English-language idioms

An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words. By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements. For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context.
To evoke the desired effect in the listener, idioms require a precise replication of the phrase: not even articles can be used interchangeably.
Idioms should not be confused with other figures of speech such as metaphors, which evoke an image by use of implicit comparisons ; similes, which evoke an image by use of explicit comparisons ; or hyperbole, which exaggerates an image beyond truthfulness. Idioms are also not to be confused with proverbs, which are simple sayings that express a truth based on common sense or practical experience. Another example can be "green fingers".

Notable idioms in English

Idiom	Definition/Translation	Notes
a hard pill to swallow	A situation or information that is unpleasant but must be accepted
a dime a dozen	Anything that is common, inexpensive, and easy to get or available anywhere
a hot potato	A controversial issue or situation that is awkward or unpleasant to deal with
a sandwich short of a picnic	Lacking intelligence
ace in the hole	A hidden or secret strength; an unrevealed advantage
Achilles' heel	A small but fatal weakness in spite of overall strength
all ears	Listening intently; fully focused or awaiting an explanation
all thumbs	Clumsy, awkward
an arm and a leg	Very expensive or costly; a large amount of money
apple of discord	Anything causing trouble, discord, or jealousy
around the clock	When something is done all day and all night without stopping
as queer as a	Something particularly strange or unusual
at the drop of a hat	Without any hesitation; instantly
back to the drawing board	Revising something from the beginning, typically after it has failed
back to the grindstone	To return to a hard and/or tedious task
ball is in his/her/your court	It is up to him/her/you to make the next decision or step.
balls to the wall	Full throttle; at maximum speed
barking up the wrong tree	Looking in the wrong place
basket case	One made powerless or ineffective, as by nerves, panic, or stress
beating a dead horse	To uselessly dwell on a subject far beyond its point of resolution
beat around the bush	To treat a topic but omit its main points, often intentionally or to delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant
bed of roses	A situation or activity that is comfortable or easy
the bee's knees	Something or someone outstandingly good, excellent, or wonderful
best of both worlds	A combination of two seemingly contradictory benefits
bird brain	A person who is not too smart; a person who acts stupid
bite off more than one can chew	To take on more responsibility than one can manage
bite the bullet	To endure a painful or unpleasant situation that is unavoidable
bite the dust	A euphemism for dying or death
bought the farm	A euphemism for dying or death, especially in an aviation or military context
break a leg	A wish of good luck to theatre performers before going on stage, due to the belief amongst those in theatre that being wished "good luck" is a curse
burn the midnight oil	To work late into the night
bust one's chops	To exert oneself
by the seat of one's pants	To achieve through instinct or to do something without advance preparation
by the skin of one's teeth	Narrowly; barely. Usually used in regard to a narrow escape from a disaster.
call a spade a spade	To speak the truth, even to the point of being blunt and rude
call it a day	To declare the end of a task
champ at the bit or chomp at the bit	To show impatience or frustration when delayed
cheap as chips	Inexpensive; a good bargain
chew the cud	To meditate or ponder before answering; to be deep in thought; to ruminate
chew the fat	To chat idly or generally waste time talking
chink in one's armor	An area of vulnerability
clam up	To become silent; to stop talking
clutch one's pearls	To be disproportionately shocked or affronted by something one perceives to be vulgar, in bad taste, or morally wrong
cold feet	Not going through with an action, particularly one which requires long term commitment, due to fear, uncertainty and doubt
cold shoulder	To display aloofness and disdain
couch potato	A lazy person
cool your jets	Calm down.
crocodile tears	Fake tears or drama tears; fake crying.
cut off your nose to spite your face	To pursue revenge in a way that would damage oneself more than the object of one's anger
cut a rug	To dance
cut the cheese	To pass gas
[wikt:cut the mustard\|]	To perform well; to meet expectations
dicking around	Messing about, not making any progress
dig one's heels in	Refuse to change one's plans or ideas, especially when counseled otherwise
dodge a bullet	Avoid something bad, harmful, or unpleasant
dollars to donuts	Assert certainty that something is either true or likely to occur, often expressed as a wager of something expensive against something cheap
don't count your chickens before they hatch	Don't make plans for something that may not happen; alternatively, don't make an assumption about something that does not have a definitively predetermined outcome.
