to keep a low profile -
Zurückhaltung
üben
shake a leg -
beeile Dich
aggro (aggression/aggravation) -
Streit, Konflikt
if
you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen -
wenn
Du den Stress nicht aushalten kannst, gib auf
to foot the bill -
für etwas bezahlen
to go postal -
plötzlich gewalttätig
werden
to miss the boat -
eine Gelegenheit
verpassen
the sexy part is -
das Beste an der
Sache ist
to worship the ground
sb walks on -
jdn verehren
you've seen one,
you've seen them all -
Dinge sind alle gleich
don't
look a gift-horse in the mouth -
einem geschenkten Gaul guckt man nicht ins Maul
I didn't sleep a
wink -
ich habe nicht eine
Sekunde geschlafen
to be struck dumb -
völlig sprachlos
sein
to buy off the peg -
von der Stange kaufen
lame duck -
völlig wirkungslos
to watch every penny -
jeden Pfennig umdrehen
to stew in one's own juice -
im eigenen Saft
schmoren
stick-in-the -mud -
ein Langeweiler
to rub salt in the
wound -
Salz in die Wunde
reiben
to go through the
roof -
die Wände hochgehen
a sore point -
ein wunder Punkt
higgledy-piggledy -
wie Kraut und Rüben
don't
count your chickens before they're hatched -
das Fell d. Bären nicht verteilen, bevor man ihn erlegt hat
when in Rome, do
as the Romans do -
andere Länder,
andere Sitten
to hit the nail
on the head -
den Nagel auf den
Kopf treffen
to make a mountain
out of a molehill -
aus einer Mücke
einen Elefanten machen
I couldn't care
less -
ich kann darauf
pfeifen
a textbook example -
wie es im Buche
steht
he's a dead loss
/ he's hopeless -
bei ihm ist Hopfen
und Malz verloren
to have no staying
power -
kein Sitzfleisch
haben
to bore s.o. to
death -
jdn zu Tode langweilen
it's like Piccadilly
Circus -
es geht zu wie in
einem Taubenschlag
to give s.o. short
shrift -
mit jdm kurzen Prozeß
machen
to tell s.o. where
to get off -
jdm die Leviten
lesen
Come off it ! -
Jetzt mach mal Punkt
to take sth at face
value -
etwas für bare
Münze nehmen
that's the crux
of the matter -
da liegt der Hund
begraben
a hot potato / a
tricky subject -
ein heißes
Eisen
to call a spade
a spade -
das Kind beim Namen
nennen
to pull so.'s leg -
jdn auf den Arm
nehmen
get off my back -
laß mich in
Ruhe
to be for the birds -
nichts taugen, langweilig
sein
keep it under your
hat -
behalt es für
Dich
so. is dressed to
kill -
jdn hat seine besten Klamotten an
to knock so.'s socks
off -
jdn umhauen
to get the axe -
entlassen werden
to get up on the
wrong side of the bed -
mit dem falschen
Bein aufstehen
to make ends meet -
gerade so auskommen
(mit dem Geld)
to pay through the
nose -
zuviel bezahlen
he has a chip on
his shoulder -
er hat schlechte
Laune haben, ärgerlich sein
to be slow on the uptake - schwer von Begriff sein
grunge - comes from US slang grungy (=dirty, shabby)
to be all thumbs - zwei linke Hände haben
to make a killing - viel Knete machen
without fuss or quibble - ohne wenn und aber
to have a chip on one's shoulder - einen Komplex haben
to sort the wheat from the chaff - die Spreu vom Weizen trennen
to give a short shrift to sb. - jdn. eine Absage erteilen
at his wits end - am Ende seiner Künste sein
to keep under lock and key - unter Verschluss halten
not to see the wood for the trees - den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht sehen
to make a scathing attack on sb - jdn scharf angreifen
|
From Michael Jäger of the Gymnasium at Burgdorf comes the following definition of the word
'idiom' , including a lot of colourful examples:
Idioms - The Spice of Speech
What is an idiom?
The word idiom comes from Greek and means own or peculiar. So an idiom is a mode of
expression peculiar to a language which cannot be explained grammatically. It is special to that
particular language alone, and it cannot be translated word for word into another language. One
could also say that an idiom is a peculiarity of phrase approved by usage; it is an unusual way of
saying something which is accepted because people use it very often. Some people refer to
idioms as poems in miniature, because they create vivid word-pictures.
A.
Here you have a list of idiomatic expressions which are related to colour:
1. to be the black
sheep
2. to be yellow
3. to paint the
town red
4. to be in one's
black book(s)
5. to be a red rag
to a bull
6. to see pink elephants
7. to be purple
with rage
8. to cry blue murder
9. to be green with
envy
10. to be black
and blue
11. to be in the
pink
12. to be in the
dark
13. to be/feel/look
off colour
14. to sail under
false colours
15. to come through/off
with flying colours |
B.
Here you have got a list of idioms referring to animals:
1. to keep the wolf
from the door
2. to throw pearls
before swine
3. to nurture a
viper in one's bosom
4. to be the black
sheep
5. a wolf in a sheep's
clothing
6. to let the cat
out of the bag
7. to set a cat
among pigeons
8. to be catty
9. there's no room
to swing a cat in
10. to take a catnap
11. it's a dog's
life
12. you haven't
got a dog's chance
13. to be an underdog
14. to throw s.th.
to the dogs
15. a pig in a poke
16. to take the
bull by the horns
17. she's no chicken
18. to hold your
horses |
C.
Here you have got a list of idioms referring to the body:
1. to be all ears
2. I laughed my
head off
2. shoulder to the
wheel
3. nose to the grindstone
4. in one ear and
out the other
5. up to one's eyes
in work
6. to see eye to
eye with s.o.
7. to make faces
8. to keep a straight
face
9. to lend s.o.
a hand
10. to hand s.th.
over to s.b. |
Find
the German equivalent of the English figurative idioms (crime):
1. to hold a knife
at s.o's throat
2. to escape by
the skin of one's teeth
3. It was a flop
4. to take to one's
heels
5. to catch s.o.
red-handed
6. to be in a fix
7. to know all the
tricks
8. to have a clean
slate
9. to be hand in
glove with s.o.
10. to put pressure
on s.o.
11. to be in the
dark
12. to bump s.o.
off
13. to force s.o.
into a corner
14. to be at liberty
15. It's dead and
buried
16. to have a finger
in the pie
17. to put a stop
to it
18. to smell a rat
19. to take a good
look at s.th. |
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