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English Idioms

Term	Definition
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush	Appreciate what you have right now
A blessing in disguise	a bad thing with unexpected benefits
A can of worms	a mess of problems
a dark horse	an unexpected contender
A dime a dozen	Something common
a fish out of water	uncomfortable
A hot mess	a spectacular disaster
a leopard can't change its spots	people don't change
A penny for your thoughts	Tell me what you're thinking
A perfect storm	the worst possible situation
A picture is worth 1000 words	Better to show than tell
A short fuse	easily angered
make a mountain out of a molehill	A big fuss about a small problem
a watched pot never boils	waiting makes time seem slower
a windfall	unexpected money
Actions speak louder than words	what you do is more believable than what you say
Add insult to injury	To make a bad situation worse
An apple a day keeps the doctor away	Fruits and vegetables are healthy for you
As right as rain	Perfect
back out	change your mind, decline a commitment
Back the wrong horse	support something that doesn't succeed
Barking up the wrong tree	To be mistaken, to look in the wrong place
Be at odds with	be in opposition/ disagree
Be on your toes	Be ready/prepared
Beat around the bush	Say something indirectly
beggars can't be choosers	accept the help that comes to you
Best foot forward	make a good first impression
Better late than never	tardiness is better than absence
between a rock and a hard place	in a difficult situation
Birds of a feather flock together	Similar people are often friends
Bite off more than you can chew	Take on a project that you cannot finish
Bite the bullet	Accept an unpleasant task/situation with fortitude
Bolt from the blue	without warning
Break a leg	I wish you good luck.
Break the ice	Make people feel comfortable
Breeze though something	do something quickly and easily
Burn bridges	Destroy relationships
Butterflies in your stomach	To feel nervous.
By the skin of your teeth	Just barely
Call it a day	Stop working and go relax
Calm before the storm	Something bad is coming, but right now, everything is OK.
cat got your tongue	unable to say what you're thinking
Climb the walls	have too much nervous energy
Close to home	uncomfortably familiar
Come rain or shine	No matter what happens
apples and oranges	comparing things that can't be compared
Costs an arm and a leg	Very expensive
Couch potato	lazy
Curiosity killed the cat	Stop asking questions
Cut corners	Do sloppy work to save time or money.
Cut somebody some slack	show mercy
That's not going to cut it.	It's not good enough.
Dark clouds on the horizon	Trouble is coming
Dip your toe in	Cautiously try something
at the drop of a hat	spontaneous
Don't beat a dead horse	Don't waste effort on unchangeable things.
Don't count your chickens before they hatch	Don't depend on uncertainties
Don't cry over spilt milk	Stop worrying over the past.
Don't give up your day job	You're not very good at this
Don't put all your eggs in one basket	What you're doing is risky
Don't rock the boat	Don't provoke controversy
Easy does it	Slow down, be careful
Every cloud has a silver lining	You can find something good, even in bad situations.
Every dog has his day	Everyone gets a chance at least once
Feeling blue	Feeling sad or depressed.
Finding a needle in a haystack	an impossible task
Fit as a fiddle	In good health
fit the bill	be appropriate for
Follow the Golden Rule	Treat people kindly and fairly
Get a grip	calm down, think logically
Get a second wind	Have renewed energy
Get a taste of your own medicine	Karma
get back on the horse	don't give up, try again
get down to brass tacks	talk about the most important things
Get off on the wrong foot	To start something badly or awkwardly
Get out of hand	Get out of control
Get some shut eye	Sleep.
get something off your chest	complain about something that has been bothering you
Get something out of your system	Do the thing you want to do so you can move on
Get the last laugh	Get revenge/win in the end
Get to know	become familiar
Get wind of something	Hear news of something secret
Get your act together	focus, do the required preparation, or you will fail
get your wires crossed	miscommunicate
Give someone the benefit of the doubt	Trust what someone says, even if they don't deserve it
Give someone the cold shoulder	Ignore someone / Ghost someone
go around in circles	talk and talk without resolving an issue
Go back to the drawing board	Start over
Go down in flames	Fail spectacularly
go down swinging	fight hard, even when you are losing
go down the tubes / go to the dogs	ruin something good
Go on a wild goose chase	Try really hard to resolve something pointless
Go the extra mile	Put in extra effort.
