A Bird In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush:

Having something that is certain is much better than taking a risk for more, because chances are you
might lose everything.

A Blessing In Disguise:
Something good that isn't recognized at first.

A Chip On Your Shoulder:

Being upset for something that happened in the past.

A Dime A Dozen:
Anything that is common and easy to get.

A Doubting Thomas:
A skeptic who needs physical or personal evidence in order to believe something.

A Drop in the Bucket:

A very small part of something big or whole.

A Fool And His Money Are Easily Parted:

It's easy for a foolish person to lose his/her money.

A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand:

Everyone involved must unify and function together or it will not work out.

A Leopard Can't Change His Spots:

You cannot change who you are.

A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned:

By not spending money, you are saving money (little by little).

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words:

A visual presentation is far more descriptive than words.

A Piece of Cake:
A task that can be accomplished very easily.

A Slap on the Wrist:

A very mild punishment.

A Taste Of Your Own Medicine:

When you are mistreated the same way you mistreat others.

A Toss-Up:
A result that is still unclear and can go either way.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words:

It's better to actually do something than just talk about it.

Add Fuel To The Fire:

Whenever something is done to make a bad situation even worse than it is.
Against The Clock:
Rushed and short on time.

All Bark And No Bite:

When someone is threatening and/or aggressive but not willing to engage in a fight.

All Greek to me:

Meaningless and incomprehensible like someone who cannot read, speak, or understand any of the
Greek language would be.

All In The Same Boat:

When everyone is facing the same challenges.

An Arm And A Leg:

Very expensive. A large amount of money.

An Axe To Grind:
To have a dispute with someone.

Apple of My Eye:
Someone who is cherished above all others.

As High As A Kite:
Anything that is high up in the sky.

At The Drop Of A Hat:

Willing to do something immediately.

B
Back Seat Driver:
People who criticize from the sidelines, much like someone giving unwanted advice from the back seat
of a vehicle to the driver.

Back To Square One:

Having to start all over again.

Back To The Drawing Board:

When an attempt fails and it's time to start all over.

Baker's Dozen:
Thirteen.

Barking Up The Wrong Tree:

A mistake made in something you are trying to achieve.

Beat A Dead Horse:

To force an issue that has already ended.
Beating Around The Bush:
Avoiding the main topic. Not speaking directly about the issue.

Bend Over Backwards:

Do whatever it takes to help. Willing to do anything.

Between A Rock And A Hard Place:

Stuck between two very bad options.

Bite Off More Than You Can Chew:

To take on a task that is way to big.

Bite Your Tongue:

To avoid talking.

Blood Is Thicker Than Water:

The family bond is closer than anything else.

Blue Moon:
A rare event or occurance.

Break A Leg:
A superstitious way to say 'good luck' without saying 'good luck', but rather the opposite.

Buy A Lemon:
To purchase a vehicle that constantly gives problems or stops running after you drive it away.

C
Can't Cut The Mustard :
Someone who isn't adequate enough to compete or participate.

Cast Iron Stomach:

Someone who has no problems, complications or ill effects with eating anything or drinking anything.

Charley Horse:
Stiffness in the leg / A leg cramp.

Chew someone out:

Verbally scold someone.

Chip on his Shoulder:

Angry today about something that occured in the past.

Chow Down:
To eat.
Close but no Cigar:
To be very near and almost accomplish a goal, but fall short.

Cock and Bull Story:

An unbelievable tale.

Come Hell Or High Water:

Any difficult situation or obstacle.

Crack Someone Up:

To make someone laugh.

Cross Your Fingers:

To hope that something happens the way you want it to.

Cry Over Spilt Milk:

When you complain about a loss from the past.

Cry Wolf:
Intentionally raise a false alarm.

Cup Of Joe:
A cup of coffee.

Curiosity Killed The Cat:

Being Inquisitive can lead you into a dangerous situation.

Cut to the Chase:

Leave out all the unnecessary details and just get to the point.

Dark Horse:
Onewhowaspreviouslyunknownandisnowprominent.

Dead Ringer:
100%identical.Aduplicate.

Devil's Advocate:
Someonewhotakesapositionforthesakeofargumentwithoutbelievinginthatparticularside
ofthearguement.Itcanalsomeanonewhopresentsacounterargumentforapositiontheydo
believein,toanotherdebater.

Dog Days of Summer:

Thehottestdaysofthesummerseason.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch:

Don'trelyonituntilyoursureofit.

Don't Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth:

Whensomeonegivesyouagift,don'tbeungrateful.

Don't Put All Your Eggs In One Basket:

Donotputallyourresourcesinonepossibility.

Doozy:
Somethingoutstanding.

Down To The Wire:

Somethingthatendsatthelastminuteorlastfewseconds.

