Christmas: nut, angel, chimney, present

Christmas Idioms

Idiom	Explanation	Example
be on the side of angels	be on the right side	As a human rights lawyer, she’s on the side of angels.
all one’s Christmases come at once	extreme good fortune, happines or delight	When I passed the exam it was like all my Christmases had come at once.
a white Christmas	snow at Christmas time	I hope we have a white Christmas this year.
light up like a Christmas tree	(Australian English) look dazzling/look very happy	The view from the penthouse suite looked over the city which lit up like a Christmas tree at night time.
off the Christmas card list	an expression of annoyance towards someone	I crossed my friend Madeline off the Christmas card list after she cancelled our lunch plans three times in a row.
to smoke like a chimney	smoke constantly	My grandmother used to smoke like a chimney but now she has given up.
use a sledgehammer to crack a nut	use extreme measures to solve a simple problem	Sending eight men to carry two small suitcases is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
a tough nut to crack	a difficult problem or a competitor who is hard to defeat	The Chinese market is a tough nut to crack for foreign investors.
make a present of something	make it easy for someone to steal or take something from you	—Oh no! Someboday’s stolen my purse! —Well, what do you expect? You made a present of it by leaving it in an unlocked car.

display incorrect answers

Exercises C1

Complete the sentences with the words below.

chimney – Christmas tree – nut – present

After months of separation, Imogen’s face lit up like a when she finally saw Barry again.
The team that we’re playing tomorrow hasn’t lost a match yet. They are going to be a tough to crack.
Martin made a of his bike. He left it unlocked in the middle of the courtyard.
As we waited for the train my friend smoked one cigarette after another to pass the time. She smoked like a until the pack was empty.