Idioms that comment on people

Hi!! Our earlier post on Idioms was appreciated by you all. As an extension to that post this time around we are going to deal with the Idioms that describe or comment on people. Interesting, isn’t it? As we always tell you, please do share with us some more Idioms that you know and are interesting. Given below are a few Idioms and their actual meanings  within brackets. We suggest you to make a note of all these Idioms and make use of them in your day to day conversation.

 

A. Liking and disliking

 

Juliet has only eyes for Romeo. (is only attracted to)

Damian loves Anne to bits. (loves very much)

She is the woman of his dreams. He is the man of her dreams. (the perfect partner)

They immediately fell head over heels in love. (fell deeply in love)

They hadn’t met before that holiday but they got on like a house on fire. (got on very well)

I have a soft spot for Kevin- he was always kind to my grandma. (am fond of )

His rude behavior really gets up my nose/gets up my wick/ gets on my nerves/ gets me back up. (annoys me)

 

B. Intelligence and Knowledge

 

Jack’s been in the business so long that he really knows what’s what. (is an expert)

The new Prof certainly knows his stuff. (is an expert in his field)

Although Sam is the manager, his wife is the brain behind the company. (the most intelligent person in the company)

If you need help with the quiz, ask your grandfather. He’s a mine of information. (a rich source of information)

You won’t solve the problem if you do not use your grey matter. (intelligence, brains)

Molly is nobody’s fool. She will never believe such a poor excuse. (is very clever)

We haven’t the clue, the foggiest idea what the bosses are planning. (have no idea)

I suspect Sue’s in the know but she won’t tell us anything. (has inside knowledge)

Pat has the gift of the gab. (talks well and persuasively)

My grandma could talk hind legs off a donkey. (could talk for hours)

I can’t stand Mark- he’s such a know-all /smart aleck. (someone who shows off their cleverness in an irritating way)

Although his parents are both very bright. Neil has got nothing between his ears/ is as thick as two short planks. (is extremely stupid)

Hugh is a bit slow on the uptake- you have to explain things to him many times

Tim’s dad wasn’t born yesterday. (is not stupid)

Tim won’t be able to pull the wool over his eyes. (deceive him)

I can’t make head or tail of what you are going to say. (can’t understand)

Rita is one sandwich short of a picnic. (stupid)

He’s one cell short of a battery/ one slice short of a loaf/ several bricks short of a load

C. Happiness and Sadness

1. to be on top of the world, on cloud nine, in seventh heaven, over the moon means to be extremely happy.

2. to be in your element, to be made for means to be ideally suited for

3. to rave about means to be enthusiastic about

4. to look like the cat that got the cream means to look irritatingly pleased with yourself

5. to be down in the dumps/ down in the mouth means to be depressed

 

We shall wait for your responses on this. And please do not forget to share with us the Idioms you know.

 

Regards,

Team-learnwordlist.com

 

 

34 Responses to “Idioms that comment on people”

1. divya gupta on July 18th, 2009 9:17 pm

   hi..
   i am divya and i will b giving gre in 2010.
   i have just started learning the wordlists..
   i want some tips from u that can help me.
   is mugging the words right way?
   how to learn words so that they stay in my mind?
   plz help.

2. AnuVeluri on July 20th, 2009 2:09 am

   Dear Divya, pls do run through the blogs titled Vocabulary Learning and How to work for best results…you will get some valuable information on GRE preparation!

   Regards,

3. farah on July 23rd, 2009 3:40 am

   i am very happy that i will learn the idioms in an effective way..you are doing a great job…

4. AnuVeluri on July 23rd, 2009 6:26 pm

   Thanks Farah, pls do run through other posts as well..

   Regards,

5. Amrita on July 28th, 2009 3:53 am

   Hei, its a great work really. It’s helping me in my daily usage also. Really its superb.

6. Asare-Kyei Benjamin on July 28th, 2009 8:55 am

   i am very appreciative of the efforts you are making to help us go through these test. may you continue to be blessed. i must say that, i will soon be sending you some of the idioms that have African Origion.

7. Arundhati on July 28th, 2009 9:15 am

   Hi!! I guess the best way to learn is to use the new words,phrases and idioms in your everyday usage..that will help.
   Also, read good English newspapers, they speak in idioms and use new words which are gaining currency.

8. Enas on July 28th, 2009 9:44 am

   this idioms are very interesting and easy to get the meaning of it .

   are the idioms in the exame similar to this ?

9. ayomide on July 28th, 2009 12:10 pm

   Hi you too much……….i will like to learn more of how to construct my spoken English in a professional way and learn more on spelling drill.Thanks God bless U.

10. Khurram Aijaz on July 28th, 2009 2:58 pm

    Thanks for sharing the idioms.
    I really liked them all and will try to use them in conversation and writing comprehension.s

    Could you please share som tips and practice worksheets type material to master the “essay writing” and “argument” sections of GRE.

11. neha suneja on July 28th, 2009 3:34 pm

    hey anu..You hv been doin awesome work!!!Hats off!!Thanks!!!I hv benefited a lot..!!

