100 Most Useful Idioms in English
Idioms are expressions or phrases whose meanings do not relate to the literal meaning of their words. They are special words or phrases that aren’t meant to be taken literally and usually have a cultural meaning behind them. They typically present a figurative meaning attached to the phrase.
Here are 100 most useful Idioms in English:
1. A storm in a teacup
Meaning: Great anger or excitement about a trifling matter
Example: Your wife is so upset. It seems to be a storm in a teacup.
2. At the eleventh hour
Meaning: The last moment
Example: At the eleventh hour, they asked me to welcome the guest.
3. All things being equal
Meaning: Provided that other things or circumstances remain the same
Example: All things being equal, I will attend the wedding.
4. A bite at the cherry
Meaning: An opportunity to do something
Example: He wants a bite at the cherry to rectify his mistakes.
5. Ace up one’s sleeve
Meaning: Secret knowledge or skill that gives you a benefit
Example: A leader’s popularity gives him an ace up his sleeve to win elections.
6. Acknowledge the corn
Meaning: Admit one’s mistake
Example: He acknowledged the corn that he was drunk then.
7. A cat has nine lives
Meaning: A cat is able to endure or escape danger
Example: She is missing for a few days, but nothing to worry, as a cat has nine lives.
8. Blow stack
Meaning: To become very angry with someone and shout at him
Example: Her father was blowing stack over his going to the cinema with friends.
9. Burn the midnight oil
Meaning: To stay awake late at night to work or study
Example: Students burn the midnight oil to pass the exams.
10. Bite the bullet
Meaning: To be brave in a difficult situation
Example: Her husband insulted her before all, but she had to bite the bullet.
11. Bells and whistles
Meaning: Attractive additional features
Example: Their house has all the bells and whistles, but nobody is happy in it.
12. Bail out
Meaning: To help someone in a difficult situation
Example: She bailed me out when my business collapsed.
13. Cut your teeth on something
Meaning: Acquire initial experience in a particular field
Example: Students of law must cut their teeth on advocacy and then practice.
14. Crunch the numbers
Meaning: To examine, to determine how much money is available
Example: When we crunched the numbers, we realised that it was not enough to buy a new house.
15. Call a spade a spade
Meaning: Speak frankly without hesitation
Example: That lady is very outspoken. She calls a spade a spade.
16. Cut off your nose to spite your face
Meaning: To do self-defeating things
Example: You are just cutting off your nose to spite your face by leading such a depressed life.
17. Draw a line in the sand
Meaning: A limit to what one will do or accept
Example: You have no choice but to draw a line in the sand and go ahead in life.
18. Don’t cry over spilt milk
Meaning: There is no use in being upset over whatever happened
Example: It is never of use to cry over spilt milk.
19. Dance to someone’s tune
Meaning: To do what someone wants or forces you to do
Example: Her husband dances to her tunes all the time.
20. Devil’s advocate
Meaning: A person who advocates an opposing or unpopular cause for the sake of argument
Example: A good journalist is a devil’s advocate who encourages healthy discussion.
21. Every dog has his/its day
Meaning: Every person has a successful moment in their life
Example: Don’t weep, the storm will pass, every dog has his day.
22. Elevator pitch
Meaning: A brief speech that outlines an idea
Example: The speaker gave an elevator pitch to students about technology.
23. Eat crow
Meaning: Be humiliated by having to admit one’s defeats or mistakes
Example: He had to eat crow after quarreling with his neighbor.
24. Eager beaver
Meaning: A keen or enthusiastic person who works hard
Example: Don’t worry, you will accomplish this work too as you are an eager beaver.
25. Full of the joys of spring
Meaning: To be very happy
Example: She seems full of the joys of spring for some reason.
26. From the bottom of one’s heart
Meaning: Very sincerely
Example: I express my gratitude from the bottom of my heart.
27. From pillar to post
Meaning: Keep moving from one place to another
Example: She was running from pillar to post for her children.
28. Fish out of water
Meaning: Restless
Example: He feels like a fish out of water in her absence.
29. Grease the wheels
Meaning: Help something go smoothly
Example: Good marketing will grease the wheels of selling the products.
