Posted by Hey guys!
Everybody knows the importance of learning some phrasal verbs, 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 post, you learn some phrasal verbs, idioms and expressions to communicate in a more natural way when speaking English in a foreign country.
* keep sth from sb – avoid telling sb sth.
She kept this secret from her whole family for many years.
* let on to sb / about sth – talk about sth that is intended to be a secret.
John tried his best not to let on about Jane’s surprise party. I was upset, but did not let on.
* lose face – be regarded by others as stupid or wrong as a result of sth you have said or done, be embarrassed, humiliated.
Terry lost face when his assistant was promoted and became his boss.
* come to light – become known to people.
Other details have come to light because of this investigation.
* cover up – to hide the truth about sth bad, illegal, embarrassing, etc.
Politicians tried to cover up the scandal.
* give the game away / spill the beans – reveal sth that is intended to be a secret (often by accident).
She gave the game away / spilled the beans when she accidentally told everyone they weren’t together anymore.
* have sth on your conscience – feel guilty because of sth you did or didn’t do.
I hope he has it on his conscience for the rest of his days!
* live with sth – accept sth unpleasant that can’t change.
You have to live with the fact that he met someone else and your relationship is over.
* a pack of lies – a story that is completely untrue.
He often tells me a pack of lies but I don’t believe him anymore.
* I wasn’t born yesterday – I’m not stupid to believe what you say.
Don’t come up with any more lies, I wasn’t born yesterday!
I hope you learned some new phrasal verbs and idioms today, see you next time!
Source: Idioms and Phrasal Verbs – Advanced / Ruth Gairns and Stuart Redman – Oxford
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