Compilation of Idioms on the Topic People and Relationships for IELTS Speaking

POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS

Idioms	Meaning	Example
Get on like a house a fire	if two people get on like a house on fire, they like each other very much and become friends very quickly	In spite of a wide gap in age, they *get on like a house a fire.*
Have a soft spot for sb	to feel that you like someone very much	You are *having a soft spot for* Mary, right? You stared at her all day.
Go back a long way	if people go back a long way, they have known each other for a long time	Studying at the same university, they *went back a long way.*
Be in with	to be or become popular or friendly with someone	I *am in with* the monitor, and she told me many interesting stories about teachers.
Speak the same language	to have similar ideas and similar ways of expressing them	We are soulmates. We *speak the same language*.
Be on the same wavelength	(of two or more people) to think in a similar way and to understand each other well	I know that she’s gonna choose the same answer as me, we are *on the same wavelength*.
Hit it off	to be friendly with each other immediately	I don’t know why many people said that he was so unfriendly but I *hit it off* with him.
Meet somebody halfway	to do some of the things that someone wants you to do, in order to show that you want to reach an agreement or improve your relationship with them	To make up for me, she *met me halfway*.
(As) thick as thieves	to be very close friends and share secrets, etc.	I’m sure she tells Ruth everything we say – they’re as thick as thieves, those two.
Be in one’s good books	to be regarded favorably by another person	Maria has been in my good books* ever since she stayed late to help me finish that project.*
Give someone a hand	to give someone help	I can’t lift this piano on my own. Can you *give me a hand*, Carlos?
Nearest and dearest	your family, especially those that you live with or are very involved with	People would rather go home and spend time with their nearest and dearest* after a hard-working day.*
Stand shoulder to shoulder	to give someone or a group of people complete support during a difficult time	It’s encouraging to see students and faculty standing shoulder to shoulder* after the tragedy.*
Take a shine to someone	to have or develop a fondness or preference for someone	I think Jennifer has taken a shine to* my friend Tommy, so I’m going to try to set them up on a date!*
Throw someone a lifeline	to give help to someone in a difficult situation	I could see that he was really upset about being late to the appointment, so I *threw him a lifeline* and rescheduled him for later that day.
Tie the knot	to get married	All of my friends have *tied the knot* and started having kids.

NEGATIVE RELATIONSHIPS

Idioms	Meaning	Example
Get off on the wrong foot	to make a successful/unsuccessful start in something	He *got off the wrong foot* with his teacher by arriving late right the first day at school.
Keep someone at arm’s length	to not allow someone to become too friendly with you	He always *kept friends at arm’s length* since he went to college.
Like cats and dogs	to have angry arguments all the time	My brother and I are *like cats and dogs.* We can argue about everything.
Rub sb up the wrong way	to annoy someone without intending to	I *rub my sister up the wrong way* and I was so regretful.
Sworn enemies	people who will always hate each other	After that accident, Maddie and Cassie are *sworn enemies*.
Treat someone like dirt	to treat someone extremely badly	I don’t know why my friend still decided to get back with her boyfriend who *treated her like dirt*.
To give someone the cold shoulder	to intentionally ignore someone or treat someone in an unfriendly way	She *gave me the cold shoulder* after realizing that I was cheating on her.
A rocky relationship	A rocky situation or relationship is unstable and full of difficulties	We are in *a rocky relationship* and I was so exhausted.
Turn sour	become less pleasant or attractive; turn out badly	Our relationship *turned sour* after that we realized that we didn’t share the same thoughts about marriage.
On the rocks	likely to fail soon	Your relationship is *on the rock*, be careful.
Your own flesh and blood	someone’s relation	He is *my own flesh and flood* so I will protect him with all power I have.
Give someone a hard time	to make things difficult or unpleasant for someone	My teacher in high school *gave me a hard time* although I didn’t do anything bad to her.
At each other’s throats	(of two or more people) to be noticeably and aggressively angry with each other	Those two are at each other’s throats* because they can’t agree on how to best lead the committee.*
Bite the hand that feeds you	to act badly towards the person who is helping or has helped you	You might not agree with your parents’ rules, but be careful about biting the hand that feeds you, because you owe everything you have to them.
Get one’s own back (on someone)	to do something unpleasant to someone because they have done something unpleasant to you	Jonathan bullied me mercilessly at school, but I eventually *got my own back* when I bought out his father’s business and became his boss.
Give someone a wide berth	to maintain a good distance from someone	We’ve been giving John a wide berth* ever since he dumped our good friend.*
Lay a hand on someone	to harm someone	If you ever lay a hand on* the children again, I will divorce you so fast it will make your head spin!*
Play gooseberry	to be an unwanted third person who is present when two other people, especially two people having a romantic relationship, want to be alone	As John and Betty started cuddling up in the cinema, I wished I had just gone home instead of playing gooseberry.
Stab someone in the back	to do something harmful to someone who trusted you	Jane promised to support me at the meeting, but then she stabbed me in the back* by supporting David instead.*
Two-time someone	to deceive someone you are having a relationship with by having a secret sexual relationship with someone else at the same time	I ended the relationship when I found out he was two-timing me.

With the idioms presented here, we hope that you will have enough vocabulary and feel that conquering the IELTS test is no longer challenging. Besides learning idioms, try to apply them in your daily communication to remember them longer and become more proficient.

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