A

A bed of roses
Meaning:
A pleasant or easy situation.

A cock and bull story

Meaning:
A fanciful and unbelievable tale.

A diamond in the rough

Meaning:
Someone who are basically good hearted but lacking social graces and respect for the law.

A dish fit for the gods

Meaning:
An offering of high quality.

A leopard cannot change its spots

Meaning:
The notion that things cannot change their innate nature.

As keen as mustard
Meaning:
Very enthusiastic.

B
Back to square one
Meaning:
Back to the beginning, to start again.

Baker's dozen
Meaning:
Thirteen.

Below the belt

Meaning:
An unfair tactic.

C
Call a spade a spade
Meaning:
To speak plainly - to describe something as it really is.
Chip on his shoulder
Meaning:
To harbour a grudge.

Cold shouldered
Meaning:
Be treated in an offhand unfriendly way.

Come hell or high water

Meaning:
Persevere no matter what difficulties are encountered.

Crocodile tears
Meaning:
Fake tears.

Cut to the chase

Meaning:
Get to the point - leaving out unnecessary .

D
Daylight robbery
Meaning:
Blatant and unfair overcharging.

Excuse my French
Meaning:
Please forgive my swearing.

End of story
Meaning
The talking is over - there's no more to be said.

F
A face like a bulldog chewing a wasp
Meaning:
Ugly

Fall on your sword

Meaning:
Commit suicide or offer your resignation.
From sea to shining sea
Meaning:
From one coast to another.

G
Get off on the wrong foot
Meaning:
Make a bad start to a project or relationship.

Get used to it
Meaning:
Accept that what you want isn't going to be.

Get your feet wet

Meaning:
To get your first experience of something.

H
Have an axe to grind
Meaning:
Have an ulterior motive.

Head over heels

Meaning:
Excited, and/or turning cartwheels to demonstrate one's excitement.

Hit the hay

Meaning:
Go to bed.

Hold your horses

Meaning:
Hold on; be patient.

Hot off the press

Meaning:
Freshly printed.

Hanky-panky
Meaning:
Trickery - double dealing. Also, more recently, sexual shenanigans.
I
In a Nutshell
Meaning:
In very few words; briefly; clearly and to the point.

In the limelight
Meaning:
At the centre of attention.

It never rains but it pours

Meaning:
When troubles come they come together.

J
Just deserts
Meaning:
To get that which is deserved - A reward for what has been done wether it be good or bad.

Jet-black
Meaning:
To emphasize just how black something is.

Keep your nose to the grindstone

Meaning:
Apply yourself conscientiously to your work

Kick the bucket

Meaning:
Die.

knee jerk reaction

Meaning:
An automatic response to something.

Knock off
Meaning:
To finish work for the day.

Know the ropes

Meaning:
To understand how an organisation works.
Know which way the wind blows
Meaning:
To understand what is happening in changing circumstances.

L
labour of love
Meaning:
Work undertaken for the pleasure of it or for the benefit of a loved one.

Last but not least

Meaning:
An indication that something or someone are not necessarily in order of importance.

Laughing-stock
Meaning:
A figure or object of ridicule and laughter.

Learn the ropes

Meaning:
Learn something new.

Level playing field

Meaning:
Fair competition, where no advantage is shown to either side.

Lie low
Meaning:
Keep out of sight.

Let the cat out of the bag

Meaning:
To reveal a big secret, often unintentionally.

Living on borrowed time

Meaning:
Living after the time you would have expected to have died.

M
Make hay
Meaning:
Be quick - To take advantage of a favorable opportunity as soon as it arises without wasting
time.
Make a mountain out of a molehill
Meaning:
To assume something is much worse than it actually is.

Make waves
Meaning:
To cause a lot of trouble.

Mind one's Ps and Qs

Meaning:
To be very careful and/or to behave correctly.

Mumbo jumbo
Meaning:
Nonsense.

N
Never never land
Meaning:
A utopia promised in the place of a real benefit.

New kid on the block

Meaning:
A new arrival in an area and in a group of young friends.

Nip in the bud

Meaning:
Put a stop to something while it is still in its early development.

No man is an island
Meaning:
Human beings do not thrive when isolated from others.

Not worth the candle

Meaning:
Worthless.

No-brainer
Meaning:
A problem that is especially easy to solve, if not outright obvious.

O
Off the hook
Meaning:
Someone have avoided punishment or criticism for something they have done.

Off the mark

Meaning:
It is inaccurate or incorrect.

On cloud nine
Meaning:
To be extremely happy.

On the fiddle
Meaning:
Engaged in corruption.

On the same page

Meaning
Two or more persons understanding a given situation the same way and are operating
accordingly.

P
Paddle your own canoe
Meaning:
Act independently and decide your own fate.

Paper tiger
Meaning:
A person who appears to have power but is in reality ineffectual.

Pass the buck

Meaning:
Pass responsibility on to someone else.

Play by ear
Meaning:
Handle a situation in an impromptu manner, without reference to a set of guidelines.

Put your best foot forward

Meaning:
Embark on a journey or task with purpose and gusto.

Q
Queer Street
Meaning:
In debt.

Queer the pitch

Meaning:
Ruin a plan.

Quick buck
Meaning:
To make some money easily

R
Rags to riches
Meaning:
Someone who starts life very poor and becomes rich.

Red tape
Meaning:
Bureaucratic rules and paperwork.

Rise and shine

Meaning:
Get out of bed.

Rule of thumb
Meaning:
A means of estimation made according to a rough and ready practical rule, not based on
science or exact measurement.

Run out of steam

Meaning:
Run out of energy.

S
Sacred cow
Meaning:
Something too highly regarded to be open to criticism.

Scot free
Meaning:
To escape pursuers or avoid payment.
Shot in the arm
Meaning:
A stimulus.

Shot in the dark

Meaning:
A hopeful attempt at something.

Sleep tight
Meaning:
Sleep well.

Smoke and mirrors

Meaning:
Trickery or deception.

Sour grapes
Meaning:
Acting meanly after a disappointment.

Strike a deal (or bargain)

Meaning:
To agree terms on a transaction.

T
Take a back seat
Meaning:
Take no active part.

Take with a pinch of salt

Meaning:
Accept a truth but with reservations.

The Ball is in your court

Meaning:
The next move is up to you.

The bitter end

Meaning:
To the limit of one's efforts - to the last extremity.

The blind leading the blind

Meaning:
Uninformed and incompetent people leading others who are similarly incapable.
The Full Monty
Meaning:
Complete, the whole thing.

Thorn in the flesh

Meaning:
A persistent difficulty or annoyance.

Time and tide wait for no man

Meaning:
No one is so powerful that they can stop the march of time.

Tie the knot

Meaning:
Get married.

Top notch
Meaning:
Excellent.

Two cents worth

Meaning:
Offer an opinion.

Turn a blind eye

Meaning:
To refuse to take notice of a situation.

Turn the tables

Meaning:
Reverse the positions of adversaries. Usually used when the weaker position subsequently
becomes dominant.

U
Up a blind alley
Meaning:
On the wrong track.

V
Veg out
Meaning:
Relax in a slothful and mindless manner.
W
Wake up on the wrong side of the bed
Meaning:
Be very grumpy.

Water under the bridge

Meaning:
A past event that is no longer worth agonizing over.

What goes around comes around

Meaning:
What ever a person do, it will eventually come back to him/her. If a person does something
bad, for example, something bad will happen to him.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander

Meaning:
The sexes should be treated the same way and not be subjected to different standards.

When in Rome, do as the Romans

Meaning:
When you are visiting a different place or culture, you should try to follow their customs and
practices.

Where there's smoke, there's fire

Meaning:
A suspicion or rumor usually has a basis in fact - There is always a basis for a rumor, no
matter how untrue it appears.

White elephant
Meaning
Something that is more trouble than it is worth.

Willy-nilly
Meaning
Two slightly differing but related meanings.

X
X marks the spot
Meaning:
This is used to say where something is located or hidden.

Y
Yellow belly
Meaning:
Cowardly

You are what you eat

Meaning
The notion that to be fit and healthy you need to eat good food.

You can't get blood out of a stone

Meaning:
You cannot extract what isn't there to begin with.

Your name is mud 

Meaning:
You are not popular 

Z
Zero hour
Meaning:
The time when something important is to begin.

Zero tolerance
Meaning:
A form of policing that allows no crime to be overlooked