Talking about similarities

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 is little (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:

Politically, they were birds of a feather.

Sitting on the fence (Newspaper idioms)

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.

verbs to describe movement

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.