Drop someone a line

Give someone a piece of your mind

Read between the lines

At point-blank range

I take your point

A weight off your mind

I

Answers:

What’s the point? – А в чём смысл?

Be at a loose end – Ничего не делать

Its’ not the end of the world – Всё обойдется!

Make ends meet – Свести концы

I take your point – Соглашусь с тобой

A weight off your mind – Освободиться от тяжелых мыслей

Give someone a piece of your mind – Сказать всё, что думаешь

Slip your mind – Всё забыть

Drop someone a line – Черкнуть пару строк

Read between the lines – Читать меж строк

To give smb one’s word	Обещать
Have a whale of time	Проводить весело время
Doing time	Сидеть (в тюрьме)
To mince sb’s words	Говорить прямо
Which way the wind is blowing	Куда подует ветер
In next to no time	Быть быстро доставленным
You mark my words	Запомни мои слова!
Go back a long way	Давно знаемся
Out of the way	На отшибе
Mum’s my words	Ничего не говори
Kill time	Убивать время

Read the speech bubbles below and then decide which idioms are being described.

1. When you go to your friend’s place and find it far away? You say:

2. When you are out of patience and have no arguments you began

3. When you promise you pronounce:

4. Convicing your friend to keep heк secret you say:

5. You wait to make the decision and want to look forward to future events, you see

6 you want your parcel to arrive like a flash :

7. There is nobody who can be such close friends as you are, you

8. Small children like playing games because they are crasy of

9. Instead of doing homework Join likes to watch TV and on this way:

10.He was caught and now he is in prison and he’s

11. When you know what will happen next you say this fact adding

Answers:

1. Out of the way

2. To mince sb’s words

3. To give smb one’s word

4. Mum’s my words

5. Which way the wind is blowing

6. In next to no time

7. Go back a long way

8. Have a whale of time

9. Kill time

10. Doing time

11. You mark my words

Choose the wrong idiom and underline it.

1. Ask...

a. a question b. Permission c. a cake

2. Break

a. the ice b. The way c. a promise

3. Catch...

a. a gun b. A bus c. a cold

4. Draw...

a. public b. a conclusion c. the curtains

5. Give...

a. advice b. thanks c. beans

6. Hold...

a. the fort b. sea c. the line

7. Lose...

a. fingers b. face c. temper

8. Make...

a. a living b. a profit c. a picture

9. Pay...

a. a bill b. decision c. attention

10. Read...

a. thought b. a book c. between the lines

Break the ice - to make people who have not met before feel more relaxed with each other Draw the curtans - to pull curtains so that they are either together or apart Hold the fort - to have responsibility for something while someone is absent Read between the lines - to try to understand someone's real feelings or intentions from what they say or write

kittens the ice the sights the fool wonders a bomb the shots the queue the sack public the jackpot strings riot the plunge a party

Choose from the box appropriate word to make the idioms in the sentences complete

1. He bought a bulletin and suddenly hit ...

2. After thinking over this problem the whole month you take ...

3. Fortunately weather was wonderful and we saw all ... of Madrid.

4. He was so crazy that day in other words - ...

5. I have ... I’ve failed my exam.

6. Working hard all his life he doesn’t make ... as his neighbour does stealing money.

7. Pretty old women was in such a hurry that without any problems jumped ... to the bank.

8. His mother prepared hot tea and tasty buns and this made Julia break ... with his girlfriend.

9. In our group there is no leader but one of the girls liked to call ... which helps to feel comfortable in studying.

10. New president do ... in qustion of world relationships and is lucky in it.

11. Having done few mistakes in a new project and being late he got ...

12. The new year in this coutry began with going ... and modern reforms.

13. She had no good ideas exept playing ... to persuade her mum to let go for a walk.

14. This is great! – Yes! Her director knows when and where to pull ...

15. She has her birthday and that’s why she threw a great ...

Answers:

