Common Idioms Reference List PDF

Common Idioms Reference List An idiom is a word or phrase with a meaning that does not match the literal meaning implied. Learning idiomatic expressions in American English is crucial because they add depth and nuance to communication. They allow learners to unders...

Common Idioms Reference List An idiom is a word or phrase with a meaning that does not match the literal meaning implied. Learning idiomatic expressions in American English is crucial because they add depth and nuance to communication. They allow learners to understand the colloquial (informal, common) language used in everyday conversations, literature, and media. Mastering these expressions enhances fluency and comprehension, facilitating smoother interactions and fostering cultural understanding. This list doesn’t exhaustively list the hundreds of idioms, but it is a good start. Now that you have a head start, break a leg on your learning journey!!!  Idiom & Definition Example A-B A big shot: an important person She had lunch with a big shot executive. He offered her a job during dessert. A bone to pick: a complaint, dispute, They have a bone to pick with or misunderstanding to be settled Jennifer. She did not water their plants while they were away. A pain in the neck/rear: an annoying Thomas is a pain in the neck. He is person, thing, or situation always bothering Kristy! A snap: very easy Making cookies from a mix is a snap. Across the board: relating to every The attendance policy is applied person and/or situation across the board. No one is exempt. Actions speak louder than words: His constant volunteering and what you do means more than what dedication to community service you say exemplify how actions speak louder than words. All ears: eager to listen to someone or When Bill was talking, Debra was all willing to listen carefully ears. All in the same boat: in similar None of them have finished their situations, experiencing the same papers, so they are all in the same thing boat. As easy as pie: very simple or easy Susan told Tom this class would be as easy as pie, but he thinks it is hard. Back to the drawing board: return to Joe’s plans do not work, so he has to the planning stage of a project go back to the drawing board. Bad-mouth: to say mean and Kelly is always bad-mouthing people, embarrassing things about someone so no one wants to be her friend. Barking up the wrong tree: mistakenly When she told him she was from pursuing the wrong course. Texas, he realized he had barked up the wrong tree by making jokes about people from the South. Beat around the bush: speaking Politicians are known for beating indirectly or avoiding the subject around the bush! Beat: extremely tired The kids are beat! Let them go to sleep! Beats me: not to know (usually the A: When did Mom leave? answer to a question) B: Beats me! Best of both worlds: having the By working part-time, Sarah enjoys the advantages or benefits of two best of both worlds - earning money different things at the same time. while still having time to pursue her passion for painting. Bent out of shape: to be very upset Mark really got bent out of shape about something about the D on his history report. Bite the bullet: accepting punishment Mark will bite the bullet and talk to his or blame for something or accepting Dad about his bad grade. an unpleasant circumstance Bottom line: the real issue or the most The bottom line is that Cathy just does important facts not want to do it. Break a leg: wish good luck Does the play start tonight? Well, break a leg! Break someone’s heart: to disappoint Cindy’s dad broke her heart when he or emotionally hurt someone did not attend her graduation. Break the ice: to do something, Jim broke the ice at the party by usually humorous, that helps stop the starting a really stupid but funny nervousness people feel when they game. meet for the first time Brush up on something: to relearn the The students need to brush up on their basics or improve a skill geography skills before the next exam. Bug: to annoy or pester Her little brother really bugs her sometimes! Burn the midnight oil: stay up very late They have a paper due tomorrow, so or all night working or studying they will burn the midnight oil tonight. C-D Call it a day: stop working and go Kate returned all the calls and filed home everything, so she thinks she will call it a day. Catch some Z’s: go to sleep This has been a really tiring day; Dan wants to catch some Z’s now. Caught red-handed: caught in the Jack was caught red-handed while middle of doing something wrong cheating on his final exam. Clean as a whistle: very clean John likes to have everything clean as a whistle, so he mops once a day. Clean slate: fresh start Laura’s boss gave her a clean slate after she apologized for being late. Cold feet: nervousness or anxiousness Chris got cold feet the night before his concerning major events wedding. Cold turkey: to immediately give up a Jessica wants to give up eating junk bad habit food cold turkey. Cost an arm and a leg: very expensive Ginger’s fancy new car must have cost her an arm and a leg. Crunch time: a time