Idioms

 

 

                                   IDIOMS

An idiom is an expression that takes on a figurative meaning when certain words are combined, which is different from the literal definition of the individual words. For example, let's say I said: 'Don't worry, driving out to your house is a piece of cake.  What does “ a piece of cake mean’?  It means  “Something easily accomplished”, as in I had no trouble finding your house—a piece of cake..

 

Some Common English Idioms

These English idioms are extremely common in everyday conversation in the United States. You will hear them in movies and TV shows and can use them to make your English sound more like that of a native speaker. 

Idiom	Meaning	Usage
A blessing in disguise	a good thing that seemed bad at first	as part of a sentence
A dime a dozen	Something common	as part of a sentence
Beat around the bush	Avoid saying what you mean, usually because it is uncomfortable	as part of a sentence
Better late than never	Better to arrive late than not to come at all	by itself
Bite the bullet	To get something over with because it is inevitable	as part of a sentence
Break a leg	Good luck	by itself
Call it a day	Stop working on something	as part of a sentence
Cut somebody some slack	Don't be so critical	as part of a sentence
Cutting corners	Doing something poorly in order to save time or money	as part of a sentence
Easy does it	Slow down	by itself
Get out of hand	Get out of control	as part of a sentence
Get something out of your system	Do the thing you've been wanting to do so you can move on	as part of a sentence
Get your act together	Work better or leave	by itself
Give someone the benefit of the doubt	Trust what someone says	as part of a sentence
Go back to the drawing board	Start over	as part of a sentence
Hang in there	Don't give up	by itself
Hit the sack	Go to sleep	as part of a sentence
It's not rocket science	It's not complicated	by itself
Let someone off the hook	To not hold someone responsible for something	as part of a sentence
Make a long story short	Tell something briefly	as part of a sentence
Miss the boat	It's too late	as part of a sentence
No pain, no gain	You have to work for what you want	by itself
On the ball	Doing a good job	as part of a sentence
Pull someone's leg	To joke with someone	as part of a sentence
Pull yourself together	Calm down	by itself
So far so good	Things are going well so far	by itself
Speak of the devil	The person we were just talking about showed up!	by itself
That's the last straw	My patience has run out	by itself
The best of both worlds	An ideal situation	as part of a sentence
Time flies when you're having fun	You don't notice how long something lasts when it's fun	by itself
To get bent out of shape	To get upset	as part of a sentence
To make matters worse	Make a problem worse	as part of a sentence
Under the weather	Sick	as part of a sentence
We'll cross that bridge when we come to it	Let's not talk about that problem right now	by itself
Wrap your head around something	Understand something complicated	as part of a sentence
You can say that again	That's true, I agree	by itself
Your guess is as good as mine	I have no idea	by itself

Common English idioms & expressions

These English idioms are used quite regularly in the United States. You may not hear them every day, but they will be very familiar to any native English speaker. You can be confident using any of them when the context is appropriate.

