Idiom |
Definition/Translation |
Notes |
Ref. |
a bitter pill to swallow | A situation or information that is unpleasant but must be accepted | | [4] |
a dime a dozen | (US) Anything that is common, inexpensive, and easy to get or available anywhere | | [5] |
a hot potato | A controversial issue or situation that is awkward or unpleasant to deal with | | [6] |
a sandwich short of a picnic | Lacking intelligence | | |
ace in the hole | A hidden or secret strength; an unrevealed advantage | | [7] |
Achilles' heel | A small but fatal weakness in spite of overall strength | | [8] |
all ears | Listening intently; fully focused or awaiting an explanation | | [9] |
all thumbs | Clumsy, awkward | | [10] |
an arm and a leg | Very expensive or costly; a large amount of money | | [11] |
apple of discord | Anything causing trouble, discord, or jealousy | | [12] |
around the clock | When something is done all day and all night without stopping | | [13] |
as queer as a [strange object] (UK) |
Something particularly strange or unusual |
|
[14][15] |
at the drop of a hat | Without any hesitation; instantly | | |
back to the drawing board | Revising something (such as a plan) from the beginning, typically after it has failed | [a] | [17] |
back to the grindstone | To return to a hard and/or tedious task | | [18] |
ball is in his/her/your court | It is up to him/her/you to make the next decision or step. | | |
balls to the wall | Full throttle; at maximum speed | | |
barking up the wrong tree | Looking in the wrong place | [b] | [19] |
basket case | One made powerless or ineffective, as by nerves, panic, or stress | [c] | |
beating a dead horse | To uselessly dwell on a subject far beyond its point of resolution | | |
beat around the bush | To treat a topic but omit its main points, often intentionally or to delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant | | |
bed of roses | A situation or activity that is comfortable or easy | | [20] |
the bee's knees | Something or someone outstandingly good, excellent, or wonderful | [d] | [20] |
best of both worlds | A combination of two seemingly contradictory benefits | | |
bird brain | A person who is not too smart; a person who acts stupid | | [23] |
bite off more than one can chew | To take on more responsibility than one can manage | | |
bite the bullet | To endure a painful or unpleasant situation that is unavoidable | | |
bite the dust | A euphemism for dying or death | | |
bought the farm | A euphemism for dying or death, especially in an aviation or military context | | |
break a leg | A wish of good luck to theatre performers before going on stage, due to the belief amongst those in theatre that being wished "good luck" is a curse | | [24] |
burn the midnight oil | To work late into the night | [e] | [25] |
bust one's chops | To exert oneself | [f] | [26] |
by the seat of one's pants | To achieve through instinct or to do something without advance preparation | | [27] |
by the skin of one's teeth | Narrowly; barely. Usually used in regard to a narrow escape from a disaster. | [g] | [28] |
call a spade a spade | To speak the truth, even to the point of being blunt and rude | | |
call it a day | To declare the end of a task | [h] | [29] |
champ at the bit or chomp at the bit | To show impatience or frustration when delayed | | [30] |
cheap as chips | Inexpensive; a good bargain | | |
chew the cud | To meditate or ponder before answering; to be deep in thought; to ruminate | | |
chew the fat | To chat idly or generally waste time talking | | |
chink in one's armor | An area of vulnerability | [i] | [31] |
clam up | To become silent; to stop talking | | |
clutch one's pearls |
To be disproportionately shocked or affronted by something one perceives to be vulgar, in bad taste, or morally wrong | | |
cold feet | Not going through with an action, particularly one which requires long term commitment, due to fear, uncertainty and doubt | | |
cold shoulder | To display aloofness and disdain | | [32] |
couch potato | A lazy person | | [33] |
cool your jets |
Calm down. |
|
[34] |
crocodile tears | Fake tears or drama tears; fake crying. | | |
cut off your nose to spite your face | To pursue revenge in a way that would damage oneself more than the object of one's anger | | |
cut a rug | To dance | | |
cut the cheese (US) | To pass gas | | |
cut the mustard | To perform well; to meet expectations | | [35] |
dicking around | Messing about, not making any progress | | |
dig one's heels in | Refuse to change one's plans or ideas, especially when counseled otherwise | | |
dollars to donuts | Assert certainty that something is either true or likely to occur, often expressed as a wager of something expensive (dollars) against something cheap (donuts) | | |
don't count your chickens before they hatch | Don't make plans for something that may not happen; alternatively, don't make an assumption about something that does not have a definitively predetermined outcome. | | |
don't cry over spilled milk | Don't become upset over something that has already happened and you cannot change | | |
don't have a cow | Don't overreact | | [36] |
drop a dime (US) | To make a telephone call; to be an informant; (basketball) an assist | | |
elephant in the room | An obvious, pressing issue left unaddressed due to its sensitive nature | | |
eleventh hour | At the last minute; the latest possible time before it is too late | | [37] |
