Idioms

Idioms Meaning Example

over the moon extremely happy They’re going on holiday on Wednesday so
they’re all over the moon.
down in the dumps depressed mood After losing the student election, he really
felt down in the dumps.
off the top of my head without careful thought “What is the capital of Mauritania?”
“I don’t know off the top of my head, but I
can go and look it up.
on the fence describe one’s lack of
decisiveness
cup of tea something you like Reading is my cup of tea.
lose one’s train of thought forget what you’re saying I’m sorry, I’ve lost my train of thought.
What was I talking about?
go into the habit begin to do something Let’s get into the habit of positing original
regularly content
old habits die hard It’s difficult to change It is hard to give up sweets and biscuits.
something you’ve been Old habits die hard.
doing it for a long time
creature of habit Someone who does the I’m such a creature of habit when it
same thing in the same way comes to my morning routine.
break the habit stop doing a habit Try to get him to break the habit of
excessive thinking
thick-skinned not easily affected It’s not easy to make him angry. He’s
thick-skinned.
hide one’s light under a bushel to hide your talent He has got lots of talents; however, he
hides his light under a bushel.
a blessing in disguise seems bad but is good Accidently registering for the wrong class
was actually a blessing in disguise.
actions speak louder than words actions are more important You say you love me but actions speak
louder than words.
a piece of cake easy That test was a piece of cake.
beating around the bush not discussing what’s Stop beating around the bush and tell me
important what you want.
big task on my hand having something My teacher gave me a new assignment, so I
important to do have a big task on my hands.
break a leg wishing someone good luck You will do fine on your exam. Go break a
leg out there.
close but no cigar close but failed at the end You got a 79% on the test. Almost a B ..
close but no cigar.
don’t sweat it don’t worry You accidently scratched my car, but I
don’t care. Don’t sweat it.
driving me bananas making me feel crazy My very loud neighbors are driving me
bananas.
easier said than done easy to say but hard to do Changing the world is easier said than
done.
get out of town I don’t believe you You got an A in your exam. Get out of
town!
get over it forget about the past He broke up with his girlfriend but he
needs to get over it.
got off track forget about your future My friend really got off track because he
goal failed three classes this semester.
hands down for certain the right answer America is hands down the best place to
study abroad.
hang out spend time with a friend Joe and I hang out after class every week.
hang on a second wait for a moment Hang on a second, I am waiting for my
laundry to finish.
have stumbled upon to accidently discover I stumbled upon a new restaurant while
something walking around downtown.
hold your horses wait / calm down Hold your horses. I am still eating my
lunch.
inside scoop the details Hey give me the inside scoop on how you
met John.
in the bag will definitely happen My baseball team will win the game. It is
in the bag.
I was knocked on my heels. I was surprised. I was knocked on my heels when I
realized I got the job
I’m feeling blue. to feel sad I failed my exam. I am really feeling blue.
I’ll toss it around. To casually suggest an idea I am tossing around the idea of having a
to people party this weekend.
The life and soul of the party A fun person or someone My brother is certainly the life and soul of
who is the center of activity the party. He always grabs the attention of
others.
Bend over backwards Try very hard to help She bends over backwards to help us with
people our work.
Laid back relaxed Jason is not very excited, he is laid back.
In the nick of time When something happens The firefighter saved the baby from the
at the last possible burning building in the nick of time.
It’s all flooding back to me. Beginning to remember When I saw my childhood bicycle
something you once forget memories all came flooding back to me.
Kick the bucket die The doctor said the old girl is about to kick
 the bucket.
Kill two birds with one stone Accomplish two things at You can kill two birds with one stone by
once checking email and study at the library.
Leading someone on Having someone believe Why do you keep telling Amy you like her,
something that isn’t true you are just leading her on.
Last shot Last chance The final exam is my last shot to get an A
in the class.
Lend/give a hand Help someone out I see those grocery bags are heavy, can I
lend you a hand?
Let it ride To allow something to I don’t like my schedule for next semester,
remain as it is but I’m going to let it ride.
Let’s boogie on out Let’s all leave together The bar is closing, let’s boogie on out.
Let’s bounce To leave The football game is over, let’s bounce.
Low down To receive the full story Hey gives me the low down on what
happened last Saturday night.
Take a chill pill A way to telling someone to I don’t think the test will be too hard, take a
calm down chill pill.
Hit the books study I can’t go to the party tonight, I have to hit
the books.
To touch base with To contact someone I need to touch bas with Jermey about the
new office reports.
Locked in To give full concentration I’m really locked in this new television
series.
No big deal No need to worry If you can’t make it to my birthday dinner,
it’s not a big deal.
Get on the ball To get focused on the goal If you haven’t started your research project
yet, you need to get on the ball.
Out of nowhere unexpected We were walking to the store when Mike
appeared out of nowhere.
Out of the blue unexpected Out of the blue, I found the guy in front of
my car.
Pull the plug To end something/someone After Bob quit, we may just have to pull
the plug on the whole operation.