don't bite the hand that feeds you or biting the hand that feeds you	Don't be ungrateful to individuals who aid you
don't cry over spilled milk	Don't become upset over something that has already happened and you cannot change
don't have a cow	Don't overreact
drop a dime	To make a telephone call; to be an informant; an assist
elephant in the room	An obvious, pressing issue left unaddressed due to its sensitive nature
eleventh hour	At the last minute; the latest possible time before it is too late
fall off the turnip truck	To be naïve, inexperienced, or unsophisticated. Sometimes used in a rural sense.
fish out of water	refers to a person who is in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable surroundings
fit as a fiddle	In good physical health
for a song	Almost free; very cheap
fly in the ointment	A minor drawback or imperfection, especially one that was not at first apparent, that detracts from something positive, spoils something valuable, or is a source of annoyance
fly on the wall	To join an otherwise private interaction, unnoticed to watch and/or listen to something
from A to Z	Covering a complete range; comprehensively
from scratch / make from scratch	To make from original ingredients; to start from the beginning with no prior preparation
get bent out of shape	To take offense; to get worked up, aggravated, or annoyed
get a wriggle on	To move quickly or hurry
get one's ducks in a row	to become well prepared for a desired outcome
get one's knickers in a twist	To become overwrought or unnecessarily upset over a trivial matter
get one's panties in a wad	To become overwrought or unnecessarily upset over a trivial matter
get wind of	To find out about, to hear about
get your goat	To irritate someone
gone south	having an unforeseen or chaotic result
go to the dogs	To go bad, to go in a bad direction
grasp the nettle	To tackle a problem in a bold manner, despite the difficulty or complexity of doing so; to solve a problem despite short-term adverse consequences.
have a blast	To have a good time; to enjoy oneself.
have all your Christmases come at once	To have extreme good fortune.
have eyes bigger than one's stomach	To have asked for or taken more of something than one is actually capable of handling
have eyes in the back of one's head	To be able to perceive things and events that are outside of one's field of vision
head over heels	Be smitten, infatuated
heard it through the grapevine	To have learned something through gossip, hearsay, or a rumor
hit the ceiling/roof	To become enraged, possibly in an overreaction
hit the nail on the head	1. To describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem; 2. To do or say exactly the right thing or to find the exact answer; 3. To do something in the most effective and efficient way; 4. To be accurate or correct about something.
hit the road	To leave; start a journey
hit the sack/sheets/hay	To go to bed; to go to sleep.
hit the spot	To be particularly pleasing or appropriate; to be just right.
hold all the cards	To control a situation; to be the one making the decisions.
hold your horses	Wait. Slow down.
hook, line and sinker	To be completely fooled by a deception
in for a penny, in for a pound	All in. UK money "penny" short for "pence" and pound. Usually requires explanation for it to make sense to Americans and non-British English speakers.
in over one's head	Overwhelmed or exasperated, usually by excessive responsibilities
it is what it is	This challenging circumstance is simply a fact, to be accepted or dealt with.
jump ship	To leave a job, organization, or activity suddenly
jump the gun	To start something before it is prudent or permitted; to act too hastily.
jumping the shark	A creative work, an idea or entity reaching a point in which it has exhausted its core intent and is introducing new ideas that are discordant with its original purpose
kick the bucket	A euphemism for dying or death
kick the habit	To stop engaging in a habitual practice
kill two birds with one stone	To accomplish two different tasks at the same time and/or with a single action
king's ransom	A large sum of money
let the cat out of the bag	To reveal a secret
like pulling teeth	Having difficulty in getting a person or item to act in a desired fashion; reference to a difficult task.
like turkeys voting for Christmas	used as a metaphor for a parody in which a choice made is clearly against one's self-interest, facing adverse consequences of their those policies and still adhere to them.
lit up like a Christmas tree	Clothes that are too bright or colourful for the occasion.
look a gift horse in the mouth	To find fault with something that has been received as a gift or favor
loose cannon	A person who is uncontrollable and unpredictable but likely to cause damage to the group of which they are a member
method to (one's) madness	Despite one's seemingly random approach, there is actually orderly structure or logic to it.