when many For many college students, crunch deadlines are approaching time is right before midterms and finals. Curiosity killed the cat: being too Sarah's insatiable curiosity led her to curious or nosy about things can lead explore the abandoned house, but as to trouble or danger the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat, and she soon found herself in a precarious situation. Days are numbered: time is limited, Hank’s days on the baseball team are about to finish, or time no longer exists numbered if he does not pass his algebra test. Down in the dumps: sad or depressed Sarah has really been down in the dumps since her dog died. Don’t count your chickens before they I know you're excited about the job hatch: don’t make a decision with offer, but don't count your chickens limited information before they hatch; wait until you've signed the contract. Drag one’s feet: to be slow and If Mario keeps dragging his feet, he unmotivated about completing will not finish his English paper on time. something Drive one crazy: to annoy It just drives Tina crazy when her neighbor mows his lawn at 7:00 AM. Drive one up the wall: to annoy His mom really drives him up the wall when she plays her classical music while he is trying to study. E-F Easier said than done: it is easier to Losing weight by starting an exercise talk about something than to do it program is easier said than done. Easy does it! : to be careful Bill, that lamp is fragile. Easy does it! Eating at someone: something is A: What is eating at her? bothering or disturbing someone B: Oh, she is mad at her brother right now because he keeps borrowing the car without asking. Every cloud has a silver lining: even in Even though Sam didn't get the job difficult or negative situations, there's she applied for, she realized that usually something positive or hopeful every cloud has a silver lining when to be found she was offered an even better position at another company. Face-to-face: in person She really wants to see her dad face-to-face before she goes on her business trip. Fair-weather friend: only a friend Some people are only fair-weather when it is convenient friends, but Jessica has been a wonderful friend even when things were horrible. False alarm: to panic over a situation, He thought his paper was due today, only to realize afterward that it was but it was only a false alarm! not an emergency Fall for it: to be tricked Javier fell for it when Rosa played a practical joke on him. Fly off the handle: to get upset or The professor was so angry with the angry students’ careless work that he flew  off the handle during class. Follow in the footsteps of: doing the When Phil took that job, he was same things as someone you admire following in the footsteps of his father, when it comes to making important one of the best salesmen in town. choices From scratch: to start at the When Bob’s grandmother makes beginning; begin a task anew; to muffins from scratch, they are the best make food without using a mix in the world! G-H Get a kick out of something: find Maggie really gets a kick out of enjoyment or pleasure out of seeing her friends have fun. something Get with the program: to be aware of Peggy really needs to get with the something or to be actively working program and finish all her reports for on what is important biology lab. Give one’s right arm: give everything Tarzan would give his right arm to help or give a great deal people in trouble. Give someone a hand: (a) to help (a) Rachael, give Linda a hand with someone or (b) to clap in approval the dishes; she has a lot to do tonight. (b) They all gave Jake a hand for doing well on the project. Go against the grain: to be different When Fran Drescher decided to than what is considered normal or protest, she really went against the standard grain. Go bananas/Go crazy: extremely When Ellen heard that she made an excited “A” on her sociology paper, she went bananas! Grab a bite to eat: get something to Joseph was hungry, so he grabbed a eat bite to eat. Green with envy: very envious of Allison is green with envy because someone Sarah got the job promotion. Have one’s hands full: to be very busy Calvin has his hands full this week; he with many responsibilities is caring for his sister’s two children while she is gone. Hit the books: to study hard Megan went to the library to hit the books because she has a statistics test tomorrow. Hit the nail on the head: to be exactly John hit the nail on the head when he right suggested that Cathy has been so tired because she’s been overworked. Hit the spot: to satisfy a craving or That piece of pumpkin pie hit the intense hunger spot; Batman had been craving it for weeks. Hold your horses: have patience Hold your horses! The pizza is almost ready. I-J In ages: for a very long time Mr. Freeze has not seen a movie in ages. In over one’s head: to take on too Jack really got in over his head when many responsibilities; to take on he agreed to work two jobs while something too difficult taking six classes In the nick of time: barely on time, Wow! Dave finished that assignment nearly late in the nick of time; he submitted it minutes before the deadline. It’s a piece of cake: very easy Rapunzel thought that the test would be difficult, but it was a piece of cake! John Hancock: a signature If you just put your John Hancock here, the deal will be complete Jump the gun: to do something too Mr. Stark always jumps the gun, and soon and too quickly Hulk never gets to tell the story. K-N Know by heart: to know something by Since Dorothy has to call the electric memory company so often, she knows their phone number by heart. Know the ropes: to be familiar with a It takes new students a little while to procedure or the details of a job get to know the ropes, but then they seem to do just fine. Make ends meet: make just enough Mary Poppins barely made ends meet money to survive this month. She gets paid next Friday;  all she has left is five dollars. Making a mountain out of a molehill: George of the Jungle is really making making a large issue out of something a mountain out of a molehill. insignificant Ninety (90) to nothing: to be working With everything Tim has to finish very hard on something, usually in a before May, he feels like he has been fast manner going ninety (90) to nothing. Not worth a hill of beans: not worth Anakin’s car is not worth a hill of very much beans; the engine is about to die! O-P Off the top of my head: to think and Storm loves to do things off the top of do something spontaneously her head; when Wolverine is with her, he never knows what is going to happen next. On edge: nervous or tense Black Widow has really been on edge recently. On the ball: motivated to action Kevin has really been on the ball recently; he finished all his assignments several weeks early. On the road: traveling Prince Charming hates being on the road because he never gets to see his family. On the tip of my tongue: to almost His name is on the tip of her tongue. It remember begins with a K, but she just cannot recall. Once in a blue moon: very rarely Once in a blue moon, the washer machine makes a funny noise. Pretty penny: a lot of money Julie’s new car must have cost her a pretty penny. R-S Rain check: a promise to make an A: Does Anna want to go to lunch offer available at another time with Olaf tomorrow? B: She would love to, but she cannot. Could she take a rain check? Rain or shine: no matter what Robin’s mom said she would be at graduation, rain or shine. Running into the ground: to make We ran ourselves into the ground to yourself very tired by working too meet the Thursday deadline. much Scare the living daylights out of: to When he jumped into the hallway, he frighten someone scared the living daylights out of Megatron! Sick as a dog: to be seriously ill After eating that expired seafood, I felt as sick as a dog for the rest of the day. Skeleton in the closet: a personal or Every family has at least one skeleton family secret in the closet that they do not want anyone else to know about. Sleeping like a baby: sleeping He hates to wake her up; she is peacefully and soundly sleeping like a baby! Sleeping like a log: sleeping well—so Grandpa always sleeps like a log; much so that a person would not be once he goes to sleep, there is no easily awakened waking him until the next morning! Smell a rat: a prediction that When my coworker suddenly something or someone is not volunteered to take over my project, I trustworthy smelled a rat and suspected he had ulterior motives. Spick and span: very clean It took Simba two hours to make this room spick and span. Stab in the back: to deceive or hurt Jan stabbed her best friend in the someone back when she began to date her best friend’s ex-boyfriend. Stick one’s neck out: to do something Alan really stuck his neck out when he risky (usually for someone else) supported the mayor’s proposal. Sweet tooth: desire to eat something James has a huge sweet tooth; he sweet always eats candy. T-U Talking in circles: to speak in an When Mrs. Black is tired, she just talks unclear, illogical manner, often saying in circles and never really makes a the same thing again clear point. That does not hold water: the The theory of evolution just does not reasoning does not make sense; hold water. argument does not have enough supporting evidence That is a bunch of baloney: a lie or a A: Did you know that Velma is getting fake; nonsense kicked out of school? B: That is a bunch of baloney! Shaggy talked to her this morning, and she said it was just a rumor. That is no skin off my nose: it does not It is no skin off my nose that David did affect or harm not ask Daphne to the party! The cutting edge: the best and most Dr. Robins is on the cutting edge of advanced research; he is the most respected scientist at Mayer Hospital. Through thick and thin: through all It is not easy to find friends that will circumstances, both difficult and stay around through thick and thin. easy, good and bad To know something or someone like Tom knows that mountain like the the back of one’s hand: to know very back of his hand because he has well climbed it many times. Under the weather: not feeling well Linda has been under the weather for two weeks. Her mother thinks she should see a doctor.