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English idioms

Find out the meanings of English idioms and common sayings

Idioms are words or phrases that are frequently used in informal daily conversation. Find a list of English idioms below, along with their origins.

Food themed idioms

Food idioms are common in many languages. Here are some in English:

  • A piece of cake – if something is ‘a piece of cake’ it means it is very easy.
  • Apple of your eye – a person (usually a child), who is ‘the apple of your eye’ is someone you have great affection for.
  • Full of beans – someone who is ‘full of beans’ is very lively and has a lot of energy.
  • Butter someone up – if you ‘butter someone up’ you flatter them, usually when you want to influence them.
  • Big cheese – the ‘big cheese’ is a very important and successful person.
  • As useful as a chocolate teapot – something that is ‘as useful as a chocolate teapot’ is something that is not at all practical.
  • In hot water – if someone is ‘in hot water’, they are in trouble and are likely to be punished.

Winter idioms

Winter related idioms are common in English. Here are just a few:

  • Give someone the cold shoulder – to behave in an intentionally unfriendly way towards someone
  • Break the ice – to make conversation to help break down social formality
  • Feel under the weather – to feel unwell
  • Walk on thin ice – to be in a risky or uncertain situation
  • In cold blood – without feeling or mercy
  • Snowball effect – one action causing many other similar actions

Royal idioms

Royalty feature in quite a few English idioms, here are just a few examples:

  • A royal pain – an annoying person or thing
  • Battle royal – an extremely heated argument
  • Drama queen – a person who exaggerates situations
  • King’s ransom – a large sum of money
  • Prince charming – a woman’s perfect partner
  • Right royal – very enjoyable or excellent
  • Royal treatment – extravagant attention and care
  • Queen bee – a woman who has authority over her peers
Cake

Shakespearian idioms

Shakespeare introduced more phrases into the English language than any other individual. Do you recognise any of the following?

  • A sorry sight – a sight that you regret seeing, also someone or something of unpleasant or untidy appearance.
    Origins: Macbeth, 1605
  • All that glitters is not gold – just because something is attractive does not mean that it is valuable.
    Origins: The Merchant of Venice, 1596
  • Fight fire with fire – to defend oneself with a similar method as the attacker.
    Origins: King John, 1595
  • In stitches – to laugh very hard.
    Origins: Twelth Night, 1602
  • Wild goose chase – a hopeless endeavor.
    Origins: Romeo & Juliet, 1592

Common idioms

  • Push the boat out – to spend generously, more than one would normally spend.
    Origins: This saying comes from when people would help seaman push their beached boats out into the water, as they were often too large to move alone. This act of generosity from individuals is where the term of phase originates.
  • Tip of the iceberg – a small part of a bigger problem.
    Origins: This saying comes from the fact that what you see floating on the surface of the water is just a very small part of something much bigger, as the majority of the iceberg is hidden beneath the surface.
  • Every cloud has a silver lining – there’s a good side to every bad situation.
    Origins: The phrase literally means, that even when a dark cloud passes in front of the sun, you can often still see the glow of the sun behind. It is traced to John Milton’s “Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle” in 1634 and was found frequently in literature after this.
  • Pear shaped – when plans go horribly wrong and out of a person’s control.
    Origins: The exact origins are unknown but some sources say that the pear relates to the shape of a collapsed hot air balloon. Others suggest it was RAF slang, referring to when pilots attempted to perform a perfectly circular “loop the loop” and the shape of the unsuccessful outcome.

Documents d’identité pour le voyage

Un passeport est requis pour tous les visiteurs de Jersey. Vous devez vous assurer que votre passeport sera valide durant la totalité de votre voyage.

Les visiteurs venant à Jersey via le Royaume-Uni auront besoin d’une Electronic Travel Authorisation/ETA (autorisation de voyage électronique) à partir d’avril 2025. Les visiteurs venant directement à Jersey depuis l’UE n’auront pas besoin d’ETA avant la fin de 2025.

Vous devez vérifier les conditions de voyage auprès de votre agent de voyage ou de votre compagnie aérienne/opérateur de ferry.

Conditions de paiement

Une fois que votre cours a été validé, vous aurez besoin d'effectuer un premier versement de 200£. Au moins 4 semaines avant le début du cours, vous devrez payer le montant restant. St Brelade’s College se réserve le droit de refuser de fournir les prestations (cours, logement, activités) à l’étudiant si les frais scolaire n’ont pas été réglés complètement.

FRAIS D’ANNULATION

Avis de 22 jours ou plus : 200£ d’acompte
8 - 21 jours de préavis : 1 semaine (frais de cours et famille d’accueil/résidence) + 200£ d’acompte
1 - 7 jours de préavis : Montant total des frais à payer (frais de cours et famille d’accueil/résidence)
Des frais d’annulations indépendants s’appliquent aux logements privés.

Les remboursements des frais des cours sont effectués en GBP sur la même carte ou le même compte que celui utilisé pour effectuer le paiement initial. St Brelade’s College décline toute responsabilité en cas de différence dans le montant final reçu en raison des variations du taux de change sous-jacent.

ASSURANCE

Nous conseillons vivement aux étudiants de souscrire une assurance au moment de la réservation du voyage. Cela devrait assurer une couverture dans le cas où l’étudiant doit annuler la formation avant le départ ou pendant son séjour en raison de facteurs tels que la maladie (par exemple, Covid-19), les frais médicaux d’urgence, les frais de voyage et les effets personnels, etc. Une assurance spéciale pour les séjours linguistiques peut être souscrite auprès de certaines compagnies d’assurance.

VISAS ÉTUDIANTS

Les étudiants doivent payer en amont un acompte de 25%, puis le solde restant au moins 4 semaines avant l’arrivée. Dans l’éventualité où le dossier serait annulé, une partie de l’acompte serait remboursée, déduisant une somme 100£ de frais administratifs.

Travel documentation

A passport is required for all visitors to Jersey. You should ensure there is sufficient validity on your passport to cover your trip.

Visitors coming to Jersey via UK will need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) from April 2025. Visitors coming directly to Jersey from the E.U. will not need an ETA until late 2025.

You should check the travel requirements with your travel agent or airline / ferry operator.

Payment terms & conditions

Once your course has been confirmed you will need to pay a deposit of £200. At least 4 weeks before the course starts you will need to pay the remainder of the course fee. St Brelade’s College reserves the right to refuse to provide services to students if the course fees have not been paid.

CANCELLATION FEE

22+ days notice: £200 deposit
8 – 21 days notice: 1 week (tuition & homestay/residence fees) + £200 deposit
1 – 7 days notice: Full fee payable (tuition & homestay/residence fees)
Separate cancellation fees apply to private accommodation. Please refer to the individual hotel terms.

Course fee refunds are made in £GBP to the same card or account used to make the original payment. St Brelade's College accepts no responsibility for any difference in the final amount received due to changes in the underlying exchange rate.

INSURANCE

We strongly advise students to take out insurance at the time of booking the trip. This should ensure cover if the student needs to cancel the course before departure or during their stay due to factors such as illness (e.g. Covid-19), emergency medical expenses, travel costs and personal belongings etc. Special insurance for language course students can be purchased from some insurance providers.

VISA STUDENTS

Students must pay at least 25% deposit in advance and the balance at least 4 weeks before arrival. In the event that the application is unsuccessful the deposit is returned less a £100 administration fee.

Process for reporting a concern