Enrich Your English With Idioms, Cliches and Nuanced Words

Jul 3, 2026

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A practical English vocabulary reference focused on idioms, clichés, proverbs, and nuanced expressions arranged alphabetically. Each entry provides clear meanings and short examples that demonstrate typical usage in everyday conversation and professional contexts. The collection covers figurative language for relationships, behavior, finances, attitudes, and common reactions, helping learners express ideas more naturally and with cultural fluency through ready-to-use phrases.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages52

Reading Time1 h 20 min

Idioms, Clichés, Quotations, and Nuanced Words

A–B Entries

Enrich Your English With Idioms Cliches Quotationsand Nuanced Words John Vlachopoulos and Peny Polychronopoulou [www.polydynamics.com](www.polydynamics.com) Dundas, ON, Canada 2008 ABSENCE. Absence makes heart grow fonder. Separation makes love stronger. The opposite is familiarity breeds contempt. ACCIDENT. An accident (or disaster) waiting to happen. A bad situation or thing that is likely to lead to an accident (or disaster) e.g. 1) Drinking before you drive is an accident waiting to happen. 2) An incompetent government is a disaster waiting to happen. ACROSS. Across the board. Everyone and everywhere e.g. The pay raise for this coming year will be 4% across the board and 2% for merit. Ad hoc. For a specific case or situation (not on a regular basis) e.g. An ad hoc committee was formed to address the problems caused by the sudden snow storm, because there was no standing committee for weather related issues. ALLIGATORS. He (she) is up to his (her) ass in alligators. He (she) isin an extremely difficult situation full of problems. ALMA. Alma mater. (My) University (Latin) e.g. The wealthy businessman donated $100,000 to his Alma Mater. AMERICAN. As American as apple pie. All-American, very American, American virtue. e.g. Baseball is as American as apple pie. A slight variation is the expression used by a civil right leader in the 1960’s: Violence is as American as cherry pie. ANNUS. Annus horribilis. Terrible year (Latin) . It became famous in 1992 when Queen Elisabeth described that year of a fire at her Windsor castle and marital problems with her children. The opposite is Annus mirabilis: A wonderful year. Ante up. To pay one’s share. e.g. The members of the club were asked to ante up $1000 each for repairs in the tennis courts. APPEARANCE. Appearances are often deceiving. APPLE. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. A proverb used since long ago. APPLE. Apples and oranges. Different things or persons. This expression is frequently used by politicians, lawyers, teachers and other educated people e.g. Studying the economic problems in Europe, for the solution of problems in Africa is like comparing apples and oranges. APPLE. Bad apple. A metaphor indicating a bad person or scoundrel e.g. In every classroom teachers expect to find a few bad apples. APRIL. April fool’ s day. April 1st is a day of jokes and tricks in several American and European countries. APRIL. April showers bring May flowers. Popular expression. ARM. An arm and a leg. A great effort or a huge amount of money. E. g He would give an arm and a leg to get this job. ARMS. At arm’ s length. Not terribly friendly or personally intimate. Used frequently in professional language e.g. The relations between the company president and his employees should be at arm’ s length. ASK. Ask me no question and I’ ll tell you no lies. Frequently used expression. ASSETS. Assets and liabilities. This financial term means what you have (assets) and what you owe (liabilities) . It is also used for a great variety of other situations, for the positives (assets) and the negatives (liabilities) e.g. Knowledge of a foreign language is an asset. Having a criminal record is a liability. Attitude. Overused word meaning a way of thinking or behavior. He has an attitude usually means he is uncooperative. Other cliches: good attitude, bad attitude, a teenager with an attitude, wait-and-see attitude, attitude problem, Idon’ t like his attitude. ATTITUDE. Cavalier attitude. Arrogant disregard e.g 1) Many young people have a cavalier attitude towards old persons. 2) The company displayed very cavalier attitude by neglecting the warnings for better pricing. AVERAGE. Average Joe. Average person, common, unremarkable e.g. He is your average Joe. AVOID. Avoid it like the plague. Dislike something very much e.g. Some people like to visit a Casino and others avoid it like the plague. Awesome. Frequently used by teenagers and other young pers

FAQs

How is the material organized for learning?

Expressions are arranged alphabetically, with each letter section containing multiple idioms and clichés and brief explanations.

What kind of information does each entry provide?

Most entries define the meaning and include at least one example showing how the phrase is used.

What topics do the idioms and clichés cover?

The collection includes figurative language for relationships and emotions, warnings and consequences, attitudes and behavior, and common everyday situations.

Jul 3, 2026

Upload by Aurelia