a good point	something important to consider
Hang in there	Don't give up
Haste makes waste	You'll make mistakes if you rush
Have a bone to pick	something to argue about
have ants in your pants	be unable to sit still
Have bigger fish to fry	Have more important things to do than this
Have your head in the clouds	not paying attention
through the grapevine	gossip
Hear it straight from the horse's mouth	Hear something from the person directly involved
Hit the nail on the head	Get something exactly right
Hit the sack	Go to bed
Hit the spot	Be satisfying
hold your horses	be patient, wait a minute
hotheaded	someone who becomes angry easily
I've had it up to here	I have no more patience
Ignorance is bliss	It's better if you don't know.
in a nutshell,	to summarize,
In the dark	unaware
In the same boat	In the same situation
It ain't over till the fat lady sings	This isn't finished yet
It is always darkest before the dawn	don't lose hope, things will improve
It takes one to know one	You're just as bad as I am
It takes two to tango	Both people involved are responsible
a piece of cake	easy
It's not rocket science	It's not complicated
jump all over someone	aggressively criticize
Jump on the bandwagon	do what everyone else is doing
keep your head down	don't draw attention to yourself
keep your nose out of my business	don't spy on me
Kill two birds with one stone	Accomplish two things with a single action
Know which way the wind is blowing	Understand the situation
Leave no stone unturned	Look everywhere
Let sleeping dogs lie	Don't provoke controversy
Let someone off the hook	Decide not to punish someone
Let the cat out of the bag	reveal a secret
Let’s get this show on the road!	Let's begin
Like riding a bicycle	Something you never forget how to do
like the wind	fast/quick
Like two peas in a pod	always together
Live and learn	I made a mistake, but I'll do better next time
Look before you leap	Investigate before taking a risk
Lose your marbles	Go crazy
Make a long story short	Tell something briefly
Make hay while the sun shines	Take advantage of a good situation
Make your blood run cold	scare you
Miss the boat	It's too late
Murphy's law	if it can go wrong, it will go wrong
my bread and butter	my primary source of money
neck of the woods	a general location
No pain, no gain	You have to work for what you want
not playing with a full deck	a little bit crazy or dumb
Occam's razor	the simplest answer is usually best
off your rocker	crazy
On cloud nine	Very happy
On the ball	Doing a good job, paying attention
On the fence	undecided
on the nose	uncomfortably precise
on the spot	at an exact moment
On thin ice	If you make another mistake, there will be trouble.
Once bitten, twice shy	cautious because of past mistakes
Once in a blue moon	Rarely
Out of the frying pan and into the fire	a worsening situation
Play devil's advocate	To argue the opposite position
point out	identify/call attention to something
Poke the bear	Provoke controversy
Poke the hornet's nest	Provoke controversy
Pull someone's leg	To joke with someone
Pull yourself together	Calm down, get organized
Put something on the back burner	Make something less of a priority
put something on the line	risk something valuable
Put your foot in your mouth	Say something you shouldn’t have.
Rain on someone's parade	To spoil something
Read between the lines	Detect implied meaning
rub someone the wrong way	irritate
rule of thumb	a basic principle
Run into someone	Meet someone unexpectedly.
Saving for a rainy day	Reserving something for later use
Shape up or ship out	Improve your behavior, or leave
short change	to treat someone unfairly
Slow and steady wins the race	Reliability is more important than speed
smell a rat	suspect that someone is cheating or lying
to snowball	build momentum
Snowed under	Busy
So far so good	Things are going well so far
Speak of the devil	The person we were just talking about is here
Spill the beans	Reveal a secret
stay in your lane	don't deviate from your established role
steal someone's thunder	take attention away from a person
step on toes	hurt someone's feelings, subvert someone's work
stick your neck out	take a risk (especially for another person's benefit)
Sweating bullets	To be very nervous.
Tag along	Accompany, go with
Take a rain check	Postpone a plan
Take five	Rest for a few minutes
Take it easy	Relax.
Take it with a grain of salt	Don't believe it too seriously
take the bull by the horns	show initiative
Test the waters	Try something out to see if it will be well received
That ship has sailed	It's too late
That's the last straw	I have been patient and forgiving, but now, I will give consequences.
The ball is in your court	It's your decision/your turn
The best of both worlds	An ideal situation
The best thing since sliced bread	A really good invention
The devil is in the details	quality shows in the little details
The early bird gets the worm	The first people who arrive will get the best things
The elephant in the room	the problem people are avoiding
the eleventh hour	the very last opportunity, the last minute
The pot calling the kettle black	Criticizing someone for the same problem you have
the underdog	expected to lose, but everyone hopes they will win
The whole nine yards	Everything, all the way.
There are other fish in the sea	Other opportunities will arise.
