WoW Up Your English

with Idiomatic Expressions & Colloquialisms

Don’t say.. Do say..
At the last minute.. At the eleventh hour..
Be happy.. Cheer up..
By all means.. By hook or by crook..
Calm down.. Pull yourself together..
Contact me.. Drop me a line..
Dead.. Six feet under..
Do two things at once.. Kill two birds with one stone..
Don’t be lazy.. Don’t slack off..
Don’t be stubborn.. Don’t be bull-headed..
Don’t cause problems.. Don’t rock the boat..
Don’t give up.. Hang in there..
Don’t make an issue out of nothing.. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill..
Don’t postpone.. Don’t put off till tomorrow..
Don’t waste money.. Don’t throw money down the drain..
Every two weeks.. Every fortnight..
Get well soon.. Have a speedy recovery..
Good luck.. Break a leg..
He behaved badly.. He acted up..
He was behaving badly.. He was out of line..
He was fired.. He was made redundant..
Hear the truth from someone.. I heard it from the horse’s mouth..
I agree.. I see eye to eye..
I am craving for.. I have a hankering for..
I can find out.. I can double check..
I can’t decide.. I can’t make up my mind..
I couldn’t keep up.. I fell behind..
I couldn’t see that.. I was blinded..
I couldn’t speak well.. I had a frog in my throat..
I couldn’t stop looking.. I was totally mesmerised and captivated..
I did it.. I pulled it off..
I didn’t know.. I was clueless..
I didn’t know.. I was in the dark..
I don’t know what to say.. I’m speechless..
I don’t know.. Beats me..
I don’t know.. I have no clue..
I feel suspicious.. I smell a rat..
I figured it out.. I finally got the hang of it..
I give up.. I am raising the white flag.. / I’m throwing in the towel..
I got a job.. I got a gig..
I had a great time.. I had a blast..
I had to ask for a favour.. I had to pull strings..
I had to stop.. I had to pull the plug on..
I have an advantage.. I have an ace up my sleeve..
I have no energy left.. I’m running on empty..
I have no idea.. I haven’t got the faintest idea..
I have shameful secrets.. I have skeletons in the closet..
I have the advantage.. I have the upper hand..
I kept quiet.. I bit my tongue..
I know the important things.. I know what’s what..
I made it.. I did it in the nick of time..
I need help.. I’d love some assistance..
I strongly suggest.. I highly recommend..
I succeeded.. I hit it out of the park..
I take time to understand things.. I’m slow on the uptake..
I tried my best.. I put my best foot forward..
I understand.. I get the picture..
I want to help.. I don’t mind being a good Samaritan by..
 I want to help..
I wanted to confess..
I was hungry..
I was in a mess..
I was in trouble..
I was jealous..
I was left out..
I was searching in the wrong place..
I was so angry..
I was so disappointed..
I was the odd one..
I was too hungry..
I was too sleepy..
I will accept the punishment..
I will be extra careful..
I will check on it..
I will go all the way..
I will pay attention..
I will speak to her..
I will try it out..
I won’t tell the secret..
I worked non-stop..
I wouldn’t worry..
I’d like to suggest..
I’ll call you..
I’ll solve it..
I’ll take charge..
I’ll work all night..
I’m addicted to..
I’m confused..
I’m confused..
I’m exhausted..
I’m familiar with it..
I’m feeling down..
I’m going to sleep..
I’m going to study..
I’m happy..
I’m not sure..
I’m not taking sides..
I’m sad..
I’m shocked..
I’m sorry..
I’m tired..
I’m undecided..
I’ve been busy..
In the same situation..
It caused problems..
It doesn’t exist..
It felt strange..
It irritated me..
It is already in progress..
It is important..
It is necessary..
It looks easy..
It must be solved soon..
It should start..
It started getting worse..
It was a perfect chance..
It was an accident
It was an estimate..
I’d like to lend a hand..
I wanted to come clean..
I was famished..
I was in the doghouse..
I was in a bind/I was in deep water/I was in hot soup..
I was green with envy..
I was side-lined..
I was barking up the wrong tree..
I hit the roof../ I started to see red..
I was gutted..
