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Metaphoric Idioms
Idiomatic Expressions 2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush | What you have now is worth more than what you might have later |
| A blessing in disguise | a good thing that seemed bad at first |
| A dime a dozen | Something common |
| A hot mess | a disaster, sometimes strangely fascinating |
| A little learning is a dangerous thing | People who don't understand something fully are dangerous |
| A penny for your thoughts | Tell me what you're thinking |
| A penny saved is a penny earned | Money you save today you can spend later |
| A perfect storm | the worst possible situation |
| A picture is worth 1000 words | Better to show than tell |
| A short fuse | A quick temper. |
| A snowball effect | Events have momentum and build upon each other |
| A snowball's chance in hell | No chance at all |
| A stitch in time saves nine | Fix the problem now because it will get worse later |
| A tempest in a teacup | A big fuss about a small problem |
| Actions speak louder than words | Believe what people do and not what they say |
| Add insult to injury | To make a bad situation worse |
| An apple a day keeps the doctor away | Apples are good for you |
| An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure | You can prevent a problem with little effort. Fixing it later is harder. |
| As right as rain | Perfect |
| Barking up the wrong tree | To be mistaken, to be looking for solutions in the wrong place |
| Be on your toes | Be ready/prepared. |
| Beat around the bush | Avoid saying what you mean, usually because it is uncomfortable |
| Better late than never | Better to arrive late than not to come at all |
| 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 situation or task, and start working on it. |
| Bolt from the blue | Something that happened without warning |
| Break a leg | Good luck |
| Break the ice | Make people feel more comfortable |
| Breeze though something | To 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 home to relax |
| Calm before the storm | Something bad is coming, but right now, everything is ok |
| Come rain or shine | No matter what happens |
| Comparing apples to oranges | Comparing two things that cannot be compared |
| Costs an arm and a leg | Very expensive |
| Couch potato | Someone who is lazy. |
| Curiosity killed the cat | Stop asking questions |
| Cut corners | To do something badly to save time or money. |
| Cut somebody some slack | Don't be so critical, show mercy |
| Cut the mustard | Do a good job |
| Do something at the drop of a hat | Do something without having planned beforehand |
| Follow the golden rule | Treat people kindly and fairly |
| Don't beat a dead horse | Move on - we have talked about this subject WAY too much |
| Don't count your chickens before they hatch | Don't count on something good happening until it's happened. |
| Don't cry over spilt milk | There's no reason to complain about something that can't be fixed |
| 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 |
| Easy does it | Slow down, be careful |
| Every cloud has a silver lining | Good things come after bad things |
| Every dog has his day | Everyone gets a chance at least once |
| Feeling blue | Feeling sad or depressed. |
| Finding a needle in a haystack | Virtually impossible to find. |
| Fit as a fiddle | In good health |
| Fortune favours the bold | Take risks |
| Get a second wind | Have renewed energy |
| Get a taste of your own medicine | Get treated the way you've been treating others (negative) |
| Get out of hand | Get out of control |
| Get some shut eye | Sleep. |
| Get something out of your system | Do the thing you've been wanting to do so you can move on |
| Get to know | become familiar |
| Get wind of something | Hear news of something secret |
| Get your act together | Get organized and better prepared, or there will be consequences |
| Give someone the benefit of the doubt | Trust what someone says |
| Give someone the cold shoulder | Ignore someone / Ghost someone |
| Go back to the drawing board | Start over |
| Go down in flames | Fail spectacularly |
| Go on a wild goose chase | Try really hard to resolve something that is ultimately pointless |
| Go the extra mile | Put in extra effort. |
| Good things come to those who wait | Be patient |
| Hang in there | Don't give up |
| Haste makes waste | You'll make mistakes if you rush through something |
| Have a bone to pick | Have a complaint, something to argue about |
| Have your head in the clouds | Not be concentrating |
| He has bigger fish to fry | He has more important things to work on than this |
| Get the last laugh | Get revenge/win in the end |
| chip off the old block | The son is like the father |
| He's not playing with a full deck | He's dumb |
| He's off his rocker | He's crazy |
| Hear something 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/hay | Go to sleep |
| Hit the spot | Be satisfying |
| Ignorance is bliss | You're better off not knowing |
| It ain't over till the fat lady sings | This isn't finished yet |
| It is a poor workman who blames his tools | If you can't do the job, don't blame other people |
| It is always darkest before the dawn | Things are going to get better |
| It takes one to know one | You're just as bad as I am |
| It takes two to tango | Both people involved are responsible for the situation. |
| It's a piece of cake | It's easy |
| It's not rocket science | It's not complicated |
| It's raining cats and dogs | It's raining hard |
| Jump on the bandwagon | Follow a trend, do what everyone else is doing |
| Kill two birds with one stone | Accomplish two things with a single action |
| Know which way the wind is blowing | Understand the situation (usually negative) |
| Leave no stone unturned | Look everywhere |
| Let sleeping dogs lie | Don't provoke controversy |
| Let someone off the hook | To not hold someone responsible for something |
| Let the cat out of the bag | Give away 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 two peas in a pod | They're always together |
| Live and learn | I made a mistake |
| Look before you leap | Do your research 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 | Frighten. |
| Miss the boat | It's too late |
| No pain, no gain | You have to work for what you want |
| 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 | without hesitation |
| On thin ice | On probation. If you make another mistake, there will be trouble. |
| Once bitten, twice shy | You're more cautious when you've been hurt before |
| Once in a blue moon | Rarely |
| Out of the frying pan and into the fire | A situation is worsening |