There's a method to his madness	seemingly crazy, but actually strategically smart
There's no such thing as a free lunch	Nothing is entirely without cost
third time's a charm	you will succeed the third time you try
Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones	Everyone has flaws - including you.
Through thick and thin	In good and bad situations
Throw caution to the wind	Take a risk
til the cows come home	for a long time
Time is money	Work quickly
To get bent out of shape	To get upset
To make matters worse	Worsen an existing problem
Under the weather	feeling sick
Up to my ears in	overwhelmed by
wash your hands of something	abdicate responsibility
Waste not, want not	Don't be wasteful, and you'll always have enough
We see eye to eye	We agree
We'll cross that bridge when we come to it	We will think about that later.
Weather the storm	Endure something difficult, survive
Well begun is half done	The job will be easier if you are careful at the beginning.
When in Rome, do as the Romans	adapt your behavior to the situation
When it rains it pours	Everything is going wrong at once
Wrap your head around something	Understand a complicated concept
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink	You can't force someone to make the right decision
You can say that again	That's true, I agree
You can't have your cake and eat it too	You can't have everything
You can't judge a book by its cover	don't judge things by how they look
You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs	You have to make sacrifices to succeed.
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar	You'll get what you want by being nice
Your guess is as good as mine	I have no idea
tied up	busy at the moment
swamped	really busy
it will blow over	this problem will go away
lick your wounds	recover after a loss
I'm broke	I have no money
a cold day in July	something that will never happen
a guinnea pig	the subject of an experiment
a day late and a dollar short	tardy and inadequate
a leg up	an advantage, assistance
a stone's throw	a short distance
a lot on your plate	many responsibilities
across the board	applicable to everything
after the fact	later, too late to be significant
against the grain	contrary to expectations
all along	the entire time something was happening
all ears	paying close attention
all in one piece	safely
all over the place	in disarray, confusion
all roads lead to Rome	there is more than one effective method
along the lines of	in general, in keeping with
ancient history	something resolved and forgotten long ago
at the end of the day	when all the variables are resolved
at my wit's end	thoroughly frustrated
at each other's throats	aggresively arguing
around the clock	constantly
to angle	to try to arrange something subversively
the nail in the coffin	the thing that finally ended something
and counting	the number is still increasing
all told	with everything accounted for
all it's cracked up to be	as good as advertised
all dressed up and nowhere to go	ready for something that doesn't happen
add fuel to the fire	intensify something
above board	legitimate, honest
go above and beyond	do more than is expected
have nine lives	be lucky to have survived something
ace in the hole	hidden advantage
on deck	awaiting the next opportunity/turn
keep your head above water	barely manage everything that is required of you
a little bird told me	I know something, but I can't reveal my source
run a tight ship	be very organized
run out of steam	become exhausted
tip of the iceberg	a small part of something much bigger
small potatoes	insignificant
a bit much	excessive
a cinch	an easy task
a lot	a large quantity
a real piece of work	a strange, difficult person
a toss-up	uncertain
about to	something is going to happen in a moment
accidentally on purpose	to intentionally do something, but pretend it was an accident
after all	considering everything
against the clock	there is limited time
ages	a long time
all day long	continue without stopping
all in all	considering everything
all of a sudden	suddenly
all the best	I hope that good things happen to you.
