English Idioms

• Idioms are phrases where the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words.
• Idioms are commonly used in conversation.
• Understanding idioms makes you fluent in English.
• Learning idioms adds interest to your own speaking and writing.

"Buckle In"

• Meaning: get prepared to do something difficult or challenging.
• Example: A professor used this idiom to warn a student about a difficult biology semester.

"Cut to the Chase"

• Meaning: Get to the main point; stop rambling.
• Be careful because it can be blunt or rude.

"The Whole Nine Yards"

• Meaning: Think of all the details and not forget anything.
• Example: Someone planning a wedding thinks of all the details, like the venue, food, and guest accommodations.

"Cost an Arm and a Leg"

• Meaning: Very expensive.
• Example: Weddings can be very expensive.

"Barking Up the Wrong Tree"

• Meaning: Pursuing the wrong thing; making a mistake.
• Example: Asking an English teacher what British people say is barking up the wrong tree if the teacher has limited experience with British people.
• Origin: Dogs barking at the wrong tree when chasing squirrels.

"Under the Weather"

• Meaning: Feeling sick.
• It's a kind way to say someone is sick without giving too many details.
• Use it when someone is sick for only a day or two with a small flu or cold.
• Don't use it for serious illnesses like cancer.

"A Dime a Dozen"

• Meaning: Very common and easy to find.
• Example: Common cards in a pack of collectible cards.
• You could buy a dozen of them (12) for a dime, which is very inexpensive.

"Cat Got Your Tongue?"

• Meaning: Why aren’t you speaking? Do you feel guilty?
• It is a sassy way of saying this.

"It Takes Two to Tango"

• Meaning: It takes two people to cause a problem.
• This means that both people involved are guilty.
• Alternatively, it means you need someone's help, so you might ask them to help.
• It is a more casual phrase.

"No Pain No Gain"

• Meaning: You must work hard and make sacrifices to succeed.
• Literal: You must push yourself in exercising in order to see results
• Figurative: To finish things to the best of your ability, such as school papers.

"Take the Bull by the Horns"

• Meaning: Confront a fear by doing something that you're scared of.
• Example: If you're afraid of public speaking but sign up for a speech class, you are taking the bull by the horns.

"Speak of the Devil"

• Meaning: When you're talking about someone and they unexpectedly appear.
• Full phrase: Speak of the devil and they will appear.

"Seeing is Believing"

• Meaning: It's impossible to believe without seeing it for yourself.
• Example: Someone who has never been to New York may not believe how great the subway system is until they see it.

"Throw In The Towel"

• Meaning: To give up on something.
• Origin: In fighting, a team throws a towel in to surrender.

"Put Your Foot Down"

• Meaning: Be very firm and stubborn about something.
• Example: A parent putting their foot down about how much TV their children can watch.

"Jump on the Bandwagon"

• Meaning: Become a fan of something only when it becomes popular.
• A "bandwagon fan" is someone who only supports a team when they're doing well.
• Can be used for things other than sports.

"Didn't Miss a Beat"

• Meaning: Continue on without being distracted.
• It is used as a compliment.

"Flip the Script"

• Meaning: Change your approach, direction, or attitude.
• Example: A student who was failing a class suddenly starts studying and improves their grade.

"Get Into the Weeds"

• Meaning: Talk about small, technical details that the listener doesn't understand.
• It tells someone to keep the conversation general and understandable.

"Make a Move"

• Meaning: Take some big action on something you've been waiting to do.
• Commonly used for love and dating.

"Bear In Mind"

• Meaning: Remember a detail for the rest of the story to make sense.
• The speaker will tell the listener to remember a specific detail.

"Down the Road"

• Meaning: Later in the future.

"Game Changer"

• Meaning: Something that really positively impacts things or throws a big challenge.
• It's a detail that either changes things for good or bad.
• Example: iPhones were a total game changer.

"Get It Together"

• Meaning: Calm down and focus on what you need to do.
• It is important to be careful using this phrase with other people who may be emotionally fragile.

"Before You Know It"

• Meaning: Sooner than you expected; very fast.

