hit the ceiling

pleasant/unpleasant [ countable ] a good time, bad time, difficult time etc is a period or occasion when you have good, bad, difficult etc experiences :
This was the happiest time of her life.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

have the ˌtime of your ˈlife
(informal) to enjoy yourself very much

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

the time of your life

an extremely enjoyable experience:

We had the time of our lives at the party.

American English

British English

celebrating and entertaining

B1 (Intermediate)

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go it alone

go it alone [idiom]

To start working or living on your own, especially after working or living with other people

go it alone - کاری را به تنهایی انجام دادن

Example:

Do you need help, or will you go it alone?

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

(alone)

7 go it alone: to start working or living on your own, especially after working or living with other people :
After years of working for a big company I decided to go it alone.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

go it aˈlone
to do something without help from anyone

Andrew decided to go it alone and start his own business.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

go it alone

to do something without other people:

He's decided to leave the band and go it alone as a singer.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

go it alone : to do something by yourself
• If no one's willing to help me, I guess I'll just have to go it alone.

American English

British English

unaided and working alone

B1 (Intermediate)

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tongue in cheek

tongue in cheek [idiom]

(Also with your tongue in your cheek) If a remark is tongue in cheek, it is not serious and is rather intended to be a joke.

Example:

He said he was the sharpest boy in the family, I guess it was just a tongue in cheek.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

tongue-in-cheek

ˌtongue-in-ˈcheek BrE AmE adjective
a tongue-in-cheek remark is said as a joke, not seriously:
I love that kind of tongue-in-cheek wit.
—tongue-in-cheek adverb:
I think he was talking tongue-in-cheek.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

tongue-in-cheek

▪ I. ˌtongue-in-ˈcheek f103 [tongue-in-cheek] adjective
not intended seriously; done or said as a joke
• a tongue-in-cheek remark
Example Bank:

• The magazine published a wonderful tongue-in-cheek review of his latest work.

▪ II. ˌtongue-in-ˈcheek adverb

• The offer was made almost tongue-in-cheek.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

tongue in cheek ( also with your tongue in your cheek )

If you say something tongue in cheek, you intend it to be understood as a joke, although you might appear to be serious:

He said that he was America's greatest lover, although I suspect it was tongue in cheek.

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

A tongue-in-cheek remark or attitude is not serious, although it may seem to be.

...a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek approach.

This is all slightly tongue-in-cheek, I'd like to make that clear.

Were they written tongue-in-cheek, or with an underlying conviction?

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

tongue-in-cheek

adjective

Definition of tongue-in-cheek

(Entry 1 of 2)

: characterized by insincerity, irony, or whimsical exaggeration

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shoot one's mouth off

shoot one's mouth off [idiom]

To speak too much or unwisely about something

Example:

What do you know about working hard? You only have had a part time job for two months and now you are giving me advice on that. Sorry to say that but I think you are shooting your mouth off.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

shoot your mouth offinformal to talk about something that you should not talk about or that you know nothing about Don’t go shooting your mouth off.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

shoot your mouth off (about something)

ˌshoot your ˈmouth off (about sth) idiom

(informal)

1. to talk with too much pride about sth

2. to talk about sth that is private or secret

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

shoot your mouth off informal

to talk too much in a loud and uncontrolled way:

It's just like Richard to go shooting his mouth off about other people's affairs.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

shoot your mouth off also shoot off at the mouth informal : to talk foolishly, carelessly, or too much about something
• She tends to shoot her mouth off.
• Try not to shoot your mouth off about this to anyone.

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go fly a kite

go fly a kite [idiom]

Used to tell someone who’s bothering or insisting unpleasantly to go away

Example:

Eric insisted on asking me out for months. Finally I had to tell him to go fly a kite. I know he didn’t like it but I was not interested and I couldn't take it more.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

go fly a kite American English spoken used to tell someone to go away, stop saying something, or stop annoying you

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

(go) fly a kite

(go) fly a/your ˈkite idiom

(NAmE, informal) used to tell sb to go away and stop annoying you or interfering

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

go fly a kite mainly US informal

used to tell someone who is being annoying to go away

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

go fly a kite US informal + old-fashioned
- used to tell someone who is bothering you to go away
• When I asked her what was wrong, she told me to go fly a kite.

American English

British English

phrases telling people to go away

B1 (Intermediate)

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leave someone high and dry

leave someone high and dry [idiom]

To leave someone helpless in a difficult situation

leave someone high and dry - کسی را آلاخون والاخون کردن

Example:

He abandoned his wife and five children and left them high and dry.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

(leave somebody/something) high and drya) if someone is left high and dry, they are left without any help or without the things that they needb) if a boat, area etc is left high and dry, it is left on land because the water that surrounded it has gone down The once-thriving port of Rye was left high and dry as sea levels retreated.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

leave sb high and dry informal

to do something that is not at all convenient for someone and put them in a very difficult situation:

They pulled out of the deal at the last minute leaving us high and dry.

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

leave someone high and dry

to leave someone in a difficult situation which they are unable to do anything about

Schools with better reputations will be flooded with applications while poorer schools will be left high and dry.

American English

British English

preventing and impeding

B1 (Intermediate)

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smell a rat

smell a rat [idiom]

To suspect that something is not quite right

Example:

The manager told me to sign a blank contract to which she would later add the agreed conditions. But frankly I smelled a rat and said I won’t sign it.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

smell a rat informal to guess that something wrong or dishonest is happening

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

smell a rat

ˌsmell a ˈrat idiom

(informal) to suspect that sth is wrong about a situation

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

smell a rat

to recognize that something is not as it appears to be or that something dishonest is happening:

He's been working late with her every night this week - I smell a rat!

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

smell a rat informal : to think or suspect that something is wrong about a situation
• She smelled a rat when her husband came home with lipstick on his collar.

American English

British English

suspecting and questioning

B1 (Intermediate)

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sell someone down the river

sell someone down the river [idiom]

To betray someone especially because of getting benefit for yourself

sell someone down the river - فروختن کسی

Example:

I am sure Kate has sold us down the river. Nobody knew about the money except you, me and Kate. I’m sure I haven’t told anyone so it must be Kate.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

sell somebody down the river to do something that harms a group of people who trusted you, in order to gain money or power for yourself

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

sell sb down the river

informal

to put someone in a difficult or dangerous situation by not acting as you had promised toact, usually in order to win an advantage for yourself

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

sell sb down the river

phrase

If someone sells you down the river, they betray you for some personal profit or advantage.

He has been sold down the river by the people who were supposed to protect him.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

sell (someone) down the river informal : to do something that harms (someone who trusted you) especially in order to get something for yourself : to betray (someone)
• I can't believe my best friend would sell me down the river.

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