Idioms – Expectation

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 Expectation.

* the calm before the storm – a quiet period before a period of trouble and intense activity. (a calmaria antes da tempestade, o pior está por vir)

Things are relatively relaxed at the moment, but I think it’s the calm before the storm.

* castles in the air – when someone’s plans are not realistic and have no chance of succeeding.

(fazer castelos nas nuvens)

The politicians promises were just castles in the air.

* not count your chickens before they’re hatched – when you don’t make plans for the future because you don’t know how the situation will develop. (não cantar vitória antes do tempo)

The contract is not signed yet. Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.

* feel something in your bones – when you feel that you are extremely right about something, although you cannot explain why.

(ter certeza)

I’ve got a feeling in my bones he will win this championship.

* not have a prayer – when it’s impossible for someone to achieve something. (não ter a menor / mínima chance)

The team was on such good form their opponents didn’t have a prayer.

 *it’s early days / it’s early in the day – when it’s too soon to be sure about what will happen about a situation in the future. (ainda é cedo para dizer)

We haven’t made a lot of progress, but it’s early days yet.

* like looking for a needle in a haystack – trying to find something that is extremely difficult or impossible. (como procurar agulha em um palheiro)

It’s clear that finding a solution to this problem is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

* a long shot – when there’s a little chance to solve a problem but you still think it’s worth trying. (difícil de acontecer, improvável)

It’s a long sho,t but I think you can still get a promotion after what happened.

* on the cards – when something is very likely to happen. (está nas cartas / está escrito)

We will definitely overcome this tough phase, it’s on the cards.

* on the off-chance – when there’s a small chance that something good will happen even though you dont really expect it, just in case. (uma remota possibilidade / por via das dúvidas)

Joan called at noon on the off chance that he’d be home.

* out of the blue – unexpectedly. (do nada, de repente)

She asked for a divorce out of the blue.

* par for the course – when it’s not good, but it is what you expect. (como já era de se esperar)

Given the high standards of the food, the prices seem par for the course.

* not a snowball’s chance in hell –  when there’s no chance at all that something will happen, no way. (nem que a vaca tussa, sem chance)

The plan has a snowball’s chance in hell of being accepted.

I hope you learned some new idioms today, see you next time!