Body Idioms List with Examples

Idiom / Phrase Meaning Example Sentence

Vodka is his achilles' heel. He only loses his

achilles' heel composure when he drinks it.

Jane asked if I was paying attention. I told her, "I'm

To be all ears all ears!"

all thumbs I'm all thumbs today. I keep dropping my phone!

To pay an arm and a

leg That new car costs an arm and a leg.

To be the apple of
my eye My precious daughter is the apple of my eye.

Before the final exam, the teacher told his students

To break a leg to break a leg.

bust my chops She always busts my chops about my low salary.

by the skin of my I finished the test by the skin of my teeth just before
teeth the bell rang.

To have/get cold
feet
She got cold feet before the wedding.

To cry your heart out He cried his heart out when his dog died.

To face the music The man confessed to the crime and faced the
music in prison.

flesh and blood I can't fire my brother. He's my own flesh and blood.

get something off my I felt better getting it off my chest by confessing

chest that I stole the money.

She gave him a cold shoulder when he asked for

give a cold shoulder her phone number.

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 To help someone
give a hand or Can you give me a hand with lifting this
lend a hand laundry machine?

know what is going on around

one even when one cannot see it. You must have eyes in the back of your
have eyes in the head. You always know what your
back of your head boyfriend is doing when he's away.

to not know the facts

have your head in of a situation You always have your head in the clouds.
the clouds Do you have any idea what's happening?

to be completely in love
To fall head over Sarah was head over heels for her new
heels boyfriend.
keep under careful
observation. Please keep an eye on the kettle. It will boil
keep an eye on
soon.

remain cheerful in
difficult circumstances Keep your chin up. You will win the next
keep your chin up game.

to avoid financial failure

keep my head while having money After my company went bankrupt, it was
problems
above water difficult to keep my head above water.
To not say anything
(about something);
keep your lips to keep (something) You must keep your lips sealed about your
sealed a secret affair.
To have learned or
memorized something
completely. Steve knows all of the computer code by
know by heart heart.

behave in an uninhibited
or relaxed way.
let your hair down You should let your hair down on Saturday
night and go dancing.
you are emphasizing
that it makes you very
To make my angry
blood boil Donald makes my blood boil when he talks.

to have a lot of experience

of something Peter is an old hand when analyzing the
To be old hand stock market.

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over my dead
body
My son wanted to get a face tattoo, but I
told him over my dead body.

You deserve a pat on the back for fixing the

A pat on the back furnace.

play something Let's play it by ear and see what happens

by ear tonight.

I'm just pulling your leg. Don't take it too

pull your leg seriously.

As a rule of thumb, you should get 8 hours

rule of thumb of sleep per night.

see eye to eye My wife and eye don't see eye to eye. We're
getting a divorce.

To have a sweet Suzie has a sweet tooth. She always eats

tooth ice cream after dinner.

Tommy is so thick in the head. He keeps

thick in the head licking the wall.

When I said to fly to Hawaii, I was speaking

tongue in cheek. I didn't actually think you
tongue in cheek would book a ticket!

Mick said the girl was under his thumb. She

under my thumb was the sweetest pet in the world.

wash my hands I'm washing my hands of his troubled past

of something and moving on with life.

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 to have an interest in
To have a finger or be involved in
everything
in every pay
to be good at growing
To have green plants
fingers

to want to get or
achieve something
very much
Set your heart on
to relax, especially by
sitting with your feet
supported above the
ground
Put your feet up
To calm one's worries or
fears
To put your heart
at rest

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