behind bars | in jail or prison | He has been put behind bars on a charge of supplying class A drugs. |
turn the tables (on somebody) | reserve a situation completely so that someone loses an advantage and you gain one | The plaintiff’s lawyer turned the tables on the defendant’s lawyer this morning by producing some strong new evidence. |
get on sb’s nerves | annoy somebody a lot | Your voice is really getting on my nerves. |
have/keep a ace/card/trick up sb sleeve | have/keep a secret plan, method, or idea to use when needed to give you advantage | The coach always keeps a few tricks up his sleeve. |
get/have something under your belt | learn or achieve something important and useful | Having a few certificates under your belt is necessary. |
die a thousand deaths (1) | vehemently oppose to an undesirable action or occurrence | I would die a thousand deaths if he won the competition |
die a thousand deaths (2) | suffer extreme embarrassment or anxiety | I used to die a thousand deaths when I wet my pants in first grade |
pass the buck | shift/reassign responsibility to another | Politicians have two skills: making empty promises and then passing the buck when they fail to deliver on them. |
be on an upward/downward trajectory | to be getting higher or lower | Inflation is on a upward trajectory. |
tickle/tinkle the ivories | to play the piano | He’s the piano teacher who taught my daughter to tickle the ivories. |
have a good set of ivories | to have a good piano or good teeth | He had a good set of ivories (= teeth) |
one’s heart/stomach flutters | to feel excited/nervous | Every time I think about my exams my stomach flutters! |
go into orbit | to increase or succeed very quickly or to be in a state of extreme activity | Prices have gone into orbit this year. |
cost/make/be worth a bomb/packet/fortune | to cost/make/be worth a great deal of money | That house must have cost a packet! Someone’s making a packet out of this business. |
of your own free will | because you want to do sth rather than because somebody has told or forced you to do it | She left of her own free will. |