Drastic Times Call For Drastic Measures:

Whenyouareextremelydesperateyouneedtotakeextremelydesperateactions.

Drink like a fish:

Todrinkveryheavily.

Drive someone up the wall:

Toirritateand/orannoyverymuch.

Dropping Like Flies:

Alargenumberofpeopleeitherfallingillordying.

Dry Run:
Rehearsal.

E
Eighty Six:
Acertainitemisnolongeravailable.Orthisidiomcanalsomean,tothrowaway.

Elvis has left the building:

Theshowhascometoanend.It'sallover.

Ethnic Cleansing:
Killingofacertainethnicorreligiousgrouponamassivescale.

Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining:

Beoptomistic,evendifficulttimeswillleadtobetterdays.

Everything But The Kitchen Sink:

Almosteverythingandanythinghasbeenincluded.

Excuse my French:
Pleaseforgivemeforcussing.

Cock and Bull Story:

Anunbelievabletale.

Cock and Bull Story:

Anunbelievabletale.

F
Feeding Frenzy:
Anaggressiveattackonsomeonebyagroup.

Field Day:
Anenjoyabledayorcircumstance.

Finding Your Feet:

Tobecomemorecomfortableinwhateveryouaredoing.

Finger lickin' good:

Averytastyfoodormeal.

Fixed In Your Ways:

Notwillingorwantingtochangefromyournormalwayofdoingsomething.

Flash In The Pan:

Somethingthatshowspotentialorlookspromisinginthebeginningbutfailstodeliveranything
intheend.

Flea Market:
Aswapmeet.Aplacewherepeoplegathertobuyandsellinexpensivegoods.

Flesh and Blood:

Thisidiomcanmeanlivingmaterialofwhichpeoplearemadeof,oritcanrefertosomeone's
family.

Flip The Bird:

Toraiseyourmiddlefingeratsomeone.
Foam at the Mouth:
Tobeenragedandshowit.

Fools' Gold:
Ironpyrites,aworthlessrockthatresemblesrealgold.

French Kiss:
Anopenmouthkisswheretonguestouch.

From Rags To Riches:

Togofrombeingverypoortobeingverywealthy.

Fuddy-duddy:
Anoldfashionedandfoolishtypeofperson.

Full Monty:
Thisidiomcanmeaneither,"thewholething"or"completelynude".

Funny Farm:
Amentalinstitutionalfacility.

G
Get Down to Brass Tacks:
Tobecomeseriousaboutsomething.

Get Over It:

Tomovebeyondsomethingthatisbotheringyou.

Get Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed:

Someonewhoishavingahorribleday.

Get Your Walking Papers:

Getfiredfromajob.

Give Him The Slip:

Togetawayfrom.Toescape.

Go Down Like A Lead Balloon:

Tobereceivedbadlybyanaudience.
Go For Broke:
Togambleeverythingyouhave.

Go Out On A Limb:
Putyourselfinatoughpositioninordertosupportsomeone/something.

Go The Extra Mile:

Goingaboveandbeyondwhateverisrequiredforthetaskathand.

Good Samaritan:
Someonewhohelpsotherswhentheyareinneed,withnodiscussionforcompensation,andno
thoughtofareward.

Graveyard Shift:
Workinghoursfromabout12:00amto8:00am.Thetimeofthedaywhenmostotherpeople
aresleeping.

Great Minds Think Alike:

Intelligentpeoplethinklikeeachother.

Green Room:
Thewaitingroom,especiallyforthosewhoareabouttogoonatvorradioshow.

Gut Feeling:
Apersonalintuitionyouget,especiallywhenfeelsomethingmaynotberight.

H
Haste Makes Waste:
Quicklydoingthingsresultsinapoorending.

Hat Trick:
Whenoneplayerscoresthreegoalsinthesamehockeygame.Thisidiomcanalsomeanthree
scoresinanyothersport,suchas3homeruns,3touchdowns,3soccergoals,etc.

Have an Axe to Grind:

Tohaveadisputewithsomeone.

He Lost His Head:

Angryandovercomebyemotions.
Head Over Heels:
Veryexcitedand/orjoyful,especiallywheninlove.

Hell in a Handbasket:
Deterioratingandheadedforcompletedisaster.

High Five:
Slappingpalmsaboveeachothersheadsascelebrationgesture.

High on the Hog:

LivinginLuxury.

Hit The Books:

Tostudy,especiallyforatestorexam.

Hit The Hay:

Gotobedorgotosleep.

Hit The Nail on the Head:

Dosomethingexactlyrightorsaysomethingexactlyright.

Hit The Sack:

Gotobedorgotosleep.

Hocus Pocus:
Ingeneral,atermusedinmagicortrickery.

Hold Your Horses:

Bepatient.