1. the jackpot

2. the plunge

3. the sights

4. riot

5. kittens

6. a bomb

7. the queue

8. the ice

9. the shots

10. wonders

11. the sack

12. public

13. the fool

14. strings

15. a party

Силантьева Милена (12-16 по книжке)

I

Idiom	Translation	Origin
An early bird	Ранняя пташка
A killjoy	Брюзга, ворчун
A road hog	Лихач, неосторожный водитель
A skinflint	Скряга
A guinea pig	Подопытный кролик	Guinea pigs are small mammals that are sometimes used in experiments
A night owl	Сова
A rolling stone	«Вольный» странник, бродяга, перекати-поле	This idiom is from the proverb: “A rolling stone gathers no moss” (about people who keep moving avoid picking up responsibilities and cares) The proverb is sometimes shorten to a 'rolling stone.'
A troublemaker	Смутьян, нарушитель спокойствия
A jailbird	Уголовник со стажем
A nosy parker	Любопытный, вмешивающийся не в свои дела
A scapegoat	Козёл отпущения	A goat sent into the wilderness on the Day of Atonement, symbolic bearer of the sins of the people
A white-collar worker	Офисный рабочий «белый воротничок»	Office workers in the UK traditionally wear a suit and a white shirt. Also there are “pink-collar workers” (secretaries) and “blue-collar workers” (who do hard work)

Once upon a time a very strange person came into our city. He (1) didn’t have a house and love wandering all over the world. He (2) got used to wake up early in the morning as he didn’t want to lose the admired moments of sunrise. His attitude to money was serious so he wasn’t flush; to be honest he (3) hated spending or giving money. Some years ago he had a job, a family. He (4) worked in the office, was rather boring person and other people didn’t like him because he (5) expressed dissatisfaction just about everything and spoiled their pleasure. But nevertheless it was he who (6) was every time unfairly blamed for the mistakes of others just because people want to see someone punished. And once they blamed him for the pilferage he didn’t commit. He was put into prison for a year. There he met a lot of (7) people, who spends most of his life in prison. After that year he decided not to return to his previous life. He made a revolution in his life and was the happiest person.

Keys:

1 - was a rolling stone

2 – was an early bird

3 – was a skinflint

4 – was a white-collar worker

5 – was a killjoy

6 – was a scapegoat

7 – jailbirds

Match the idioms on the left with the correct definitions on the right.

1. A killjoy

2. A nosy parker

3. A rolling stone

4. A scapegoat

5. A jailbird

6. A guinea pig

7. A skinflint

8. An early bird

9. A night owl

10. A white-collar worker

11. A troublemaker

12. A road hog

A. Someone who always get up very early

B. Someone who spoils the pleasure of other people

C. A careless driver

D. Someone who hates spending or giving money

E. Someone who is used as the subject in different experiences

F. Someone who stays up at night

G. Someone who can’t settle down, spends life wandering

H. A person who makes trouble, usually between people

I. A habitual criminal who spends most of his life in a cage or cell as does a parakeet

J. A person who meddles in the affairs of others.

K. Someone who is unfairly blamed or punishes for the mistakes of others just because people want to see someone punished

L. A worker who does an office job

Keys:

1 – B

2 – J

3 – G

4 – K

5 – I

6 – E

7 – D

8 – A

9 – F

10 – L

11 – H

12 - C

II

Idiom	Translation	Original
breakdown	Упадок сил
break-in	Взлом, незаконное вторжение
comeback	возвращение
cutbacks	Сокращение, уменьшение
downpour	ливень
holp-up	Налет
kick-off	Стартовый свисток (футбольного матча)
knockout	Сшибающий с ног удар
mix-up	Неразбериха, путаница
outbreak	вспышка
outlook	прогноз
tailback	Затор, пробка
turnover	Товарооборот, прибыль
write-up	Отзыв, рецензия

