Useful Idioms in English

1. 24/7 nonstop, throughout the day and night

2. Cross ones fingerswish for luck or success
3. A piece of cake--A job, task or other activity that is easy or simple.
4. Draw the lineshow/indicate limitation
5. Easier said than donedifficult to implement
6. Start from scratch--to do it all over again from the beginning.
7. In the fast lanefull of fun excitement
8. In the nick of timeat the last moment
9. Once in a blue moonvery rarely
10.Plain as dayObvious
11.On the same pagein agreement: everybody's on the same page for once
12.Play it/something by earto take a decision about something later, --to let
things go as they may.
13.See eye to eyeagree on something, be in agreement
14.Rain or shineregardless of favorable or unfavorable situation
15.Bell the catto undertake or agree to perform a risky, dangerous, or
impossible job or task.
16.Know something like the back of ones hand/palm
17.bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
18.To smell a ratsense something suspicious
19.Jewel in the crown--something of great value among other valuable things
20.Under the weather--feeling ill or sick.
21.Snug as a bug in a rugcozy and comfortable
22.Out of the blue-- Something that suddenly and unexpectedly occurs.
23.In a nutshell, Turn a blind eye--refuse to acknowledge something you know is
real or legit.
24.Cherry on the cakethe best part of something
25.Cherry-pick something-- to choose something very carefully; selectively
choose (the most beneficial or profitable items, opportunities, etc.) from what
is available.
26.Blessing in disguisesomething good that is not recognized at first
27.Tip of the iceberga small part of the bigger invisible problem
28.In a nutshellconcisely, in brief words
29.Run out of steam--to be completely out of energy. Come what mayno
matter what might happen
30.Swimming upstreamgoing against the trend or convention
31.Cry over the spilt milkto regret about the loss/mistake of the past
32.Wear many hatsto have many jobs or roles
33.Jump on the bandwagonfollow popular trend, activity, or fashion
34.Beat around the bushavoid the main point by talking about unimportant
things
35.To not see the wood for the treesnot to be able to identify a particular
problem
36.Miss the boatto miss better opportunity or chance
37.Barking up the wrong treeto blame a wrong person or reason

38.Take with a grain of salt--not to take what someone says too seriously / not to
believe completely.
39.On the fenceundecided
40.Best of both worldstotal advantage
41.Kill two birds with one stone--to accomplish two different things at the same
time.
42.Figure something outcome to understand a problem"
43.Something is just around the corner
44.Couch potatoa lazy/inactive person
45.In the same boat--in the same situation; having the same problem.
46.Rule of thumbrough estimate; a broadly accurate guide or principle, based
on practice rather than theory
47.Like a breezesomething that is very easy/smooth
48.Hit the nail on the head / hit the naildo/say something exactly right
49.Lions sharea large part of something
50.Drop someone a linesend someone a letter or an email
51.Hold one's head high / keep ones chin up be confident or unashamed.
52.get the ball rollingkeep something going on, continue something
53.To let the cat out of the bag to reveal a secret
54.To keep the wolf from the door to maintain oneself at a minimal level; to
keep from starving, freezing, etc.
55.To show the white feather to show cowardice
56.To beat black & blue to beat severely
57.To be in the pink to be in perfect health
58.A white paper a government report
59.To catch red handed to catch in the act of stealing/ committing the crime
60.A red carpet welcome a respectable welcome
61.A white elephant an expensive thing
62.Palmy days prosperous days
63.The fair sex women
64.A live wire dynamic, active
65.Sharp tongue in the habit of using abusive language
66.The sixth sense intuition
67.A vicious circle a series of unwanted/unhappy/evil incidents
68.The zero hour an important part of time for launching something
69.A feather in ones cap a symbol of honor and achievement
70.Pros & cons for and against
71.To be in poor supply scarcity
72.Hard words harsh language
73.Dutch courage courage shown by a drunken person
74.Hot news new or sensational news
75.A rainy day a time of financial difficulty
76.An open secret a secret known to all
77.A bull in a china shop a clumsy person, someone who upsets other people's
plans

78.Bread and butter food for livelihood

79.Kith and kin close relatives, family
80.A big shot an important person
81.A shortcut easier/shorter way
82.Big words boasting

83.Alpha and omega the beginning and the end

84.An iron will a strong will
85.High life aristocratic, rich life
86.A rope of sand a promise easily broken
87.The golden rule the best principle
88.An apple of discord a cause of quarrel
89.A dead language a language which is not spoken now
90.To be dead against to oppose staunchly, strongly
91.Come to a bad end to become a criminal
92.A herculean task an extremely difficult task
93.To pay homage to to pay respects to
94.Plunge into to fall into
95.Short and sweet brief and impressive
96.The salt of the earth those of great worth and reliability
97.Bag and baggage with all belongings
98.Way and means methods
99.To keep ones word - to keep ones promise
100.
By word of mouth orally
101. Null and void legally invalid
102. Castles in the air daydreams, thinking or dreaming about something
unattainable
103. A storm in a teacup much discussion about some unimportant thing
104. To bring to book to punish
105. A cool head being calm, composed
106. A childs play something easy
107. Black and white simple, clear and understandable
108. To be well off to be rich
109. The fourth estate the press
110. A fools paradise an illusionary world