I
Icing On The Cake:
Whenyoualreadyhaveitgoodandgetsomethingontopofwhatyoualreadyhave.

Idle Hands Are The Devil's Tools:

Youaremorelikelytogetintroubleifyouhavenothingtodo.

If It's Not One Thing, It's Another:

Whenonethinggoeswrong,thenanother,andanother...
In Like Flynn:
Tobeeasilysuccessful,especiallywhensexualorromantic.

In The Bag:
Tohavesomethingsecured.

In The Buff:
Nude.

In The Heat Of The Moment:

Overwhelmedbywhatishappeninginthemoment.

In Your Face:
Anaggressiveandboldconfrontation.

It Takes Two To Tango:

Atwopersonconflictwherebothpeopleareatfault.

It's A Small World:

Youfrequentlyseethesamepeopleindifferentplaces.

Its Anyone's Call:

Acompetitionwheretheoutcomeisdifficulttojudgeorpredict.

Ivy League:
Since1954theIvyLeaguehasbeenthefollowinguniversities:Columbia,Brown,
Cornell,Dartmouth,Yale,Pennsylvania,Princeton,andHarvard.

J
Jaywalk:
Crossingthestreet(fromthemiddle)withoutusingthecrosswalk.

Joshing Me:
Trickingme.

K
Keep An Eye On Him:
Youshouldcarefullywatchhim.

Keep body and soul together:

Toearnasufficientamountofmoneyinordertokeepyourselfalive.

Keep your chin up:

Toremainjoyfulinatoughsituation.

Kick The Bucket:

Die.

Kitty-corner:
Diagonallyacross.SometimescalledCattyCorneraswell.

Knee Jerk Reaction:

Aquickandautomaticresponse.

Knock On Wood:
Knuckletappingonwoodinordertoavoidsomebadluck.

Know the Ropes:

Tounderstandthedetails.

L
Last but not least:
Anintroductionphrasetolettheaudienceknowthatthelastpersonmentionedisno
lessimportantthanthoseintroducedbeforehim/her.

Lend Me Your Ear:

Topolitelyaskforsomeone'sfullattention.

Let Bygones Be Bygones:

Toforgetaboutadisagreementorarguement.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie:

Toavoidrestartingaconflict.

Let The Cat Out Of The Bag:

Toshareasecretthatwasn'tsupposetobeshared.

Level playing field:

Afaircompetitionwherenosidehasanadvantage.

Like a chicken with its head cut off:

Toactinafrenziedmanner.
liquor someone up:
Togetsomeonedrunk.

Long in the Tooth:

Oldpeople(orhorses).

Loose Cannon:
Someonewhoisunpredictableandcancausedamageifnotkeptincheck.

M
Make No Bones About:
Tostateafactsotherearenodoubtsorobjections.

Method To My Madness:
Strangeorcrazyactionsthatappearmeaninglessbutintheendaredoneforagood
reason.

Mumbo Jumbo:
Nonsenseormeaninglessspeech.

Mum's the word:

Tokeepquiet.Tosaynothing.

N
Nest Egg:
Savingssetasideforfutureuse.

Never Bite The Hand That Feeds You:

Don'thurtanyonethathelpsyou.

New kid on the block:

Someonenewtothegrouporarea.

New York Minute:

Aminutethatseemstogobyquickly,especiallyinafastpacedenvironment.

No Dice:
Tonotagree.Tonotacceptaproposition.

No Room to Swing a Cat:

Anunsuallysmallorconfinedspace.

Not Playing With a Full Deck:

Someonewholacksintelligence.

O
Off On The Wrong Foot:
Gettingabadstartonarelationshiportask.

Off The Hook:

Nolongerhavetodealwithatoughsituation.

Off the Record:

Somethingsaidinconfidencethattheonespeakingdoesn'twantattributedtohim/her.

On Pins And Needles:

Anxiousornervous,especiallyinanticipationofsomething.

On The Fence:
Undecided.

On The Same Page:

Whenmultiplepeopleallagreeonthesamething.

Out Of The Blue:

Somethingthatsuddenlyandunexpectedlyoccurs.

Out On A Limb:
Whensomeoneputsthemselfinariskysituation.

Out On The Town:

Toenjoyyourselfbygoingout.

Over My Dead Body:

Whenyouabsolutelywillnotallowsomethingtohappen.

Over the Top:

Veryexcessive.

P
Pass The Buck:
Avoidresponsibilitybygivingittosomeoneelse.

Pedal to the metal:

Togofullspeed,especiallywhiledrivingavehicle.

Peeping Tom:
Someonewhoobservespeopleinthenudeorsexuallyactivepeople,mainlyforhis
owngratification.

Pick up your ears:

Tolistenverycarefully.

Pig In A Poke:
Adealthatismadewithoutfirstexaminingit.

