| 01 | Age |
|
| 1.1 | no spring chicken | no longer young |
| wet behind the ears | young and inexperience
|
| in the prime of my life | my best; heathy and successful |
| knee-high to a grasshopper | very young |
| getting on in years | getting old
|
| as old as the hills | extremely old |
| long in the tooth | old |
| twilight years | the last years of someone's life |
| bright young thing | young, enthusiastic, fashionable or ambitious people |
| bridges the generation gap | appeals to people of all ages |
| over the hill | old, past my best years |
| young at heart | youthful, despite being old |
| 1.2 | Expressions with age |
|
| ripe old age | very old age |
| acting his age | behaving in a way appropriate to his age |
| that awkward age | the period of adolescence when people feel very self-conscious |
| come of age | reach maturity, or have the same legal rights as adults |
| tender age | very young age |
| feel my age | am conscious of being older |
| improve with age | get better with age |
| great age | very old age |
| 2 | Friends and family |
|
| 2.1 | losing touch with | no longer being in contact with |
| a soulmate | the perfect person to be a friend or partner |
| kept in touch with | continued to be in contact with |
| a mutual friend | a shared friend of two people |
| get on like a house on fire | get along extremely well; a very good relationship |
| drifted a apart | slowly become less friendly or close to each other |
| struck up a friendship with | became friendship with |
| hit if off | became a friend very quickly |
| a fair-weather friend | a friend who deserts you when you have difficulties |
| got off on the wrong foot | started our relationship badly |
| 2.2 | Family |
|
| a chip off the old block | very similar to someone in his family |
| start a family | have a children |
| a family friend | someone who has known your family for some time |
| immediate family | close family, such as parents, sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters |
| the black sheep of the family | someone who brings shame to the family or is the odd one in the family |
| bringing up | teaching a child how to behave |
| a family heirloom | an object that has been passed down through the generations of a family |
| extended family | wider family, such as grandparents, cousins, nephews, and nieces |
| a close-knit family | a loyal and supportive family |
| runs in our family | is a common feature in our family |
| 03 | Appearance and background |
|
| 3.1 | Appearance |
|
| bears a striking resemblance | looks extremely similar |
| like to peas in a pod | extremely similar to each other |
| the spitting image of | almost identical to |
| all skin and bones | too thin |
| getting thin on top | going bald |
| looked like she'd seen a ghost | looked very scared and shocked |
| five o'clock shadow | the beginning of a beard |
| looked like a drowned rat | was very wet |
| looks like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth | looks innocent, like she wouldn't do anything bad |
| keeping up appearances | pretending that things are going well |
| 3.2 | Style and dress |
|
| looked the part | was dressed in the right way |
| immaculately groomed | elegantly dressed and well presented |
| looked like a million bucks | looked extremely glamorous |
| never has hair out of place | is extremely neat and well groomed |
| 3.3 | Background, advantage, and disadvantage |
|
| has blue blood | is descended from important people or aristocracy |
| was born with a silver spoon in his mouth | was born into a wealthy family |
| a pillar of the community | an important or well-respected person |
| a highflier | a very talented and successful person |
| the wrong side of the tracks | the wrong social background or part of town |
| didn't have two pennies to rub together | were very poor |
| 04 | Personality traits |
|
| 4.1 | Describing personality |
|
| a vivid imagination | an ability to think of exciting imagines and ideas |
| a fuddy-duddy | someone who is unwilling to try new things |
| a selfish streak | a tendency to be selfish |
| two-faced | insincere or hypocritical |
| as bold as brass | very confident |
| an average Joe | a stereotypical man who has simple tastes |
| a barrel of laughs | a fun person or situation |
| a crybaby | someone who cries a lot without good reason |
| too smart for her own good | annoyingly proud of her intelligence or knowledge |
| down to earth | practical and unpretentious |
| 4.2 | wouldn't hurt a fly | is completely harmless |
| a social butterfly | a very sociable person |
| a lone wolf | someone who prefers to live or work alone |
| wouldn't say boo to a goose | is very timid and nervous |
| her bark is worse than her bite | she is not as scary as she seems |
| a dark horse | someone who hides a surprising skills or quality |
| 4.3 | Idioms using vocabulary about food |
|
| a good egg | an honest, reliable, or considerate person |
| the salt of the earth | kind, honest, and unpretentious |
| a tough cookie | determined and physically or emotionally strong |
| as cool as a cucumber | calm and relaxed |
| 05 | Good thing |
|
| Idioms for praising things
|
|
| the best thing since sliced bread | extremely good |
| stole the show | was the best or attracted the most praise |
| the best of both worlds | the benefits of two different things at the same time |
| a blessing in disguise | something that seems dab, but is actually good |
| the bee's knees | the very best |
| miles ahead of | much more advanced than |
| top of the line | the best quality |
| to die for | amazing |
| first-class | super |
| out of this world | amazing |
| rave reviews | excellent reviews |
| thinks the world of | really like or admires |
| world-class | among the best in the world |
| a tough act to follow | difficult to beat |
| top-notch | highest quality |
| the icing on the cake | the best part of a good experience |
| of her dream | that she has fantasized about having |
| the creme de la cream | very best people |
| second to none | far better than any others |
| 06 | Bad thing |
|
| Idioms for criticizing things |
|
| leaves a bad taste in my mouth | make me feel very uncomfortable |
| didn't live up to expectations | was not as good as expected |
| has seen better days | is in a bad condition |
| like watching paint dry | extremely boring |
| second rate | low-quality |
| not my cup of tea | not something I enjoy |
| not going to set on the world on fire | not going to be very exciting or successful |
| rough around the edges | not perfect, in need of more work |
| isn't up to scratch | isn't good enough |
| past its prime | in a bad condition or too old |
| moth-eaten | shabby; in a bad condition |
| on its last legs | like to stop working soon |
| not all that it's cracked up tobe | not as good as everyone says it is |
| nothing to write home about | not very impressive |
| the last straw | the last in a |
