| Keep someone under thumb | To keep someone under one’s control |
| Queer fish | Strange |
| Hold someone to leash | To restrain |
| Latin and Greek | Unable to understand |
| Buy a pig in poke | To buy a thing without knowing its actual worth |
| Goods and chattels | Belongings of home |
| Grey matter | Intelligence |
| At sea | Confused |
| Out and out | Completely |
| Weird | Strange |
| Hornet’s nest | Controversy |
| Cast a slur | To disrepute |
| At loggerhead | Quarrel |
| Bear the brunt | To bear the main attack |
| Gild the pill | To cover the unpleasant thing with a pleasant thing |
| At sixes and sevens | In a state of disorder |
| Burn one’s boat | Point of no return |
| Come to a standstill | To come to a stop |
| Fair field and no favour | Equal opportunities to all |
| Patriarchal | Male dominated |
| Get into hot water | Get into trouble |
| Go to dogs | Ruined |
| Meet one’s waterloo | To face final defeat |
| Against all odds | Despite many difficulties |
| Through thick and thin | In all circumstances |
| Pissed off | Annoyed |
| Up in the creek | In serious difficulties |
| Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned | There is nothing as unpleasant as a woman who has been offended |
| Hot potato | An issue about which people have strong opinions |
| Rule the roost | To dominate |
| Lock, stock and barrel | Wholly, completely |
| Two horse race | Which has only two competitors |
| Damp squib | An event that is disappointing after high expectations |
| Meet one’s waterloo | To face final defeat |
| Cool one’s heels | To wait for a long time |
| Brown study | Reverie/day-dream |
| Turn into a nightmare | Turn into a bad experience |
| Blaze the trail | To start a movement or begin a new undertaking |
| Unprecedented | Not done or experienced before |
| Big draw | A huge attraction |
| By and by | Before long / soon |
| Gain momentum | Gain strength |
| Bank on | To rely |
| Camaraderie | A feeling of friendship among a group |
| Set the Thames on fire | To achieve something remarkable (often used ironically) |
| Steal someone’s thunder | To take credit or attention unfairly |
| Aboveboard | Open and honest |
| Speak straight from the shoulders | Very direct without embellishment |
| Ruffle quite a few feathers | To annoy people while making changes |
| Echelons | A level in an organization or authority |
| Rot set in | A situation starting to get worse |
| Steal the march on | To gain an advantage over |