12. Bhawna Jotshi on July 28th, 2009 3:50 pm

    Hi everyone,
    Must thank each one involved for making learning so easy and comprehensive….its actually a wholesome and fruitful experience…..carry on assisting people like us, who want to learn so much with such little avenues!
    regards,

13. AnuVeluri on July 28th, 2009 5:51 pm

    Hey Amrita, thanks so much!! do stay tuned to our site!!

14. AnuVeluri on July 28th, 2009 5:53 pm

    Oh Sure Benjamin…that wud be of gr8 help too!!…do keep in touch with us at all times!!

15. AnuVeluri on July 28th, 2009 5:55 pm

    Yes Arundhati u are so true! pls do share ur ideas and techniques with us!!

16. AnuVeluri on July 28th, 2009 5:56 pm

    Dear Enas which exam are u talking abt? Enas these Idioms help u in day to day conversation…:-)…do keep in touch…

17. AnuVeluri on July 28th, 2009 5:57 pm

    Dear Ayomide thanks a ton…yes pls do run through all our posts and blogs, take our tests…u shall definitely see a difference in you comprehension…:-)

18. AnuVeluri on July 28th, 2009 5:58 pm

    Yes sure Khurram in fact all our subsequent blogs are going to be on GRE and strategies…we look forward to ur valuable comments..

19. AnuVeluri on July 28th, 2009 5:59 pm

    Thanks Dear Neha, it’s all because of the inspiration i get from students like you..keep in touch too…:-)

20. AnuVeluri on July 28th, 2009 6:00 pm

    Thanks Bhawna…in fact it is students like you who inspire us to take up works like these…the support and inspiration is mutual..run through all our posts and blogs and share ur invaluable comments and techniques with us…

    love n regards,

21. Avinash on July 30th, 2009 8:38 am

    H3Y anu…. really Doing Nice job….. GOd Bless U…….

22. AnuVeluri on July 30th, 2009 1:07 pm

    Thanks Avinash, do read all the blogs..

    Regards,

23. asher akol on July 31st, 2009 7:01 am

    Hi am Asher
    I want to thank every one involved in this learning process This thing is making me younger in mind and richer in wisdom.

24. AnuVeluri on July 31st, 2009 3:21 pm

    Thanks so much Asher..do run through all the blogs..

    Regards,

25. Varun on July 31st, 2009 6:33 pm

    Just want to express my gratitude to the developers and moderators of this web-site!! It’s just awesome and keep it up!! Needless to say, it’s definitely benefiting a lot of people including me! Keep adding more idioms..

26. AnuVeluri on August 1st, 2009 5:04 am

    Dear Varun, thanks so much..in fact it is both mutaul and team work..keep visiting the site to run through all the blogs and keep sharing your valuable experiences..:-)

27. kanika on August 21st, 2009 3:15 pm

    hi
    i have been trying to learn the wordlists from past 1 month but i am not able to retain the words for long if don’t revise it everyday.
    and also i don’t get time to revise it and move further to the next wordlist.
    please help me in scheduling how should i go about it as i have to finish it in 15 days.

28. AnuVeluri on August 23rd, 2009 10:26 am

    Dear Kanika, I have been always against such stress generating learning methodology…best of brains cannot remember 8 tough GRE words a day..please avoid such stringent, unrealistic deadlines. If u want a great score..have a realistic plan!

29. aakash on August 26th, 2009 3:57 pm

    i m going to take gre on 26th of this october…have started to study but every thing is going mess..suggest me what important things i should study every day…to cover whole of gre syllabus and excell in it……

30. AnuVeluri on August 27th, 2009 7:32 am

    Dear Aakaash, pls do read our blogs on Vocabulary Learning…there are some realistic goals suggested…wishing you success in GRE…

31. Mansi Shah on October 9th, 2009 7:03 am

    hey evrybody out there!! thanks for giving such a wonderful online mentor for my gre preparations.. along with vocabs i want to learn some more idioms which make my language richer.. so kindly post more idioms regularly.. thanks!!

32. AnuVeluri on October 9th, 2009 12:57 pm

    Hi Mansi, there is an other blog on Idioms pls do follow that too..yes, we shall certainly post some more Idioms..

    http://learnwordlist.com/blog/idioms-for-situations/2009/06/gre-word-list-test-blog-barrons-vocabulary

    Pls follow this link..

33. Manikandan on November 13th, 2009 2:11 am

    Thanks for the wordlist. Keep sending more such words on positive and negative relationships, idioms and phrases and the like.It is really useful. I am sure that it will help a lot of students and those who are interested in enhancing the communication skills. Thanks for the effort. Keep it up.
    Regards and Best Wishes
    K. Manikandan

34. AnuVeluri on November 13th, 2009 2:25 am

    Hi Manikandan you write flawlessly. I have a feeling that you are a language trainer..am I right? Why don’t you share with us a few more Idioms and Phrases that you know..will be awaiting your response on this..

    Regards,

Post Your Comments and Questions