Someone who is a dead ringer for another person (often someone who is famous) looks exactly like them. We also say that someone is the spitting image of someone else, meaning they look very similar. This idiom is often used to describe family resemblances:
He’s a dead ringer for the Harry Potter actor.
She’s the spitting image of her mother at that age.
Two other idioms relate especially to similarities within families. If two people, especially siblings, are like two peas in a pod, they are extremely similar, especially in appearance. Someone who is described as a chip off the old block is very similar to one of their parents, either in appearance or behaviour:
As children, they were practically identical – like two peas in a pod.
Dan’s son is a chip off the old block, isn’t he?
Two people who are cut from the same cloth are very similar, especially in character or behaviour:
As far as the voters are concerned, the two candidates are cut from the same cloth.
In UK English, when we say that there islittle (to choose) between two people or things, we mean they are very similar, especially in their abilities or qualities:
In terms of athleticism, there is little to choose between the two teams.
The saying Birds of a feather flock together is sometimes used to observe that people who are similar in character and attitudes are often found together. The shortened phrase birds of a feather is sometimes used to refer to people with similar character and attitudes:
A broadsheet features an article about men’s fashion. The journalist writing says that his ‘heart sinks’ when he hears people criticizing men for wearing unusual clothes or bright colours. For too long, he claims, men have been ridiculed for ‘stepping out of line’ with their clothes. If your heart sinks, you lose hope and feel disappointed or depressed about something. Someone who steps out of line breaks the rules or behaves in a way that other people find unacceptable.
The sports pages of that paper focus on the England cricket team’s recent poor performance. The team are described as ‘licking their wounds’. Someone who licks their wounds takes time to regain their strength or happiness after a defeat or bad experience.
The front page of a tabloid newspaper describes a journalist’s frustration with politicians who are ‘sitting on the fence’ over an important issue. If you sit on the fence, you refuse to commit yourself to one side of an argument or a particular course of action.
In the same paper, a famous wildlife presenter worries that ‘nature is on the back foot’. Someone or something that is on the back foot is suffering from a disadvantage. He also writes that too few people in public life are prepared to ‘put their heads above the parapet’ in order to defend nature. In UK English, if you put your head above the parapet, you are brave enough to state an opinion that you know will make people angry.
In another tabloid paper, a serious article describes how a murderer attempted to ‘cover his tracks’. Someone who covers their tracks hides or destroys evidence of where they have been or what they have done.
The finance page of that paper claims that a large retail chain has ‘hit the skids’ after a long period of poor sales. If an organization or plan hits the skids, it fails.
In the less serious celebrity gossip column of the same paper, it is said that a television presenter has ‘rubbed shoulders with’ all the big celebrities at fashion week shows. If you rub shoulders with famous people, you meet and spend time with them.
The sports pages provide the last two idioms for this post. A brilliant young rugby player will, it says, ‘give his team a shot in the arm’. A shot in the arm is something that has a sudden and very positive effect, providing help or encouragement. Meanwhile, a footballer who has returned to his team after a period of injury is said to have ‘hit the ground running’ with an excellent performance. If you hit the ground running, you start doing something with great energy and skill.
If something judders, it shakes with violent, often uneven movements. We often use this verb to describe vehicles or machines that aren’t working smoothly. If something vibrates, it shakes with small, continuous movements. It is often used when the feeling it produces is more important than what is seen or heard:
We were miles from anywhere when the car juddered and came to a sudden halt.
I could feel my phone vibrating in my pocket.
Quiver is used for a small movement. It is often used for part of a person’s body, especially when they are experiencing a strong emotion such as fear or sadness. The verb twitch is also used mainly for parts of the body, and describes a small, sudden and uncontrollable movement:
Her lips were quivering and I could see she was trying not to cry.
A small vein near his eye began to twitch.
The verbs jerk and jolt also describe short, sudden, and often uncontrolled movements, but they are more forceful:
At the mention of her name, his head jerked up.
Our van jolted over the rough ground.
Moving on to movements from side to side, someone or something that rocks moves backwards and forwards or from side to side, often in a regular, gentle motion, and if we rock someone or something, we move them in this way. If something wiggles or if you wiggle it, it moves up and down or from side to side with small, fast movements:
He rocked the baby gently in his arms.
