BBC Learning English - The English We Speak / Live rent-free in one's head (2024)

Change for the better The gift that keeps on giving Quiet quitting Hang in there Tug at the heartstrings Clutch at straws Crank up Find your groove Top-notch Off the cuff Take the wheel The works Dip your toe into Ham-fisted Second nature Take the plunge Peaks and troughs Heavy lifting stir the pot wishy-washy Shook Let loose Zing Do the trick Beige flag Lay it on thick Telling porkies In on it Walk someone through Brick by brick Cook up an idea Read the room Rinse repeat A million to one Cash in on something Makes your hair stand on end On the go A blow Rear its head Elbow grease Bring to the party Light up like a Christmas tree I don't buy it Touch grass I'm out Plan B Sound out Fly by night One-up Tread on someone's toes Mental gymnastics Call dibs Run for the hills Hard at it Each to their own Fill your boots Join the club Go with the flow Cakeism Drip feed Scatterbrain Be in with a shout On point Kiss something goodbye Productivity theatre Pet hate On the table Jump through hoops Famous last words Hard pass Level up Get with the programme Shout-out Fitspiration Hats off Under your breath Be at a loss Go off on one Wiggle room (It's the) story of my life No ifs or buts Caught red-handed Rabbit on Thanks a bunch Slow walk Take something to heart Know the score Jog your memory A flying start Steal someone's thunder Call it a day Off the top of my head Bite your tongue Win hands down Fever pitch Twiddle your thumbs Get your act together Dog's dinner Sitting pretty Feast your eyes Put the brakes on Second-guess Ins and outs Yes and no Eat your words Bug someone Willy-nilly Gnarly Smash it a doddle It's now or never Happy days Double down Game face Bitten by the bug It escapes me Onboarding Thereby hangs a tale The royal treatment Tell me about it Creatively bankrupt As if Ish Bad hair day Promises, promises Not see hide nor hair Curate's egg That'll be the day Gathering dust Easier said than done The plot thickens All at sea Don't mind me Cramp my style You couldn't make it up Cool cat There's nothing to it As sick as a parrot Eke out Say no more Scrub up well You shouldn't have Not looking too clever Not like the sound of something I'll give you that Another string to your bow Clap back Talk through your hat quote ... unquote Not a patch on something No cap Moreish A legend in one's lifetime Live rent-free in one's head Now you're talking Hits different Extra Zhuzh Lo and behold Bigwig Cringe it’s the … for me Obvs Down / up for something Savage Lit Yikes! YOLO Vibe Noob Adulting Slay Push back The CEO of Zip it! Botch job It slaps! Have a lot of plates spinning Pizzazz Oomph Snap up Nothingburger Awesomesauce Clout GOAT Workation Moonshot Slap-bang Sadfishing Mic drop Tone deaf A game Frontliner You do you On fleek Contact tracing Key worker Sharenting Plastic footprint Spoiler alert! Listicle Doomscrolling Crowdsourcing One step at a time Bog-standard A wake-up call Climate emergency Thirsty Vanilla Roast Sticking point Flatten the curve Living in a bubble Cancelled New normal A slippery slope Throw shade Bite the bullet Blended working JOMO It happens to the best of us Furlough Spill the tea Flexing Salty Skeleton crew Lowkey Live for something Cabin fever Bang on about something Fire Running on fumes Left on read Sheeple Hater Talk shop Snackable A memory like a sieve Nomophobia Peaco*cking To kick (something) into the long grass Rat race Microworker Serial returner Talk the talk Out with the old, in with the new The more the merrier Take one for the team Mind your Ps and Qs Dad dancing Big data Punch above your weight Social media influencer Goldilocks Ghosting Slow TV Tiger mother Buzzkill Buyer's remorse Freecycle Carbon footprint Cough up Brain fade Fib Hot under the collar Eat your heart out Across Fat chance Milk it Cherry-pick To fight tooth and nail It's a small world To vanish into thin air Get the short straw Soft skills Big deal Clever clogs Couch surfing Like riding a bike On fire Out of order Dead Give someone the runaround Laughing all the way to the bank The joke is on you Keep a lid on it To pull the wool over someone's eyes To take the rough with the smooth Hard-nosed To have a soft spot To make a song and dance (about something) Giant killer A shock to the system From pillar to post Small talk A bright spark To be all downhill Fireworks To have all your Christmases come at once It's the thought that counts Digital detox: What's the meaning? 'It leaves a bad taste in your mouth': What does it mean? Pea-souper Throw in the towel A walk in the park Dumbphone No fear Something to chew on Waffle on skew-whiff To play a blinder Miffed Humblebrag Out of your depth Mardy Curry favour Take the biscuit Step on it Ping Crunch time Have a pop A necessary evil If the cap fits My bad To have a good nose (for something) Friends in high places Catch-22 Let the dust settle Nothing to shout about Let sleeping dogs lie Bleed someone dry Small change That'll teach you! An old hand Out of the loop Rub it in Smombie Freegan Barking up the wrong tree Cloud cuckoo land A taste of your own medicine Happy-go-lucky Whizz-kid The best of both worlds Bone idle To cut a long story short Just the ticket FOMO Do a runner A thing All that jazz Not gonna lie Up your game To shout it from the rooftops To blow the cobwebs away A knees-up To put someone on the map Down in the dumps Excuse me! A sting in the tail So done with Lolz Have a go About Wing it Pot luck It beats me Jiggery-pokery Left, right, and centre Donkey's years Give us a bell Echo chamber Snowflake The heat is on Wet weekend No picnic A busman's holiday Fuddy-duddy No great shakes Not a sausage Long Not half All over the shop It comes with the territory It won't wash Jack-of-all-trades The coast is clear Pull a fast one Suck it and see To cut your teeth Shrinkflation La-la land A different kettle of fish At the drop of a hat Brass neck Reinvent the wheel Frenemy To be fair On the box Duck Bottle Got your number A slap in the face Clickbait Mash-up Air kiss Mansplaining Rolling in it Photobomb Cyberchondriac To wash your dirty linen in public Cat got your tongue? It takes two to tango Knee-jerk reaction To have an axe to grind Close, but no cigar Get somebody's goat Bust a gut Old-school Shedloads Hangry To pull something out of the hat In the blink of an eye Off the hook Barefaced To make a mountain out of a molehill The last/final straw The university of life White-collar worker / blue-collar worker Drama queen It's on the cards Until you're blue in the face Clean up your act You're pulling my leg! One good turn deserves another To fall at the first hurdle Pain in the neck Burn a hole in your pocket To turn something upside down Going forward A recipe for disaster Crash course You've sold it to me Full of the joys of spring A leopard can't change its spots Six of one, half a dozen of the other Test the water To lie through your teeth To make a monkey out of me Hot potato There's method to my madness In good nick Cheap and cheerful A bitter pill to swallow Potty I'm game That'll put hairs on your chest! Fancy someone Down the pan Part of the furniture Sweet tooth Bumper-to-bumper Eye candy Thingy Across the pond People person It's a steal! Bull and bear market Social media words Don't give up the day job A barrel of laughs To know something like the back of your hand A face for radio Give me credit To keep the wolf from the door Hot desk Out of juice The penny dropped Red tape Words for underwear To drink someone under the table Me time Cyberbullying Take a back seat In black and white A sticky situation A close shave My mind's gone blank To sleep on it All over the place To go around the houses Done and dusted Chill pill Put a sock in it! A wild card To take a shot / stab in the dark To keep a lid on it To be on the ball Mind-blowing Out for the count