C1 English idioms
All 36 C1 idioms in the catalogue, with meaning, translation and examples. Ordered by how often they're used, not alphabetically.
The real jump. These separate correct English from natural English — and they carry the most weight in C1 Advanced.
- come to terms with (something)to accept or learn to live with something difficult
- a turn of minda particular way of thinking or mental disposition
- in hindsightin retrospect; looking back with the knowledge we have now
- have second thoughtsbegin to doubt a decision already made
- play devil's advocateargue the opposite side for the sake of debate
- in the grand scheme of thingslooking at the bigger picture; relatively
- take (something) with a pinch of salttreat with scepticism; don't believe entirely
- splitting hairsarguing over trivial distinctions
- grasp at strawstry desperate solutions in a hopeless situation
- at the end of the daywhen all is considered; ultimately
- cut to the chaseget to the important point without preamble
- beat around the bushavoid getting to the point; speak indirectly
- see eye to eye (with someone)fully agree
- on the fenceundecided between two options
- the elephant in the rooman obvious problem nobody wants to discuss
- the tip of the icebergthe small visible part of a much larger problem
- a blessing in disguisesomething that seems bad but turns out beneficial
- by and largefor the most part; generally
- in the long runover an extended period; eventually
- give (someone) the benefit of the doubttrust a person's intention when evidence is ambiguous
- the jury is still outa decision or judgement hasn't been reached yet
- a stone's throw awayvery close in distance
- go the extra milemake additional effort beyond what's required
- take it with a grain of saltbe sceptical; don't believe completely
- burn the midnight oilwork late into the night
- throw in the towelgive up; surrender
- a rule of thumba rough practical guideline based on experience
- the bottom linethe most important fact or conclusion
- more often than notusually; in most cases
- in the pipelinein development or planning, not yet released
- by no meansdefinitely not; in no way
- the jury is out on (something)there's no consensus yet on something
- set the stage for (something)create the conditions necessary for something to happen
- in broad daylightopenly, in plain view
- raise eyebrowscause surprise or mild disapproval
- have a bone to pick (with someone)have a grievance to discuss with someone