This post is a collection for us to learn and study idioms in English, when used appropriately, idioms can convey emotions more fully, express meaning vividly, and make the other party feel more familiar and authentic.

A

  • A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush
  • A bird of a different feather
  • A blessing in disguise
  • A code day in July
    • Something that will never happened
  • A dime a dozen
  • A dog’s breakfast
  • A drop in the ocean
  • A fish out of water
  • A piece of cake
    • Something very easy to do
  • A piece of mind
  • A penny for your thoughts
  • A perfect storm
  • A shot in the arm
  • A smart cookie
  • A silver bullet
    • A simple solution to a complicated problem
  • A snowball effect
  • A snowball’s chance in hell
    • To be very unlikely to succeed at something
  • A soft spot
  • A stone’s throw away
  • A taste of own medicine
  • A tough cookie
  • Aced it
  • Act of god
  • Actions speak louder than words
  • Add fuel to the fire/flames
  • Add insult to injury
  • Against the clock
  • All roads lead to Rome
  • All wet
    • Completely mistaken
  • An arm and a leg
  • Apple-pie order
  • Apples to apples
  • Apples to oranges
  • As cold as stone
  • As cool as a cucumber
    • Very calm or very calmly, especially when this is surprising

B

  • Bad hair day
  • Back against the wall
  • Back to the drawing board
  • Bail on someone
  • Baker’s dozen
  • Barking up the wrong tree
  • Be there or be square
  • Beat around the bush
    • Avoid saying what you mean
  • Beat it
  • Beat the clock
  • Beat the odds
  • Beat the pants off
  • Better late than never
  • Big fish in a small pond
  • Big wig
  • Bigger fish to fry
  • Bite me
  • Bite off more than you can chew
  • Bite the bullet
  • Blaze a trail
  • Blood and thunder
    • A dramatic, spectacular performance
  • Blow hot and cold
  • Blow smoke
  • Blue blood
  • Blue in the face
    • Weakened or tired after trying many times
  • Blue moon
  • Born yesterday
  • Bottom line
  • Break a leg
    • Good luck
  • Break ice
  • Bread and butter
  • Bring to the table
  • Burn the midnight oil
  • Burn your boats/bridges
  • By the ear
    • To improvise

C

  • Call of nature
  • Call it a day
    • Stop working on something
  • Call it a night
  • Call it quits
  • Call the shots
  • Cat and mouse game
  • Cat got your tongue
  • Cat’s pajamas
  • Catch you later
  • Chase rainbows
    • To pursue unrealistic goals
  • Chop-chop
  • Cold feet
  • Cool beans
  • Cool your jets
  • Cost an arm and a leg
  • Couch potato
  • Crack a smile
  • Crack of dawn
  • Cram for
  • Crunch time
  • Cry over spilled milk
  • Cry wolf
  • Cut corners
  • Cut to the chase

D

  • Dead of winter
    • The coldest, darkest part of winter
  • Devil’s advocate
  • Dime a dozen
  • Ditto
  • Do a runner
  • Dog water
  • Don’t chicken out
  • Don’t cry over spilt milk
  • Don’t give up the day job
  • Don’t hold your breath
  • Don’t make a scene
  • Don’t see eye to eye
  • Draw legs on a snake
  • Drive someone around the bend

E

  • Eager-beaver
  • Ear candy
  • Easy does it
    • Slow down
  • Eat like a horse
  • Eat your heart out
  • Elephant in the room
  • Enough is enough
  • Epic fail
  • Everything but the kitchen sink
    • Everything that you can think of; every possible thing in a given situation
  • Eye candy

F

  • Face the music
  • Fat and happy
  • Fed up
  • Feel blue
  • Feel zen about (British)
  • Feel like a million dollars
  • Finger crossed
  • Foot the bill
  • Free as a bird
  • Freak out
  • From scratch
  • Full of beans

G

  • Get a life
  • Get cold feet
  • Get cracking
  • Get on the lash (British)
  • Get out of hand
    • Get out of control
  • Get out of one’s hair
  • Get the ball rolling
  • Gild the lily
  • Give me a minute
  • Give somebody food for thought
  • Go against the grain
  • Go all out
  • Go big or go home
  • Go down in flames
  • Go Dutch
  • Go for broke
  • Go pear-shaped
  • Go shanghaied
  • Go too far
  • Go with the flow
  • Good things come to those who wait
  • Got a lot on my plate
  • Greased lighting

H

  • Habits and feelings
  • Hang in there
    • Don’t give up
  • Has bigger fish to fry
  • Have a blast
  • Have a bone to pick
  • Have a cow
  • Have a silver bullet
  • Have a silver tongue
  • Have a whale of a time
  • Have an axe to grind
  • Have my wheel
  • Have rizz
  • Hazard a guess
  • Hit the books
  • Hit the gym
  • Hit the nail on the head
  • Hit the road
  • Hit the sack
  • Hit the town
  • Hold your horses
    • To tell s.one to stop and consider carefully their decision or opinion about something
  • Home free
  • Hot potato
    • A problem that is very difficult to deal with

