Phrase of the Week – Page 2 – Hilderstone College Blog

Phrase of the Week: 08 October 2018

the crack of dawn

Very early in the morning

have something up your sleeve

Have a secret plan or advantage which can be used if necessary

do the donkey work

Do the hard and boring part of a job or task

not sleep a wink

Not sleep at all

Hang (on) in there

Don’t give up

a rule of thumb

A helpful, accurate guide which is based on practice not on theory.

‘by and large’
In general; when everything is considered.

‘get your skates on’ (informal, British English)
= Hurry up

‘off-the-cuff’
Not prepared in advance (e.g. a remark)

‘bear (bore/born(e)) the brunt of something’
Suffer the main effects or force of something unpleasant