IELTS Vocabulary – Part 129

Fourth Estate: The media and newspapers.

Sentence – Once again the Fourth Estate was being wined and dined by an F1 team today, this time by Sauber.

Fox in the Henhouse (Chickenhouse): Someone who causes trouble.

Sentence – I’d watch out for him if I were you—he walks around here like a fox in the henhouse.

Freak Out: A wildly irrational reaction or spell of behavior.

Sentence – Mom will freak out when she finds out we broke her vase!

French leave: Absence without permission.

Sentence – The official story is that he’s sick, but I think he’s just taking French leave.

Freudian slip: Accidental use of an incorrect word; a revealing slip of the tongue.

Sentence – He said the wrong woman’s name during his wedding ceremony, a Freudian slip that sent the bride-to-be into tears.

From Pillar to Post: From one place to another, in a forced, random way.

Sentence – They’ve been sending me from pillar to post looking for the replacement part, but nowhere seems to have it in stock.

Get Wind of: Hear about.

Sentence – If Mom gets wind of this prank we’re planning, we’ll be grounded for the rest of the summer.

Get With the Program: Figure out what everyone else already knows. Often used sarcastically, as a command.

Sentence – No one leaves their dirty laundry in the hallway—get with the program!

Go Along (With): Agree to something, often provisionally.

Sentence – If the cops show up at the house because the party’s too loud, just go along with whatever I say.

Go Ape: Express wild excitement or anger.

Sentence – My parents went totally ape when they found out I’d wrecked the car!

Go Ballistic: Fly into a rage.

Sentence – My parents went totally ballistic when they found out I’d wrecked the car!

Go Bananas: To become irrational or crazy.

Sentence – I’ll end up going bananas if I have to work in this cubicle for one more day!

Go Belly Up: To go bankrupt.

Sentence – I really can’t afford to see this company go belly up.

Go Berserk: To go crazy.

Sentence – No one could guarantee that the bots wouldn’t go berserk and mow down friendly troops or otherwise malfunction, even though they have lots of safeguards.

Go Bonkers: To be or become wild, restless, irrational, or crazy; to act in such a way.

Sentence –  I’ll go bonkers if I have to wait any longer.

Go Cold Turkey: Stop using an addictive substance suddenly, without tapering off.

Sentence – If students can manage without A/C in the heat of examinations, could not the rest of the population go cold turkey once in a while ?

Go Down in Flames: Fail in a spectacular way.

Sentence – Despite all the media hype, the major summer blockbuster went down in flames—hardly anyone went to see it while it was in theaters.

Go Mental: To suddenly become extremely angry.

Sentence – My parents are going to go mental if they find out we had a party here!

Go Nuclear: Use an extreme measure; because extremely angry.

Sentence – I’m worried about the repercussions if our military officials decide to go nuclear.

Go Nuts: To become crazy.

Sentence – I’ll end up going nuts if I have to work in this cubicle for one more day!

Go Off Half-Cocked: To say or something prematurely, with a negative effect.

Sentence – I’ll admit that I went off at half-cock when I sent that angry email before finding out what really happened.