my two cents	One's opinion on the subject
never put an apple in your rabbit	Don't do something you know you shouldn't be doing
nip (something) in the bud	To stop something at an early stage, before it can develop into something of more significance
no horse in this race or no dog in this fight	No vested interest in the outcome of a particular conflict, contest or debate
off one's trolley or off one's rocker	Crazy, demented, out of one's mind, in a confused or befuddled state of mind, senile
off the hook	To escape a situation of responsibility or obligation, or, less frequently, danger
the oldest trick in the book	An effective way of tricking someone even though it is a very popular method
once in a blue moon	Occurring very rarely
own goal	To do something accidentally negative against yourself or your own team
part and parcel	The attribute of being an integral or essential component of another object
pop one's clogs	A euphemism for dying or death
the pot calling the kettle black	Used when someone making an accusation is equally as guilty as those being accused
piece of cake	A job, task or other activity that is pleasant – or, by extension, easy or simple
not one’s cup of tea	Not the type of thing the person likes.
preaching to the choir	To present a side of a discussion or argument to someone who already agrees with it; essentially, wasting your time.
pull oneself together	to recover control of one's emotions.
pull somebody's leg	To tease or joke by telling a lie
push the envelope	To approach, extend, or go beyond the limits of what is possible; to pioneer.
pushing up daisies	A euphemism for dying or death
put a spoke in one's wheel	To disrupt, foil, or cause problems to one's plan, activity, or project.
put on airs	An English language idiom and a colloquial phrase meant to describe a person who acts superior, or one who behaves as if they are more important than others.
put the cat among the pigeons	To create a disturbance and cause trouble
raining cats and dogs	Raining very hard or strongly
right as rain	Needed, appropriate, essential, or hoped-for; also has come to mean perfect, well, or absolutely right.
rock the boat	To do or say something that will upset people or cause problems
shoot the breeze	To chat idly or casually, without any serious topic of conversation
shooting fish in a barrel	Frivolously performing a simple task
screw the pooch	To screw up; to fail in dramatic and ignominious fashion.
sleep with the fishes	To be murdered and thrown into a body of water
speak of the devil (and he shall appear)	Used when an object of discussion unexpectedly becomes present during the conversation
spill the beans	To reveal someone's secret
spin one's wheels	To expel much effort for little or no gain
stay in one's lane	To avoid interfering with, passing judgement on, or giving unsolicited advice about issues beyond one's purview or expertise; to mind one's own business.
step up to the plate	To deliver beyond expectations
stick out like a sore thumb	Something that is clearly out of place
straw that broke the camel's back	The last in a line of unacceptable occurrences; the final tipping point in a sensitive situation.
take a shine	To develop a liking or fondness for someone or something
take the biscuit	To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious
take (or grab) the bull by the horns	To deal bravely and decisively with a difficult, dangerous, or unpleasant situation; to deal with a matter in a direct manner, especially to confront a difficulty rather than avoid it.
take the cake	To be especially good or outstanding. Alternatively To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious.
take the piss	To tease, ridicule, or mock someone
take with a grain of salt	To not take what someone says too seriously; to treat someone's words with a degree of skepticism.
through thick and thin	through all obstacles in a path; in good times and bad times
throw stones in glass houses	One who is vulnerable to criticism regarding a certain issue should not criticize others about the same issue.
throw the baby out with the bathwater	To discard, especially inadvertently, something valuable while in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted
throw under the bus	To betray or sacrifice someone for selfish reasons
snake in the grass	An unrecognizable danger or hidden enemy
thumb one's nose	To express scorn or disregard
tie one on	To get drunk
to and fro or toing and froing	To move from one place to another; going back and forth; here and there.
to steal someone's thunder	To preempt someone and rob them of gravitas or attention. To take credit for something someone else did.
trip the light fantastic	To dance
two a penny	Cheap or common
under my thumb	Under my control
under the weather	Feeling sick or poorly
the whole nine yards	Everything; all the way
watching paint dry	To describe something tedious or boring
water under the bridge	Something that already happened in the past and should not be the primary focus of attention because it cannot be changed
wild goose chase	A frustrating or lengthy undertaking that accomplishes little
willy-nilly	An activity, situation, decision or event that happens in a disorganized manner; or it is done haphazardly, chaotically and randomly, without any sort of planning or direction.
wolf something down	devour greedily.
you can say that again	That is very true; an expression of wholehearted agreement.