111. To break the ice to break the silence

112. A yeomans service helping or serving
113. Between Scylla and Charybdis to choose between 2 unattractive
choices/evils
114. To turn over a new leaf change for the better
115. Hand and glove intimate
116. At sixes and sevens in disorder
117. At the eleventh hour at the last moment
118. To make a slip of the tongue an accidental and usually trivial mistake in
speaking
119. To smell a rat to suspect
120. To pick holes to find fault with
121. To keep the ball rolling to cause something that is in progress to continue
122. To fall a prey to become a victim to
123. To break the news to announce
124. Come off with flying colours win credit, being successful
125. Cut coat according to cloth adapt expenditure to income
126. A cock and bull story fictious story
127. Chicken hearted lacking courage
128. Dance to ones tunes follow blindly, to always do what someone tells you to
do, whether you
agree with it or not

129. A dead letter a law no longer in use

130. Rain cats and dogs to rain heavily
131. Not fit to hold candle to person much inferior to or not to be compared with
another
132. Burn the midnight oil to study late in the night
133. Burn candle at both ends to regularly stay awake late and get up early
134. Burn ones fingers to get oneself into unexpected trouble due to rashness
135. Miss the bus lose an opportunity
136. Keep body and soul together remain alive
137. Blow hot and cold to be enthusiastic one moment and not interested the
next
138. Once in a blue moon very rarely
139. Between the devil and deep sea in an inescapable position
140. To make the best of a bad bargain adapt as well as possible to a bad
situation
141. Apple of ones eyes the favourite object of ones love or affection
142. Lead to the altar to marry
143. Like hot cakes in much demand
144. A cake walk an easy task
145. Birds of a feather people of like character
146. The afternoon of life beyond middle age
147. Achilles heel a weak spot, a fatal weakness in spite of overall strength,
actually or potentially leading to downfall
148. With all of ones heart sincerely
149. Keep ones head above water to be free from debt
150. Go out of ones head go mad, act unpredictably
151. Throw ones hat in the ring to accept a challenge
152. Jack of all trades one who knows something of everything
153. A snake in the grass a person who pretends to be friendly, a deceitful or
treacherous
person
154. A skeleton in the cupboard a dark or embarrassing secret of the past
155. The life and soul essence, the most important part of
156. By fair means or foul means by good or evil methods
157. A fly in the ointment a cause for trouble, a small but irritating flaw that
spoils the whole thing
158. A wet blanket one who dampens the atmosphere, tries to spoil others fun
159. To have clean hands to be innocent
160. To hold ones head high to be proud of
161. An eye opener revealing, enlightening, informative
162. To be on the last legs at the end of one's strength or resources; ready to
collapse, fail, or die
163. To pull the leg of to tease
164. An utopian scheme excellent and ideal but impracticable
165. The bill of fare the menu
166. By hook or crook by any means, fair or unfair
167. To turn a deaf ear to to ignore
168. A fish out of water in strange circumstances, to feel out of place in a new
place
169. To jeer at to make fun of

170. A man of letters someone who writes well

171. To die before ones time to die young
172. To put two and two together to guess the truth about a situation from pieces
of information
173. To be born with a silver spoon in ones mouth to be born rich
174. To have an axe to grind have a dispute to take up with someone or, to have
an ulterior motive
175. To nip in the bud put an end to something at an early stage
176. Cry over spilt milk cry or complain about something that has already
happened
177. By leaps and bounds to grow larger very quickly, rapidly
178. A turning point a crucial point
179. To read between the lines to perceive or detect an obscure or unexpressed
meaning
180. To play with fire to engage in dangerous activities
181. Spare the rod not beating a young child, student
182. Gift of the gab ability to speak in a persuasive and interesting way
183. Out of the frying pan into the fire get out of a bad situation only to find
oneself in a worse situation
184. Own flesh and blood to be related
185. One foot in grave almost dead
186.
Proverbs
1. Rome was not built in one day.
2. The early bird catches the worm.
3. Half a loaf is better than none
4. Practice makes perfect.
5. Better late than never.
6. Action speaks louder than words.
7. You can lead a horse to water, but you cant make him drink it
8. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst
9. Dont/you cant judge a book by its cover.
10.Laughter is the best medicine.
11.There is no time like the present. dont wait to do something. Do it now.
12.Cross the bridge when you come to it.
13.Dont put all your eggs in one basket.
14.Dont bite the hand that feeds you.
15.Drastic times call for drastic measures.
16.Every cloud has a silver lining
17.Easy come, easy go
18.Fortune favors the bold/Prepared--People who are brave or well-prepared and
who take risks or work in advance are more successful
19.Every cloud has a silver lining.
20.You cant teach an old dog new tricks.
21.Knowledge is power
22.A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
23.Experience is the father of wisdom.
24.Necessity is the mother of invention

25.Better alone than in bad company

26.A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
27.Barking dogs seldom bite-28.There is no such thing as a free lunch.nothing is free. Even the things that
are free have a hidden cost
29.God helps those who help themselves
30.Let the sleeping dog lie.
31.Good things come to those who wait
32.Two heads are better than one.
33.Appearances are deceptive.
34.Where theres smoke, theres fire
35.The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
36.Beauty is in the eye of beholder-37.Birds of a feather flock together
38.Beauty is skin deep
39.Strike while the iron is hot.
40.Too many cooks spoil the broth.
41.When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
42.Where theres a will, theres a way.
43.Look before you leap.
44.Laughter is the best medicine.
45.Once bitten, twice shy
46.Beggars cant be choosers.
47.There is no place like home.
48.Blood is thicker than water.
49.Dont make a mountain out of an anthill.
50.Absence make the heart grow fonder.
51.Two wrongs dont make a right.
52.Rome wasnt built in a day.
53.Its better to be safe than sorry.
54.People who live in glass houses should not throw stones