The 37 Idioms You Should Know for the TOEFL

So now you know that idioms are important, but which ones are most important for the TOEFL? Below are the 37 best idioms
to know for the TOEFL. These are idioms that have either been used before in the TOEFL, are used commonly enough in
English that they’re important to know, or both.

For each idiom, the definition and a sample sentence using it are included.

Idiom Definition Sample Sentence

Don’t get the coach mad; he has a very

A short fuse A quick temper.
short fuse.

Beat around the To avoid the main topic/not Stop beating around the bush and tell me
bush speak directly. why you’re here.

A fire can happen at any moment, so

Be on your toes Be ready/prepared.
firemen always need to be on their toes.

Breeze though To do something quickly Don’t worry about the math homework; I’m
something and easily. sure you’ll breeze through it.

Butterflies in To feel nervous. Tom always got butterflies in his stomach

your stomach
 before giving a speech.

Costs an arm That new purse of hers costs an arm and a

Is very expensive.
and a leg leg.

You need to stop being such a couch potato

Couch potato Someone who is lazy.
and start joining me at the gym.

The architect cut corners on the bridge’s

To do something badly to
Cut corners construction, which is why it eventually
save time or money.
collapsed.

Cut someone I heard Rachel’s dad is sick, so we should

To go easy on someone.
some slack cut her some slack on this group project.

Erika’s been feeling blue every since her

Feeling blue Feeling sad or depressed.
boyfriend broke up with her.

These days, finding a job that doesn’t

Finding a needle
Virtually impossible to find. require experience is like trying to find a
in a haystack
needle in a haystack.
Get some shut I have a big exam tomorrow, so I need to
Sleep.
eye get some shut eye.

Kelsey has the highest grades in our class

Go the extra mile Put in extra effort. since she always goes the extra mile with
homework assignments.

I know it’s hard waiting for the exam results,

Hang in there Be patient.
but you just need to hang in there.

Ellie knew I was hard up, so she paid for my

Hard up Lack money.
coffee.

Have a bone to Have something to argue I have a bone to pick with the girl who stole
pick about. my boyfriend from me.

I’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon and

Jump on the To join something that’s
listen to that new band everyone is talking
bandwagon popular.
about.

Let’s get this

We have everything packed for the road
show on the Let’s get started!
trip, so let’s get this show on the road!
road!
 The surprise party was ruined when my
Let the cat out of
To tell a secret. little brother let the cat out of the bag and
the bag
told our mom about it.

Mrs. Thompson wants all this homework

Lose your To be crazy. (Often said as a
finished tomorrow? She must have lost her
marbles joke.)
marbles!

Make a long To make a long story short, my neighbor

To quickly get to the point.
story short found my lost dog near the park.

Make your blood That new horror movie made my blood run
Frighten.
run cold cold.

Once in a blue Something that happens Only once in a blue moon will Mr. Smith let
moon very rarely. us get out of class early.

To not have made a

I’m on the fence as to whether this new law
On the fence decision or formed an
is a good idea.
opinion yet.

Piece of cake Something easy to do. The math homework has only three
questions, so finishing it will be a piece of
 cake.

You didn’t really believe that, did you? I was

Pulling one’s leg To joke with someone.
just pulling your leg.

Put your foot in Say something you The husband put his foot in his mouth
your mouth shouldn’t have. when he told his wife her dress was ugly.

Raining cats and You absolutely need an umbrella; it’s

Raining very hard.
dogs raining cats and dogs out there!

To detect a meaning that’s Reading between the lines of this poem you
Read between
implied but not stated wrote her, it seems as though you like
the lines
outright. Elizabeth.

Run into Meet someone I ran into my old kindergarten teacher at

someone unexpectedly. the grocery store today.

Alan was sweating bullets when he asked

Sweating bullets To be very nervous.
the girl he liked to the dance.

Tag along Accompany. I told my little sister she could tag along
 when we go to the beach.

I have the flu, so I’ll need to take a rain

Take a rain check Postpone a plan.
check on going to the club.

This summer, all I’m going to do is take it

Take it easy Relax.
easy.

My father doesn’t know anything about

Take with a grain
Don’t take too seriously. cars, so take any advice he gives you about
of salt
fixing your engine with a grain of salt.

If you’re not sure if you want to join the

Test the waters Try something out. club, you can test the waters by just going
to the first meeting.

You got 100% on your chemistry test? Way

Way to go! Good job!
to go!