fall off the turnip truck | To be naïve, inexperienced, or unsophisticated. Sometimes used in a rural sense. | | [38] |
fish out of water | refers to a person who is in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable surroundings | | |
fit as a fiddle | In good physical health | | [39] |
for a song | Almost free; very cheap | | |
fly in the ointment | A minor drawback or imperfection, especially one that was not at first apparent, that detracts from something positive, spoils something valuable, or is a source of annoyance | | [40] |
fly on the wall | To join an otherwise private interaction, unnoticed to watch and/or listen to something | | [41] |
from A to Z | Covering a complete range; comprehensively | [j] | |
from scratch / make from scratch | To make from original ingredients; to start from the beginning with no prior preparation | | |
get bent out of shape | To take offense; to get worked up, aggravated, or annoyed | | |
get a wiggle on | To move quickly or hurry | | [42] |
get one's ducks in a row | to become well prepared for a desired outcome | | [43] |
get one's knickers in a twist | (UK) To become overwrought or unnecessarily upset over a trivial matter | | |
get one's panties in a wad | To become overwrought or unnecessarily upset over a trivial matter | | |
get your goat | To irritate someone | | |
gone south | having an unforeseen or chaotic result | | |
grasp the nettle | To tackle a problem in a bold manner, despite the difficulty or complexity of doing so; to solve a problem despite short-term adverse consequences. | | [44][45][46] |
have a blast | To have a good time; to enjoy oneself. | | [47] |
have all your Christmases come at once |
To have extreme good fortune. |
|
|
have eyes bigger than one's stomach | To have asked for or taken more of something (especially food) than one is actually capable of handling (or eating) | | [20] |
have eyes in the back of one's head | To be able to perceive things and events that are outside of one's field of vision | | |
head over heels | Be smitten, infatuated | | |
heard it through the grapevine | To have learned something through gossip, hearsay, or a rumor | | |
hit the ceiling/roof | To become enraged, possibly in an overreaction | | |
hit the nail on the head | 1. To describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem; 2. To do or say exactly the right thing or to find the exact answer; 3. To do something in the most effective and efficient way; 4. To be accurate or correct about something. | | |
hit the road | To leave; start a journey | | [48] |
hit the sack/sheets/hay | To go to bed; to go to sleep. | | [49] |
hit the spot | To be particularly pleasing or appropriate; to be just right. | | |
hold all the cards | To control a situation; to be the one making the decisions. | | |
hold your horses | Wait. Slow down. | | |
hook, line and sinker | To be completely fooled by a deception | | [50] |
in over one's head | Overwhelmed or exasperated, usually by excessive responsibilities | | |
it is what it is | This challenging circumstance is simply a fact, to be accepted or dealt with. | [k] | [53][54] |
jump ship | To leave a job, organization, or activity suddenly | | [55] |
jump the gun |
To start something before it is prudent or permitted; to act too hastily. |
|
[56] |
jumping the shark | A creative work, an idea or entity reaching a point in which it has exhausted its core intent and is introducing new ideas that are discordant with its original purpose | | [57] |
kick the bucket | A euphemism for dying or death | | [58] |
kick the habit | To stop engaging in a habitual practice | | |
kill two birds with one stone | To accomplish two different tasks at the same time and/or with a single action | | |
king's ransom | A large sum of money | | [59] |
let the cat out of the bag | To reveal a secret | | |
like pulling teeth | Having difficulty in getting a person or item to act in a desired fashion; reference to a difficult task. | | [60] |
like turkeys voting for Christmas |
used as a metaphor for a parody in which a choice made is clearly against one's self-interest, facing adverse consequences of their those policies and still adhere to them. |
|
|
lit up like a Christmas tree |
Clothes that are too bright or colourful for the occasion. |
|
|
look a gift horse in the mouth | To find fault with something that has been received as a gift or favor | | |
loose cannon | A person who is uncontrollable and unpredictable but likely to cause damage to the group of which they are a member | | [61] |
method to (one's) madness | Despite one's seemingly random approach, there is actually orderly structure or logic to it. | | |
my two cents | (Canada and US) One's opinion on the subject | | [62] |
never put an apple in your rabbit |
Don't do something you know you shouldn't be doing |
|
[63] |
nip (something) in the bud | To stop something at an early stage, before it can develop into something of more significance (especially an obstacle or frustration) | | |
no horse in this race or no dog in this fight | No vested interest in the outcome of a particular conflict, contest or debate | | |
off one's trolley or off one's rocker | Crazy, demented, out of one's mind, in a confused or befuddled state of mind, senile | [l] | [64] |
off the hook | To escape a situation of responsibility or obligation, or, less frequently, danger | | [65] |
