The 10 idioms you should know – Get the English Idioms PDF Here
1. Under the weather – to be feeling ill. “I’m not coming to work today, I’m feeling a little under the weather”.
2. The ball is in your court – to say the next action is with you. “I’ve already given a counter offer, the ball’s in your court now”.
3. Spill the beans – to share the secret. “Come on Sally, spill the beans, did you two kiss or what?!”
4. You’re pulling my leg – to play a joke on someone or to suggest someone is playing a joke on you. “No, there’s no way I’ve won the lottery, you’re pulling my leg”.
5. Take it with a pinch of salt – to not believe it fully. “I’d take those numbers with a pinch of salt though, you know polls are not always accurate.”
6. You can say that again – to agree on the trueness of something (usually just heard). “Director 1: We need this launch to work or the business will fail. Director 2: You can say that again.”
7. See eye to eye – to agree. “James and Stuart are always arguing, they never see eye to eye on anything.”
8. Beat around the bush – to not get to the point. “Juan doesn’t half beat around the bush, he never just makes a quick point.”
9. Missed the boat – to miss an opportunity. “I wanted to go to the concert but I missed the boat and now the tickets are sold out.”
10. By the skin of your teeth – only just achieved something. “The team won that game by the skin of their teeth.”
What are the 20 idioms you should know?
If you’re ready for some more, here are another 10 idioms with examples:
11. Hit the sack – to go to bed. “Today was exhausting, I’m ready to hit the sack.”
12. Push the boat out – to do something special or extravagant. “It’s mum’s 50th birthday so I’m going to really push the boat out this year.”
13. On the fence – undecided. “I’m still on the fence about who to vote for in the election.”
14. Through thick and thin – under any circ*mstance, no matter how hard. “We’ve stuck together through thick and thin and we’re not going to break up now.”
15. Once in a blue moon – rarely. “This sort of event happens once in a blue moon and I’m not going to miss the boat on tickets.”
16. Come rain or shine – whatever the circ*mstances. “I’ll be there come rain or shine, you can count on me.”
17. The best thing since sliced bread – amazing. “This new cheese grater is the best thing since sliced bread!”
18. Go down in flames – to fail spectacularly or significantly. “The business went down in flames with a huge debt and zero sales.”
19. Jump on the bandwagon – to join in with a lot of people. “I don’t want to jump on the bandwagon, but I couldn’t help buying one of those wrist bands.”
20.Let the cat out of the bag – to share a secret too early. “You told her what we got?! You really let the cat out of the bag there….”
The 50 idioms you should know:
In case you wanted to push the boat out a bit more, here are another 30 idiom examples taking us to a list of 50 idioms. Remember these, in our view, are the 50 most common idioms, with examples, so you should get confident using them before you learn others:
21. Hit the nail on the head – to be exactly right. “When the boss visited the office and told us what he thought about the culture here, he really hit the nail on the head.”
22. Put your cards on the table – to be open and honest about your position/intentions. “Can we just put our cards on the table and come to a fair deal please?”
23. Kicked the bucket – died. “The old dog finally kicked the bucket.”
24. A dog’s dinner – a messy, badly organised situation or piece of work. “This contract is a real dog’s dinner.”
25. A piece of cake – easy. “That obstacle course was a piece of cake.”
26. Back to the drawing board – to start again. “They hated the proposal…. I guess it’s back to the drawing board.”
27. Stabbed in the back – hurt by those you trusted. “When you applied for the job that I had asked you to help me prepare for, I really felt stabbed in the back.”
28. It takes two to tango – both people are responsible. “You may think it’s all my fault but it takes two to tango.”
29. Kill two birds with one stone – to achieve two things at once. “Winning that client pitch with your boss in the room killed two birds with one stone.”
30. Bite off more than you can chew – to try something too difficult. “Starting a new job and studying for a masters at the same time may be biting off more than you can chew.”
31. Costs an arm and a leg – very expensive. “Those tickets cost an arm and a leg!”
32. Rule of thumb – an approximate measure or guide. “As a rule of thumb, I put in two spoons of water to one of flour.”
33. Blow off some steam – to release stress or energy through an activity. “It’s been a hard week, you should go out tonight and blow off some steam.”
34. Skeletons in the closet – to have secrets. “The new CEO looks polished but I’ve heard he has some skeletons in his closet.”
35. Egg on your face – to be embarrassed. “The headteacher had egg on her face when the exam results came in and the school was in last place.”
Half way there!
36. A bun in the oven – pregnant. “Have you heard that Stephany has a bun in the oven?”
37. A flash in the pan – a sudden and brief success that’s not repeated. “The summer hit was a flash in the pan for the singer who never got back in the top 100.”
38. Bite the bullet – to do something hard that has been put off. “Sanjay, you have to bite the bullet and break up with your girlfriend.”
39. Butterflies in your stomach – to be nervous about something. “Backstage, Noah had butterflies in his stomach about his performance.”
40. Call it a day – to stop or quit doing something. “I’ve been trying to become an actor all my life and I think it’s about time to call it a day.”
41. Jump the gun – to take action too early. “I jumped the gun and told them my salary expectations, I think they would have offered me more money if I didn’t say anything…”
42. Storm in a teacup – a lot of excitement or anger about something small. “It was a huge argument at work last week but it turned out to be a storm in a teacup.”
43. Skating on thin ice – in a risky situation. “Henry is skating on thin ice by threatening his boss.”
44. On the ball – alert and intelligent. “You’ll like the new recruit, she seems very on the ball.”
45. Hit the roof – to get very angry, very quickly. “When he heard the news he hit the roof.”
46. By the book – follow the rules. “We are a bank, everything has to be by the book!”
47. Long story short – briefly. “Did you hear the news? No? Okay, long story short… we won!”
48. Pull the plug – to stop doing something. “The director has pulled the plug on the show. Everyone has to find other work now.”
49. Punching above your weight – engage in an activity or contest thought to be beyond your abilities, or date someone who is a lot more attractive than you. “Freddy has started seeing Olivia, the gorgeous girl from work. I can’t believe it! He is really punching above his weight.”
50. Think outside the box – to think creatively to find a new way of doing something or solve a problem. “There has to be a solution to this problem, we just need to think outside the box.”
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