Idiom	Meaning	Usage
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush	What you have is worth more than what you might have later	by itself
A penny for your thoughts	Tell me what you're thinking	by itself
A penny saved is a penny earned	Money you save today you can spend later	by itself
A perfect storm	the worst possible situation	as part of a sentence
A picture is worth 1000 words	Better to show than tell	by itself
Actions speak louder than words	Believe what people do and not what they say	by itself
Add insult to injury	To make a bad situation worse	as part of a sentence
Barking up the wrong tree	To be mistaken, to be looking for solutions in the wrong place	as part of a sentence
Birds of a feather flock together	People who are alike are often friends (usually used negatively)	by itself
Bite off more than you can chew	Take on a project that you cannot finish	as part of a sentence
Break the ice	Make people feel more comfortable	as part of a sentence
By the skin of your teeth	Just barely	as part of a sentence
Comparing apples to oranges	Comparing two things that cannot be compared	as part of a sentence
Costs an arm and a leg	Very expensive	as part of a sentence
Do something at the drop of a hat	Do something without having planned beforehand	as part of a sentence
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you	Treat people fairly. Also known as "The Golden Rule"	by itself
Don't count your chickens before they hatch	Don't count on something good happening until it's happened.	by itself
Don't cry over spilt milk	There's no reason to complain about something that can't be fixed	by itself
Don't give up your day job	You're not very good at this	by itself
Don't put all your eggs in one basket	What you're doing is too risky	by itself
Every cloud has a silver lining	Good things come after bad things	by itself
Get a taste of your own medicine	Get treated the way you've been treating others (negative)	as part of a sentence
Give someone the cold shoulder	Ignore someone	as part of a sentence
Go on a wild goose chase	To do something pointless	as part of a sentence
Good things come to those who wait	Be patient	by itself
He has bigger fish to fry	He has bigger things to take care of than what we are talking about now	by itself
He's a chip off the old block	The son is like the father	by itself
Hit the nail on the head	Get something exactly right	by itself
Ignorance is bliss	You're better off not knowing	by itself
It ain't over till the fat lady sings	This isn't over yet	by itself
It takes one to know one	You're just as bad as I am	by itself
It's a piece of cake	It's easy	by itself
It's raining cats and dogs	It's raining hard	by itself
Kill two birds with one stone	Get two things done with a single action	by itself
Let the cat out of the bag	Give away a secret	as part of a sentence
Live and learn	I made a mistake	by itself
Look before you leap	Take only calculated risks	by itself
On thin ice	On probation. If you make another mistake, there will be trouble.	as part of a sentence
Once in a blue moon	Rarely	as part of a sentence
Play devil's advocate	To argue the opposite, just for the sake of argument	as part of a sentence
Put something on ice	Put a projet on hold	as part of a sentence
Rain on someone's parade	To spoil something	as part of a sentence
Saving for a rainy day	Saving money for later	as part of a sentence
Slow and steady wins the race	Reliability is more important than speed	by itself
Spill the beans	Give away a secret	as part of a sentence
Take a rain check	Postpone a plan	as part of a sentence
Take it with a grain of salt	Don’t take it too seriously	as part of a sentence
The ball is in your court	It's your decision	by itself
The best thing since sliced bread	A really good invention	as part of a sentence
The devil is in the details	It looks good from a distance, but when you look closer, there are problems	by itself
The early bird gets the worm	The first people who arrive will get the best stuff	by itself
The elephant in the room	The big issue, the problem people are avoiding	as part of a sentence
The whole nine yards	Everything, all the way.	as part of a sentence
There are other fish in the sea	It's ok to miss this opportunity. Others will arise.	by itself
There's a method to his madness	He seems crazy but actually he's clever	by itself
There's no such thing as a free lunch	Nothing is entirely free	by itself
Throw caution to the wind	Take a risk	as part of a sentence
You can't have your cake and eat it too	You can't have everything	by itself
You can't judge a book by its cover	This person or thing may look bad, but it's good inside	by itself

Familiar English idioms & proverbs

These English idioms and proverbs are familiar and easily understood by native English speakers, but they are not usually used in everyday conversation. If you haven't mastered the more frequent idioms yet, they are a better place to start, but if you're already familiar with those expressions, the idioms below will further spice up your English. They may be used independently or as part of sentences.

Idiom	Meaning	Usage
A little learning is a dangerous thing	People who don't understand something fully are dangerous	by itself
A snowball effect	Events have momentum and build upon each other	as part of a sentence
A snowball's chance in hell	No chance at all	as part of a sentence
A stitch in time saves nine	Fix the problem now because it will get worse later	by itself
A storm in a teacup	A big fuss about a small problem	as part of a sentence
An apple a day keeps the doctor away	Apples are good for you	by itself
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure	You can prevent a problem with little effort. Fixing it later is harder.	by itself
As right as rain	Perfect	as part of a sentence
Bolt from the blue	Something that happened without warning	as part of a sentence
Burn bridges	Destroy relationships	as part of a sentence
Calm before the storm	Something bad is coming, but right now it's calm	as part of a sentence
Come rain or shine	No matter what	as part of a sentence
Curiosity killed the cat	Stop asking questions	by itself
Cut the mustard	Do a good job	as part of a sentence
Don't beat a dead horse	Move on, this subject is over	by itself
Every dog has his day	Everyone gets a chance at least once	by itself
Familiarity breeds contempt	The better you know someone the less you like him	by itself
Fit as a fiddle	In good health	as part of a sentence
Fortune favours the bold	Take risks	by itself
Get a second wind	Have more energy after having been tired	as part of a sentence
Get wind of something	Hear news of something secret	as part of a sentence
Go down in flames	Fail spectacularly	as part of a sentence
Haste makes waste	You'll make mistakes if you rush through something	by itself
Have your head in the clouds	Not be concentrating	as part of a sentence
He who laughs last laughs loudest	I'll get you back for what you did	by itself
Hear something straight from the horse's mouth	Hear something from the person involved	as part of a sentence
He's not playing with a full deck	He's dumb	by itself
He's off his rocker	He's crazy	by itself
He's sitting on the fence	He can't make up his mind	by itself
It is a poor workman who blames his tools	If you can't do the job, don't blame it on others	by itself
It is always darkest before the dawn	Things are going to get better	by itself
It takes two to tango	One person alone isn't responsible. Both people are involved.	by itself
Jump on the bandwagon	Follow a trend, do what everyone else is doing	as part of a sentence
Know which way the wind is blowing	Understand the situation (usually negative)	as part of a sentence
Leave no stone unturned	Look everywhere	as part of a sentence
Let sleeping dogs lie	Stop discussing an issue	as part of a sentence
Like riding a bicycle	Something you never forget how to do	as part of a sentence
Like two peas in a pod	They're always together	as part of a sentence
Make hay while the sun shines	Take advantage of a good situation	as part of a sentence
On cloud nine	Very happy	as part of a sentence
Once bitten, twice shy	You're more cautious when you've been hurt before	by itself
Out of the frying pan and into the fire	Things are going from bad to worse	by itself
Run like the wind	Run fast	as part of a sentence
Shape up or ship out	Work better or leave	by itself
Snowed under	Busy	as part of a sentence
That ship has sailed	It's too late	by itself
The pot calling the kettle black	Someone criticizing someone else he is just as bad	as part of a sentence
There are clouds on the horizon	Trouble is coming	by itself
Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones	People who are morally questionable shouldn't criticize others	by itself
Through thick and thin	In good times and in bad times	as part of a sentence
Time is money	Work quickly	by itself
Waste not, want not	Don't waste things and you'll always have enough	by itself
We see eye to eye	We agree	by itself
Weather the storm	Go through something difficult	as part of a sentence
Well begun is half done	Getting a good start is important	by itself
When it rains it pours	Everything is going wrong at once	by itself
You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar	You'll get what you want by being nice	by itself
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink	You can't force someone to make the right decision	by itself
You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs	There's always a cost to doing something	by itself

