100 OF THE MOST COMMONLY USED IDIOMS
An idiom is a collection of terms used as a common phrase whose meaning is not deductible from literal words.
The English language has plenty of phrases that are useful to learn. Idioms are words or phrases that aren’t meant to be taken literally. They usually have a cultural meaning behind them. If you can’t understand idioms, you will not be able to understand the context.
| Idioms | Interpretation | |
| 1 | A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush | It is used to suggest that it’s easier to hang on to what you already have than risk losing by attempting to do something better. |
| 2 | A blessing in disguise | A seeming tragedy that ultimately yields positive results. |
| 3 | A dime a dozen | Quite normal and of no special significance. |
| 4 | A little learning is a dangerous thing | This refers to the idea that a limited amount of knowledge will confuse people to believe that they are more experts than they are, leading to errors. |
| 5 | A penny for your thoughts | Often used to query what they thought about. |
| 6 | A penny saved is a penny earned | This clause suggests that people be careful with their money and have savings. It decides that if money is saved, it is as good as money. |
| 7 | A perfect storm | Absolutely terrible or critical, as a result of many negative and unpredictable influences. |
| 8 | A picture is worth 1000 words | An image transmits more powerful information than words. |
| 9 | A snowball effect | It is a process that begins from an initial stage of small meaning and builds on itself, becoming larger (graver, more serious), and probably also dangerous or catastrophic, even though it may be beneficial (A virtuous circle). |
| 10 | Actions speak louder than words | What you do is more valuable than what you speak because what you do shows your real intentions and emotions. |
| 11 | Add insult to injury | Act in a manner that worsens a negative or awkward situation. |
| 12 | An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure | It is better in the first place to control anything from happening than to fix the damage after it happened. |
| 13 | Barking up the wrong tree | Follow an incorrect or mistaken line of thought or course of action. |
| 14 | Beat around the bush | To address a subject, but omit the key elements, sometimes purposely. To postpone or avoid speaking about something hard or unpleasant. |
| 15 | Better late than never | It is preferable to be late than never to arrive at or happen to someone or something. |
| 16 | Birds of a feather flock together | There would be people of the same kind or with the same preferences and interests. |
| 17 | Bite off more than you can chew | Take on an undertaking that one cannot carry out. |
| 18 | Bite the bullet | Decide to do something hard or uncomfortable that you put off or hesitate to do. |
| 19 | Bolt from the blue | A rapid, unforeseen incident. |
| 20 | Break a leg | A word of encouragement normally informs someone who is about to play before an audience, particularly a theater performer. |
| 21 | Break the ice | To make a person who has not interacted beforehand feel comfortable. |
| 22 | By the skin of your teeth | By an exceedingly thin margin; barely. |
| 23 | Call it a day | End a period of operation, especially resting content that was adequately completed. |
| 24 | Comparing apples to oranges | It is often invoked when a person compares two objects that are considered so distinct that any comparison is invalid. |
| 25 | Costs an arm and a leg | It’s very costly. |
| 26 | Cut somebody some slack | Your conduct or behavior is less crucial than normal because you know they are in a hard position. |
| 27 | Cutting corners | Enter anything in what appears to be the easiest, fastest, or cheapest way, particularly by not applying important measures or ignoring rules. |
| 28 | Do something at the drop of a hat | You do it automatically without stopping to think about it. |
| 29 | Do unto others as you would have them do unto you | Treat everyone the way you’d like to be handled. |
| 30 | Don’t count your chickens before they hatch | Don’t count on anything that hasn’t happened. Don’t make plans based on a positive thing until it happens. Don’t plan to realize all your dreams. Don’t base your plan on future events. Don’t say all you want until you have them. |
| 31 | Don’t cry over spilled milk | There’s no point getting mad about things that have already arisen and can’t be changed. |
| 32 | Don’t give up your day job | Used as a sarcastic way to warn others not to try something they’re unlikely to succeed. |
| 33 | Don’t put all your eggs in one basket | This means that one should not focus all energies and energy in one place, as one could risk everything. |
| 34 | Easy does it | Used in spoken English, in particular, to encourage others to approach the job cautiously and slowly. |
| 35 | Every cloud has a silver lining | Every difficult or sad situation has a soothing or more optimistic component, although this may not be immediately apparent. |
| 36 | Get a taste of your own medicine | Someone should have the same negative experience they gave someone, telling them how bad it is. |
| 37 | Get out of hand | It isn’t easy to manage. |
| 38 | Get something out of your system | Get rid of worry or anxiety. |
| 39 | Get your act together | Organize oneself in the manner required to achieve something. |
| 40 | Give someone the benefit of the doubt | Decide to believe someone, even though you’re not sure what the person says is true. |
| 41 | Give someone the cold shoulder | Intentionally neglect or treat others unfriendly. |
| 42 | Go back to the drawing board | Start preparing again because the first strategy failed. |
| 43 | Go on a wild goose chase | Wasting money on something that doesn’t exist. Spending time looking for something you can’t find. Silly quest for something that can’t be done. Chase something beyond your control. |
