# Body Idioms Advanced

https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/idioms-expressions-c1-body-idioms-vocab

- CEFR: C1 (Advanced)
- Theme: Idioms & Expressions
- Words: 20
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- Locked: no

Body idioms for describing discretion, awareness and reach, with phrases like turn a blind eye, bite your tongue and the long arm of the law.

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## Word list

* **by the skin of your teeth**: By the narrowest possible margin, barely succeeding at all. — “We caught the last train **by the skin of our teeth**.”
* **turn a blind eye**: To deliberately ignore something wrong that you know is happening. — “The manager **turned a blind eye** to the staff leaving early.”
* **at arm's length**: Keeping someone or something at a careful distance, avoiding close involvement. — “She's kept her new colleague **at arm's length** so far.”
* **have a good head on your shoulders**: To be sensible, practical, and able to make wise decisions. — “You can trust her advice — she's always **had a good head on her shoulders**.”
* **bite your tongue**: To stop yourself from saying something you really want to say. — “I had to **bite my tongue** when he criticised my work in front of everyone.”
* **wash your hands of something**: To refuse to take any further responsibility for something. — “After the disagreement, he **washed his hands of** the whole project.”
* **keep your ear to the ground**: To stay alert and well informed about what is happening or about to happen. — “Good journalists **keep their ear to the ground** for new stories.”
* **have your finger on the pulse**: To be fully aware of the latest developments in a particular area. — “The design team really **has its finger on the pulse** of new trends.”
* **not lift a finger**: To do nothing at all to help, especially when help is expected. — “He watched us pack and **didn't lift a finger**.”
* **a shoulder to cry on**: Someone who offers comfort and sympathy when you are upset. — “Whenever I'm down, my sister is **a shoulder to cry on**.”
* **a thorn in your side**: A person or thing that causes constant trouble. — “That clause has been **a thorn in your side** for a decade.”
* **back against the wall**: In a position where you have no choice but to fight. — “With **back against the wall** they finally negotiated.”
* **give someone the elbow**: To end a relationship or dismiss someone. — “The club decided to **give someone the elbow** after one season.”
* **the long arm of the law**: The power of the police to catch people eventually. — “**The long arm of the law** reached him in another country.”
* **an old head on young shoulders**: A young person who is unusually sensible. — “She is nineteen with **an old head on young shoulders**.”
* **a stab in the back**: A betrayal by someone you trusted. — “The letter to the board was **a stab in the back** and everybody knew it.”
* **bare your soul**: To tell someone your deepest feelings. — “He would **bare your soul** to a stranger and tell his family nothing.”
* **have your heart in your mouth**: To feel very frightened or anxious. — “We had **have your heart in your mouth** for the whole descent.”
* **put your shoulder to the wheel**: To start working very hard. — “Everyone had to **put your shoulder to the wheel** for the last fortnight.”
* **keep body and soul together**: To have just enough to survive on. — “Two shifts a week were enough to **keep body and soul together**.”

## Related

- Vocabulary library: https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary
- Section guide: https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/llms.txt