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 loving & liking.
* carry a torch for someone – to be in love with someone. (carregar um caminhão de areia por alguém)
Terry has been carrying a torch for Liz for years, but she seems not to notice.
* common-or-garden / garden variety – very common or ordinary. (algo muito comum)
It’s a common or garden washing machine, but it works perfectly well.
* fall head over heels (in love) – fall deeply and completely in love, especially suddenly. (estar caidinho por alguém / estar perdidamente apaixonado(a) por alguém)
Tom and Mary are head over heels in love with each other and are going to get married next month.
* have a soft spot for someone / something – to feel that you like someone very much. (ter uma queda por alguém)
As a parent, I knew that there was a fine line between panic and caution.
* have a soft spot for someone / something – to be so busy that you do not have time to do anything else. (estar muito acima de alguém)
She’d always had a soft spot for her younger nephew.
* head and shoulders above someone / something – much better than other people or things. (estar muito acima de)
Natasha is head and shoulders above the other dancers in her age group.
* no great shakes – not very good. (não é grande coisa)
I’m afraid I am no great shakes as a cook/at cooking!
* nothing / not much to write home about – not exciting or special. (nada de mais / especial / extraordinário)
Their performance was nothing to write home about.
* of your dreams – when the person or thing of your dreams, they are the best you can imagine. (dos seus sonhos)
I met the man of my dreams! He’s perfect for me!
* an old flame – a person that you loved or had a romantic relationship with in the past. (um amor antigo, uma paquera antiga)
Last week he met his old flame in a restaurant and had dinner with her.
* not a patch on someone / something – greatly inferior to. (nem se compara)
“He no longer looked so handsome—he wasn’t a patch on Peter”
* a saving grace – a good quality that something or someone has that stops it, him, or her from being completely bad. (a única coisa que salva)
The film’s only/one saving grace is the excellent cinematography.
* there are plenty more fish in the sea – used to tell someone whose relationship has ended that there are many other people that they could have a relationship with. (o mar está cheio de peixe, existe muita gente solteira por aí)
Don’t cry over Pierre – there are plenty more fish in the sea!
* think the world of someone – to have a very high opinion of someone or something. (achar alguém o máximo)
I think the world of my niece – she’s a smart, loving girl.
* you have to be cruel to be kind – You must be blunt and honest with someone in order to help them realize something that may help them; it is sometimes necessary to hurt someone’s feelings in order to tell them the truth. (é preciso ser mau para ser bom)
`I have to be cruel to be kind,’ said Lindsay. `If I don’t control his food, he will eat himself to death.’
I hope you learned some new idioms today, see you next time!
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