad start to a relationship We got ___ _____ when we first met but now we're good friends.

strike a chord

make sb feel sympathy/enthusiasm; cause people to approve/agree with Their policy on childcare has _____ a responsive ______ women voters.

flair for

natural talent for She's a ___ languages and can speak more than six.

as deaf as a post

not able to hear well Grandad's ______.

not have the foggiest idea

not know sth at all I didn't______ what he was talking about.

few and far between

not very many or not appearing very frequently Sunny, warm weekends have been _______ this summer.

of no/little consequence

of no value/importance The money was ________ to Tony.

as white as a sheet

pale with fear/horror

do up

to fasten Can you help me to do ____ my dress?

cramp one's style

restrict one's behaviour in some way My parents coming to stay with me this weekend is totally going to _______. When am I supposed to getanything done?

gatecrasher

sb attending a party, event etc without an invitation There were so many ____ at the party I couldn't even see the people I had invited.

It's all Greek to me

sth new or foreign; not easily understood

A stitch in time saves nine

taking care of problems before they happen will save time and money.

in full flow

talking at length If an activity is in full flow, it is happening fast and with energy: Preparations for the event are now _______.

fixation on/with

the state of being unable to stop thinking about smth/smb, or an unnaturally strong interest in smb/smth

point the finger of suspicion

the strongest suspicion of having done something wrong Forensic evidence _______firmly at him.

see fit

think suitable or right She _____ to pull her son out of the school.

do away with

to abolish, get rid of These ridiculous rules and regulations should have been done ____ _____ years ago

take on the chin

to accept unpleasant events bravely and without complaining

as cool as a cucumber

to be calm and relaxed, especially in a difficult situation She walked in ________, as if nothing had happened.

fraternise with

to be friendly with hostile forces He's not in the habit of ____ his workers.

be done for

to be in serious trouble If we get caught, we're ____ ___.

be green

to be inexperienced He got a job shortly after graduating despite being _____.

to be on the trail of

to be searching for smb/smth by examining information you find out where they went They were on ____ Yeti when the blizzard started.

come in

to become fashionable OPP go out Trainers really became popular in the 1980s, when casual sportswear came ___.

blow a fuse

to become very angry, lose your temper When he told her how much it cost, she ____.

fidget about/around

to behave or move nervously or restlessly She told her student to stop ____ and to sit still and concentrate.

gloat about/over

to brag greatly He's always ___ his meteoric rise as an actor.

in focus

to concentrate Try to get the photograph ____ __ this time.

do down

to criticise She felt that everyone in the meeting was trying to do her ____. Stop doing yourself ____.

come clean

to tell the truth about smth that you have been keeping secret I thought it was time to ______ (with everybody) about what I'd been doing.

put one's foot down

to use your authority to stop something happening When she started borrowing my clothes without asking, I had to put ————

fret about

to worry about She does nothing but ____ being overweight yet never tries to diet.

Too many chiefs and not enough Indians

too many managers and not enough people to do the work

Too many cooks spoil the broth

too many people interfering is a bad way of doing things

deal in

trade in sth They mainly deal ____ rare books.

by/from force of habit

used to doing sth without thinking ________ I always hung the house keys on a hook next to the front door.

there are plenty more fish in the sea

used to say that there are many other people or possibilities, especially when one person or thing has been unsuitable or unsuccessful Don't cry over Pierre - there are plenty ___ ____ ___!

on the face of it

used when you are describing how a situation seems on the surface ______, it seems like a bargain, but I bet there are hidden costs.

as tough as old boots

very strong, not easily made weaker He might be in his eighties but he's _______, that man.

in all

with everything added together to make a total The bill came to £25 ___ __ .

fair and square

within the rules, honestly SHe won the election fair ________.