9 Idioms describing people
A Positive and negative qualities
positive negative
She has a heart of gold. [very kind, She’s as hard as nails. [no sympathy for
generous] others]
He’s as good as gold. [helpful, well- He’s a nasty piece of work. [unpleasant]
behaved; used generally for children]
Note also:
Her heart’s in the right place. [is a good and kind person even though they do not always
seem so]
He’s such an awkward customer. [difficult person to deal with]
She’s a pain in the neck. Nobody likes her. [nuisance, difficult]
He gets on everyone’s nerves. [irritates everybody]
B
B Idioms based on ‘head’
You can learn idioms by associating them with a key word or words. Two of the idioms in A,
for example, are based on gold and two on heart. Here is a set of idioms describing people
based on the word head.
to have
your head screwed on [be sensible, informal]
a head for heights [not suffer from vertigo]
a head like a sieve [bad memory]
a good head for figures [be good at maths]
your head in the clouds [unaware of reality]
to be head and shoulders above someone [much better than]
to bury your head in the sand [refuse to think about a difficult situation in the hope you
won’t have to deal with it]
to keep your head [stay calm in a difficult situation]
C
C How people relate to the social norm
She’s a bit of an odd-ball. [peculiar, strange]
He’s really over the top. [very exaggerated in behaviour]
He’s (gone) round the bend, if you ask me. [absolutely crazy/mad]
My politics are very middle- of- the- road. [very normal; no radical ideas; neither left- nor
right-wing]
D
D Who’s who in the class? Idioms for people in the classroom
Sam’s teacher’s pet. [teacher’s favourite] Laura’s top of the class.
Harry is a real know-all. [thinks he knows everything]
Ali’s a bit of a big-head. [has a high opinion of him/herself] Anna’s a lazy-bones.
The last three idioms are used of people outside the classroom situation too.
,Exercises
Try to complete these idioms from memory if possible.
1She does a lot of voluntary work; she has a heart of gold
2Don’t expect any sympathy from the boss; she’s as hard as nails
3I’m sure Ahmed will help you; he’s as good as gold
4Although Florian sometimes seems a bit bad-tempered his heart is in the right place
5I don’t think you’ll like him; he’s a nasty piece of work
6I try to avoid having much to do with Liam. He’s rather an awkward customer
What do we call …
1an irritating person who knows everything? A know-all
2the person who is the teacher’s favourite? The teacher’s pet
3someone who thinks they are the best and says so? A big-head
4the one who gets the best marks? Top of the class
5a person who is very lazy? A lazy-bones (or bone-idle)
Complete the sentences using an idiom from B.
1I’d better write it in my notebook. I have
2Ask Martha to check those sums. She has a good head for figures
3Don’t ask me to go up that tower. I’m afraid I don’t have a head for heights
4She’s very sensible and knows what she’s doing. She has her head screwed on
5He’s quite out of touch with reality. He really has his head in the clouds
6The problem won’t go away so there’s no point burying your head in the sand
7Max is top of the class, head and shoulders above everyone else.
8Even when others around him are panicking Raul always keeps his head
,65 Addition
A Expressions for linking sentences/clauses
sentence/clause 1 and sentence/clause 2
For this job you need a In addition, Additionally, you need at least two years’
degree experience.
Smartphones are becoming Furthermore, Moreover, they are becoming cheaper.
more sophisticated. What’s more*,
Children should respect their Equally, Likewise, they should respect their
parents. teachers.
We’ll have all the stress of On top of (all) that**, we’ll have to pay the
going to court and giving lawyers’ bills.
evidence.
* furthermore and moreover are normally interchangeable, and are both rather
formal; what’s more is informal; what is more is rather formal.
** emphatic: used mostly in informal spoken English.
You can also use plus, e.g. To keep fit you need a good diet plus (you need) regular
exercise. (normally
used to connect noun phrases, but can connect clauses in informal speech)
B Expressions at the end of sentences/clauses
They sell chairs, tables, beds, and so on (and so on is more informal than etc.)
It’ll go to the committee, then to the board, then to another committee, and so on and so
forth.
[suggests a long continuation; infml]
He was a good sportsman and an excellent musician into the bargain / to
boot. [emphasises the combination of items; infml]
C Expressions that begin, or come in the middle of, sentences/clauses
Further to my telephone call to you yesterday, I am now writing to … (formal opening for a
letter or email)
In addition to winning the gold medal, she also broke the world record.
In addition to his BA in History, he has a PhD in Sociology. (fairly formal)
Alongside her full-time job as a dentist, she does voluntary conservation work at weekends.
I have to go to the bank today, as well as getting my hair cut.
Besides / Apart from having a salary, he also has a private income.
Apart from her many other hobbies, she restores old racing cars.
Jo Evans was there, along with / together with a few other people who I didn’t know
, Exercises
Dear Mrs Coldstream,
1 Further to my letter of 16 March, I should like to give you more information concerning my
qualifications and experience. 2 in addition to holding a Diploma in Catering, I also have an
Advanced Certificate in Hotel Management. The course covered the usual areas: finance,
front services, publicity, space allocation
3 and so on. I also wish to point out that 4 as well as holding these qualifications, I have now
been working in the hotel trade for five years. 5 Furthermore, my experience prior to that was
also connected with tourism and hospitality. I hope you will give my application due
consideration.
Yours sincerely,
Gemma Weaver
Rewrite the sentences using the word or phrase in brackets at the end.
1 Physical labour can exhaust the body very quickly. Excessive study can rapidly reduce
mental powers too. (equally) Physical labour can exhaust the body very quickly. Equally,
excessive study can rapidly reduce mental powers.
2 My cousin turned up and some schoolmates of his came with him. (along with) My cousin
turned up along with some schoolmates of his.
3 He owns a big chemical factory and he runs a massive oil business in the USA. (as well as)
He owns a big chemical factory as well as running a massive oil business in the USA
4 I’m their scientific adviser and act as a consultant to the Managing Director. (addition) In
addition to being their scientific adviser, I acts as a consultant to the Managing Director.
5 It was raining and getting dark. We also had very little petrol left in the tank. (top) It was
raining and getting dark. On top of (all) that, we had very little petrol left in the tank
6 He’s a very good singer. He has a degree in music. (more) He’s a very good singer. What’s
more/ wat is more, he has a degree in music.
Correct the mistakes in the use of addition words and phrases in these sentences.
1 I work part-time as well as I am being a student, so I have a busy life.
2 Besides to have having a good job, my ambition is to meet someone nice to share my life
with.
3 Alongside I have my many other responsibilities, I now have to be in charge of staff
training.
4 In addition has to having a degree, she also has a diploma.
5 Likewise my father won’t agree, likewise my mother’s sure to find something to object to.
6 To boot she’s a good footballer, she’s a good athlete to boot.
7 He said he’d have to first consider the organisation, then the system, then the finance and
so forth so on and so on and so forth.
