Page 163 - English Vocabulary In Use upper intermediet and advance

Idioms describing feelings or mood

Positive feelings, moods and states

Jo's as happy as the day is long. [extremely content]
Mary seems to be on cloud nine these days. [extremely pleasedlhappy]
Everyone seemed to be in high spirits. [lively, enjoying things]
She seems to be keeping her chin up. [happy despite bad things]

Negative feelings, moods and states
He had a face as long as a fiddle. [looked very depressedlsad]
She certainly looked down in the dumps. [looked depressedlsad]
Gerry is in a (black) mood. la bad moodltemper]
Mark was like a bear with a sore head. [extremely irritable] (See Unit 76.)

I'm feeling all in. [exhausted]
You're looking a bit under the weather. [not very well I ill]
She looked, and felt, on top form. [in good physical condition]
I suddenly felt as if my head was going round. [dizzy]
I was almost at death's door last week! [very sick or ill]
Old Nora's as fit as a fiddle. [very fit indeed]

She frightened the life out bf him. [frightened him a lot]
We were all shaking in our shoes. [trembling with fear]
The poor lad was scared out of his wits. [very scared indeed]
I jumped out of my skin when I heard the bang. [gave a big jump]
Remember: there is an element of exaggeration in these idioms; they make comments on the
situation and lighten the tone of what you are saying. So use them only informally.

Horoscopes in English language newspapers and magazines are often a good place to find
idioms about moods and states, since the horoscope usually tries to tell you how you are
going to feel during the coming daylweeklmonth. Look at these horoscopes and note the
idioms in italics. Each one is given a literal paraphrase below the text. Collect more idioms
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from horoscopes if you can.

Capritorn (21.12-19.1) Taurus (21.4-20.5)
on't get carried owoy (1) by promises that omeone will soy something that will make
won't be kept. Keep o cool heod(2) and you swell witfi pride (3) and you may feel on
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toke everything os it comes. On the work top of tfie world(4) for o while, but the evening

(1) be fooled (2) stay calm (3) feel very proud (4) very happy indeed

158 English Vocabulary in Use