Pig Out :
Toeatalotandeatitquickly.

Pipe Down:
Toshutuporbequiet.

Practice Makes Perfect:

Byconstantlypracticing,youwillbecomebetter.

Pull the plug:

Tostopsomething.Tobringsomethingtoanend.

Pulling Your Leg:

Trickingsomeoneasajoke.

Put a sock in it:

Totellnoisypersonoragrouptobequiet.

Q
Queer the pitch:
Destroyorruinaplan.

R
Raincheck:
Anofferordealthatisdeclinedrightnowbutwillingtoacceptlater.

Raining Cats and Dogs:

Averyloudandnoisyrainstorm.

Ring Fencing:
Seperatedusualjudgementtoguaranteeprotection,especiallyprojectfunds.

Rise and Shine:

Timetogetoutofbedandgetreadyforwork/school.

Rome Was Not Built In One Day:

Ifyouwantsomethingtobecompletelyproperly,thenitsgoingtotaketime.

Rule Of Thumb:
Aroughestimate.

Run out of steam:

Tobecompletelyoutofenergy.

S
Saved By The Bell:
Savedatthelastpossiblemoment.

Scapegoat:
Someoneelsewhotakestheblame.

Scot-free:
Toescapeandnothavetopay.

Sick As A Dog:
Tobeverysick(withthefluoracold).

Sitting Shotgun:
Ridinginthefrontpassengerseatofacar.

Sixth Sense:
Aparanormalsensethatallowsyoutocommunicatewiththedead.

Skid Row:
Therundownareaofacitywherethehomelessanddruguserslive.

Smell A Rat:
Todetectsomoneinthegroupisbetrayingtheothers.

Smell Something Fishy:

Detectingthatsomethingisn'trightandtheremightbeareasonforit.

Son of a Gun:
Ascamp.

Southpaw:
Someonewhoislefthanded.

Spitting Image:
Theexactlikenessorkind.

Start From Scratch:

Todoitalloveragainfromthebeginning.

T
The Ball Is In Your Court:
Itisyourdecisionthistime.

The Best Of Both Worlds:

Therearetwochoicesandyouhavethemboth.

The Bigger They Are The Harder They Fall:

Whilethebiggerandstrongeropponentmightbealotmoredifficulttobeat,whenyou
dotheysufferamuchbiggerloss.

The Last Straw:

Whenonesmallburdenafteranothercreatesanunbearablesituation,thelaststrawis
thelastsmallburdenthatonecantake.

The Whole Nine Yards:

Everything.Allofit.

Third times a charm:

Afternosuccessthefirsttwotimes,thethirdtryisaluckyone.

Tie the knot:

Togetmarried.
Til the cows come home:
Alongtime.

To Make A Long Story Short:

Somethingsomeonewouldsayduringalongandboringstoryinordertokeephis/her
audiencefromlosingattention.Usuallythestoryisn'tshortened.

To Steal Someone's Thunder:

Totakethecreditforsomethingsomeoneelsedid.

Tongue-in-cheek:
humor,nottobetakenserious.

Turn A Blind Eye:

Refusetoacknowledgesomethingyouknowisrealorlegit.

Twenty three skidoo:

Tobeturnedaway.

U
Under the weather:
Feelingillorsick.

Up a blind alley:
Goingdownacourseofactionthatleadstoabadoutcome.

Use Your Loaf:

Useyourhead.Thinksmart.

V
Van Gogh's ear for music:
Tonedeaf.

Variety Is The Spice Of Life:

Themoreexperiencesyoutrythemoreexcitinglifecanbe.
W
Wag the Dog:
Adiversionawayfromsomethingofgreaterimportance.

Water Under The Bridge:

Anythingfromthepastthatisn'tsignificantorimportantanymore.

Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve:

Toopenlyandfreelyexpressyouremotions.

When It Rains, It Pours:

Sinceitrarelyrains,whenitdoesitwillbeahugestorm.

When Pigs Fly :

Somethingthatwillnevereverhappen.

Wild and Woolly:

Unculturedandwithoutlaws.

Wine and Dine:

Whensomebodyistreatedtoanexpensivemeal.

Without A Doubt:
Forcertain.

X
X marks the spot:
Aphrasethatissaidwhensomeonefindssomethinghe/shehasbeenlookingfor.

Y
You Are What You Eat:
Inordertostayhealthyyoumusteathealthyfoods.

You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover:

Decisionsshouldn'tbemadeprimarilyonappearance.

You Can't Take it With You:

Enjoywhatyouhaveandnotwhatyoudon'thave,sincewhenyoudieyoucannottake
things(suchasmoney)withyou.
Your Guess Is As Good As Mine:
Ihavenoidea.

Z
Zero Tolerance:
Nocrimeorlawbreakingbigorsmallwillbeoverlooked.