Idioms –
Idiom is an expression or a phrase that has a meaning as a whole but that meaning can’t be understood from the meanings of those individual words that are used to form the idiom.
Examples and a list of Idioms –
A quick buck – An easy way to make money quickly
A snowball effect – The aspect of momentum in every event and how they built upon each other
A black sheep – Being a disgrace for the family
Ace up one’s sleeve – A secret advantage that you can use in need
A second wind – To have more appetite or more energy after being tired or full
A dime a dozen – Something common
A class act – Of great character or high standard
Add fuel to the fire – To make a situation worse
Add insult to injury – Make a bad situation worse
A blessing in disguise – A thing which is good but appears to be bad earlier
Against the clock – Rushed
At face value – As something seems
At the 11th hour – At the last moment
A storm in a teacup – A big fuss about a small problem
A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush – An opportunity in hand is better than a prospect in the future .
A left handed compliment – Saying something insulting in the form of appreciating words
A perfect storm – The worst possible situation
As right as rain – Perfect
A slap on the wrist – Just a small punishment
At sea – Confused
A snowball’s chance in hell – No chance at all
Back against the wall – Stuck in a difficult condition with no escape
Back to square again – Start all over again
Barking up the wrong tree – Looking for solution in the wrong place / to be Mistaken
Be in a tight corner – Being in a difficult situation
Bell the cat – To face a risk
Be glad to see the back of – Happy when someone leaves
Beat around the bush – Avoid saying something uncomfortable / Avoid talking about what is important
Better late than never – Better to arrive or achieve late than never
Beside yourself with joy – To be extremely happy
Bear a grudge – To continue to feel angry or unfriendly for something or someone because of a particular past incident .
Behind one’s back – Doing secretly without someone’s knowledge
Bigger fish to fry – There is something more important to take care of
Bite the bullet – To get something over with because it is Inevitable
Bite off more than you can chew – To take on a task or project that is more difficult than you can handle
Blow hot and cold – Inconsistent alteration between moods and actions
Black and blue – Something bruised
Black out – Faint
Blow off stream – To do fun activities to help relieve stress
Bounce something off someone – Discussing ideas or plan with someone to get his or her view on it
Boil the ocean – Taking up an almost impossible or overly ambitious project
Bone to pick – To be angry on something and want to discuss it
Bolt from the blue – Unexpected and sudde without warning
Break a leg – Good luck
Break fresh – Doing something that has never been done before
Break the ice – To get the conversation going
Break the bank – To be very expensive.
Burn your boats / bridges – Doing something which is impossible to turn to its original state
Burn bridges – Destroying relationship
Buy it – To believe something
Bury the hatchet – Ending a quarrel to make peace
By the skin of one’s teeth – To barely get something done .
Call a spade is spade – Talking frankly
Come rain or shine – No matter what
Comparing apples to oranges – Comparing to things that can’t be compared
Cut somebody some slack – Don’t be so critical
Cut the chase – To get directly to the point
Cut the mustard – Do a good job
Cut no ice – Fail to make an impact
Cutting corners – Doing something poorly in order to save time or money
Call it a day – Stop working on something
Calm before the storm – Something bad is coming but right now it’s calm
Chip off the old block – To be similar to one’s parents in one way or overall
Cold turkey – Quit suddenly rather than gradually
Cost an arm and a leg – To be very expensive
Cry wolf – Ask for attention or help by lying about a situation
Cry for the moon – To ask for something that us rather difficult
Darkest before the dawn – Things will get better
Don’t cry over spilled milk – What has already happened can’t be undone , so shouldn’t cry but should think of what to do going forward
Down for the count – To give up
Do something at the drop of a hat – Do something without any planning before
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket – Putting too much effort and resources into one option
Draw the line – To decide on a stopping past which you will not let something continue.
Draw first blood – To be the first to score or get an advantage against an opponent.
Easy does it – Slow down
Easier said than done – Not as easy as it appears to be
Eat like a horse – Eating too excessively
Egg on your face – Looking stupid and face embarrassment because of something you have done
Every cloud has a silver lining – Bad things one day eventually lead to good things
Fair and square – To do things in a fair way with no advantages to either side
Face the music – To accept reality
Fortune favours the bold / brave – Taking a risk can pay off
Fish out of water – To be in uncomfortable or unfamiliar place
Fit as a fiddle – In good health
Flesh and blood – Human nature / Referring to someone in family
Forty winks – A short nap
Good things come to those who wait – To have patience
Go the extra mile – Put in extra effort
Get out of hand – Get out of control
Get a second wind – Have more energy after being tired
Get your act together – Get organised to Work effectively
Get wind of something – Hear news of something secret
Go back to the drawing board – Start over
Go down in flames – To fail suddenly and severely
Get in shape – To become strong
Get something out of your system – Do the thing you want to do to move on
Get a taste of your own medicine – Get treated the way you treated others
Give it a whirl – To try something
Give someone the cold shoulder – Ignore someone
Have your head in the clouds – Not be concentrating
Have the blues – Sad
Have your heart in your mouth – Feeling extremely nervous
Having an Ace up the sleep- To have a hidden advantage
Hang in there – Don’t give up
Heart misses a beat – Feel excited or nervous
Hit the sack – Go to sleep
Hit the books – To study or studying hard
Hook line and sinker – To be deceived completely / Doing or trying to achieve something with thoroughness and passion .
