IDIOMS AND PHRASES for IELTS – Part 13

Jump in with Both Feet: Begin a new experience wholeheartedly.

Sentence – I know you’re nervous about starting school, but you just need to jump in with both feet and do your best!

Jump on the Bandwagon: To follow a trend or craze.

Sentence – I can’t stand these people who just jump on the bandwagon after a win. Where were they last year when the team was terrible?

Jump the Gun: Start doing something too soon.

Sentence – Henry jumped the gun and sent the proofs to the printer before the boss approved them, and she was not happy.

Jump the Shark: To pass peak quality and begin to decline. Often used to describe television programs or movie series.

Sentence – This show used to have some of the wittiest writing in television, but they really jumped the shark when they introduced a contrived alien invasion in the seventh season.

Jump the Track: To shift suddenly from one activity or line of thought to another.

Sentence – Due to a technical issue, the train wasn’t able to slow down ahead of the turn and ended up jumping the track because of its speed.

Jump Through Hoops: Complete a series of tasks in order to satisfy someone.

Sentence – The boss made me jump through a lot of hoops to earn this corner office, believe me. I was doing everything from leading presentations to getting him coffee for months.

Just Around the Corner: Occurring soon.

Sentence – My little brother believes that an alien invasion is right around the corner and that we should prepare ourselves for life on another planet.

Just What the Doctor Ordered: Exactly the thing that is or was needed to help improve something or make one feel better.

Sentence – New lighting is just what the doctor ordered for the waiting room—it looks so much cheerier in here now!

Landmark: The position of a prominent or well-known object in a particular landscape

Sentence – The Bidston Dock cranes have been a Birkenhead landmark for many years.

Lethal: Of an instrument of certain death

Sentence – Snake bites are often lethal.

Liquidation: The act of exterminating

Sentence – The losses he incurred resulted in the liquidation of his assets.

Mammoth: So exceedingly large or extensive as to suggest a giant or mammoth

Sentence – The mammoth building was hideously constructed.

Kangaroo Court: A court of law where proper procedures are not followed at all; a sham judicial proceeding.

Sentence – The kangaroo court decided the punishment must fit the crime and ruled that he stay in his cell during the jailhouse comedy.

Keep (Something) at Bay: Maintain a distance from something or someone.

Sentence – A democracy demonstrates its political power by knowing how to refuse or keep at bay something foreign and unequal that threatens its homogeneity.

Keep a Stiff Upper Lip: Control one’s emotions; not give in to fear or grief.

Sentence – Paul didn’t keep a stiff upper lip because that was the way that he thought that Christians should behave.

Keep an Eye On: To keep an eye on something or someone is to watch it periodically, to keep it under surveillance.

Sentence – We’ve asked the neighbors to keep an eye on the house for us while we are away.

Keep an Eye Peeled: Be observant; watch out for something.

Sentence – Keep your eyes peeled for a delivery coming today.

Keep It Under Your Hat: Don’t tell anyone; don’t reveal this secret.

Sentence – I hear that John and Mary are getting a divorce, but keep it under your hat.