AMERICAN MOST COMMONLY USED IDIOMS

A
A ballpark figure A bed of roses A drop in the bucket A nervous wreck A rip-off A sight for sore eyes Across the board Alive and kicking All in a days work All of a sudden Around the clock At stake
A rough estimate or figure An easy life A very small amount compared to what is needed Extremely nervous Too expensive Someone or something that you are pleased to see Applying to all members, groups or categories Full of energy, active Something that is expected Suddenly 24 hours a day In danger of being lost

B
Be a steal Be all set Be better off Be in charge of Be in someone elses shoes Be looking up Be on the safer side Be the apple of someones eyes Be up to something Bark up the wrong tree Beat around the bush Beats me! Bend over backwards Bite the dust Blow ones top Blow the whistle on Bounce back Break even Break the news Burn ones bridges Bur the midnight oil Buy something / buy it By chance By heart By the book By word of mouth
To be a bargain, a good deal, very cheap To be ready or prepared To be in a more satisfactory position Be responsible for To experience someones life To be improving Better to be cautious about a situation To be someones favorite Doing or planning something secretly To have a wrong idea, to complain to the wrong person To not go straight to the point To not have any idea, to not have any clue To try very hard, to do your best Ti fail, to fall to defeat, to die To become very angry, lose ones temper To report someones wrongdoing To recover to a previous level To have no profit or loss To tell someone something bad that has just happened and which is of his/her interest To end a relationship in an unpleasant way To stay up late working or studying To believe something By coincidence From memory According to the rules Hearing from another person

C
Call it a day Call the shots Catch someone red-handed Change hands Come clean Come of age Come to terms with Come what may Could do with Cut to the chase
To declare an end to the days activity To give orders, to make the decisions To catch someone doing something wrong To change from one owner to another To admit to a wrongdoing, to confess to something To attain an age being able to get married, sign legal contracts and own property To accept and deal with a situation, to face reality No matter what happens To need or want something a lot To say what is really important with no delay, to get to the point

D
Day in, day out Deliver the goods Dirt cheap Do the trick Down on ones luck Down the drain
One day after another To do what you have promised or what someone expects you to Extremely cheap To provide what is necessary to have the desired effect To be experiencing bad luck Wasted or lost

E
Easier said than done Eat like a horse Every other day/week/month etc.
Simple to suggest, but difficult to accomplish To eat a lot On alternate days/weeks/months

F
Face the music Fall into place Find fault with Fishy Fly into rage Food for thought Foot the bill For good From scratch
To experience criticism or punishment for something you have done To start to understand how things are connected To look for imperfections, to criticize someone or something Suspicious, seeming dishonest or false To become very angry Something that makes you think seriously To pay for something Forever, permanently From nothing, from the beginning

G
Get a kick out of Get cold feet Get even with Get into the swing of things Get out of hand Get rid of Get the hang of Get the picture Get to grips with Give notice Give someone the cold shoulder Go bust Go down in history Go Dutch
To enjoy something greatly To become timid or scared To get revenge on To become fully involved in an activity and start understand how it works Get out of control To eliminate, to throw away, to dispose of To learn how to do something To understand the situation To understand and deal with a situation, to face something To warn an employer that you are going to leave your job To ignore or show no interest in someone To go bankrupt To be remembered as historically important To share the cost of a bill in a restaurant or some other event

H
Had better Hand over fist Hands down Have a good time Have a hard time Have a way with Have someone wrapped around ones finger Have to do with Head over heels for Hear through the grapevine Hit the hay / Hit the sack Hit the jackpot Hit the road
It would be better to Very quickly and continuously Easily Have fun, enjoy yourself To have difficulties To have an ease at doing something To have complete control over someone To have connection with To be totally in love To hear news that has been passed from one person to another To go to bed To be very successful To set off, to begin a journey, to leave

I
If worst comes to worst In a nutshell In a row In full swing In mint condition In the nick of time
If the worst situation actually happens Very briefly, using as few words as possible In a series, consecutively placed In its highest level of activity In perfect condition Just in time, at the last possible moment

J
Jack-of-all-trades Jump on the bandwagon Jump the gun
Someone who can do many different jobs or things To join or to take a popular position or side To say or to do something before it should be done or said, to rush into things

K
Keep a low profile Keep an eye on Keep track of
To not draw attention To watch over To maintain a record of

Keep up with the Joneses Kick the bucket Killjoy Know something like the back of your hand

To stay financially equal with ones friends and neighbors To die Someone who spoils other peoples fun or pleasure To know something very well

L
Laugh ones head off Lose ones head Lose ones temper Lose track of
To laugh very loudly To lose control To become very angry To not be informed about someone or something anymore

M
Make a pass at Make a scene Make a stand (against) Make believe Make clear Make ends meet Make fun of Mind your own business
To make romantic advances toward someone To have a heated and loud argument with someone in a public place To make an effort to stop something from happening To pretend To explain To have enough money to pay for your expenses To joke about, to laugh at Dont ask questions about something that doesnt concern you, do no interfere

N
Never mind No hard feelings No strings attached Nosy / nosey Not sleep a wink
Dont worry No lasting resentment, no bad feelings Without any conditions or restrictions Too interested in matters that do not concern you To not sleep at all

O
Off the record On a shoestring On behalf of On duty On the dot Once and for all Out of order Out of shape Out of the blue
Not intended to be recorded or made public On a very tight budget In place of someone else or as their representative, in somebodys bet interests At work Punctual, on time, sharp Finally, definitively, decisively Not working properly, not functioning In bad physical condition Suddenly and unexpectedly

P
Pain in the neck Pick up the tab Pull someones leg Pull (the, a few) strings
Something or someone that is very annoying and/or unpleasant To pay for something To kid, to tell a make-believe story To use your influence to get something

R
(from) rags to riches Red tape Right away Ring a bell Run a business
From poverty to wealth Bureaucracy, lots of documents Immediately To remind one of something, to seem familiar To manage a business, to be in charge of a business

S
Safe and sound Sell like hot cakes Shoot the breeze Sick (and tired) of Small talk Speak ones mind Spill the beans Swamped (with work)
Safe and secure To sell quickly and a lot To chat, to talk about things of little importance Fed up with Unimportant chatter To tell someone what you think about something To reveal a secret by accident Overburdened with work

T
Take a nap Take a toll on
To sleep for a short period of time To show wear and tear on someone or something , to damage

Take into account Take ones time Take pity on Take place Take something for granted Take turns The bottom line The last straw The REAL MCCOY Think straight Throw in the towel Tighten ones belt Times up Turn a blind eye to

To take into consideration To not hurry, to do something slowly To feel sorry for to happen, to occur, to be held To accept as true without making sure To alternate The most important thing to consider, the end result The last in a series of problems or unpleasant events that makes you get angry or give up Something that is real and not a copy, genuine To have clear thoughts To quit, to give up, to admit defeat To save, to cut expenses Time expired To ignore something

U
Under the weather (to be) up and running Ups and downs
Not feeling well To be functioning, to be actively working Highs and lows, good and bad times

W
Well-off Wet blanket Work ones fingers to the bone
Very well financially, wealthy, rich Someone who spoils other peoples fun or pleasure To work excessively hard

Y
You can say that again
You are right, thats true