Wiggle the wire around a bit until it fits into the hole.
The verb sway describes a slow, gentle movement, while flap describes a less controlled movement, and often one that produces a small noise. It also describes the up and down movement of a bird’s wings:
The trees were swaying in the wind.
As the storm grew stronger, the sides of the tent started to flap alarmingly.
Wobble describes movements from side to side when someone or something is struggling to balance. Teeter is even stronger, implying that the person or thing could fall at any moment:
I put a piece of wood under the table leg to stop it wobbling.
The ball hit the vase, which teetered on the edge of its shelf.
To describe the feeling of being extremely surprised or shocked, you can use the adjectives amazed, astonished, astounded, stunned or (UK) staggered:
We were both astonished to see her there.
I had no idea he was leaving – I was astounded.
She stood there for a few moments, completely stunned.
I was staggered at the cost.
The emphatic adjective thunderstruck has the same meaning and UK English also has the informal adjective gobsmacked. (In UK English, ‘gob’ is a very informal word meaning ‘mouth’.)
The news had left her thunderstruck.
I really wasn’t expecting her to say that – I was absolutely gobsmacked!
The adjectives speechless, dumbfounded and dumbstruck convey that someone is so surprised or shocked, they are unable to speak:
Sorry, I’m speechless – I don’t know what to say.
The announcement was greeted by a dumbfounded silence.
For a few seconds I couldn’t speak – I was completely dumbstruck.
The expressions lost for words and at a loss for words can be used with the same meaning:
I’d just heard the news and was lost for words.
For once in my life, I was at a loss for words.
Of course, there are other idioms in this area. If someone shows with their face that they are extremely surprised or shocked, you can say they are open-mouthed or that their jaw drops. To be even more emphatic, you might say someone’s jaw hit the ground:
They stared at her in open-mouthed amazement.
My jaw dropped when I heard his age.
I was in complete shock when she told us – my jaw hit the ground.
If you are surprised because something happens unexpectedly and you are not ready for it, you can say it takes you by surprise or catches you off guard:
He admitted to having been taken by surprise by the announcement.
The question had caught her off guard and she looked flustered.
There are a couple of useful verbs with this meaning too. If something unexpected, for example a piece of news or a question, throws you, it makes you very surprised and confused. Even stronger is the verb floor. If something unexpected floors you, it makes you so surprised and confused, you are unable to carry on:
I was a bit thrown by the comment and didn’t know how to deal with it.
How do we use relative clauses? And why are they split into defining and non-defining?
Let’s start with what a relative clause is.
It’s a secondary sentence linked to a main sentence. We use it to give extra information about the who or what we’re talking about in the main sentence.
What is a defining relative clause?
It’s a relative clause that is absolutely necessary for the main sentence to make sense. Let me give you an example:
“These are the people who bought the house.”
If we remove, ‘who bought the house’, we’re left with, ‘these are the people’. People who? We have 7 billion people in the world!
Because ‘who bought the house’ is necessary for the sentence to make sense, it is a defining relative clause.
Let’s move on to non-defining relative clauses.
These are not so necessary. They’re very interesting, but you can think of them as a kind of gossip. We don’t absolutely need them for the main sentence to make sense. Let’s look at this example:
“The celebrity, who has ten children, came to my house.”
If we take away, ‘who has ten children’, the rest of the sentence still makes sense: ‘The celebrity came to my house’.
‘Who has ten children’ is a nice piece of information, but because it’s not necessary for the sentence to make sense, it’s a non-defining relative clause.
So there you have it! Easy ways to distinguish between defining and non-defining relative clauses so you don’t need to be afraid of them anymore!
Every single person is a unique puzzle composed of pieces of personality, life experiences, knowledge, and emotions.
Every person has their own perspective and world view, largely fueled by the way they’ve experienced and navigated the world.
Regardless of the exact path one’s life has taken, the journey leaves its mark on the person and shapes the way they interact with the world today.
1 your personality
An individual’s personality is something that is molded from the moment they are born right through to the present moment.
Every good and bad experience, every triumph and failure, every moment of strength and weakness, every bit of knowledge and wisdom we acquire…
…these guide us in how we move through the world.
No one else can or will have your exact collection of knowledge, experiences, and perceptions that causes you to be who you are.