 

Choose the best alternative. You can find answers at the end:

 

EXERCISE—I

 

1.To take the bull by the horns

          a. to face a difficulty with fear b. to face a difficulty without fear 

          c. to face an easy situation with difficulty

2. To let the cat out of the bag

          a. to tell a secret without intending to do so   b. to miss a golden opportunity  

          c. to show compassion

3.Rain cats and dogs

          a. a time of difficulty    b.  unfair treatment    c. raining heavily

4. Crocodile tears

          a. insincere sorrow     b. weep bitterly    c. laugh sorrowfully

5. To go to the dogs

          a. to be united   b. to be ruined    c. to be in danger

6.To  lead a dog’s life

          a. to  have a happy life without troubles  b. to  live with a dog       

           c. to  have an unhappy life with many troubles

7.A dog in the manger

          a. a person who prevents others from enjoying something useless to himself

          b. a person who puts himself in difficulties on account of other people

          c. a dog that has no kennel of its own

8. A white elephant

          a. a big one         b. an expensive one     c. a useless one

9. A dark horse

          a. a black horse      b. an unknown person    c. an unforeseen competitor

10.To flog a dead horse

          a. to waste one’s efforts  b.  to revive old memories   c. to act in a foolish way

 

EXERCISE—II

 

1.The lion share

           a. minor share   b. look angrily    c. major share

2.To smell a rat

          a. to suspect foul dealing    b. to get bad smell of a dead rat   c. to be in a bad mood

 3.To keep the wolf away from the door

              a. to keep of an unwanted and undesirable person   

          b. to keep away from extreme poverty    c. to hold the difficulties and dangers in check

 4. With open arms

          a. warmly       b. casually    c. coldly

5. At arm’s length

          a. at a distance          b. length of arm       c. very near

6. A bone of contention

          a. bone of lion    b. cause of friendship   c. a reason for discard

7. A bone to pick with

          a. have a reason to a quarrel with    b. have no reason to quarrel with  

          c. have a reason to worry

8. To make  no bones about

          a. to demand compensation for  b. does  not have any hesitation in

           c. does  not have any faith in

9.To make a clean breast of

          a. to praise oneself  b. to confess without of reserve   c. to destroy before it blooms

10.One’s tongue in one’s cheek

          a. speak sincerely      b. speak insincerely    c. talk proudly

 

EXERCISE---III

 

1.Be all ears

          a. listen eagerly    b. listen carelessly    c. listen honestly

2. Up to one’s ears

          a. very lazy         b. very busy    c. very sincerely

3. Turn a deaf ear to

          a.  disregard         b.  dispute   c. pay attention to

4.To  make eyes at

          a. to  look into eyes    b. to watch carefully    c. to look lovingly

5.To keep an eye on  /  Keep one’s eye on

             a. to forget    b. to watch   c. to ignore

6. Have the face

          a. be bold enough   b. be cool     c. be strong

7.To lose face

          a. to be helpless    b. to be humiliated    c. to look angrily

8.To  put one’s foot down

          a.  to get  irritated    b.  to express one’s displeasure   c. to take  a firm stand