| 44 | Good things come to those who wait | If people are diligent and patient, they’ll eventually hit their target. |
| 45 | Hang in there | Remain constant in tough circumstances. |
| 46 | He has bigger fish to fry | To have more or more fun activities to do or attend. |
| 47 | He’s a chip off the old block | An individual who resembles a parent’s behavior. |
| 48 | Hit the nail on the head | Find exactly the right answer. |
| 49 | Hit the sack | Go to sleep. |
| 50 | Ignorance is bliss | If you don’t know anything, you don’t care. |
| 51 | It ain’t over till the fat lady sings | It means one does not expect to know the outcome of an in-progress case. |
| 52 | It takes one to know one | The person criticizing has identical flaws to the person criticized. |
| 53 | It’s a piece of cake | Things are accomplished easily. |
| 54 | It’s not rocket science | Used to mean you don’t think something’s hard to do or understand. |
| 55 | It’s raining cats and dogs | It’s raining hard. |
| 56 | Kill two birds with one stone | Achieving two things at once. |
| 57 | Let someone off the hook | Avoid being disciplined or blamed for anything. |
| 58 | Let the cat out of the bag | Disclose a secret recklessly or wrongly. |
| 59 | Live and learn | A term used after learning from personal experience. |
| 60 | Look before you leap | One should not act without first considering potential effects or hazards. |
| 61 | Make a long story short | Used to explain what happened in a few terms, without any details. |
| 62 | Miss the boat | Too late to grab the opportunity. |
| 63 | No pain, no gain | To accomplish something, suffering is important. |
| 64 | On the ball | Note new concepts, approaches, and patterns. |
| 65 | On thin ice | In a vulnerable position. |
| 66 | Once in a blue moon | It’s rare to happen. |
| 67 | Play devil’s advocate | An individual supports a contrary or unpopular opinion, often for argument. |
| 68 | Pull someone’s leg | To make others believe something untrue as a joke. Trick or deceive others playfully. |
| 69 | Pull yourself together | Recover control of one’s emotions. |
| 70 | Put something on ice | Do nothing for a time about a proposal or suggestion. |
| 71 | Rain on someone’s parade | Inhibit someone from celebrating an opportunity or event; spoil somebody’s plans. |
| 72 | Saving for a rainy day | Set aside for a potential time of need. |
| 73 | Slow and steady wins the race | Consistency, while progress can be gradual, would inevitably be more effective than hurriedly or carelessly getting things done. |
| 74 | So far so good | Up to now, improvement has been satisfactory. |
| 75 | Speak of the devil | Say when a person appears just after the reference is made. |
| 76 | Spill the beans | Unintentionally or accidentally disclose confidential details. |
| 77 | Take a rain check | Politically refuse a bid, meaning that it will be taken up later. |
| 78 | Take it with a grain of salt | Consider something exaggerated; believe only part. |
| 79 | That’s the last straw | Last in a list of bad things. To be the only tolerable element that can’t be embraced. |
| 80 | The ball is in your court | The next move is up to you. |
| 81 | The best of both worlds | Win-win status. A condition where one may benefit from two separate or conflicting items simultaneously. A circumstance where you can enjoy two different opportunities. Two different stuff’s best qualities. Enjoy topics contrary to nature by concealing participation in one or both. To be part of things that are very different in their intrinsic existence. |
| 82 | The best thing since sliced bread | Used to describe something or anyone really nice, useful, etc. |
| 83 | The devil is in the details | It is the most challenging part of the specifics of a matter. |
| 84 | The early bird gets the worm | The first person to come is the one who succeeds. |
| 85 | The elephant in the room | There’s an apparent or complicated issue people don’t want to talk about. |
| 86 | The whole nine yards | Everything, all of something. |
| 87 | There are other fish in the sea | There are many other outstanding or more fitting individuals, things, opportunities, or prospects that you can find in the world. This was particularly said if anyone recently had anything or some romantic relationship that failed or proved bad. |
| 88 | There’s a method to his madness | Reasonable reasons, even though they may sound silly or odd for one’s acts. |
| 89 | There’s no such thing as a free lunch | Anything for nothing is not possible to obtain. |
| 90 | Throw caution to the wind | You do something without thinking about the risks involved. |
| 91 | Time flies when you’re having fun | When you’re doing something, time seems quicker. |
| 92 | To get bent out of shape | Become frustrated or upset. |
| 93 | To make matters worse | As a result, the poor situation gets worse. |
| 94 | Under the weather | Slightly unwell or low-spirited. |
| 95 | We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it | A term that means you won’t think about a potential future problem, but if it happens, you’ll deal with it. |
| 96 | Wrap your head around something | Understanding something that is considered intimidating, frustrating, or alien. |
| 97 | You can say that again | Expressing emphatic agreement in spoken English. |
| 98 | You can’t have your cake and eat it too | Two attractive but mutually incompatible solutions can’t be enjoyed. |
| 99 | You can’t judge a book by its cover | Ultimate appearances are not a reliable indicator of someone or something’s true character. |
| 100 | Your guess is as good as mine | To have no idea. |
English languages are an integral part of daily English. They still come in both written and spoken English. Since idioms are not always simply meaningful, you may need to familiarize yourself with each idiom’s meaning and use. That may seem like a lot of work, but learning idioms is fun, particularly when you compared idioms in your own vocabulary.
