IDIOMS for IELTS – Part 35

Dance to Someone’s Tune: Consistently follow someone’s directions or influence.

Sentence – I have no intention of making Jake’s curfew later, but he is trying his hardest to get me to dance to his tune!

Dance with the Devil: Knowingly do something immoral.

Sentence – “You’re dancing with the devil if you keep going to the casino every night.”

Dark Horse: A surprise candidate or competitor, especially one who comes from behind to make a strong showing.

Sentence – He’s a bit of a dark horse: he was earning a fortune, but nobody knew.

Darken Someone’s Door (Step): Make an unwanted visit to someone’s home.

Sentence – I made sure he’ll never dark our door again.

Dead Ahead: Directly ahead, either in a literal or a figurative sense.

Sentence – They were Spitfires, dead ahead and so close it was impossible, coming directly at him.

Dead as the Dodo: Completely extinct; totally gone.

Sentence – Those horse – drawn vehicles are as dead as the dodo.

Dead Eye: A good shooter, a good marksman.

Sentence – My brother is deadeye hunter.

Dead Heat: An exact tie in a race or competition.

Sentence – The boat race a dead heat , and the first prize was divided in two.

Dead of Winter: The coldest, darkest part of winter.

Sentence – My house feels solid and safe and orderly; hyacinths and narcissus bloom indoors here even in the dead of winter.

Dead ringer: Very similar in appearance.

Sentence – Their work has revealed that this trench on Mars is a “dead ringer” for a region in Australia where some of the earliest evidence of life on Earth has been buried and preserved in mineral form.

Dead Run: Running as fast as possible.

Sentence – She headed for the door at a dead run, her new arm thumping uselessly against various items of furniture.

Deep Pockets: have a lot of money

Sentence – For those with strong nerves and deep pockets, Berlin’s property market looks attractive.

Dead Shot: A good shooter, a good marksman.

Sentence – He’s a hard nail, is Jack, and a dead shot, too, but you can’t leave a Grand National winner to die like that–what?”

Deliver the Goods: Provide what is expected.

Sentence – Inevitably, therefore, the government fails to deliver the goods as demanded, as expected, and sometimes even as promised.

Devil’s Advocate: Someone who argues a point not out of conviction, but in order to air various points of view.

Sentence – I’m all for universal health care, but let me be the devil’s advocate for a moment. How do you propose the government fund such a massive undertaking?

Dirty Look: A facial manner that signifies disapproval.

Sentence – I got a really dirty look from the man sitting next to me when I started talking about politics.

Dodge a Bullet: To narrowly escape disaster.

Sentence – I really dodged the bullet when my exam was postponed to next week, as I hadn’t studied for it at all!

Doesn’t Amount to a Hill of Beans: Is unimportant, is negligible.

Sentence – The boss is just mad right now—I think all of his rules and threats won’t amount to a hill of beans.

Dog Days of the summer: The hottest day of summer.

Sentence – We don’t expect much of the repair work to be done during the dog days of summer.

Dog in the Manger: A person who prevents others from using something, even though the person himself or herself does not want it.

Sentence – The toddler, like a dog in the manger, refused to give her older sister the notebook she needed to complete her school assignment.