9. To put one’s foot in it

          a. to say something foolishly   b. to say something wisely 

          c. to  say something mischievously

10. Not turn a hair

          a. remain loyal    b. remain strong  c. remain calm

 

EXERCISE----IV

 

1.To spilt hairs

          a. to quarrel over trifles    b. to indulge in over-refined arguments 

          c. to find faults with others

2. On hand

          a. uncomfortable  b. unavailable    c. available   

3. Hand in glove

          a. closely related  b. intimately connected    c. openly criticized

4. Hand over fist

          a. very slowly and unsuccessfully   b. very quickly and successfully c. very briefly

5. From hand to mouth

          a. to have just enough money live on   b. to have a lot of money to lead luxurious life   

          c. to lead middleclass lifestyle

6.Have the heart

          a. have the confidence    b. have the courage    c. have the fear

7. To lose heart

          a. to become angry      b. to  become desperate  c. to become discouraged

8. Set one’s heart on

          a. desire cunningly   b. desire strongly      c. desire weakly

9. To get someone back on his legs

          a. to  bring someone home  b. to bring someone into good health   

          c. to bring a child into the world

10.To pull someone’s leg

          a. to tell someone to take longer steps  

          b. to be rude to someone by saying something hurtful

          c. to trick someone in a playful way

 

EXERCISE—V

 

1. To get it in the neck

          a. to get into trouble   b. to get into the system    c. to get into the best position

2. Be neck and neck

          a. be in close contact with   b. be in close collaboration with  c. be in close competition

3. To pay through the nose

          a. to pay huge loans    b. to pay an extremely high price   c. to earn money

          quickly and easily

 4.  To give someone the cold shoulder

          a. to  give away a secret  b. to  pamper someone  c. to  ignore someone

5. Nip something in the bud

          a. to make use of time b. to destroy something at the end  c. to destroy

          some thing in the very beginning

6. To beat about in the bush

          a. to beat the bushes   b. to talk relevantly  c. to talk irrelevantly

7. To turn over a new leaf

          a. to make a promising come back after a failure    b. to change for the better

          c. to turn a new page while reading

8. A hard nut to crack

          a. a difficult thing      b. a dangerous thing     c. an easy thing

9. In a nutshell

          a. very difficult    b. very briefly     c. very elaborate

10. To  hit below the belt

          a. to behave fairly    b.  to hit with a belt   c. to behave unfairly

 

EXERCISE---VI

 

1.To cut one’s coat according to one’s cloth

          a. to react sharply    b. to live within one’s income     c. to live luxuriously

2.  To get hot under the collar

          a. to  get energy     b. to get angry     c. to get weakness

3.Have / keep something up one’s sleeve

          a. having a practical plan     b. having an important project   c. having a secret plan

4. To laugh up one’s sleeve

          a. to laugh in public    b. to laugh secretly   c. to make others laugh

5.Roll up one’s sleeves

          a. be ready to work hard    b. be ready to accept failure    c. be ready to go out

6. To wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve

          a. to say something which is not to be taken seriously  

          b. to  show one’s feelings openly      c.  to avoid being friendly with others

7.Black and white

          a. in writing                   b. in black and white               c. use two colours

8. A white lie

          a. a harmless lie    b. a man of lies   c. a harmful lie

9. In the pink

          a. in a good health      b.  in the pink dress    c. in a happy mood

10. to see the red light

          a. to face challenges in life   b. to see danger in time   c. to lead a happy life

 

EXERCISE—VII

 

1.A read-letter day

          a. an important day     b.  a dangerous day    c.  an emergency day

2. To catch someone red-handed

          a. to catch someone’s attention     b. to catch someone in an act of doing wrong 

          c. to catch the ball with one hand

3. In a fog

          a. puzzled        b. watched      c. cleared

4.  To get into hot water

          a. to be in a confused state of mind    b. to be impatient  c. to get into trouble

5.To blow hot and cold

          a. to be inconsistent    b. to be trustworthy     c. to be rich and poor frequently

6. To break the ice

          a. to end up partnership    b. to start a conversation    c. to start quarreling

7. To cut no ice

          a. to have all comforts   b. to have an effect   c. to have no effect

8.Storm in a tea cup

          a. commotion over a trivial matter    b. confusion and chaos  

          c. important matter dealt with ease

9. To steal someone’s thunder

          a. to spoil someone’s efforts   b. to encourage other’s efforts

          c. to steal other’s belongings

10.To get wind of

          a. to know something    b. to fight stubbornly     c. to  run away

 

