Posted by Hey guys!
Everybody knows the importance of learning some idioms and colloquial expressions, especially when you live in a foreign country. We always learn a lot of them by communicating with native speakers or watching movies and series. In this section, you learn some idioms and expressions to communicate in a more natural way when speaking English in a foreign country.
Here are a few Idioms related to the topic Success & Failure.
* back to the drawing board – back to project. (de volta ao rascunho)
The government should go back to the drawing board and rethink their programme.
* bring the house down – to make a lot of success / get the public excited. (arrasar, arrebentar)
The band brought the house down with their performance.
* come up in the world – to make a lot of money / become successful. (tirar o pé da lama)
He was a simple man, but ended up coming up in the world.
* fall flat on your face – to make a mistake. (cair do cavalo, quebrar a cara, dar com os burros n’água, tomar na fuça)
He tried to implement some changes in the contract, but fell flat on his face.
* be fighting a losing battle – to be fighting for nothing. (lutar por uma causa perdida)
You are fighting a losing battle, he will never change.
* go belly-up – to lose / to fail / to die. (ir para as cucuias, ir a óbito)
Some factories and farms went belly-up because of their huge debts.
* go pear-shaped – to have problems / an irregular situation. (acabar dando errado)
The global economy is currently going pear-shaped due to the pandemic.
* hit the nail on the head – to describe a situation or problem very precisely.
(acertar em cheio, acertar na mosca)
She hit the nail on the head when she proposed this solution.
* plain sailing – easy to do or achieve / in good conditions, without any difficulties. (de vento em popa)
Once you get used to exercising every day, your plan of losing weight will be plain sailing.
* save the day – to manage a situation successfully. (salvar a pátria)
After having an intensive training, the team won the championship and saved the day.
* touch and go – not sure / a precarious situation. (situação arriscada ou delicada)
He was going to talk to his boss about the issue, but it was touch and go.
* win hands down – with no difficulties. (ganhar com as mãos nas costas)
She won the contest hands down. Nobody was better than her.
* with flying colours – with no difficulties. (com sucesso, mérito, distinção)
She passed the entrance exam with flying colours.
* work like a charm – very effective, perfect. (dar muito certo, cair como uma luva)
Your idea to solve the problem worked like a charm.
I hope you learned some new idioms today, see you next time!
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