Topic Work and Lifestyle are two common topics that candidates often encounter in the IELTS Speaking test. So how can you score well in this section? Let’s explore the scoring idioms in the article below with azVocab!
WORK
Work is one of the common IELTS Speaking topics that candidates may encounter when taking the IELTS test. Let’s take a look at some idiom examples for the upcoming test, compiled by azVocab.
| IDIOMS | MEANING | EXAMPLE |
| Big cheese | an important person in a company or an organization with a lot of influence | He has been the big cheese even before the promotion. |
| Get the boot | be dismissed from one’s job | I’m going to get the boot if the boss finds out that printing error was my fault. |
| Get the sack | to be dismissed suddenly from a job | It’s a really demanding job as you can get the sack for your poor performance. |
| Go the extra mile | to go beyond what is necessary or expected in order to please someone, achieve something, or get something done correctly | I have to say, our lawyer really went the extra mile in making sure every aspect of our case was watertight. |
| No picnic | not an easy task; unenjoyable or challenging | Working as a delivery guy during summer months is no picnic for me. |
| Pull one’s weight | to contribute to a group activity or pursuit in proportion to one’s ability or responsibility | The others had complained that Sarah wasn’t pulling her weight. |
| Put one’s feet up | to sit and relax | After a long day at work, I love to come home, put my feet up, and watch some TV. |
| Show someone the ropes | to explain or demonstrate to one how to do or perform a job, task, or activity | Lynn spent an afternoon showing the new girl the ropes. |
| Snow one under with something | to overwhelm or overwork one with something, such as work, responsibilities, duties, etc. | I’m absolutely snowed under with work at the moment. |
| Learn the ropes | to learn or understand the basic details of how to do or perform a job, task, or activity | This job is difficult at first, but once you learn the ropes, you will be okay. |
| Sweat blood | to work very intensely and diligently; to expend all of one’s energy or effort doing something | We sweated blood for six months straight, but we finally got our product finished and on store shelves. |
| Work one’s fingers to the bone | to work extremely hard, especially for a long time | She worked her fingers to the bone to provide fresh milk and daily meals for seven children. |
| Back to the drawing board | revising something (such as a plan) from the beginning, typically after it has failed | That ad campaign was not as successful as we had hoped. Back to the drawing board. |
| Bear fruit | yield positive results | Eventually her efforts bore fruit and she got the job she wanted. |
| Miss the boat | to lose an opportunity to do something by being slow to act | If you don’t call the recruiter back right away, you’re going to miss the boat. |
| A hive of activity | a place where a lot of people are working very hard | The whole house was a hive of activity on the day before the wedding. |
| Be up to (one’s) ears in (something) | to have too much of something; to be overwhelmed by something | I’m afraid I’m up to my ears in work at the moment. Can we talk later in the week? |
| Have one’s work cut out | to have much work to do to complete a particular task | She’ll really have her work cut out to finish all those reports by the end of the week. |
| Step into one’s shoes | to take someone’s place, often by doing the job they have just left | I don’t know who they’re getting to step into Davidson’s shoes, but I doubt they’ll be anywhere near as good a manager as he was. |
LIFESTYLE
Lifestyle is a broad topic, which can be challenging for candidates. Let’s take a look at the idiom examples below with azVocab!
| IDIOMS | MEANING | EXAMPLE |
| A new lease of life | to have the chance to live longer or have a better lifestyle with greater enjoyment | Moving to a brand new flat has given Lucy a new lease of life. |
| Cheek by jowl | very close together | The refugees are living cheek by jowl in a temporary camp. |
| Keep the wolf from the door | to have just enough money to be able to eat and live | My grandparents earned barely enough money to keep the wolf from the door. |
| Keep up with the Joneses | to always want to own the same expensive objects and do the same things as your friends or neighbours, because you are worried about seeming less important socially than they are | It’s silly how some people feel they have to keep up with the Joneses! |
| Live beyond means | spend more money than they earn or can afford | The cost of living was so much higher in New York that he was soon living beyond his means. |
| Live from hand to mouth | to have just enough money to live on and nothing extra | My father earned very little and there were four kids, so we lived from hand to mouth. |
| Live high on/off the hog | to live in great comfort with a lot of money | They’ve been living high on the hog ever since David won the lottery. |
| Live in clover | to live without financial stress; to live in comfort or luxury | I dream of making an enormous amount of money and living in clover for the rest of my life! |
| Live on the breadline | to be very poor, as if one could (or does) rely on food donations to survive | Due to the recent crisis, there are more people on the breadline than ever before. |
| Live on the edge | to have a lifestyle in which one tends to engage in dangerous or risky behavior | Extreme sportsmen or gamblers are examples of people who live on the edge. |
| Keep up appearances | to act as though everything is normal or fine in times of trouble | Sally continued to keep up appearances even when she was broke and unemployed. |
| Live in an ivory tower | not to know about or to want to avoid the ordinary and unpleasant things that happen in people’s lives | John has been living in an ivory tower since he was a child. His was always protected by his parents. |
| Make ends meet | to have just enough money to pay for the things that you need | She is so lazy that she is hardly able to make ends meet each month. |
| The show must go on | said to encourage someone to continue with what they are doing, even if they are experiencing difficulties | I’ve got a terrible cold, but I’ve got to go to work. The show must go on. |
Above are the idioms for the Work and Lifestyle topics in IELTS Speaking. There are still many topics ahead that you need to prepare for. You can refer to the treasure trove of Idioms in IELTS Speaking compiled by azVocab.
