30 c
A pack of wolves e.g. A pack of wolves attacks the hunters in the forest.
4 Compound adjectives
Compound adjective idioms consist of the combination of words which function as adjective.
a A hit-and-run: driver, a driver who drives away after causing an accident
in which there is material damage
e.g. A hit-and-run driver caused many troubles for other riders.
b A nine-to-five: job, a job in which the working hours are from nine in the
morning to five in the afternoon
e.g. A nine-to-five job is not recommended for students to be their side
job. c
A round-the –clock: service, a service which is offered continuously, all
day and all night
e.g. A round-the-clock service is almost offered by all companies
nowadays.
5 Adjectives + noun phrases
These idioms comprise adjectives and nouns to compose fixed phrases which also have restricted meanings.
a A big shot
: an important person
e.g. Mr. Baskoro is a big shot in business and politics.
b Flying colors
: to accomplish something with great success
e.g. Bella graduates with flying colors.
31 c
The seventh heaven : to be extremely happy
e.g. Since she finished her thesis, she has been in the seventh heaven.
6 Noun phrases
The next type deals with idioms which encompass some noun phrases to construct an idiom.
a
The apple of one’s eye: someone is very dear to one
e.g. Wulan is
the apple of her father’s eye among her sisters and brothers.
b A fish out of water
: a person who feels uncomfortable in his present surroundings
e.g. Marco becomes a fish out of water in his new office.
c A snake in the grass
: a person who pretends to be a friend but who at the same time is secretly damaging one
e.g No one wants to take Anne as a member of team because she is well
known as a snake in the grass.
7 Proper names made up of an adjective and a noun
The last idioms deal with names which are usually used to refer to certain places or countries. When people use these names, they will directly represent the
places people refer to. No other way to guess which places are meant by the speakers except by knowing and learning them.
a The Big Four
: the four major banks in Britain: Barclays, Lloyds, Midland and National Westminster
e.g. The Big Four is recognized as the former of economic growth in