and so on	et cetera, in addition to other related things
As far as	to the extent of something, pervue
as for / as to	regarding, in reference to
As long as	the duration of a circumstance or time period
as simple as that	this is easy to understand
As soon as	waiting for a certain event to happen
ask out	invite
at bay	at a safe distance
at odds, at cross purposes	in opposition to
at stake	something that can be lost or won
at the core	essentially
at the same time	simultaneous
back to basics	focus on simple and important things
be up on	have knowledge about
beg to differ	disagree
better off	a loss is actually a good thing
between you and me	secret, private
bide time	wait for an opportunity
break up/split up	end a romantic relationship
bring forward	to reveal something
bring up	to introduce a topic
building blocks	basic elements
bump into	to meet someone by chance
by and by	later
by chance	not planned
by the way	I have additional information
call it	declare an end or outcome
call names	to insult someone
call on	ask, choose, make use of
call the shots	be in charge, give instructions
can't stand	cannot endure
carry on	continue
carry out	to complete or accomplish a task
catch up	increase speed/effort until you're level with everyone else
come across	to encounter, find
come again	please repeat what you just said
come clean	disclose, tell the truth
come down with	become sick
come on	hurry
come over	join someone at their house
come to think of it	I got an idea while I was speaking
come up with	invent, imagine, innovate
come what may	whatever happens
count on	depend on
cut down	reduce
deal with	to grapple with a problem
deja vu	already seen
do the trick	function appropriately
do's and don'ts	the rules
a doozy	an extreme thing or situation
drop by	visit informally
end up	become
fall for someone	to be attracted romantically
to fall out with someone	be so angry you stop being friends
figure out	solve
for a while	a short period of time
from now on	starting now, never stopping
get a life	stop being boring
get rid of	remove, throw away
get there	make progress
get through	to endure a situation
get to the bottom	find the truth
get together	meet
give up	to surrender or quit
hang on	wait
to hang up	end a phone conversation
has been around	has existed
in a nutshell	summary
in a row	consecutively
in the long run	over time
in the loop	aware
in the meantime	between two points of time
in touch	in contact
just in case	a precaution
keep a promise	do what you say you will do
Lean in	pay close attention
lean toward	have a slight preference
look forward	anticipate
mad at	angry
look over	examine, inspect
make it	successfully complete
make sense of	understand
more or less	neutral, mostly
never mind	forget what I said
no, not at all	definitely not
none of your business	a warning
not at all	you're welcome
of course	certainly
on the other hand	alternatively
pardon me	excuse me
pass away	die
pep talk	motivational speech
prone to	having a tendency
right away	immediately
rule out	eliminate a possibility
run into	encounter someone you know unexpectedly
run out	not have enough of something
safe bet	likely
sit tight	wait patiently, don't move
so and so	somebody's name
so so	neutral
speak up	increase the volume of your voice
stand a chance	have a possibility of success
stand out	be prominent or obvious
start from scratch	start from the beginning
status quo	the existing condition
stay up	not sleep until a late hour
take effect	to become active
take into account	consider
take on something	assume responsibility
take over	conquer, take control
take stock	inventory resources, assess a situation
take turns	alternate doing something
taken aback	surprised
the benefit of the doubt	presumed innocence
the bottom line	the final analysis, the thing that matters
the following	the information after this statement
turn against	withdraw support, betray
turn out	end result
a turn out	people attending an event
turning point	the moment a situation changes
up and at 'em	awake, active, energized
up in arms	angry, defensive
up in the air	uncertain
up the ante	increase the risk and reward
up to no good	to have an evil or naughty plan
ups and downs	good and bad times
way around	an alternative, a solution
wear off	subside
wear out	deteriorate from use
year round	continuously during the year
you bet/you've got it	of course/certainly
you're on	I accept your challenge
your call	your decision
your take on something	your perspective
zip it	be quiet
fall out from something	the negative consequences
catch up	become reacquainted with an old friend
don't mention it	you're welcome
Give something away	reveal it
fall for something	be tricked/fooled
cut and dried	straightforward, unambiguous
touch on	mention, briefly discuss
a hang up	a hesitation or problem
find out	discover
chicken out	be too afraid to take a challenge
take steps	do specific actions to make progress
lay out	organize
pushback	opposition
go ahead	permission to proceed
stick to / stick with	continue
what goes around comes around	karma
bear with me	be patient with me
it's going around	an illness is circulating
something is in the air	it feels like something is happening or about to happen
the big picture	the whole idea, not just part of it
red tape	obstacles, restrictions
make fun of	ridicule, tease
horse play	rowdy behavior
a dumpster fire	a disastrously mishandled situation
check yourself	change your behavior before you make an irreversible mistake
figure out	solve
stab someone in the back	betray them
twist someone's arm	convince them
lose your touch	decrease in ability
pitch in	contribute
quit cold turkey	stop doing something addictive without easing off
ring a bell	sound familiar
blow off steam	exercise to get rid of stress
cut to the chase	talk about the vital issues instead of everything else
get over something	recover
look like a million bucks	look good
be born with a silver spoon in your mouth	come from a rich family
rags to riches	start with no money and become wealthy
pull yourself up by your bootstraps	improve your life with hard work and innovation
have sticky fingers	be a thief
have butter fingers	be clumsy
give someone a run for their money	be a tough competitor
pony up	pay what you owe
break even	not gain or lose any money
break the bank	very expensive
have the Midas touch	everything seems to work in your favor
make ends meet	figure out a way to pay for everything
keep your chin up	don't get discouraged
find your footing	become oriented, comfortable
hot water	trouble
a bad egg/apple	someone who can ruin things for others. Not to be trusted.
