Helpful Idioms for IELTS Speakingt

Personal Development

Make something of oneself: Succeeding in a particular field.
Against the clock: Working hard to finish on time.
Burning the midnight oil: Working late into the night.
Rome was not built in one day: Tasks take time to complete properly.
Work your fingers to the bone: Working very hard.
Every cloud has a silver lining: Every difficult situation has a positive aspect.
Slip through one's fingers: Miss an opportunity.
Lounge around: Spend time doing nothing much.
Down to an art: Be very skilled at something.
Back to the drawing board: Start again after a failure.
Go the extra mile: Make an additional effort beyond what is expected.

Soulmate: A person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner.
Have a crush on: Feel romantic attraction towards someone.
The apple of your eye: Someone cherished above all others.
Tie the knot: Get married.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder: Being apart from someone makes you love them more.

Be strapped for cash: Have little money available.
Pinch pennies: Be thrifty or frugal.
In the hole: In debt.
Make ends meet: Manage to survive on limited resources.
From rags to riches: A person who started with nothing and became wealthy.
Shell out: Spend money, usually a large amount.
On a first-come, first-served basis: Available or handled in the order that people arrive or apply.
Blow money: Spend money extravagantly.
Costs an arm and a leg: Very expensive.

Beat a dead horse: Waste time trying to do something that has already failed.
Curiosity killed the cat: Being curious can lead to trouble.
Once in a blue moon: Something that happens very rarely.
A piece of cake: Something very easy to do.
A drop in the ocean: A very small amount in comparison to what is needed.
Put all your eggs in one basket: Risk everything on a single venture.

Written by Anne.