Informal English Vocabulary, Idioms – N – Z

Here you will find idioms and other useful phrases.

• A – M
• N – Z

Idioms/Informal Phrases	Sample Sentences
N
from now on	From now on I'm going to drive more carefully.
O
old fart	Bob isn't an entertainer, he is an old fart.
P
pint	›A pint for me, please.‹
to be pissed off	Leave me alone, I'm pissed off!
pitchdark
plonk	Plonk often causes a bad headache.
to come to the point	Don't talk for hours. Come to the point.
to pop in	I won't be back early. I'll pop in at Max's.
to put in a word for sb.	My mother doesn't let me go out. Can you put in a word for me, please?
pretty much	They earn pretty much money together.
out of the question	We can't come to the party. This is out of the question.
Q
quid	A quid is a pound in British currency.
R
red tape	Too much red tape takes everything longer.
right as rain	Your baby is right as rain.
S
to sack sb.	Fred was sacked because he had lost his driving licence.
scruffy	Her apartment is very scruffy.
to see about	Let's have a party on Saturday. I'll see about the drinks.
sharpish	After a quarrel Mike left sharpish.
to sing like an angel
to be in someone's shoes	I don't want to be in Peter's shoes.
to shut up	Shut up or disappear before I get furious.
can't stand	I can't stand the rain.
in the sticks	During their holiday the Bakers lived in the sticks. Far away from towns.
to stick sth./sb.	I can't stick more of this.
stroppy	Jimmy is a stroppy child.
stuff	Where is all that stuff I bought at Oxfam's yesterday?
T
Take it easy.
telly	You're a couch potato. All you can do is sit in front of the telly.
thick	Are you thick? This is the right number.
Think nothing of it.
to be on time	Please be on time.
to take one's time	Take your time.
tipple	After walking through the cold rain everyone enjoyed a tipple.
tomato-red hair	He's got tomato-red hair.
to loose track	Do you know where Fred lives? - I've lost track of him.
to take turns	My sister and Anne take turns babysitting.
W
Watch your step.	You'd better watch your step if you don't want trouble with your boss.
like water on a hot stone
to wear many hats	You've got to wear many hats if you want to run your own hotel.
to feel under the weather	I think I'll stay at home tonight. I'm feeling a little under the weather.
when push comes to shove	When push comes to shove you'd rather accept the job.
as white as snow
no wonder	No wonder he is ill. He went out in shorts in winter.
a word in your ear	Could I have a word in your ear?
Words fail me.	Did you hear about Sue and Pat? – Words fail me.
to eat one's words	I'm sorry. I'll eat my words.
in other words	In other words, you can't answer the question.
to have words with sb.	I had words with the headteacher of my son's school
to work like a dog
would rather	Would you like to spend your holidays in the North? No - I'd rather fly to Mexico.
to wow sb.	His appearance at the party wowed me.
Z
to zing through sth.	The arrow zinged through the trees as fast as lightning.

Thanks to Alina, Elisabeth and Friedrich.

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