No one else is going to respond to what you’ve experienced with the same emotions and thoughts that you had.
No one is going to make the same choices that you make.
Your personality is uniquely your own.
2 your attitude
A person’s attitude dictates how they perceive life and the actions of the people around them.
Both a positive and negative attitude can be infectious, influencing the people around you and pulling them in the general direction of what you are putting into the world.
That’s the foundation of self-help and motivational materials that talk about how your attitude can really limit what you can accomplish in life.
Because, the truth is that people with a positive attitude tend to shy away from those with more neutral or negative attitudes.
Your attitude is something that is formed by your emotional landscape unless you make an active choice to craft it into something better and more conducive to a happier present and future.
3 your habits
A habit is a thing we do with great regularity. The habits we have inform and determine what aspects of our unique person we develop.
A bad habit of eating unhealthy food and not exercising is going to cause lethargy and poor physical health.
A good habit of brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing is going to keep your mouth healthy and pain-free.
Forming habits such as reading, meditation, exercise, or trying new things can improve mental health and well-being.
Carl Jung famously said, “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” And his words largely speak to how our actions and habits determine the person we become.
4 your creativity
Creativity is an interesting thing because there are so many different kinds.
You have a variety of arts that flex the creative side of your brain, from painting and drawing to dance and singing.
But then you also have creativity in other forms, like developing efficient systems, building a bookcase with your own hands, or planning an aesthetically pleasing landscape.
Every person has their own unique, creative gifts which are influenced by their own vision of what beauty is.
Sometimes, beauty isn’t a complicated thing. Sometimes creativity and beauty is simple effectiveness.
5 your passion
Passion is a magnificent part of the human experience.
There are so many things to be passionate about – art, nature, and humanity to name a few.
Passions can provide much needed direction toward a goal or experience that will allow us to leave our own unique mark on the world.
The things that stir the deepest emotions in one’s soul can speak to a higher calling to do something greater than oneself, even if they might be in a mental or emotional place where things aren’t that good at the moment.
Understanding your passions can help you find a direct, distinct path that is guided by your values and unique perception of the world.
Don’t let them cool down to nothing. Stoke and stir those flames from time to time, so they continue to burn and illuminate your path.
We are all unique individuals. We all have something unique and valuable to contribute to the world. It just may take some time to find that thing you are meant to contribute.
The English language contains a lot of idioms and phrases on the theme of arguing. This post looks at some of the most useful ones. I hope you find it interesting.
Before a disagreement even begins, if someone clearly wants an argument and tries to provoke a person into arguing, you can describe them as spoiling for a fight. Also, if someone says something to deliberately start an argument, you can say they throw down the gauntlet:
He was clearly spoiling for a fight during Monday’s debate.
She threw down the gauntlet to her critics today.
Moving on to having an argument, there are various idioms for this, many of which create a vivid – and often violent – image in the mind. For example, you can say that people cross swords and if you want to emphasize that they argue very angrily you can talk about them being at each other’s throats:
They’d crossed swords numerous times in Parliament over this issue.
Tom and Ben were at each other’s throats the whole time.
Another way of saying that people argue very angrily is to say that sparks fly:
At the same press conference, sparks flew between the manager and a young journalist.
An informal way of saying that an angry argument starts (often between several people) is all hell breaks loose:
All hell broke loose when my brother got home.
Meanwhile, two people who often have angry arguments may be said to (UK) fight like cat and dog / (US) fight like cats and dogs:
I get on really well with my brother now, but as kids we used to fight like cat and dog.
Other phrases are not quite so visual. A rather restrained way to say that you have had an argument with someone is to say you exchanged words or had words with them. (Confusingly, ‘exchange words’ can also just refer to people speaking together, rather than arguing).
We had words this morning over her refusal to study.
It’s thought that they exchanged words after the meeting.
Moving on to noun phrases in this area, a shouting match is a noisy argument in which people raise their voices and, in UK English, a slanging match (informal) is an argument in which people insult each other. A running battle, meanwhile, is an argument that continues for a long period of time:
The debate soon degenerated into a shouting match.
I refused to be drawn into a slanging match.
We’ve had a running battle with the council for almost a decade.
Finally, an issue that people argue over is sometimes called the bone of contention:
The main bone of contention between them was the fact that he was so rarely at home.
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