| Piece of cake | Something easy to do. |
| Play devil's advocate | To argue the opposite, just for the sake of argument |
| 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 your foot in your mouth | Say something you shouldn’t have. |
| Rain on someone's parade | To spoil something |
| Read between the lines | To detect a meaning that’s implied but not stated outright. |
| Run into someone | Meet someone unexpectedly. |
| like the wind | fast/quick |
| Saving for a rainy day | Reserving something for later use |
| Shape up or ship out | Improve your behavior, or leave |
| Slow and steady wins the race | Reliability is more important than speed |
| 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 |
| Sweating bullets | To be very nervous. |
| Tag along | Accompany, go with |
| Take a rain check | Postpone a plan |
| Take it easy | Relax. |
| Take it with a grain of salt | Don't believe it too seriously |
| Take five | Rest for a few minutes |
| 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 | It looks good from a distance, but when you look closer, there are problems |
| 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 pot calling the kettle black | Someone with a problem criticizing someone else with the same problem |
| The whole nine yards | Everything, all the way. |
| Dark clouds on the horizon | Trouble is coming |
| There are other fish in the sea | It's ok to miss this opportunity. Others will arise. |
| There's a method to his madness | He seems crazy, but he's actually strategic and smart |
| There's no such thing as a free lunch | Nothing is entirely free |
| Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones | Everyone has flaws. If you criticize others, your flaws will likely be criticized too. |
| Through thick and thin | In good and bad situations, no matter what happens |
| Throw caution to the wind | Take a risk |
| Time flies when you're having fun | You don't notice how long something lasts when it's fun |
| 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 |
| Waste not, want not | Don't waste things, and you'll always have enough |
| We see eye to eye | We agree |
| We'll cross that bridge when we come to it | Let's not talk about that problem right now |
| Weather the storm | Endure something difficult, survive |
| Well begun is half done | The job will be easier if you are careful and thorough at the beginning. |
| When it rains it pours | Everything is going wrong at once |
| Wrap your head around something | Understand a complicated concept |
| You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar | You'll get what you want by being nice |
| 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 | This person or thing may look bad, but it's good inside |
| You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs | There's always a cost. You have to make sacrifices in order to succeed. |
| Your guess is as good as mine | I have no idea |
| Dip your toe in | Cautiously try something without fully committing to it |
| Hear something on the grapevine | Hear gossip |
| Climb the walls | have too much nervous energy |
| In the same boat | In the same situation |
| Back the wrong horse | give your support to something that doesn't succeed |
| Get a grip | calm down, think logically |
| Be at odds with | be in opposition/ disagree |
| Don't rock the boat | Don't provoke controversy |
| Poke the hornet's nest | Provoke controversy |
| A can of worms | problems surrounded by problems |
| Close to home | I or someone I know well has been in the same situation |
| Get off on the wrong foot | To start something badly or awkwardly |
| Best foot forward | Begin well, make a good first impression |
| Up to my ears in | overwhelmed by |
| I've had it up to here | I have no more patience |
| In the dark | unaware |
| the underdog | the team or person who is expected to lose, but everyone hopes they will win |
| short change | to treat someone unfairly |
| add insult to injury | worsen a bad situation |
| take the bull by the horns | show initiative |
| back out | change your mind, decline a commitment |
| steal someone's thunder | take attention away from a person |
| snowball | build momentum |
| rule of thumb | a basic principle |
| neck of the woods | a general location |
| smell a rat | suspect that someone is cheating or lying |
| hold your horses | be patient |
| til the cows come home | for a long time |
| cat got your tongue | unable to say what you're thinking |
| a leopard can't change its spots | people don't change |
| in a nutshell, | to summarize, |
| my bread and butter | the thing that gives me income, my primary occupation |
| get down to brass tacks | talk about the most important things |
| between a rock and a hard place | in a difficult situation |
| stick your neck out | take a risk (especially for another person's benefit) |
| put something on the line | risk something valuable |
| wash your hands of something | abdicate responsibility |
| get something off your chest | complain about something that has been bothering you |
| have ants in your pants | be unable to sit still |
| stay in your lane | don't deviate from your established role |
| step on toes | hurt someone's feelings, subvert someone's work |
| get back on the horse | don't give up, try again |
| a dark horse | an unexpected contender |
| a windfall | unexpected money |
| fit the bill | be appropriate for |
| point out | identify/call attention to something |
| good point | something important to consider |
| keep your head down | don't draw attention to yourself |
| keep your nose out of my business | don't spy on me |
| a perfect storm | the worst possible situation |
| a fish out of water | uncomfortable |
| rub the wrong way | irritate |
| get your wires crossed | miscommunicate |
| go around in circles | talk and talk and talk without resolving an issue |
| bark up the wrong tree | go to the wrong source for help |
| third time's a charm | you tried and failed twice - you will succeed the third time |
| the eleventh hour | the very last opportunity, the last minute |
| go down the tubes / go to the dogs | ruin something good |
| go down swinging | fight hard, even when you are losing |
| When in Rome, do as the Romans | adapt your behavior to the situation |
| a watched pot never boils | if you give all your attention to waiting for something, it will seem to take longer |
| beggars can't be choosers | if you are desperate for help, you can't be finicky about the help that comes to you |
| Murphy's law | everything that can go wrong will go wrong |
| Occam's razor | the simplest answer is usually the best answer |
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