a lemon/a dud	something that doesn't work
a hard nut to crack	someone who is difficult to get to know
have a sweet tooth	really like sugary food
chasing rainbows	pursuing unrealistic goals
tilting at windmills	wasting effort
make waves	make a powerful impression/cause trouble
go with the flow	relax and accept whatever is happening
I'm lost	I'm confused
over the moon	very happy
down to earth	practical, sensible
salt of the earth	an honest, good, reliable person
bury your head in the sand	hide from your problems
when the dust settles	when the drama has subsided
clear as mud	unclear
nip something in the bud	stop a potential problem before it grows
out of the woods	safe
an olive branch	an offer of peace or reconciliation
a red flag	a signal of problems
a white flag	truce
amateur hour	incompetence
back in the day	years ago when I was younger
bells and whistles	extra, fancy accessories
bite the hand that feeds you	betray people who have helped you
wake on the wrong side of the bed	be grumpy
bring a knife to a gunfight	be woefully unprepared
a bump in the road	a temporary setback
water under the bridge	a resolved conflict
bury the hatchet	make peace
by all means	certainly
call a spade a spade	speak plainly, frankly
a catch 22	an impossible, contradictory situation
clear the air	address unresolved issues
come clean	confess
crash a party	go without being invited
cry wolf	raise a false alarm
cut to the quick	hurt someone badly, emotionally
cut your teeth	gain experience
cheap shot	an unfair attack
chomp at the bit	be eager to do something
dead ringer	someone who looks exactly like someone else
dodge a bullet	avoid a problem
deep pockets	wealthy
down the road	in the future
drink the Kool-aid	blindly accept dangerous ideas
drop the ball	fail to fulfill your responsibilities
dry run	practice
eat someone's lunch	thoroughly defeat them
eat crow	admit you were wrong
elevator pitch	a brief description of an idea
fair & square	without cheating, honestly
every man for himself	act with self-interest
feather in your cap	a great achievement
fish or cut bait	make a decision or move on
third wheel	an extra. unneeded person in a group
fly off the handle	become angry
for a song	very inexpensive
knock it off	stop what you're doing
from the bottom of my heart	sincerely
get along with someone	have a good relationship
a hail Mary	a desperate attempt
if the shoe fits	if it seems appropriate, it probably is
have skin in the game	have a personal interest/stake
around the corner	happening soon
with flying colors	brilliantly
play ball	cooperate
pull strings	use your personal connections advantageously
put up with something	tolerate it
set in stone	unchangeable
a tough cookie	someone who doesn't break easily
just now	a moment ago
the other day	the recent past
knock on wood	a superstitious attempt to prevent bad luck
get off my back	stop nagging me
get into it	fight
criss cross apple sauce	sit on the floor with your legs crossed
We'll see	maybe
sleep on it	take time to consider a decision
wouldn't hurt a fly	a gentle person
go out of your way	accept inconvenience to help someone
at arm's length	a safe distance away
waiting for my ship to come in	waiting for an opportunity to arise
in the scheme of things	in a broader perspective
walk away	don't let an argument escalate
cheesy	silly
flaky	unreliable
show up	arrive
wrap up	finish something
ride shotgun	sit in the front seat of a car
a rip-off	overpriced, not worth it
busted	caught doing something wrong
evesdrop	spy on a conversation
scoot over	move a little bit to the side
break a twenty	make change for a twenty dollar bill
I'm not a fan	I don't like that
table something	discuss it later
long in the tooth	old
a keeper	something good
jump the shark	stop being believable
tell me about it	I understand, I agree
right up your alley	something you would be good at
eat it	fall down
period!	that's the end of this discussion
pick your battles	be strategic
I get it	I understand
gang up on	attack as a group
setbacks	an obstacle to progress
read out loud	speak what you read
clam up	stop talking
bounce back	be resilient
hang out	spend time with friends
have to	be required to
reach out	contact someone
get the short end of the stick	be at a disadvantage
heads up	pay attention
Duck!	move, drop your head before you get hit by something
do a 180	change your behavior, attitude, or direction to the opposite of what it was
rough house/horse around (verb)	to play or act in a loud, potentially destructive way
split hairs	argue over the smallest details
kill time	occupy yourself while you wait for something
I blew it	I failed
keep it together	stay calm
put yourself in someone's shoes	try to understand someone's situation
Keep your cool	stay calm
psych yourself up	encourage yourself
psych yourself out	allow worry to undermine you
miss out	not experience something good
mess up	make a mistake

Created by: user-1490088

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