IELTS Idioms for Involvement and Interest
1) not be your cup of tea
Meaning- If something is not your cup of tea, you do feel very interested or enthusiastic about it.
Example- I've never been the greatest traveller. Sitting for hours on motorways is not really my cup of tea.
2) have an axe to grind
Meaning- If someone has an axe to grind, they have particular attitudes about something, often because they think they have been treated badly or because they want to get an advantage.
Example- It would be best if an independent agency, that doesn't have an axe to grind, could deal with this case.
3) in the picture
Meaning- If someone is in the picture, they are involved in the situation you are talking about.
Example- We were a great team. I was kept in the picture from the beginning.
4) jump on the bandwagon
Meaning- If someone jumps on the bandwagon, they suddenly become involved in an activity because it is likely to succeed or it is fashionable.
Example- There will always be people ready to jump on the bandwagon and start classes in whatever is fashionable, with little or no training.
5) keep a low profile
Meaning- If someone keeps a low profile, they avoid doing things that will make people notice them.
Example- The president continues to keep a low profile on vacation in Maine.
Example- There is no need for the presence of any police officers. This is a low-profile event.
6) a labour of love
Meaning- A labour of love is a task that you do because you enjoy it or feel strongly that it is worth doing.
Example- They restored the Victorian greenhouse, an expensive labour of love.
7) mean business
Meaning- If you mean business, you are serious and determined about what you are doing.
Example- One of them pointed a shotgun at me. I could see he meant business.
8) a nosey parker
Meaning- A nosey parker is someone who wants to know too much about other people. [BRITISH, INFORMAL]
Example- The village's nosey parker, Olive, likes to spy on her neighbours with binoculars.
9) poke your nose into something or stick your nose into something
Meaning- If someone pokes or sticks their nose into something, they interfere in something that does not concern them. [INFORMAL]
Example- He has no right to go poking his nose into my affairs. Why did you have to go and stick your nose in?
10) steer clear of something
Meaning- If you steer clear of someone or something, you deliberately avoid them.
Example- I'd advise anyone with sensitive or dry skin to steer clear of soap.
11) try your hand at something
Meaning- If you try your hand at something, you try doing it in order to see whether you are good at it.
Example- After he left school, he tried his hand at a variety of jobs - bricklayer, baker, postman.
12) up to your ears
Meaning- If you are up to your ears in work or in an unpleasant situation, you are very busy with it or are deeply involved in it.
Example- I can't come out this evening - I'm up to my ears in reports.
13) whet someone's appetite
Meaning- If something whets your appetite for a particular thing, it makes you want it.
Example- Winning the World Championship should have whetted his appetite for more success.
14) your heart isn't in something
Meaning- If your heart isn't in something you are doing, you are not enthusiastic about it.
Example- She was a successful teacher, popular with her pupils and her colleagues, but her heart wasn't in it.
Example- She was a successful teacher, popular with her pupils and her colleagues, but her heart wasn't in it.
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