IDIOMS ABOUT CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY

PERSONALITY IDIOMS 1. Someone who cannot keep a secret is called a big mouth. 2. Someone who shows no emotion and seems unfriendly is called a cold fish. 3. Someone who is practical, realistic, and friendly is called down to earth. 4. Someone who doesn’t like to spend money is called a cheapskate. 5. A person who tends to stay up late at night is called a night owl. 6. Someone who spends a lot of time sitting and watching TV is called a couch potato. 7. Someone who spoils other people’s enjoyment is called a wet blanket. 8. A very energetic and eager to be successful is go-getter. 9. A clever and intelligent person is called a smart cookie. 10. A person who is cheerful and satisfied with their situation is called a happy camper.

The best way to learn personality idioms is through practice and I challenge you to score ten on ten in the personality idioms quiz. Read through the ten sentences and choose the correct missing words. For each of the following 1-10, choose the correct answer. 1) Someone who cannot keep a secret. dark horse cold fish big mouth 2) Someone who shows no emotion and seems unfriendly. cold fish pain in the neck wet blanket 3) Someone who is practical, realistic and friendly. happy camper down to earth go-getter

4) Someone who doesn’t like to spend money. wet blanket cheapskate worrywart 5) A person who tends to stay up late at night. night owl early bird lone wolf 6) Someone who spends a lot of time sitting and watching TV. wet blanket happy camper couch potato

7) Someone who spoils other people’s enjoyment. pain in the neck wet blanket a people person 8) Someone who is very energetic and eager to be successful. happy camper go-getter dark horse

9) A person who is clever and intelligent. down to earth know-it-all smart cookie 10) Someone who is cheerful and satisfied with their situation. happy camper lone wolf

PERSONALITY IDIOMS 1. Pain in the neck – an irritating, annoying person Oh, he’s such a pain in the neck! Always just when I’m going home, he gives me some extra work to do. 2. A people person – an outgoing person who gets along with people really well and is a good listener Tom is enthusiastic and positive and he is a people person. 3. A party animal – someone who likes to attend parties often Are you going out again tonight? You are such a party animal. Jack is out every Friday, and Saturday. If there was a party on, he’d be out on a Sunday as well. He is such a party animal! 4. Cheapskate – a mean person who doesn’t like spending money He was always a cheapskate even though he was earning $200,000 a year. 5. Happy camper – a person who is always happy and satisfied. We often use ‘happy camper’ in the negative. The apartment was much smaller than I expected, and I was not a happy camper. He’s finally got that promotion. He is a real happy camper.

6. Nerd – someone who is very interested in science or technology, particularly in computers He spends all weekends at his laptop, he is such a nerd. 7. Life and soul of the party – someone who is energetic, and good fun during social occasions. It was a great night, Jim was life and soul of the party. 8. Dipstick – a person who seems to be stupid (very informal) I don’t know whether to laugh or be angry at his behaviour. What a complete dipstick! 9. Down-to-earth – someone who is practical and close to reality, who accepts other people as equals Despite his wealth, he was a down-to-earth man. He was very generous and had a kind heart. 10. Early bird – a person who wakes up, arrives to work, etc. before the usual time This expression comes from the English proverb “The early bird catches the worm”.

1.Armchair Critic “It’s easy to be an armchair critic, but no one ever takes action to help solve the problem.” English idioms for personality and character armchair critic is a person who makes comments and criticisms about a situation that they are not actually DOING anything to help fix the problem. Imagine a person sitting in a big, comfortable armchair and making criticisms about something, without getting up and taking action! For example, if you constantly criticize your town for not taking better care of stray animals, but you personally do not volunteer at the animal shelter or help organize campaigns to change the situation, then you are being an armchair critic.

2. Busybody “My aunt is such a busybody – she’s always asking nosy questions about my love life. I wish she’d mind her own business.” A busybody is a person who constantly wants to know about or interfere in the details of other people’s lives. Another way to describe someone like this is “nosy,” or you can say the person is always “poking their nose into” other people’s lives. The expression “mind (your) own business” means to focus on your own life without interfering in other people’s.

3. Cheapskate “John bought his mother a $5 gift for her birthday. I can’t believe what a cheapskate he is!” A cheapskate is a person who hates to spend much money – and spends little money even in cases where more spending is needed. In this example sentence, John should have invested more money in a gift for his mother, but he only spent $5! Another way to describe a person like this is “stingy.”

4. Couch Potato “Stop being a couch potato – turn off the TV and go get some exercise.” A couch potato is a lazy person who spends a lot of time sitting down or lying down, watching TV, playing video games, or doing some other activity that doesn’t involve physical activity.

4. Down-To-Earth “I like working with Janet because she’s so down-to-earth. Her plans and expectations are very reasonable.” A person who is down-to-earth is practical, sensible, and realistic. Being down-to-earth is the opposite of being a dreamer, visionary, or “having your head in the clouds.” 5. Behind The Times / A Fuddy-Duddy “My dad doesn’t have an e-mail address. He’s a little behind the times.” Describing someone as “behind the times” means the person is old-fashioned and has not adopted certain modern customs, beliefs, or behaviors. A more negative word to describe a person who is “stuck in the past” is fuddy-duddy. This word is more of a criticism, whereas “behind the times” is more diplomatic.

6. Go-Getter “You can’t just wait for opportunities to be handed to you – you need to be more of a go-getter.” A go-getter is a person who is active, energetic, and has the initiative to pursue the things they want. 7. Goody-Goody / Goody Two Shoes “Mary was a goody two shoes in high school, but when she went to college she turned into a real rebel.” A goody-goody or goody two shoes is a person who always acts good, sweet, or nice, and follows the rules perfectly. They never do anything bad or rebellious. These words are NOT compliments – they have the connotation of a person who always acts good and is a little bit arrogant about it, showing off their perfect behavior. An idiom for describing someone as good without this connotation of arrogance is “a good egg.”

8. Know-It-All / Smart Alec / Wise Guy “I tried to give advice, but my know-it-all co-worker wouldn’t even listen.” A know-it-all is a person who thinks they know everything, and that their opinions and ideas are the best. The idioms “smart alec” and “wise guy” are similar, but have more of a connotation of a person who demonstrates their cleverness in an arrogant or sarcastic way. 9. Man Of His Word / Woman Of Her Word “If Gary said he’ll be there at 6:00, you can count on it. He’s a man of his word.” A “man of his word” or “woman of her word” is a person you can trust because they tell the truth and keep promises.

Social Butterfly “I’m more reserved, but my mother is a social butterfly.” A social butterfly is an extroverted person who loves to socialize. Like a butterfly goes quickly from flower to flower, a “social butterfly” often goes around a room having conversations with many people.