EXERCISE—VIII

 

1.In the air

          a. verified        b. undecided      c. cleared

2. To have an axe to grind

          a. a private end to serve   b. to fail to arouse interest c. to work for both sides

3. Bag and baggage

           a. all the clothing   b. without any belongings  c. with all one’s belongings

4.To be at one’s beck and call

          a. to be always at one’s service     b. to be under one’s subjugation     

          c. to be in an advantageous position

5. A bed of roses

          a. very luxurious  bed    b. comfortable life  c. problematic life

6. To blow one’s own trumpet

          a. to praise himself    b. to praise others    c. to admonish others

7. Burn the candle at both ends

          a. overtaxing one’s fire    b. exercising one’s  powers   c. overtaxing one’s  energies

8. To burn the midnight oil

          a. waste money       b. to work hard  c. to misuse the power

9.  To call it a day

          a. to decide to stop work    b. to decide to start work    c. to decide to take a break

10. At the eleventh hour

          a. at eleven O’ Clock      b. at midnight    c.  at the very last moment

 

 

 

EXERCISE—IX

 

1.A feather in one’s cap

          a. something to be ashamed of       b. something to be proud of     

        c. something encouraging

2. A fish out of water

          a. uncomfortable      b. bored      c.   disappointed

3. By fits and starts

          a. annoyingly      b.  irregularly     c. angrily

4. By hook  or  by crook

          a. by fair or foul means    b. by fair means    c. straightforward

5. By leaps and bounds

          a. simply      b.   sharply     c. rapidly

6. To leave no stone unturned

          a.  to try every  way possible      b. to forget important news   

          c. to neglect everything

7.To make both ends meet

          a. to lead an active life    b. to live a miserly life    c.  to lead a lavish life

8. To mind one’s  P’s  and  Q’s

          a. to be cautious     b. to be careful of one’s account   c. to be accurate and precise

9.To move heaven and earth

          a. to try everything possible     b. to cause an earthquake   c. to  pray to all Gods

10. Out of the question

          a. irrevocable    b. unbelievable   c. impossible

 

EXERCISE—X

 

1.To play with fire

          a. to do something dangerous     b. to do something bearable

          c.  to do something safe

2.To read between the lines

          a. to comprehend the meaning    b. to understand the inner meaning  

          c. to appreciate the inner beauty

3. In the long run

          a. ultimately         b. permanently     c.  occasionally

4. At sixes and sevens

          a. in the end          b. in confusion     c. in confession

5. On the spur of the moment

          a. suddenly            b. gradually         c. sincerely

6. Tooth and nail

          a. with tooth and nail      b. with all the power    c. with money

7. Through thick and thin

          a. in  favourable conditions   b. in times of success    c. in prosperity and adversity  

8. A wet blanket

          a. one who discourages others   b. a useless blanket    c. a helpless man

9. At one’s wits’ end

          a. to understand  thoroughly    b. to behave irrationally  c. to be puzzled

10. A cock  and bull story

          a. an absurd tale     b. an interesting story   c. An interesting story

 

                                                    KEY

 

 

EXERCISE--I

         1.b     2.a    3.c    4.a      5. b    6.c   7.a    8.c    9.c    10.a

EXERCISE--II

         1.c      2.a     3.b     4.a      5.a     6.c   7.a    8.b     9.b     10.b

EXERCISE--III

         1.a     2.b     3.a     4.c       5.b     6.a   7.b    8.c     9.a    10.c

EXERCISE--IV

1.b     2.c     3.a     4.b       5.a      6.b    7.c   8.b     9.b    10.b

EXERCISE--V

         1.b     2.c     3.b     4.c      5.c      6.c 7.b     8.a     9.b    10.c

EXERCISE—VI

         1.b     2.b     3.c     4.b      5.a      6.b  7.a    8.a    9.a    10.b

EXERCISE—VII

 1.a    2.b     3.a     4.c    5.a      6.b     7.c   8.a    9.a    10.a

EXERCISE—VIII

         1.b     2.a     3.c     4.a     5.b       6.a    7.c   8.b    9.a    10.c

EXERCISE—IX

         1.b     2.a     3.b     4.a     5.c      6.a     7.b   8.c    9.a    10.c

EXERCISE—X

           1.a   2.b     3.a       4.b      5.a     6.b      7.c              8.a              9.c   10.a

 

 

 

 

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