30. Go out on a limb
Meaning: Have no support from other people
Example: He was left out on a limb by his colleagues when the boss was scolding him.
31. Grasp (grab) at straws
Meaning: Make a desperate attempt at saving oneself
Example: She was grasping at straws to come out of depression.
32. Give the green light
Meaning: To give permission
Example: His parents gave him the green light to marry his girlfriend.
33. Hit the roof
Meaning: Become very furious
Example: When she saw the messy kitchen, she hit the roof.
34. Highways and byways
Meaning: The roads and paths of a place
Example: They travelled the highways and byways of the city to find him out.
35. Hell for leather
Meaning: As fast as possible
Example: She is going hell for leather to complete her project.
36. Hot potato
Meaning: Controversial matter
Example: Election is a hot potato for them.
37. Heavy hitter
Meaning: An important or influential individual or organization
Example: This company is one of the heavy hitters in the film industry.
38. It’s not rocket science
Meaning: Not a difficult or impossible thing to do or understand
Example: Doing this course is not rocket science.
39. It never rains but pours
Meaning: Misfortunes or problems come successively
Example: It really true that it never rains, but pours. First, she lost her husband, then she had to leave her house.
40. In the driver’s seat
Meaning: To be in charge or in control of a situation
Example: The man was in the driver’s seat, as he could make important decisions in the absence of his boss.
41. In a rut
Meaning: A habit or course of action, often boring
Example: We go to that hotel every week, we are in a rut.
42. If the shoe fits, wear it
Meaning: Used as a way of suggesting that someone should accept a generalized remark as applying to themselves.
Example: Are you calling me a liar? Well, if the shoe fits, wear it.
43. Jam on the brakes
Meaning: Operate the brakes of a vehicle suddenly and forcibly in response to an emergency
Example: A truck appeared all of a sudden, so I had to jam on the brakes.
44. Just in the nick of time
Meaning: Just before the last moment
Example: I had to change the plan just in the nick of time.
45. Jaundiced eyes
Meaning: With a biased or prejudiced mind
Example: Don’t look at the world with jaundiced eyes.
46. Jump through hoops
Meaning: To do a complicated or annoying series of things in order to achieve something.
Example: They had to jump through hoops to reach the peak of the mountain.
47. Jangle someone’s nerves
Meaning: To make someone feel very nervous
Example: The pressure of exams jangled her nerves.
48. Joe Bloggs
Meaning: An average or typical man
Example: He is just Joe Bloggs.
49. Keep a civil tongue
Meaning: Speak politely
Example: You must always keep a civil tongue while speaking to elders.
50. Keep one’s eyes peeled
Meaning: Be alert
Example: Keep your eyes peeled for updates on exams.
51. Kick the bucket
Meaning: Die
Example: He kicked the bucket in the prime of his life.
52. Knit one’s brow
Meaning: To frown
Example: She knitted her brows while looking at him.
53. Know something inside and out
Meaning: Know something very thoroughly
Example: He knows the law inside and out.
54. Labour of love
Meaning: A task done for pleasure
Example: Building a house is a labour of love for me.
55. Lame duck
Meaning: An unsuccessful person, thing or organization
Example: Such a lame-duck he is!
56. Leave the nest
Meaning: Move away from parents’ home
Example: Children have to leave the nest after growing up for their careers.
57. Let the sleeping dogs lie
Meaning: To ignore a problem as dealing with it could cause a more serious problem
Example: He has just calmed down, let the sleeping dogs lie.
58. Let the cat out of the bag
Meaning: Reveal the secret
Example: She let the cat out of the bag by telling him everything.
59. Make a mountain out of a mole-hill
Meaning: Overstate something
Example: Don’t make a mountain out of a mole-hill, it’s not very important.
60. Make yourself at home
Meaning: Feel comfortable
Example: Please come in and make yourself at home.
61. Meat and potatoes
Meaning: Basic and essential aspects
Example: Teaching in the classroom is the meat and potatoes of our profession.
62. Memory like sieve
Meaning: Very poor memory
Example: He has a memory like sieve, don’t rely on him much.
63. Men make houses, women make homes
Meaning: Men build the structure, but women provide the soul.
Example: He bought a new house and she decorated it beautifully, men make houses, women make homes.