1. Choose the right answer:

1. Because of … of Chester Bennington, the front man of one famous American group “Linkin Park”, the band had to cancel the current tour:

a) setback

b) turnover

c) breakdown

2. When they say … , they mean “traffic that is moving slowly or not moving at all”:

a) tailback

b) outbreak

c) kick-off

3. It's hard to make a … from two sets down and win the match

a) break-in

b) outbreak

c) comeback

4. … describes the rate at which employees leave or the amount of time that it takes for a store to sell all of its inventory.

a) setback

b) turnover

c) downpour

5. The long grasses were still soaked from yesterday's … :

a) cutbacks

b) knockout

c) downpour

6. Its budget is under extreme pressure, with the Scottish executive proposing major… in its grant for sac's education services.

a) tailback

b) cutbacks

c) write-up

7. This book has good … . I’d like to read it immediately!

a) outlook

b) cutbacks

c) write-up

8. This pessimistic … resulted in there being much less research into down's syndrome over the next 15 to 20 year period.

a) downpour

b) outlook

c) cutbacks

9. A … is an illegal entry into a house, building or vehicle:

a) break-in

b) breakdown

c) holp-up

10. The FIFA World Cup … was delayed for two hour:

a) cutbacks

b) comeback

c) kick-off

11. Robbers made a … and got away with two millions:

a) holp-up

b) downpour

c) cutbacks

12. The semi-finalist of the the World Cup loses by a … :

a) knockout

b) outbreak

c) breakdown

13. A is a misunderstanding or confusion:

a) tailback

b) mix-up

c) comeback

14. There is now a high risk of a cholera … :

a) cutbacks

b) outbreak

c) comeback

Keys:

1 – c

2 – a

3 – c

4 – b

5 –c

6 – b

7 – c

8 – b

9 – a

10 –c

11 –a

12 – a

13 – b

14 – b

2. Translate the following text in English using new idioms (there are six idioms here):

Начало матча было отменено из-за вспышки гнева фанатов. Они негодовали по поводу эпизода из предыдущего матча: капитан их любимой команды, который хотел вернуться после нескольких месяцев, не мог играть из-за сильного удара, сбившего его с ног. Много отзывов было опубликовано в разных газетах. Как бы ни было, доктора говорили, что прогнозы о его здоровье достаточно оптимистичны. Пожелаем ему удачи!

Keys:

The match’s kick-off was delayed because of fans’ outbreak of anger. They were furious about the episode from the previous match – the captain of their favorite team, who wanted to make a comeback after some months, couldn’t play because of knockout. A lot of write-ups were in different newspapers. Nevertheless doctors said that forecast about his health is rather optimistic. Wish him good luck!

III

Idiom	Translation	Original
A blackout	Неожиданное отключение света
A best-seller	Книга, имеющая высокий рейтинг продаж
A bottleneck	Узкий проход (проезд)
A brainwave	Блестящая идея
A catcall	Освистывание
A catnap	Сон урывками	A nap is a short sleep; cats can sleep anywhere at any time
An eye-opener	Откровение, разоблачение
An eyesore	Бельмо на глазу (перенос.), нечто неприятное на вид
A gimmick	Уловка, ухищрение
A heyday	Расцвет, зенит
A loophole	Лазейка	It comes from Dutch “loopgat”, the “loop”-part of which probably comes from loopen (=to run) (related to English lope and leap
A perk	Социальный пакет, привилегия
A snag	Подводный камень
A windfall	Неожиданный доход	Originates from law that allowed the collection of wood and fruit that had been blown down resulting in a free supply of food or wood for burning. Was particularly important when most land and estate was owned by royalty or lords and the picking of fruit or felling of trees was forbidden, thus when a storm or strong wind blew down a good supply was often referred to as a 'windfall'

I. Choose the right answer:

1)“Cimmerian shade, black, blackness, blackout ,brownout, calignosity, cloudiness, crepuscule” are synonyms for: