A Closer Look 2: Lesson 3 · Street Talk 1 Vocabulary List

used to express that people are going to be punished for something, particularly by being fired

"Heads will roll."

"After the massive security breach, the company announced that heads were going to roll."

used to alert someone to pay attention or to be cautious about something

"Heads up! A ball is coming."

"Heads up! A ball is coming your way, so catch it before it hits you."

to advance and make great progress in one's career or life

"We made headway."

"Despite the initial setbacks, the team finally began to make headway on the complex project."

to say or do the exact right thing in a particular situation

"You hit the nail."

"When he described the core issue, he truly hit the nail on the head."

used to say that something is not wanted or needed at all

"I need it like hole."

"With my current workload, I need another meeting like a hole in the head."

a reckless impetuous irresponsible person

"He is a hothead."

"The hothead's impulsive anger often led him into unnecessary confrontations with others."

from one's memory, without spending time to carefully consider or think

"Off the top of my head, I think it is 50 dollars."

"Off the top of my head I can think of at least three reasons why that plan will not work."

used to refer to something that is complicated or difficult beyond one's understanding or capability

"It was over my head."

"The advanced quantum physics lecture was completely over my head; I couldn't grasp any of it."

someone who is peevish or disgruntled

"The sorehead grumbled about the rain."

"The resident sorehead was unhappy with the new park rules and voiced his complaints loudly."

a sense of high self-esteem or self-importance that one has

"He got a swelled head."

"After receiving so much praise, the young musician developed a swelled head and became arrogant."

to carefully consider the facts of a situation in order to understand something, make a decision, or solve a problem

"Use your head now."

"Please use your head and consider all the consequences before you make such a rash decision."

to feel deep sadness or disappointment, especially over a lost opportunity or unfulfilled desire

"He ate his heart out."

"She ate her heart out when she realized she had missed the opportunity to travel the world."

used to ask a person to stop their unkind or indifferent behavior and offer some help or show some sympathy instead

"Have a heart, please."

"Please have a heart and give the homeless man some food and shelter from the cold weather."

to discover or determine the underlying cause of something, particularly an issue

"Get to the heart of it."

"We need to get to the bottom of this problem before it escalates further and causes more damage."

used to show one sympathizes with and feels sorry for someone else's suffering

"My heart goes out."

"My heart goes out to everyone affected by the recent devastating floods and loss of their homes."

describing a conversation or discussion that is honest, open, and sincere, typically between close friends or family members

"They had a heart-to-heart talk."

"The mother had a heart to heart conversation with her daughter about the dangers of drugs and peer pressure."

a feeling of great sorrow or sadness usually caused by the loss of a loved one

"She felt heartache."

"The lingering heartache from his grandmother's passing still affected him deeply, even after many years had passed."

a point of weakness or vulnerability

"Pride is his Achilles' heel."

"Despite his many strengths, his inability to delegate tasks proved to be his Achilles' heel in management."

to be forced to wait for a person or anticipate something

"Cool your heels now."

"We had to cool our heels at the airport for three hours due to the unexpected flight delay."

postpone doing what one should be doing

"Stop dragging your heels."

"The committee is dragging its heels on approving the new budget, causing significant delays for the project."

to experience an enjoyable time, particularly by spending time at parties

"Let's kick up heels."

"After a long and stressful week at work, they decided to go out and kick up their heels at a lively club."

to not think carefully before saying something or reacting to a situation

"He shoots from hip."

"You should try not to shoot from the hip when discussing sensitive topics with your boss."

to begin to work or study hard and focus seriously on a task or goal

"Knuckle down and study."

"With the final exams just around the corner, it's time for everyone to knuckle down and focus on their studies."

used to refer to a punch that is hit in a person's mouth

"He got a sandwich."

"The aggressive man threatened to give his opponent a knuckle sandwich if he didn't back down immediately."

to submit to someone or something's authority

"Don't knuckle under."

"Despite the pressure from the management, the employees refused to knuckle under and demanded fair treatment."

a foolish or stupid person

"What a knucklehead!"

"The knucklehead forgot to lock the car doors, and all of his belongings were stolen overnight."

the capacity or ability to consume an excessive amount of food or drink, particularly alcoholic ones

"He has a hollow leg."

"Despite eating three large plates of food, he still claimed to have a hollow leg and asked for dessert."

walk

"We had to leg it."

"Since the bus had already left, they had no choice but to leg it all the way home."

a reasoning or explanation that is deemed sufficient to justify or defend someone's actions

"No leg to stand on."

"The lawyer argued that his client had no leg to stand on without any concrete proof of his involvement."

a large sum of money

"This car cost me an arm and a leg."

"The repairs to the car cost me an arm and a leg but I had no other choice."

to joke with someone in a friendly manner by trying to make them believe something that is not true

"I was just pulling your leg."

"Don't worry, I'm only pulling your leg — I didn't really eat all the cookies."

said as a way of asking someone to begin doing something or continue doing it faster than before

"Shake a leg, hurry!"

"Come on, shake a leg! We're going to be late for the movie if we don't leave now."

to go for a walk, particularly after spending a long time sitting in one spot

"We stopped to stretch legs."

"After sitting for hours, we decided to stop the car and stretch our legs."

to not say anything or immediately stop talking, particularly so as not to reveal a secret or make matters worse

"He buttoned his lip."

"You must button your lip about the surprise party if you don't want to ruin the fun."

the ability to hide one's emotions and seem calm in unpleasant or difficult situations

"She had a stiff upper lip."

"Despite the bad news, he maintained a stiff upper lip and showed no outward signs of distress."

an insincere offer or promise of support, assistance, etc.

"He pays lip service to the idea but does nothing."

"The politician paid lip service to environmental issues but voted against every green bill."

used to ask a person to pay attention to one's words and believe them

"Read my lips — I am not doing it."

"Read my lips: there will be no further extensions to this deadline under any circumstances."

a very insignificant individual or thing

"She feels like chopped liver when everyone ignores her."

"Why was everyone ignoring her as if she was chopped liver at the meeting?"

someone who gossips indiscreetly

"The secret is out thanks to that blabbermouth."

"The blabbermouth could not keep a secret and told everyone about the surprise party."

feeling sad or discouraged

"He is down in the mouth."

"She has been feeling quite down in the mouth since she lost her job last month."

to enjoy having lengthy and non-sensical conversations with people

"He is always running off at the mouth about things he does not know."

"That guy just runs off at the mouth constantly without ever stopping to think about what he says."

to continuously talk about something, in a way that seems foolish or careless

"He shoots off his mouth."

"He always shoots off his mouth about things he knows nothing about."

an area that is near a place in which someone resides

"Welcome to my neck of the woods."

"We are planning to visit your neck of the woods next summer so we can finally meet up."

a person or thing that is very annoying or troublesome

"He is a pain."

"Dealing with all these endless bureaucratic forms has become a real pain in the neck for me."

to say or do a thing that can put one in trouble or danger

"I stuck my neck out."

"He decided to stick his neck out and tell the manager that the whole project plan was completely wrong."

to make someone really mad by constantly doing something that angers or annoys them

"That loud music is getting on my nerves."

"The constant sound of the construction work outside is starting to get on my nerves."

to mention or do something that causes someone to become upset or angry

"That touched a raw nerve."

"When he mentioned her failed exam, he really hit a sensitive nerve and she started crying."

really easy to understand or notice

"It is plain as day."

"The answer was as plain as the nose on your face, but nobody in the room could see it."

guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory

"The coach is hard-nosed."

"The hard-nosed businessman always relied on his gut feeling and past experiences to make decisions."

to continuously put a lot of effort into doing something

"Keep nose to grindstone."

"To achieve her academic goals, she had to keep her nose to the grindstone and study diligently every evening."

to not care about something or someone because one will not be effected

"If you do not come, it is no skin off my nose."

"If you do not want to come to the party it is no skin off my nose honestly."

one's ability to find things of a particular type to suit one's needs

"She has a nose for news."

"The investigative journalist has a real nose for uncovering hidden scandals and important stories."

showing too much interest in people's lives, especially when it is not one's concern

"My neighbor is nosy."

"The nosy neighbor always peeked through her curtains to see what everyone else was doing outside."

a type of unfriendly behavior that is meant to show that one is better than other people

"He has his nose in air."

"She walks around with her nose in the air, acting like she is superior to everyone."

to pay an unreasonably high price for something

"We paid through the nose."

"We had to pay through the nose for those concert tickets because they were in high demand."

to become involved in a situation that in no way concerns one

"He always pokes his nose into my business."

"My nosy neighbour always sticks her nose into my business and asks too many personal questions."

used when something is either obvious or within one's field of vision but one does not notice it

"The keys were right under my nose."

"The missing keys were right under my nose on the kitchen table the whole time I was searching."

to turn something down because one believes that it is not satisfactory enough

"She turned her nose up at dinner."