64. Name is mud
Meaning: Disgrace or dishonor
Example: Mend your ways, or your name will be mud soon.
65. Never say die
Meaning: Used to encourage someone not to give up hope
Example: Never say die, every cloud has a silver lining.
66. Nine times out of ten
Meaning: Often
Example: If you want anything, you get it nine times out of ten.
67. No spring chicken
Meaning: Not young
Example: He is no spring chicken, but so fit.
68. Never in a million years
Meaning: Impossible
Example: This will happen never in a million years.
69. Old wives’ tale
Meaning: A widely held traditional belief which is now considered unscientific
Example: Drinking wine is good for the flu is an old wives’ tale.
70. On the horns of dilemma
Meaning: Caught between two choices
Example: She was on the horns of dilemma about getting married and choosing a career.
71. On the same wavelength
Meaning: Have the same thought
Example: They could succeed because they were on the same wavelength.
72. Once bitten, twice shy
Meaning: A person who has failed to do something is careful about doing it again
Example: Since her daughter fell from the swing, she doesn’t like it anymore, once bitten, twice shy.
73. Once in a blue Moon
Meaning: Rarely
Example: My father comes home once in a blue Moon.
74. Pain in the neck
Meaning: Nuisance
Example: He irritates me time and again, just a pain in the neck.
75. Picture paints a thousand words
Meaning: One single image can convey a story more effectively
Example: Show him the picture of it, as the picture paints a thousand words.
76. Pipe dream
Meaning: An unattainable or fanciful scheme
Example: Going abroad is just a pipe dream for a lazy man like you.
77. Poetry in motion
Meaning: Someone or something that moves in a way that is very graceful
Example: When she dances, she is poetry in motion.
78. Quick as a wink
Meaning: Very fast
Example: He solved that problem as quick as a wink.
79. Quake like a leaf
Meaning: Tremble
Example: Because of the cold, everybody was quaking like a leaf.
80. Race against time
Meaning: A situation in which something must be done quickly
Example: The man raced against time to complete his work.
81. Rain cats and dogs
Meaning: Rain heavily
Example: It has been raining cats and dogs since yesterday.
82. Red-letter day
Meaning: Very important day
Example: It is a red-letter day in my life.
83. Reinvent the wheel
Meaning: Waste a great deal of time or effort in creating something that already exists
Example: He was very happy that he made a drone, but it was like reinventing the wheel.
84. Sail against the wind
Meaning: To try to achieve something that is unlikely to succeed because most people would oppose it.
Example: Don’t sail against the wind, your father won’t like it.
85. Salt of the earth
Meaning: A very honest person
Example: He is salt of the earth.
86. Save money for a rainy day
Meaning: To reserve money for a difficult situation
Example: We must save money for a rainy day.
87. Sell ice to Eskimos
Meaning: To persuade people to go against their best interests or to accept something unnecessary
Example: He is very diplomatic and can sell ice to Eskimos.
88. Take forty winks
Meaning: Nap
Example: I am going to take forty winks.
89. Take French leave
Meaning: Go without taking permission
Example: She always takes French leave.
90. Talk in circles
Meaning: To repeat the same thing in a confusing manner without having any conclusion
Example: Why are you talking in circles?
91. Tall tale
Meaning: Fanciful story
Example: He is fond of telling tall tales.
92. Under one’s thumb
Meaning: Completely under one’s influence
Example: She is under the thumb of her husband.
93. Up in the air
Meaning: Uncertain
Example: That plant is now up in the air.
94. Vanish into the air
Meaning: Disappear
Example: Sorrows will vanish in the air, have patience.
95. Variety is the spice of life
Meaning: People like variety
Example: Variety is the spice of life, we love tasting different cuisines every time in a hotel.
96. Wag one’s chin
Meaning: To talk idly
Example: Don’t just wag your chin, do something.
97. Walk on air
Meaning: Feel very happy
Example: He is walking on air these days.
98. X marks the spot
Meaning: This is the exact spot
Example: Put your table here, X marks the spot.
99. Young at heart
Meaning: Behaving or thinking like a young person
Example: He is very old, but still young at heart.
100. Zero hour
Meaning: The time when something important is planned to begin
Example: This is the zero hour to write your article.
