School & Study Idioms

1- Hit the books – study hard
Example: I need to hit the books for tomorrow’s exam.

2- Learn the ropes – learn how to do something
Example: It took her a few days to learn the ropes at school.

3- Pass with flying colors – pass very successfully
Example: He passed the test with flying colors.

4- By heart – memorize something
Example: She knows the poem by heart.

5- Brush up on – improve your knowledge or skill
Example: I need to brush up on my English grammar.

6- Skip class – not go to class
Example: He skipped class yesterday.

7- Teacher’s pet – the teacher’s favorite student
Example: She is the teacher’s pet because she studies hard.

8- Bookworm – someone who loves reading
Example: He is a real bookworm and reads every day.

9- Pull an all-nighter – study all night
Example: I pulled an all-nighter before the exam.

10- Learn something the hard way - learn through experience or mistakes
Example: He learned the hard way not to be late again.

Unit 5 — At Work: Colleagues and Routines

1– opposite number (noun) – has the same position/does the same job as me
Example: My opposite number in London handles the same clients as I do.

2– working relationship (noun) – way of communicating and working together
Example: We have a positive working relationship with our manager.

3– collaboration (noun) – working together to achieve shared goals
Example: There is close collaboration between the two departments.

4– counterpart (noun) – more formal equivalent of opposite number
Example: I regularly speak to my counterpart in the Paris office.

5– rapport (noun) – good communication/relationship
Example: She quickly built a good rapport with her team.

6– take the initiative (verb phrase) – make decisions without being told what to do
Example: Our boss encourages us to take the initiative.

7– hierarchical (adjective) – has a structure with important and less important people
Example: The company has a very hierarchical structure.

8– pecking order (noun) – a system where some people get benefits/promotions before others
Example: There is a clear pecking order in the organisation.

9– job-share (noun) – an agreement where two people share the same job
Example: She works part-time in a job-share arrangement.

10– hot-desking (noun) – a policy of sharing desks, sitting wherever is free
Example: Hot-desking means I sit in a different place every day.

11– workmates (noun, informal) – colleagues you are friendly with
Example: I often go out for dinner with my workmates.

12– talk shop (phrase, informal) – talk about work
Example: We try not to talk shop at social events.

13– mundane tasks (noun phrase) – ordinary, not interesting tasks
Example: Most of my job involves mundane tasks.

14– meet a deadline (verb phrase) – have something finished by a fixed day or time
Example: I stayed late to meet a deadline.

15– volunteer (verb) – offer to do something without being asked
Example: She volunteered to organise the meeting.

16– rewarding (adjective) – making you feel satisfied you have done something useful
Example: Teaching can be very rewarding.

17– stimulating (adjective) – encouraging new ideas or new thinking
Example: It’s a stimulating working environment.

18– workload (noun) – amount of work I have to do
Example: My workload is very heavy this month.

19– day shift (noun) – working during the day
Example: I’m on the day shift this week.

20– mechanical (adjective) – you don’t have to think about what you are doing
Example: The job is repetitive and mechanical.