Students frequently ask about the use of idioms or idiomatic English in the IELTS speaking exam, and yes, using idioms correctly in the IELTS speaking exam does, of course, help with your fluency score. I’ll try to post some useful idioms for you to look at once a week, which may come in handy during your IELTS speaking exam.
I’ll include a number of idioms in this post that we can use to describe people’s character and personality, which can often come in handy in Part 2 as there are always a lot of part 2 topics where you are asked to describe a person.
-
A barrel of laughs
If somebody is always joking and making people laugh, they are a barrel of laughs.
I love spending time with my grandfather as he is a real barrel of laughs.”
-
Go-getter
Somebody who is very motivated and does all they can to achieve success can be called a go-getter.
I really admire her as she worked so hard and did everything she could to get that university scholarship.”
-
A people person
This can describe somebody who is outgoing and enjoys being around people.
I enjoy going for long walks alone as i’m not really a people person.”
-
A cheapskate
To describe a person who really doesn’t like spending money.
My friend never pays for dinner when we go out together as he is a real cheapskate.”
-
Down to earth.
Somebody who doesn’t get carried away with success and treats everybody as equal.
Although she is so rich and famous, she has always remained very down to earth.”
-
A dark horse.
Somebody who actually has more abilities than they show or people are aware of.
Everyone was surprised by how well she did in her IELTS exam, she’s a real dark horse.”
-
Family man.
A man who is especially devoted to his family.
He may be very rich and famous, but he always remains a family man first.”
-
A jack-of-all-trades.
Somebody who is good at doing many different jobs.
He can play guitar, fix computers, and just about anything else. He really is a jack-of-all-trades.”
-
Know-it-all
A person who actually irritates others by acting like they know everything. (Negative)
John is a real know-it-all, he even tries to correct the teacher is class.”
-
Pain in the neck.
A very unpleasant or annoying person.
One of my colleagues is a real pain in the neck, and I always try to avoid him at work.”
-
Laid back
To describe a person who stays relaxed and doest get stressed easily.
Actually I’m very laid back and don’t get stressed about exams.”
-
Set in his/her ways.
This can be a very useful idiom in the IELTS exam when talking about older people. It means somebody who doesn’t want to or enjoy the idea of changing their habits or way of thinking.
My grandfather doesn’t want to learn how to use a smartphone, as he’s very set in his ways.”
IELTS speaking exam Idioms for mood and feelings.
