English Idioms
An idiоm is a grоup of wоrds in a fixеd оrdеr thаt hаvе а pаrticulаr mеаning thаt is diffеrеnt frоm the mеаnings of еаch wоrd оn its оwn.
Knоwlеdgе оf idiоms is аn impоrtаnt pаrt оf cоmprеhеnsiоn оf the English lаnguаgе.
Belоw is a list of sоmе cоmmоnly usеd English idiоms with thеir mеаnings
A bear with a sore head – an irritable person
A bit of a dark horse – person with hidden abilities
A bitter pill to swallow – a difficult fact to accept
A brainwave – sudden clear idea
A bull in a china shop – a very clumsy person
A cat in hell’s chance – no chance at all
A close shave – a narrow escape
A different kettle of fish – a totally different situation
A dog’s breakfast/dinner – a mess
A dog’s life - a difficult, hard life
A fish out of water – person who feels uncomfortable in unfamiliar surroundings
A memory like a sieve – a poor memory
A night owl – person who enjoys staying up late
Above board - honest
Against all odds – despite the difficulties
All along – from the beginning
All but – nearly, almost
All in - exhausted
All in all – when everything is considered
All the same – yet, however
An old wives’ tale – false belief
A pain in the neck – annoying person/thing
A piece of cake – sth very easy to do
A red-letter day – a very important day
A red rag to a bull – action liable to provoke sb
A sitting duck – an easy target
As busy as a bee/ a busy bee – very busy
As a last resort – when all else has failed
As the crow flies – in a direct line
At large – free, not caught
A wild-goose chase – a hopeless search
Bark up the wrong tree – to make a mistake
Be all at sea – to be in a state of confusion
Be all fingers and thumbs – to be awkward, clumsy
Be born yesterday – a long time ago
Be broke – to have no money at all
Be dying for sth – to really want sth
Be fit for – to be good enough for
Be flat out – to be very tired
Be full of beans – to be very lively
Be green – not be very experienced
Be/get soaked to the skin – to be/get very wet
Be in black – to be out of debt
Be in pink – to be healthy
Be in a quandary – to be confused
Be the apple of sb’s eye – to be very precious to sb
Be in the doghouse – to be out of favour, in trouble
Be in the sb’s shoes – to be in sb’s position
Be in the black books – not very popular
Be in the know – to be well-informed
Be in the same boat – to be in the same situation
Be in two minds about sth – not to know which of the two things to do
Be all very well – to appear satisfactory but in fact not be
Be up in arms – to be very angry
Beat about/around the bush – to avoid saying what one means directly
Beat sb black and blue – to hit sb repeatedly until bruised
Behind bars – in prison
Behind the scenes – in secret
Be on the cards – to be likely to happen
Be on the up and up – to improve steadily
Be over the moon – to be elated
Be second to none – to be as good as the best
Be sound asleep – to sleep heavily
Be the perfect image of sb – to look exactly like sb
Be thick – to be stupid
Big headed – conceited, boastful
Blue-eyed boy - favourite
Bolt from the blue - suddenly
Break even – to show neither loss nor profit
Break the ice – to ease the tension when one first meets people
Browned off – fed up, bored
Burry one’s head in the sand – to avoid or ignore reality/responsibility
Butter the boss up – to flatter sb
By and large – generally speaking
By trial and error – learning from one’s mistakes
Call it quits – to give up, to stop
Call sb names – to insult sb
Catch sb red-handed – to be caught while committing a crime
Chair a meeting – to preside a meeting
Cook one’s goose – to end one’s plans abruptly
Come out of one’s shell – to gain personal confidence
Come to a head – to reach a crisis
Come to a standstill – not to progress
Come to terms with – to accept a difficult
Come to the point – to reach the main point in a discussion
Cost a bomb – very expensive
Crocodile tears – false tears
Cross one’s mind – to think of sth
Cry over spilt milk – to grieve over sth that can’t be put right
Cut sb dead – to ignore sb
Deal a blow to – to damage one’s hopes
Different as chalk and cheese – very different
Dog eat dog – ruthless competition, rivalry
Donkey work – boring, monotonous work
Donkey’s years – a long time
Don’t hold your breath – wait for sb anxiously
Do time – to serve a prison sentence
Down in the dumps – not cheerful
Down the drain – wasted, lost
Drink like a fish – to drink a lot of alcohol
Drop a brick – to say sth tactlessly
Drop sb a line – send sb a letter
Eat one’s heart out – to feel jealous
Every nook and cranny - everywhere
Fair and square – within the rules
Fall head over heels – to fall in love quickly
Fall into place – to become clear
Feel blue – to be depressed
Feel down in the mouth – to feel discouragement or depression
Feel in one’s bones – feeling sth instinctively
Feel one’s ears burning – to be sure that sb is talking about you
