The Crime and Punishment topic is quite common in the IELTS test. Let’s take a look at this article from azVocab to learn some idiomatic expressions related to this topic.
| IDIOMS | MEANING | EXAMPLE |
| Above the law | not subject to the law; immune to the law | Many computer hackers act as though they are above the law when they steal valuable data from companies and attempt to sell it online. |
| In the eyes of the law | from the technical viewpoint of the legal system | The criminal was caught after committing a crime and was assessed by the court to have suffered from severe mental illness. But in the eyes of the law, he is considered to be guilty on all counts. |
| Lay down the law | to forcefully make known what you think should happen | The new colleague is so annoying! She’s been here for only 2 weeks but she started laying down the law as if she was the manager. |
| Take the Fifth | to refuse to testify against oneself in court | The lawyer told his client to take the Fifth before she was asked to do a testimony. |
| Take the law into your own hands | to punish someone who you believe has done something wrong yourself instead of waiting for someone in authority to do it | My dad took the law into his own hands when he saw no one would stand up for me when I was bullied at school. He threatened all the bullies and said that they would be in big trouble if they didn’t stop. |
| Beyond (a) reasonable doubt | almost without any doubt | After months of investigating and collecting proof, the detective finally confirms that the suspect is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. |
| Catch someone red-handed | to discover someone while they are doing something bad or illegal | The maid was caught red-handed stealing money from the drawer by the owner of the house. |
| Brush/sweep something under the carpet | to hide something or try to keep it secret instead of dealing with it (something that is illegal, embarrassing, or wrong) | When the doctor was accused by the patient, he tried to brush his misdiagnose allegations under the carpet and blamed the nurses for making the mistake. |
| Under the table | secretly (often because what is being done is illegal) | The governor is suspected of making deals under the table with corporations looking to skirt certain regulations. |
| Under the counter | covertly or secretly (and, often, illegally) | If you’re selling alcohol under the counter, you could get into a lot of trouble. |
| Grease someone’s palm | give someone money in exchange for a favor; also, bribe someone | The husband, Tom, must have greased the officer’s palm since he is ridiculously rich. |
| Carry the can | to accept blame or responsibility for something that one did not cause | The innocent boy was forced to carry the can for the gangster or his boss will do harm to the boy’s family. |
| Cover one’s tracks | to hide or destroy the things that show where you have been or what you have been doing | Roberts covered his tracks by throwing the knife in the river. |
| Behind bars | in prison | He’s spent most of his life behind bars. |
| Keep one’s nose clean | to avoid getting into trouble | I’d only been out of prison three months, so I was trying to keep my nose clean. |
| Do something by the book | to do something exactly as the rules tell you | This is a private deal – we don’t have to do everything by the book. |
| Come clean | to admit something to someone, often regarding wrongdoing that one has tried to hide | I thought it was time to come clean (with everybody) about what I’d been doing |
| Get away with murder | to avoid consequences for any of one’s actions; to be able to do whatever one wants without consequences | Of course he’s misbehaving at school – you let him get away with murder at home! |
| Turn a blind eye | to ignore something that you know is wrong | Management often turns a blind eye to bullying in the workplace. |
| Do time | to serve a prison sentence | If you keep stealing things, you might ending up doing time one day. |
| Put behind bars | to put someone in prison | The bank robbers have been finally put behind bars. |
| Blow the whistle on someone/something | to tell people publicly about something bad that someone is doing | The gangs were getting very bad. It was time to blow the whistle. |
| Do a runner | to run away without paying for a good or service | The teenagers did a runner when the cab stopped, leaving the driver with an unpaid bill. |
| Cook the books | to give false information in a company’s accounts, to provide fake financial reports | One of the directors had been cooking the books, and the company had been losing money for years. |
| Pull a fast one | to cheat someone | He was trying to pull a fast one when he told you he’d paid. |
| A short sharp shock | (describing or relating to) punishment that is quick and effective | It is clear now that the policy of punishing young offenders with a short, sharp shock is much less effective than education and emotional training. |
| Be no hard and fast rules | if there are no hard and fast rules, there are no clear rules for you to follow | There’s no hard and fast rule about when you need to start or end your workday here – as long as you log 40 hours each week. |
| Bring (someone) to book | to punish someone and make that person explain their behaviour | I’m sure the boss is going to bring me to book for my outburst during the meeting. I just hope I don’t get fired. |
| Face the music | to receive punishment; to accept the unpleasant results of one’s actions | Mary broke a dining-room window and had to face the music when her father got home. |
| Get/lay/put one’s hands on someone else | to catch someone | That’s the most likely explanation, but we can’t be sure until we lay our hands on the culprits. |
| Get/let someone off the hook | to help one to avoid punishment or culpability for some wrongdoing | He’s the best lawyer in the business. If anyone can get you off the hook for murder, he can. |
| Have one’s hand(s)/fingers in the till | To steal money from the company or organization you work for | The executive was fired after he was found with his hand in the till. |
| Heads will roll | used to say that some people will be punished because of something that has happened | Heads will roll if there are any errors in the pamphlets we printed for this networking event. |
| Line one’s (own) pockets | to earn money using dishonest or illegal methods | Staff at the bank have apparently been lining their pockets with money from investors’ accounts. |
| Settle a score | to punish someone for something wrong that they did to you in the past and that you cannot forgive | Police believe the killer was a gang member settling a score with a rival gang. |
| Throw the book at someone | to severely punish someone | After the accident, the safety inspector threw the book at the company directors. |
The article above is a compilation of knowledge about idioms to support the IELTS Speaking test on the topic of Crime and Punishment. azVocab hopes that with this useful knowledge, you will be better prepared for the upcoming test.