Put a sack in it Be quiet My loud neighbors really need to put a sack
in it.
Rally the troops To gather friends together We’re going to rally the troops then head to
the basketball game.
Since day one For a long time I’ve been playing basketball since day one.
Something’s fishy Something is strange All the lights are off in the house and door
is open, something’s fishy.
Speak the devil When you see Speak of the devil Jenny! We were just
 someone/something talking about your new car.
happens unexpectedly
while talking about them
Spill the beans To tell the secrets I told Jassica my biggest secret; she then
spilled the beans to the whole class.
On the spur of the moment To make a random decision I decided to drive to Colorado on the spur
of the moment.
Stay on track To stay focused on the goal I shouldn’t watch TV right now. I need to
stay on track and study.
Take him out of the picture Remove him from the Mike isn’t the best group partner, we
situation should take him out of the picture.
That’s tight That’s awesome This new song is tight.
The last straw The last thing that causes My recent sprained ankle was the last
everything to fail straw; I need to get surgery now.
Throw an idea around Casually suggest an idea I want to throw an idea around for
tomorrow’s event.
Time flies Time passes by fast I can’t believe the weekend is already over,
time flies!
Up a creek without a paddle In a bad situation Yesterday my car ran out of gas and then
my phone ran out of battery, I was up a
creek without a paddle.
Fill in the blanks Figure out the rest on your Did we win? We were losing by 40 points
own at halftime, fill in the blanks.
On the same page Having similar thoughts I’m glad that we are on the same page with
our ideas for this project.
You pulled a fast one To trick someone You pretended you knew his name when
really you didn’t, you pulled a fast one.
A real page-turner A book that you want to The Alchemist is a real page-turner.
keep reading
I’m in two minds about this. I can’t decide between two
things
You’ve hit the nail on the head You’re 100% right
To play devil’s advocate To consider another
argument
You took the words right out of my That’s just what I wanted to
mouth. say
I dig it I like it I dig Indian food.
To give someone the cold shoulder To ignore him Annal gives me the cold shoulder. Do you
know why she is ignoring me.
Let’s call it a day
Brown noser
Keep your head above water Have just enough to live or She kept her head above water even if her
survive salary isn’t that much.
Hordes of sth crowded I don’t like places with hordes of people.
See eye-to-eye on agree Yes I see eye to eye on most of things you
have just said.
Strick up a relationship To begin a friendship My friend and I struck up a relationship at
college.
To get on like a house on fire Like one’s company very We got on like a house on fire. He is so
much much fun.
Keep in touch Keep contact We should keep in touch with each other
after graduation.
Fall for one To love someone I fell for her at colleague.
Hit it off Quickly become good When I first met him, we really hit it off.
friend with
Pop the question Ask to marry He popped the question yesterday in the
party.
To tie the knot Get married We tied the knot last year.
Fall head over heels in sth. Start to love someone a lot I am falling head over heals in love with
her.
techie Someone is fond of My brother is a techie. He adores
technology technology.
A computer buff An expert in computer He is a computer buff.
To be out of condition To not be physically fit I hate being out of condition. I need to
exercise more.
A personal best To achieve the best I want to get personal bests.
personal result in sport
Out of the question
Grab a bite to eat To eat something quickly Just give me two minutes to grab a bite to
eat.
Fussy eater Someone who has his own My friend is a fussy eater. He doesn’t eat
way about what to eat anything.
To eat like a horse Eat too much Lately, I have been eating like a horse.
Slap up meal Very large meal I like to eat slap up meat to make feel full.
To wine and dine To entertain someone by I go to fancy restaurants when I want to
treating them to food/drink wine and dine my friends.
Sweet tooth To enjoy eating sugary food I have a sweet tooth, so whenever I see a
chocolate cake, I want to eat.
It makes one’s mouth water To make you feel very Delicious food makes my mouth water.
hungry
To foot the bill Pay the bill I always foot the bill whenever I go out
with my friends.
To be dying for hunger Very hungry We haven’t cooked yet. I am dying for
 hunger.
Bolt sth down To eat sth very quickly When I am in a hurry, I bolt a sandwich
down.
To tuck into To eat something with I tuck into my mum’s dishes.
pleasure
Learn things by heart Memorize something He learns the song by heart.
To work one’s way through To have a paid job during I have to work my way through university
university studying so I can support myself financially.
To fall behind with one’s studies To progress less quickly I don’t know why I am falling behind with
my studies. I am tired of this.
One of the perks of sth An extra benefit One of the perks of doing exercise is to
keep you fit.
A dead-end job A job with no promotional I need to change my job because is a dead-
opportunities end one.
To be stuck in a rut To be in a boring job that is Teaching gets me stuck in a rut.
hard to leave
To draw up a business plan To write a plan for a new It is better to draw up a business plan for
job the project.
Go bust When a business is forced The whole business has gone bust.
to close
To go it alone To start one’s business It is better to go it alone that working for
people.
Cut-throat