In for a penny, in for a pound – Someone is investing time or money intentionally for a project / To make sure a task is complete no matter what once someone spent money or efforts to it
In cold blood – Doing something violent and cruel deliberately and unemotionally
It is not rocket science – It is not complicated
In the fast lane – A life filled with excitement
In the same boat – Two or more persons are in the same difficult position
Ignorance is bliss – You are better off not knowing something
Jam in the brakes – Pressing brake of a vehicle suddenly
Jump on the bandwagon – To follow a trend / Not to do something until it becomes popular
Jump the gun – To act on something promptly before the right time
Keep an ear to the ground – Staying informed and updated about everything
Know which way the wind is blowing – Understand the situation
Knee jerk reaction – A quick response
Kill the goose that lays the golden eggs – To destroy something that gives you a lot of return gradually to get immediate returns
Leave out in the cold – To be ignored or not considered
Leave no stone unturned – Look everywhere
Let sleeping dogs lie – Stop discussing an issue
Let someone off the hook – To not hold someone responsible for something
Left out in the cold – Being ignored
Like a cat on hot tin roof – In a nervous state / In an uneasy state
Like two peas in a pod – They’re always together
Like a cakewalk – So easy task.
Like riding a bicycle – Something you never forget how to do
Light at the end of tunnel – Seeing signs of improvement in the future
Let the cat out of the bag – Give away a secret
Lose one’s touch – To not be as good at something as one used to be
Look before you leap – To think before you do something.
Lose your marbles – To go insane.
Make a long story short – Tell briefly
Make one’s blood boil – To make someone extremely angry
Make hay while the sun shines – Take advantage of a good situation
Miss the boat / Miss the bus – It’s too late / Missed an opportunity
Not the only fish in the sea – Not the only suitable person or things anyone can find
No pain, no gain – You have to work for what you want
Notch up – To win / Create a record
Not your cup of tea – Something or someone is not like that you look
Once in a blue moon – Very rare
Once bitten , twice shy – Afraid of doing something again
On the ball – Doing a good job
On the line – Have something at risk
On cloud nine – Being very happy
Over my dead body – Something you dislike and you can do everything to stop it
On thin ice – In a dangerous or risky situation with much margin for error
Off the table – Unavailable / Offer has been revoked
Old as the hills – Someone very old
Palm off – Pass of something as genuine when it is spurious.
Penny wise and pound foolish – To worry about unimportant details but ignoring the important ones.
Piece of cake – Very easy
Pitch in – To put in effort / To make a contribution
Pour one’s heart out – To tell or confess something emotional
Play devil’s advocate – To present the both side or other side of an argument
Play it by ear – To improvise or wait for more information to come to a decision
Play your cards right – Work in a way that gives you an advantage
Pull yourself together – Calm down
Put something on ice – To stop progress on something
Pull someone’s leg – To joke with someone / To lie
Rain on someone’s parade – To spoil a moment
Read between the lines – To look for the real meaning when something is said
Rest on your laurels – To stop trying as hard because of your past achievement
Rings a bell – Sounds familiar
Right as rain – There is nothing which can be improved
Right off the bat – Doing immediately
Round the bend – Crazy
Run around a circle – Putting efforts on something without getting desired result
Run like the wind – Run very fast
Saving for a rainy day – Saving money for later
See eye to eye – To agree , compromise or understand the other person’s perspective
Scrape the barrel – Making most of the worse situation because You can’t do anything about it
Sell like hotcake – Quick sell out
Sit in the fence – To be undecided
Sit tight – Please wait patiently
Ship has sailed – Too late for the opportunity / Opportunity no longer available
Shoot from the hip – To speak rashly or bluntly without thinking carefully
Spill the beans – Give away secret
So far so good – Things are going well so far
Speak of the devil – The person we were just talking about showed up
Snowed under – Busy
Spill the beans – To tell a secret
Straight from the horse’s mouth – Hearing information directly from the person involved
Step up one’s game – Work harder to perform better
Shoot oneself in the foot – To harm one’s own cause inadvertently
Stab someone in the back – To betray a close person
Sung as a bug in a rug – Warm and cosy
Swang song – The last piece of work of an artist before his / her death
Take a rain check – Postpone a plan
Take it with a pinch of salt – Don’t believe it as hundred percent true
Take it with a grain of salt – Don’t take it too seriously .
Take a back seat – Not to be in a position of responsibility
To not see the wood for the trees – To be so involved in trivial matters , that you don’t get the important facts
To not see – more important facts
To lose the forest for the trees – more important facts
That’s the last straw – My patience has run out
Through caution to the wind – Take a risk .
The elephant in the room – The big issue or problem that people are avoiding
The best thing since sliced bread – Really, really good / A really good invention
The whole nine yards – Everything to the greatest extent
The pot calling the kettle back – Someone criticising someone else he is just bad
Throw caution to the wind – Stop thinking about something and take the risk
Through thick and thin – Throughout good times and bad times
The best of both worlds – An ideal situation
The apple doesn’t fall far from three – Similar to one’s parents.
To be hard on someone – To criticise someone / To manage or control someone very strictly
To get bent out of shape – To get upset
Time flies when you are having fun – Can’t notice How long something lasts during fun
To make matter worse – Make a problem worse
To have sticky fingers – Thief
To be in the doldrums – To be in a low spirit
To cut someone some slack – To not manage someone very strictly / to not be critical
Turn a deaf ear – To ignore someone
Twist someone’s arm – To convince someone with persistence
Up a creek without a paddle – In an unlucky situation
Up in arms – Being angry about something
Up for grabs – Available for everyone
Under the weather – sick
Wear your heart on your sleeve – Expressing yourself too openly
Wrap your head around something – Understand something complicated
We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it – Let’s not talk about that problem right now
You can say that again – That’s true, I agree
Your guess is as good as mine – I have no idea / I don’t know
Wild goose chase – To waste time trying to do something you can’t
Weather the storm – Go through something difficult
24/7 – all the time / 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