Fine kettle of fish – confused state of affairs
Flog a dead horse – to waste time
Fly off the handle – to become very angry
For all I care – I don’t care
For all I know – as far as I know
For the time being - temporarily
Frosty welcome – unfriendly reception
Gatecrasher – sb attending a party, event etc without an invitation
Get a bit hot under the collar – to get angry, upset or embarrassed
Get a move on – to hurry up
Get cold feet - to lose courage
Get one’s nerves – to irritate or annoy sb
Get a problem off one’s chest – to tell sb else about your problem
Get off on the wrong foot – to argue or disagree at the beginning of a relationship
Get out of hand – get out of control
Get rid of sth – to give sth away
Get out of bed on the wrong side – to be in a bad mood
Get the sack – to be dismissed from the job
Get the wrong end of the stick – to misunderstand
Give way to – to give in, yield
Get your own back – to take/get revenge
Give and take – to compromise
Give sb the slip – to escape from sb
Give sb the cold shoulder – to ignore sb
Go for a song – to be sold very cheaply
Go without saying – to be a foregone conclusion
Golden opportunity – the best chance
Go to one’s head – to make conceited
Go to the dogs – to go to waste
Grease sb’s palm – to bribe sb
Grey matter – the brains, intelligence
Grow out of sth – to become too big for sth
Hand in glove with sb – to be in very close contact with sb
Have a bee in one’s bonnet – to have an obsession about sth
Have a cheek/nerve – to act rudely
Have a frog in one’s throat – inability to speak due to nervousness
Have a sharp tongue – to tend to say unkind or hurtful things
Have a job – to find it difficult
Have a yellow streak – to be a coward
Have an early night – to go to bed early
Have butterflies in one’s stomach – to be very nervous about sth
Have kittens – to be upset
Have many irons in the fire – to have a lot of plans/possibilities in progress
Have no option but – must, have no choice
Have one’s heart in one’s mouth – to be extremely anxious
Have time on one’s hands – to have free time
Have the cheek – to dare to complain
Have the gift of the gab – to be able to talk well, persuasively
Have words with sb – to have an argument
Hear it through the grape-vine – to find out information indirectly
Hit the nail on the head – to say exactly the right thing
Hit the roof – to get very angry
Hit the sack – to go to bed
Hold one’s horses – to wait, be patient
Hold water – to be able to be proved true
If I were in sb’s shoes – if I were sb
Ill at ease – embarrassed, uncomfortable
In a flash – very quickly
In a nutshell – briefly, in a few words
In a rut – to be fixed in a monotonous routine
In a tick – shortly, soon
In black and white – in writing, clear
In cold blood – done deliberately (of a murder)
In deep water – in trouble/difficulty
In public – in the presence of the other people
In the air – uncertain, spreading about
In the long run – after a long period of time
In the nick of time – just in time
It’s all Greek to me – sth new or foreign, not easily understood
Keep a straight face – to manage to look serious
Keep an eye on sth – to guard sth
Keep one’s chin up – not to be discouraged
Keep one’s fingers crossed – to hope that sth will turn out well
Keep oneself to oneself – to live quietly, unsociably
Keep sth quiet – to keep sth secret
Keep up with the Joneses – to compete with others in status/material goods
Kick the bucket – to die
Kill time – to pass time while waiting for sb/sth
Kill two birds with one stone - to solve two problems with one single action
Know the ropes – to know all the details of a business
Lay bare – to make public
Lend sb a hand – to give help
Let sleeping dogs lie – to avoid mentioning a subject which could cause trouble
Let the cat out the bag – to reveal a secret
Like cat and dog – disagree violently
Like water off a duck’s back – having no effect
Live out of a suitcase – to travel often
Lose heart – to become discouraged
Lose one’s head – to lose self-control
Lose one’s nerve – to back out because of fear
Lost cause – hopeless situation or case
Make a flying visit – to make a quick trip
Make a fool of oneself – to make oneself look stupid
Make a killing – to have a sudden, great success
Make a name for oneself – to become famous
Make a mountain out of a molehill – to cause a fuss about a trivial matter
Make a pig of oneself – to eat/drink to excess
Make light of – to treat sth as unimportant
Make/earn a/one’s living – to earn money
Make hay while the sun shines – to take advantage of favourable circumstances
Make head or tail of – to understand
Make money hand over fist – to make a lot of money quickly and easily
Make one’s blood boil – to cause sb to become very angry
Make one’s getaway – to escape
Make sb’s day – to make sb very happy
Meet behind closed doors – to meet secretly
Moon around – to look miserable
No/little wonder – not surprising