I was the black sheep..
I felt like I could eat a horse..
I accidentally nodded off..
I will face the music..
I will keep my wits about me..
I will keep my eye on it..
I will go the whole nine yards..
I’ll be all eyes and ears..
I will have a word with her..
I will test the waters..
I won’t spill the beans../I won’t let the cat out of the bag..
I worked around the clock..
I wouldn’t split hairs..
I’d love to propose..
I’ll give you a bell..
I’ll sort it out..
I’ll be in the driver’s seat..
I’ll burn the midnight oil..
I’m hooked on..
I’m completely confounded..
It’s a mystery to me..
I’m dead on my feet..
I know the drill by heart..
I’m having the blues..
I’m going to hit the hay..
I’m going to hit the books..
I’m walking on air..
I can’t commit..
I’m sitting on the fence..
I’m downhearted..
I’m flabbergasted..
It was thoughtless of me..
I’m drained..
It’s still up in the air..
I’m in over my head..
In the same boat..
It made waves..
It went out the window../It went the way of the dodo..
It felt odd..
It drove me up the wall..
The train has left the station..
It is crucial..
It is essential..
It’s a piece of cake..
It must be nipped in the bud..
It should commence..
It started heading south..
It was a golden opportunity..
How careless of me..
It was a ballpark figure..
 It was crazy.. It was pure lunacy..
It was easy.. It was no sweat..
It was excellent.. It was top-notch..
It was funny.. It was side-splittingly hilarious..
It was not easy.. It was not a bed of roses..
It was scary.. It was blood-curling..
It was so unexpected.. Life threw me a curveball..
It was strange.. It seemed like monkey business..
It was tiring.. It was tiring to the bone..
It was tough.. It was an uphill task..
It was unfair.. It was below the belt..
It was very caring of you.. I’m touched by your considerate nature..
It was very good.. It was outstanding..
It was very peaceful.. It was so tranquil..
It was yummy.. It was scrumptious../It was delectable..
It will take time.. Rome wasn’t built in a day..
It’s a difficult task.. It’s a tall order..
It’s a secret.. It’s under wraps..
It’s annoying.. It’s a pain in the neck../It’s a thorn in my side..
It’s available.. It’s up for grabs..
It’s dangerous.. It’s unnecessarily risky../It’s death defying..
It’s familiar.. It rings a bell..
It’s nearby.. It’s around the corner../It’s a stone’s throw away..
It’s raining heavily.. It’s pouring../It’s raining cats and dogs..
It’s your turn.. The ball is in your court..
Let’s meet.. Let’s catch up../Let’s hang out..
Let’s start.. Let’s get the ball rolling..
Listen to me.. Please hear me out..
Maybe.. I can consider to..
My best friend.. My best pal..
My closest friend.. My closest confidant..
No.. I’m sorry I can’t..
On time.. On the dot..
Only just.. By the skin of my teeth..
Please check.. Kindly verify..
Please explain.. Kindly elaborate..
Please tell.. Kindly inform..
Put in some effort.. Use some elbow grease..
Rarely.. Once in a blue moon..
Remember to.. Bear in mind../Hold that thought..
Someone is unhappy with me.. Someone has an axe to grind..
Someone sabotaged it.. Someone threw a spanner in the works..
Suddenly.. Out of the blue..
Take a break.. Take five..
Take a short nap.. Catch forty winks..
That’s great.. That’s perfect..
The best of two bad choices.. The lesser of two evils..
The meal was appetising.. The meal was mouth-watering..
There were many challenges.. I jumped through the hoops..
They gave a loud clap.. They gave a standing ovation and a thunderous applause..
They were poor.. They were poverty-stricken and destitute..
They were rich.. They were born with a silver spoon in their mouths..
Too many problems.. When it rains, it pours..
Wait a moment.. Hold your horses..
We finished.. We wrapped up../We called it a day../Let’s call it a wrap..
We need to make peace.. We need to bury the hatchet..
We need to resolve this problem.. We need to iron out this problem..
We should focus on.. We should zero in on..
Yes.. Indeed../Of course, I can..
You have no proof.. You don’t have a leg to stand on..