Idioms (N)

not important; doesn’t matter

1. “What is important is that we are together. Whether we live here, or at your parents’, is neither here nor there.”

meaning: don’t get nervous at all

1. Graduates can have many skills, but if they don’t have nerves of steel then being a fighter pilot is going to be difficult.

2. “I don’t know how you did that. You must have nerves of steel to not be scared. How high were you? 100 feet?”

meaning: doesn’t give up

1. A lot of people might hate him, but everybody respects his never say die attitude. He will fight until the very end.

meaning: new people who will bring in new ideas and skills

1. “This office is filled with old people waiting for their pensions. It’s time we got rid of the dead wood and brought in some new blood.”

meaning: at the last minute; at the last possible time

1. The doctors performed the operation in the nick of time; if they had waited any longer, he might have lost his leg.

meaning: not holding anything back; giving everything; without limits

1. He went into that fight no holds barred – he didn’t care if the other person got hurt.

2. “Anne was furious at Dave. She shouted everything at him, no holds barred.”

meaning: really don’t like each other

1. Ever since she left them for the old boss’s new company, there has been no love lost between Anne and her old employers.

meaning: only through hurt can you have success

1. “Stop crying, you baby. No pain, no gain. If you want to be a professional footballer, you’ve got to be fitter. Now run, you fat pig!”

meaning: it is not something to laugh about; this is serious

1. “This is no laughing matter. If she notices the doll is missing, she’ll tell her father and then we are in big trouble.”

meaning: this is the only choice; there are no other options

1. “Stop complaining. You are going to go to this wedding, no two ways about it.”

meaning: dim-witted; his/her brain seems to be missing something

1. The kids in the playground laughed at him, and even the teachers thought he was not all there.

2. “You must excuse me: sometimes in the morning I am not all there. What did you say you wanted to do today?”

meaning: not what I enjoy

1. “You go ahead, but I am staying here. You might like paintball, but running around in the mud pretending to be a soldier is not my cup of tea.”

meaning: not very good (spoken)

1. The TV show premiered last night, after weeks of advertising, but most critics this morning said it was not much cop and, if you missed it, don’t bother watching next week.

2. “5 games to 0? Obviously I’m not much cop at squash.”

meaning: it is nothing special

1. Dave returned from his holiday, but didn’t seem too happy. It had not been anything to write home about, he said.

2. “I thought the movie was OK, but certainly nothing to write home about. I don’t know why it won so many awards.”

meaning: sometimes

1. Phil was a normal, boring guy, but every now and then he had an urge to do something dangerous. That was why he went sky-diving. That urge was what killed him.

2. “I’m not much of a card shark, but I play poker now and then.”

meaning: obsolete; no longer valid; no longer of any use

1. “As of today, all offers made by the previous management are null and void. We start afresh.”

meaning: a person who works with numbers and data (usually slightly negative)

1. Dave dreamed of living out by the sea, and no longer being a simple number cruncher stuck to his desk.

2. “Why am I listening to your opinion? You are only the office number cruncher. You know nothing!”

meaning: the key parts or ideas within a thing

1. They argued about the decision all weekend. The nuts and bolts of the problem was money, although Anne also thought she should have more power.

meaning: to suddenly go very bad

1. The first half of the year was very good, but recently his exam results have nosedived. His mum thinks it is because he is spending too much time with his new girlfriend.

2. The company’s fortunes have nosedived recently. It will be a surprise if it survives until next year.