Phrases & Expressions

A natural ability to make plants grow well.

• She has a green thumb, so her garden is always full of flowers.
• His grandmother had a green thumb.

Something that has a very small chance of succeeding.

• It's a long shot, but worth trying.
• Winning is a long shot.

A person who seems friendly but is actually dangerous or has bad intentions.

• Be careful, he's a wolf in sheep's clothing.
• The friendly new manager turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing.

A situation where previous plans or predictions are no longer valid.

• With the news of the cancellation, all bets are off.
• If he doesn't show up, all bets are off.

A member of a family or group who is considered bad or embarrassing because they are different.

• He's the black sheep of the family.
• Every family has a black sheep.

To report illegal or unethical activities to the public or authorities.

• He decided to blow the whistle on the company's practices.
• Someone must blow the whistle if corruption is found.

To start building work on a new building or project.

• The company will break ground on its new factory next month.
• Work will finally break ground on the new hospital in spring.

To be extremely popular online.

• Her photo nearly broke the internet.
• That news broke the internet.

To work or study until very late at night.

• Michael burned the midnight oil for his exam.
• We'll have to burn the midnight oil to finish the project.

An unwritten rule within a group that members must not reveal information about their activities, especially illegal ones, to outsiders.

• The police couldn't break the code of silence.
• There's a code of silence among the employees.