1. V0cabulary, Idioms &
Expressions (VIE)

2. Crack down
Enforce the law by taking severe measures
to restrict criminal actions
Following the increase in road accidents, the
police cracked down on speeding.
Hit and run
When the driver of a vehicle hits another
vehicle without stopping to provide help
and fails to report the accident to the police.
A hit-and-run accident deserves serious
punishment.

3. Lay down the law
Someone who tells people very forcefully
what to do
The volunteers are disorganised; they need
someone to lay down the law.
Blow the whistle
When you report an illegal activity and
those responsible to the authorities
He refused to blow the whistle on his
corrupt boss for fear of losing his job.

4. Above board
An open, honest and legal situation or
business.
There are no secret negotiations. Our
dealings have always been above board.
Smoking Gun
An undeniable piece of evidence pointing to
someone's guilt.
The fingerprint the thief left on the door-
handle was the smoking gun that enabled
the police to arrest him.

5. Take the bread out of
somebody's mouth
To take away a person’s means of earning a
living
The ban on street vendors took the bread
out of the mouths of many people.
Bad Egg
Somebody who cannot be trusted
Don’t rely on Joan to do anything. She is a
bad egg.

6. Sticking point
A controversial issue that stops discussions.
Ownership of Falkland Islands is still a
sticking point for Britain and Argentina
after 30 years
Hot potatoes
Very sensitive matters which are difficult to
deal with
The new Prime Minister has not tried to
address the hot potatoes yet.

7. 19 March 2012
Bone of contention
A matter about which there is a lot of
disagreement.
"The salaries have been agreed on, but working
hours remains a bone of contention."
Nest Egg
Money that is set aside for future needs.
"Our parents see the money from the sale of
their house as a nest egg for their old age."

8. 20 March 2012
The wheels fall off
A situation where everything starts to go wrong
"The wheels fell off Whitney Houston’s career
when she started taking drugs."
Vicious circle
A solution to a problem that creates a worse
problem
"I borrowed money from the loanshark
to pay the bank, and now I need to
borrow to pay the loanshark. It's a
vicious circle."

9. 21 March 2012
The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing
Communication within a group is so bad that
people don't know what the others are doing.
“We are confused by the different answers given
by managers of the company. Clearly,
the left hand doesn’t know what the
right is doing”
Live on the breadline
People who have barely enough money to survive.
"After the economic crisis, there are more
people living on the breadline now."

10. 22 March 2012
Sponge off
Live at the expense of another without doing
something in return.
"Amy has been sponging off her
grandparents for the past two months,
not even bothering to help out in the
house."
Fiddling while Rome burns
Doing unimportant things while there are serious
problems to be addressed
"People wondered what the Police Chief was
doing on a holiday during the outbreak of crime,
as if fiddling while Rome burned"

11. 23 March 2012
Live from hand to mouth
Not having enough money to save, with all
money spent on food and essentials.
"Most families in that poor area live from hand
to mouth."
When in Rome, do as the Romans.
One should adopt the customs of the people or
country you are visiting.
“At the Chinese restaurant, James
tried using chopsticks because
when in Rome, do as the Romans”