No room to swing a cat – no room at all
Not be one’s cup of tea – not to suit one’s mind
Null and void – invalid, not legally binding
Off colour – to look slightly unwell
Off the cuff – without preparation
Off the point - irrelevant
Off the record - unofficially
One’s flesh and blood – family member
On account of – because of
Once and for all – for the last time
Once in a blue moon – very rarely
On a shoe string – on a very small budget
On no account – under no circumstances
On second thought – having changed one’s mind
On the air - broadcasting
On the dole – receiving unemployment benefit
On the spur of the moment – without thinking about sth
On the rack – in a state of great anxiety
Open to debate – not decided/settled
Out-and-out – thorough, complete
Out of the blue – suddenly and unexpectedly
Out of the frying pan into the fire – from a difficult situation to a worse
Out of the question - impossible
Out of turn – not in the correct order/time
Paint the town red – to have a lovely time
Part and parcel of – basic part of
Pay one’s cards right – to act cleverly
Play cat and mouse with sb – to keep sb in a state of uncertain expectation treating alternatively cruelly and kindly
Play truant – to stay away from school without good reason
Plenty more fish in the sea – many opportunities in life, for love etc
Pop the question – to make a proposal of marriage
Pull a few strings – to use influential friends in order to obtain an advantage
Pull one’s socks up – to make a greater effort
Pull sb/one’s leg – to tease or trick sb
Put one’s foot down – to insist
Put one’s foot in it – to join or interrupt a conversation you are not a part of
Put one’s heart and soul into sth – to be devoted to sth
Put down roots – to settle down
Put sb’s name forward – to nominate
Put the cat among the pigeons – to cause trouble
Put words into one’s mouth – to pretend that sb has said sth that he/she hasn’t actually said
Quick/slow on the uptake – quick/slow to understand
Rain cats and dogs – to rain heavily
Red tape – unnecessary bureaucracy
Ring a bell – to remind sb of sth
See the back of – to be glad to see sb leave
See/look at sth through rose-coloured spectacles – to see sth from an unrealistically positive point of view
Shed light upon – to give new/further information
Short and sweet – very short and to the point
Show one’s true colours – to reveal one’s character
Sleep like a log – to sleep soundly
Sleep on it – to think about sth
Slip one’s mind – to forget about sth
Smell a rat – to suspect that sth is wrong
Speak volumes – to be strong evidence of sb’s merits etc
Spill the beans – to reveal a secret
Stand in sb’s way – to prevent sb from doing sth
Status symbol – possession that shows sb’s high social rank
Stew in one’s own juice – to suffer the consequences of one’s own actions
Straight from the horse’s mouth – from the most direct source
Strike gold – to come across sth useful
Take everything to heart – to take personally/ be hurt by
Take into account – consider sth
Take it easy – to calm down
Take one’s time – not to hurry
Take sb/sth for granted – to rely on sb to do things for you all the time
Take sth to heart – to take personally, to be offended
Take the bull by the horns – to take a bold step immediately
Take with a pinch of salt – not to believe sth completely
The black market – illegal trading of goods
The black sheep of the family – a disgraced family member
The boys in blue – the police
The ins and outs – the details of an activity
The last straw – the last and worst episode in a chain of bad experiences
The lesser of two evils - when given two bad choices, the one which is not as bad as the other should be chosen over the one that is the greater threat
The life and soul of sth – the most lively and amusing person present somewhere
The lion’s share – the biggest part/portion
The rat race – the competitive nature of modern urban life
The tip of the iceberg – small evident part of a much larger, concealed situation
The year dot – a long time ago
Thick-skinned - insensitive
Through thick and thin – whatever happens
Throw a party – to have a party
Tongue in cheek – not serious, ironic
Tooth and nail - fiercly
Touch and go – with uncertain result
Turn a blind eye to sth – to ignore
Turn over a new leaf – to make a new start
Under the weather – depressed, unwell
Until one is blue in the face – as hard/long as one possibly can
Until the cows come home – for a long time
Up and coming – likely to be successful
Ups and downs – alternate good and bad luck
Wet blanket – dull person who spoils people’s happiness
Wet behind the ears - inexperienced
Whet sb’s appetite – to make sb eager to have
With flying colours – with great success
With one’s heart in one’s mouth - fearfully
White elephant – useless possession
Work a miracle – to make sth impossible happen
Work to rule – to adhere strictly to the rules as a form of protest