Idioms - part 3 idioms part 4 Family be the spitting image of - look very much like someone else She's the spitting image of her mother. You'd think they were sisters! run in the family - recur through successive generations All three daughters are very musical. So was their mother and her mother too. It runs in the family. go through a bad patch - experience a period of difficulty Our marriage is going through a bad patch at the moment, but we're still together. split up - end a mariage or relationship They've been married for twenty-five years, but I now hear that they're splitting up. Friends an old flame - someone you had a romantic relationship with in the past I bumped into Linda the other day in the High Street. She's an old flame from my student days in Manchester. be in high spirits - be in a cheerful mood You're in high spirits! You must have had some good news. hit it off with someone - enjoy someone's company I'm sharing a flat with six other students but we all hit it off together. It's a small world! - expression of surprise when you meet an old acquaintance, usually in an unexpected place Just imagine! I met my old violin teacher on the top of a mountain in Peru recently. Small world! Work get on in the world - be successful in one's job Geraldine is now a senior executive in one of the world's largest oil companies. She's certainly got on in the world. go flat out - do something with all your energy I've been going flat out today. I'm trying to get this finished by five o'clock. rake it in - make a lot of money quickly He's raking it in. That's the third shoe shop he's opened in this area. make ends meet - just about manage financially By giving private lessons on Thursday and Friday afternoons, I can just about make ends meet. more idioms home |