the oldest trick in the book | An effective way of tricking someone even though it is a very popular method | | [66] |
once in a blue moon | Occurring very rarely | | |
own goal | To do something accidentally negative against yourself or your own team | | |
part and parcel | The attribute of being an integral or essential component of another object | | |
pop one's clogs | (UK) A euphemism for dying or death | | |
the pot calling the kettle black | Used when someone making an accusation is equally as guilty as those being accused | | [67] |
piece of cake | A job, task or other activity that is pleasant – or, by extension, easy or simple | | |
not one’s cup of tea |
Not the type of thing the person likes. |
|
|
preaching to the choir | To present a side of a discussion or argument to someone who already agrees with it; essentially, wasting your time. | | [68] |
pull oneself together |
to recover control of one's emotions. |
|
|
pull somebody's leg | To tease or joke by telling a lie | | |
push the envelope | To approach, extend, or go beyond the limits of what is possible; to pioneer. | [m] | [20] |
pushing up daisies | A euphemism for dying or death | | |
put a spoke in one's wheel |
To disrupt, foil, or cause problems to one's plan, activity, or project. |
|
[69] |
put on airs |
An English language idiom and a colloquial phrase meant to describe a person who acts superior, or one who behaves as if they are more important than others. |
|
[70] |
put the cat among the pigeons | To create a disturbance and cause trouble | | [71] |
raining cats and dogs | Raining very hard or strongly | | [72] |
right as rain | Needed, appropriate, essential, or hoped-for; also has come to mean perfect, well, or absolutely right. | [n] | [73] |
rock the boat | To do or say something that will upset people or cause problems | | |
shoot the breeze | To chat idly or casually, without any serious topic of conversation | | [74] |
shooting fish in a barrel | Frivolously performing a simple task | | |
screw the pooch | To screw up; to fail in dramatic and ignominious fashion. | | |
sleep with the fishes | To be murdered and thrown into a body of water | [o] | |
speak of the devil (and he shall appear) |
Used when an object of discussion unexpectedly becomes present during the conversation |
|
|
spill the beans | To reveal someone's secret | | |
spin one's wheels | To expel much effort for little or no gain | | |
stay in one's lane |
To avoid interfering with, passing judgement on, or giving unsolicited advice about issues beyond one's purview or expertise; to mind one's own business. |
|
[75] |
step up to the plate | To deliver beyond expectations | | |
stick out like a sore thumb | Something that is clearly out of place | |
[76] |
straw that broke the camel's back | The last in a line of unacceptable occurrences; the final tipping point in a sensitive situation. | | |
take a shine | To develop a liking or fondness for someone or something | | [77] |
take the biscuit | (UK) To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious | | |
take (or grab) the bull by the horns | To deal bravely and decisively with a difficult, dangerous, or unpleasant situation; to deal with a matter in a direct manner, especially to confront a difficulty rather than avoid it. | | [20] |
take the cake | (US) To be especially good or outstanding. Alternatively (US) To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious. | | |
take the piss | (UK) To tease, ridicule, or mock someone | | |
take with a grain of salt | To not take what someone says too seriously; to treat someone's words with a degree of skepticism. | | |
through thick and thin | through all obstacles in a path; in good times and bad times | | |
throw stones in glass houses | One who is vulnerable to criticism regarding a certain issue should not criticize others about the same issue. | | |
throw the baby out with the bathwater | To discard, especially inadvertently, something valuable while in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted | | |
throw under the bus | To betray or sacrifice someone for selfish reasons | | |
snake in the grass | An unrecognizable danger or hidden enemy | | |
thumb one's nose | To express scorn or disregard | | |
tie one on | To get drunk | | |
to and fro or toing and froing | To move from one place to another; going back and forth; here and there. | | [78][79] |
to steal someone's thunder | To preempt someone and rob them of gravitas or attention. To take credit for something someone else did. | | |
trip the light fantastic | To dance | [p] | [81] |
two a penny | Cheap or common | | |
under my thumb | Under my control | | [82] |
under the weather | Feeling sick or poorly | | [83] |
the whole nine yards | Everything; all the way | | |
watching paint dry |
To describe something tedious or boring |
|
|
water under the bridge |
Something that already happened in the past and should not be the primary focus of attention because it cannot be changed |
|
[84] |
wild goose chase | A frustrating or lengthy undertaking that accomplishes little | | |
willy-nilly | An activity, situation, decision or event that happens in a disorganized manner; or it is done haphazardly, chaotically and randomly, without any sort of planning or direction. | [q] | [86][87] |
wolf something down |
devour (food) greedily. |
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you can say that again | That is very true; an expression of wholehearted agreement. | | |