"What's the Catch?" / "There Has To Be A Catch!"

• Meaning: There's something unexpected that makes the deal difficult or bad for you.
• Used when a deal seems too good to be true.

"Two Peas In a Pod"

• Meaning: Two people get along very well together.
• Typically used for people who are good friends or in a good relationship.

"Can You Believe Your Eyes?"

• Meaning: The situation is astonishing (either really good or really bad).
• It needs a lot of context.

"Between a Rock and a Hard Place"

• Meaning: Having to choose between two difficult choices.

"Choose Between Two Evils"

• Meaning: Having to choose between to bad options that will have bad implications for people.

"Leaving A Lot To The Imagination"

• Meaning: Not giving enough detail in a story.

"The Rest Is History"

• Meaning: The ending is well-known or can be easily guessed, so there's no need to explain it.

"Fresh Off The Boat"

• Meaning: Someone who has just come to a new country and hasn't acclimated yet.
• Means they have not yet gotten used to everything, or learned the language.
• Often used in a joking manner.

"Don't Even Bother"

• Meaning: It's not worth doing; it's going to be too challenging.

"Knock It Out"

• Meaning: Finish a task quickly and get it done.

"Word of Mouth"

• Meaning: You heard about something from someone talking about it, not from an official source.

"Go Time"

• Meaning: It's time to start; let's get ready and be motivated.

"Bonus Points"

• Meaning: It's cool if you know this, but it's not absolutely necessary.

"White Knuckles"

• Meaning: Gripping onto something very tight because you are afraid.

"Swallow Your Pride"

• Meaning: Ask for help even though it's embarrassing or hard.

"Going Off The Rails"

• Meaning: A situation is starting to become chaotic or crazy.

"By All Means"

• Meaning: Yes, of course, you have permission.
• It is just used to give someone permission in a very polite way.

"Travel Light"

• Meaning: Only bring essential things when you travel.

"Worship the Ground They Walk On"

• Meaning: Think too highly of another person; be a big fan of someone.
• It is a very dramatic way to use the phrase.

"Hall of Fame"

• Meaning: Something is really good or the best.

"World Class"

• Meaning: Excellent or the best.

"Hit The Jackpot"

• Meaning: Something very lucky happened to you.

"Bet the House"

• Meaning: Risk everything for something.

"Bank On It"

• Meaning: Be very sure something is going to happen and rely on it.

"In The Cards"

• Meaning: Probably going to happen / Probably not going to happen.

"Heavy Duty"

• Meaning: Strong and durable; able to withstand harsh conditions.

"Good Enough"

• Meaning: Acceptable; it will pass.

"Point A to Point B"

• Meaning: Two locations.

"Second Thoughts"

• Meaning: Reconsidering your decision.

"Just For Fun"

• Meaning: Not serious, not official; doing it literally just to have fun.

"Topnotch"

• Meaning: High quality; the best.

"Low Key"

• Meaning: Relaxed, not trying to have a lot of attention or be flashy.

"Off-The-Wall"

• Meaning: Unusual; not the way people usually do things.
• Sometimes it means something is strange or bad.

"Run-Of-The-Mill"

• Meaning: Conventional or ordinary.

"High-End"

• Meaning: Expensive and luxurious.

"Over the Top"

• Meaning: Too much; exaggerated or dramatic.

"Dead Beat"

• Meaning: Lazy and unproductive; someone who doesn't take care of their responsibilities.
• Very insulting.

"Next Level"

• Meaning: Extremely good; better than anyone else.

"Laid Back"

• Meaning: Relaxed and Pleasant.
• To describe a person who never really gets stressed out you know they're always pretty Pleasant and relaxed to be around you can say they're a really laidback person

"Rock Solid"

• Meaning: Strong, solid, and reliable.
• Also used to describe something that's very strong physically

"Hyped"

• Meaning: Enthusiastic and very excited.

"Wishy-Washy"

• Meaning: Lacking decisive decisions; always changing their mind.

"Cheesy"

• Meaning: Tacky and over sentimental.

"Spiffy"

• Meaning: Neatly dressed and looking nice.

