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English idioms about problems and trouble
20 idioms native speakers use when they talk about problems and trouble. Meanings, examples and a 10-question quiz right on the page.
In the app your mistakes don’t disappear: the idioms you missed come back in daily reviews until they stick.
All 20 idioms in this topic
Each has a meaning, five examples and a grammar note.
1in hot waterin trouble and likely to be punished or criticised2the last strawthe final problem that makes a situation impossible to accept3get to the bottom ofto find out the real cause of something or the truth about it4the tip of the iceberga small visible part of a much larger problem5be asking for troubleto act in a way that will probably cause problems for you6make a mountain out of a molehillto treat a small difficulty as if it were serious7a storm in a teacupa lot of anger or worry about something unimportant8nip something in the budto stop a problem at an early stage before it grows9a tough nut to cracka problem or person that is very hard to deal with10go pear-shapedto start to fail and turn out badly11open a can of wormsto start dealing with something that causes many new problems12a vicious circlea situation where one problem causes another that makes the first worse13face the musicto accept criticism or punishment for something you did14rock the boatto upset a calm situation and cause problems15throw a spanner in the worksto do something that stops a plan from succeeding16sweep something under the carpetto hide a problem instead of dealing with it17teething problemssmall difficulties at the start of something new18touch and goso uncertain that it could easily end badly19come to a headto reach the point where something must be done20a double-edged swordsomething that has both good and bad effects
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English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
Here you get a couple of questions. The app gives you 16 practice modes, native equivalents and spaced repetition that tells you when it’s time to refresh.