"The critic turned his nose up at the new restaurant, claiming the food was mediocre and overpriced."

to have someone under one's complete domination or control

"She had him eating out of her hand."

"The charismatic speaker had the entire audience eating out of his hand from the very first sentence of his speech."

to dispose of something by giving or selling it to someone else though persuasion or deception

"He palms off fake goods as real."

"The dishonest salesman tried to palm off a fake designer watch as a genuine luxury brand product."

an attitude or behavior characterized by a lack of warmth, friendliness, or interest

"Her former friend gives her the cold shoulder."

"Her former friend gives her the cold shoulder and pretends not to see her at the party."

lacking courage or determination

"He is spineless and won't stand up for himself."

"The spineless manager never defended his team and he always blamed them for problems that were his fault."

used to describe a greedy person who takes more food than they could possibly finish

"My eyes are bigger than my stomach."

"His eyes are always bigger than his belly, so he orders too much food at restaurants."

put up with something or somebody unpleasant

"I cannot stomach horror movies."

"He cannot stomach the sight of blood which is why he could never become a doctor."

to reply quickly and rudely to someone

"Do not jump down my throat."

"Please don't jump down my throat before you hear the full explanation of the situation."

to act in a very clumsy or awkward manner

"He is all thumbs."

"I am all thumbs when it comes to assembling furniture, so I usually ask for help."

a method or principle solely based on experience, which may not be completely accurate

"It is a rule of thumb."

"As a rule of thumb, it's generally a good idea to save at least ten percent of your income."

an instance or gesture that indicates approval or satisfaction

"He gave me a thumbs up."

"The teacher gave a thumbs up when she saw our completed project work."

completely under one's direct control

"He is under her thumb."

"The manager had his employees completely under his thumb, dictating every aspect of their work."

to decide not to deal with a problem directly out of the fear that it may make things worse

"We are tiptoeing around the topic of layoffs."

"We have to tiptoe around the sensitive issue of layoffs because nobody wants to cause panic."

to unwillingly obey the rules and accept the ideas or principles of a specific group or person

"All employees must toe the line."

"The strict teacher expects all students to toe the line and follow every single classroom rule."

to fight or compete with someone with great force, determination, and strength

"They went toe-to-toe."

"The two rival companies decided to go toe-to-toe in a fierce advertising battle."

to refrain from speaking or expressing one's thoughts or opinions

"He wanted to argue but held his tongue."

"He wanted to argue but decided to hold his tongue to avoid causing a big argument."

said to someone who is annoyingly quiet when they are expected to speak

"Why are you so quiet? Cat got your tongue?"

"She stood before the panel completely silent — cat got your tongue, someone finally asked."

unable to speak clearly or express oneself due to nervousness, shyness, or confusion

"I get tongue-tied when I am nervous."

"The shy teenager became tongue tied whenever he tried to talk to the girl he had a crush on."

used to describe a situation in which one barely manages to do something or escape danger

"I passed the test by the skin of my teeth."

"I passed the final exam by the skin of my teeth with the lowest possible passing grade."

with all the resources, determination, and strength that one has

"They fought tooth and nail to keep their home."

"The workers fought tooth and nail to protect their jobs when the factory announced possible layoffs."

describing an individual who has lived for a very long time and is not able to do certain activities due to old age

"My horse is getting a bit long in the tooth."

"My horse is getting a bit long in the tooth so he cannot run as fast as before."

to make someone extremely annoyed or enraged

"That sound sets my teeth on edge."

"The sound of fingernails scraping across a chalkboard really sets my teeth on edge every single time."

a strong appetite for sweet food

"Her sweet tooth leads her to eat cake for breakfast."

"Her sweet tooth was so strong that she always ordered dessert even after a large meal."

an impudent or insolent rejoinder

"Don't give me lip."

"When asked about his insubordination, the employee offered nothing but impudent lip to his supervisor."

to complain or speak loudly in an immoderate way

"Do not mouth off."

"The disgruntled customer began to mouth off loudly at the service representative."

kiss, embrace, or fondle with sexual passion

"They will neck."

"The young couple found a secluded spot in the park to neck passionately under the moonlight."

showing or requiring courage and contempt of danger

"The stunt was nervy."

"It was a nervy decision to jump from the high cliff into the water below."

to be assigned to or depend on a particular person for responsibility or action

"It will rest on you."

"The responsibility for organizing the entire event will rest on the shoulders of the new project manager."

a human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language

"What tongue is this?"

"Understanding the nuances of the local tongue is crucial for effective communication within the community."