"Bonkers"

• Meaning: Crazy and Loud.

"Legit"

• Meaning: Very good and authentic.

"Edgy"

• Meaning: Very bold and unconventional, pushing boundaries.

"Snazzy"

• Meaning: Stylish or fancy.

"Flaky"

• Meaning: Unreliable.
• The flaky friend that you have will be the type of person that says you know they can help you move one weekend but then an hour before they're supposed to come and help they call and say oh I'm sorry uh I forgot my dog had a veterinarian appointment or oh I'm sorry my car is not working and maybe their excuse is legitimate maybe it's a real excuse but often times they just don't actually help when the time comes or maybe they'll cancel on you a lot when you're supposed to hang out so that's what we describe as someone who is flaky it's important that you

"Trashy"

• Meaning: Low quality, inappropriate, or bad.
• Also Used To describe a person as trashy maybe they burp a lot and they don't say excuse me or maybe they uh just dress with clothes that are super dirty or saying something inappropriate that's the way that we use trashy in English or if you are at a store and you describe a piece of clothing as trashy you mean that it looks cheap it doesn't look very good at all

"Bougie"

• Meaning: Pretentious or very high class; very fancy.

"Loaded"

• Meaning: Very wealthy and rich.
• Extremely Wealthy -Warren Buffett, drives a ferrari. Used only in extreme cases.
• For instance Warren Buffett is loaded that means he has a ton of money if you drive a Ferrari you must be loaded or you have a lot of dead if you want to say that someone is

"Shady"

• Meaning: Dishonest and untrustworthy. A lot of times when you're looking for jobs you'll just apply to anything that looks somewhat appealing and once in a while someone will call you back and they'll claim you know they have this job for you that

"Ballsy" - Slang

• Meaning: Very bold and courageous.
• To describe someone's actions as being ballsy it means they are very bold and courageous again be careful when using this word it's definitely sling it's definitely a bit inappropriate to say that someone or something was very ballsy for instance if you have a coworker and they say to

"Dicey" - Slang

• Meaning: A bit risky.
• to say that something is a bit risky you can say that a situation is dicey marriage is you're rolling the dice to a dicey

"Has Entered the Chat"

• Meaning: Something has finally arrived unexpectedly or after a long time.
• This phrase is usually said after a blank. This means that something has unexpectedly arrived. Its used very widely on the internet.

"Popped Off"

• Meaning: Done really well.
• A newer use if the word = my outfit really popped off last night this. I = If I'm watching a

"By and Large"

• Meaning: The majority or generally/typically
• By and Large is used to make a generalization or say something is more popular in English. Saying but a few setbacks in English can be used effectively with this phrase.

"Hard Stop"

• Meaning: A deadline or a time that we have to stop.
• If you are in the business or workplace you have to use this phrase or work with others this is a great way to show that you are meeting a deadline

"Flop"

• Meaning: Unsuccessful or didn't meet expectations.
• When an individual wants to say that something didn't work at all. Then they use the word flop!
• Movies, Recipes are ways that this can be used.

"Attention Span"

• Meaning: The amount of time that someone can focus on something

"Now that you mention it"

• Meaning: You just remembered something because someone brought up the subject, use the phrase- now that you mention it A great phrase when mentioning food, parties weddings, or friends in great detail.
• The other day I said hey did you see Jenny at the party last night and you might say now that you mention it I or not!

"This Goes To Show"

• Meaning: Just Summarize our word
• Learning phrases from a book, watching television shows is a way to show you can become proficient.

"Cant Win Them All"

• Meaning: Minor error.
• A simple phrase to move on, something didn't work but moving n with life and on to the next thing

"I don't know what I was thinking"

• Meaning: Someone does something and they think it's a stupid or odd decision.
• A casual expression you can use.

"No Matter What"

• Meaning: Being committed to idea
• Being determined to do something and accomplish a great goal if they are dedicated to the task.

Idioms are phrases with non-literal meanings, enhancing fluency and adding flair to communication. They are commonly used in conversations. This guide explores idioms like 'buckle in,' 'cut to the chase,' and 'the whole nine yards.'