Idioms
Hardship
The full list of 20 words in this set. Open any word for its pronunciation, collocations, a band 8 sentence and the mistakes Vietnamese learners make.
Learn this set with flashcards20 words
- 1
down and outidiom/ˌdaʊn ən ˈaʊt/
without money, home, or prospects; destitute
“After several bad breaks he ended up down and out on the streets.”
- 2
go through the millidiom/ɡəʊ θruː ðə mɪl/
to experience severe difficulties or harsh treatment
“He went through the mill during his apprenticeship.”
- 3
thrown in at the deep endidiom
put into a difficult situation suddenly without preparation or training
“On my first day at the new job they threw me in at the deep end and asked me to lead a meeting.”
- 4
in the redidiom (adjective phrase)/ɪn ðə red/
having a negative balance or running at a loss
“The company has been in the red for three consecutive quarters.”
- 5
land on one's feetidiom/lænd ɒn wʌnz fiːt/
to end up in a good position after experiencing difficulties, often with an element of luck
“She lost her job but quickly landed on her feet with a better offer.”
- 6
shoulder the burdenidiom/ˈʃəʊldər ðə ˈbɜːdən/
to accept responsibility for something difficult or unpleasant
“When the company failed, managers had to shoulder the burden of layoffs.”
- 7
be snowed under (with something)idiom (verb phrase)
to have so much work that you cannot deal with it all
“I've been snowed under with marking this week.”
- 8
be hard upidiom/biː hɑːd ʌp/
short of money for a period of time; struggling financially but not necessarily destitute
“After renting a flat in the city, I was really hard up for a few months.”
- 9
in a bindidiom/ɪn ə baɪnd/
in a difficult situation where it is hard to find a solution
“I'm in a bind — my laptop died and I need it for the presentation tomorrow.”
- 10
make do withidiom (verb phrase)/meɪk duː wɪð/
accept using something less good because nothing better is available
“We had no heating for a week and had to make do with extra blankets.”
- 11
dig oneself out of a holeidiom
to recover from financial trouble or a difficult situation by effort and time
“After months of overtime and budgeting, he finally dug himself out of a hole.”
- 12
in a jamidiom/ɪn ə dʒæm/
to be in a difficult or awkward situation (informal)
“I was in a jam after missing my flight and had to rebook at once.”
- 13
on a shoestringidiom (prepositional phrase)/ɒn ə ˈʃuːstrɪŋ/
with very little money; cheaply
“They launched the festival on a shoestring and it gradually grew.”
- 14
left holding the bagidiom/left ˈhəʊldɪŋ ðə bæg/
to be left responsible (often unfairly) for a problem, debt, or blame when others abandon the situation
“When the business partner fled, she was left holding the bag for the loans.”
- 15
live on the breadlineidiom (verb phrase)/lɪv ɒn ðə ˈbrɛdlaɪn/
to have very little money and live in poverty
“After his company collapsed he and his family lived on the breadline for several years.”
- 16
feel the pinchidiom/fiːl ðə pɪntʃ/
to suffer because of a shortage of money or resources
“Many families began to feel the pinch after utility prices rose.”
- 17
fall by the waysideidiom/fɔːl baɪ ðə ˈweɪsaɪd/
to stop continuing an activity or plan, or for people to stop participating, often because of difficulties
“Many good initiatives fall by the wayside when funding runs out.”
- 18
go cap in handidiom/ɡəʊ kæp ɪn hænd/
to go and ask someone for help or money in a very humble or apologetic way
“After the floods, many small shop owners had to go cap in hand to the council for emergency grants.”
- 19
out of pocketidiom/aʊt əv ˈpɒkɪt/
having to pay expenses yourself (unexpected costs); also (US) temporarily unavailable/unreachable
“I was out of pocket for the repair costs until my insurance reimbursed me.”
- 20
pay through the noseidiom (verb phrase)/peɪ θruː ðə nəʊz/
to pay much more than something is worth; to be charged an excessively high price
“We paid through the nose for accommodation during the festival.”