Liven up your language with clothing idioms
Redewendungen machen Ihre Sprache lebendiger. Sie sind auch ein wichtiger Bestandteil der Geschäftssprache. Benutzen Sie sie und beeindrucken Sie Ihre internationalen Geschäftspartner.
Idioms are an integral part of business English. Do you know these ones? They are all about clothes. See if you can insert the words in the box below into the correct gaps.
sheep – hat – wolf – buckle – mutton – socks – boots – shirt – lamb – cuff – linen
1. I never thought she would manage to arrange the conference so smoothly. I really take my __________ off to her.
2. He gave an off-the-__________ toast at June’s wedding. It was very good.
3. Agnes is much too old to wear clothes like that. She looks like __________ dressed as __________in those tight jeans and silk top.
4. The chairman was really embarrassed to have his dirty __________aired in public.
5. Stop shouting, keep your __________ on!
6. You should have sent the minutes out last week. You’d better pull your __________up or you’ll be out of a job.
7. I’ll bet my __________ there are redundancies.
8. It’s time to __________ down and get some work done before the exam.
9. I don’t trust him. He seems very nice but I think he’s a __________ in __________’s clothing.
And this is what the expressions mean in German
| to take your hat off to somebody | vor jemandem den Hut ziehen |
| mutton dressed as lamb | von hinten Lyzeum, von vorne Museum |
| Keep your shirt on! | Reg dich nicht auf! |
| to buckle down | sich reinknien |
| off-the-cuff | aus dem Stehgreif |
| to air one’s dirty linen in public | schmutzige Wäsche waschen |
| to pull one’s socks up | sich zusammenreißen |
| to bet one’s boots | den letzten Groschen wetten |
| a wolf in sheep’s clothing | der Wolf im Schafspelz |