I

  • I second you
  • I wasn’t born yesterday
  • Icing on the cake
  • In for a penny, in for a pound
  • In hot water
  • In my book (Emphasize personal belief or judgment)
  • In the bag
  • In the black
  • In the pink
  • In the red
  • In two minds about it
  • It cost me an arm and a leg
  • It’s a no-brainer
  • It’s your call
  • I’m beat
  • I’m behind you
  • I’m chuffed to bits
  • I’m onto you
  • I’m over you
  • I’m venting

J

  • Jam packed
  • Jump on the bandwagon

K

  • Knock it off
  • Know something like the back of my hand
  • Kick the bucket
    • A euphemistic meaning ‘to die’
  • Kind of a racket
  • Kiss ass

L

  • Let s.one off the hook
    • To not hold someone responsible for s.thing
  • Like a cakewalk
  • Lip service
  • Look before you leap
  • Lose one’s marbles
  • Love me, love my dog

M

  • Make a long story short
    • Tell something briefly
  • Make my day
  • Make waves
  • Mercy me
  • Miss the boat
    • It’s too late
  • Monkey around
  • Mover and shaker
  • My bad
  • My take or my take on this

N

  • Nature and/or nurture
  • Nice try
  • No cap
  • No dice
  • No pain, no gain
    • You have to work for what you want
  • No spring chicken
  • Nose in the book
  • Not in a million years
  • Not rocket science
  • Not my cup of tea

O

  • Off the beaten track/path
  • Off the cuff
  • Off the top of my head
  • Off your trolley (British)
  • On a roll
  • On a shoestring
  • On cloud nine
  • On the ball
  • On the nose
  • On thin ice
  • Once in a blue moon
  • One for the road
  • One’s ass off
  • Out of the blue

P

  • Pain the town red
  • Pie in the sky
  • Play it by ear
  • Pull a rabbit out of the hat
  • Pull strings
  • Put on your thinking cap (on)
  • Put something on ice
  • Put yourself in their shoes

R

  • Raining cats and dogs
  • Rain on me
  • Rain on someone’s parade
  • Rain or shine
    • Do regularly, whatever the circumstances
  • Read my lips
  • Read the riot act
    • To reprimand someone for behaving badly, with the intention of improving that person’s behavior
  • Right back at you
  • Ring a bell
    • Sounds familiar
  • Rise and shine
  • Run a mile
  • Run in a family

S

  • Salad days
  • Sat on the fence
  • Screwed up
  • See eye to eye
  • Second wind
  • Sell like hot cakes
  • Sell yourself short
  • Shape up or ship out
  • Ship A with B
  • Ship to your doorstep
  • Shoot from the hip
  • Shot in the dark
  • Side hustle
  • Sit tight
  • Small fish in a big pond
  • Smooth sailing
  • Snitches get stitches
  • Snowed under
  • Sock away
  • Socliche
  • So to speak
  • Speak of the devil
  • Spill the beans
    • To leak a secret
  • Spin one’s wheel
  • Spit into the wind
    • Wasting time on something futile
  • Strength in numbers
  • Steal s.one’s thunder
    • Upstage someone
  • Stick in the mud
  • Storm in a teacup
    • A lot of unnecessary anger and worry about a unimportant matter
  • Such a ick

T

  • Tag alone
  • Take a rain check
  • Take several seats
  • Take umbrage
  • Take the fall
  • Ten to one
  • Ten out of ten
  • Ten-minute man
  • That was a blast
  • That’s my cup of tea
  • That’s a bummer
  • The best of both worlds
  • The big cheese
  • The calm before the storm
  • The devil is beating his wife
  • The icing on the cake
  • The last feather
  • The last ounce
  • The last straw
  • The lights are on, but nobody’s home
    • To describe a person who isn’t very smart
  • The Midas touch
  • The plane has gone tits up (British)
  • The proof is in the pudding
  • Third wheel
  • Through thick and thin
  • Throw caution to the wind
  • Throw in the towel
  • Top dog
  • Top-notch
  • Top of one’s head
  • To put all your eggs in one basket
  • Trick or treat
  • Trust fund baby
  • Turn a blind eye
    • To refuse to acknowledge a known truth
  • Turn the tables
  • Two left feet

U

  • Under dog
  • Under the weather
    • To feel ill
  • Up for

W

  • Walk on air
  • Walk on eggshells
  • Watch your step
  • Well-worn themes
  • Went bananas
  • We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it
  • We’re even
  • When pigs fly
    • Something that you think will never happen
  • Wrap up

Y

  • You bet
  • You can say that again
  • You have my word
  • You rock
  • You’re a peach
  • You’re a vibe
  • You’re salty
  • You’re the doctor
  • Your guess is as good as mine