Category: Idioms
English Idiom List!
Welcome to the ultimate guide to English idioms! Here you will find a comprehensive list of idioms, each with a detailed explanation and example sentences (click through the images to read more).
Idioms are a crucial part of the English language, and they are often used in academic and professional settings. Being able to understand and use idioms confidently and…
English Idiom – Pull a fast one. Meaning – To engage in a deceitful practice or play an unfair trick. This expression refers to deceiving or tricking someone…
If you’ve ever worked in an office, you’ve probably heard some common phrases that seem a bit strange or confusing. These are often idioms, or expressions that have…
English Idiom – Green-eyed monster. Meaning – Jealousy or envy. This phrase is often used to describe the feeling of intense jealousy that one might experience when someone…
English Idiom – Everything but the kitchen sink. Meaning – Including almost everything imaginable or every possible item, without any regard for necessity or relevance. This expression can…
English Idiom – In a pickle. Meaning – To be in a difficult or complicated situation, typically one that is hard to get out of. The phrase can…
English Idiom – Put your money where your mouth is or Put money where your mouth is. Meaning – Back up your words with action. This idiom is used to…
English Idiom – Play with fire. Meaning – To take a risk or do something dangerous, especially when the consequences of doing so could be serious or even catastrophic. The…
English Idiom – Swim with sharks. Meaning – To operate among dangerous or risky people. The idiom swimming with sharks is used to describe a situation where someone…
Thank you is one of the most important phrases in the English language. It is a polite way to show appreciation and gratitude for something someone has done…
English Idiom – Lose (one’s) marbles Meaning – Become crazy or insane. The idiom lose your marbles is used to describe someone who is acting in a confused…
English Idiom – On cloud nine. Meaning – Extremely happy. The English idiom on cloud nine is used to express a state of extreme happiness and elation. It…
English Idiom – Spill the beans or Spill beans Meaning – To reveal a secret. To reveal a secret or piece of information that was previously unknown. The…
English Idiom – (Be) Like a bear with a sore head. Meaning – To be extremely angry, annoyed, or irritable. The idiom like a bear with a sore head is used to describe someone…
English Idiom – Cakewalk. Meaning – The idiom cakewalk is used to describe something that is very easy to do. It is often used to describe a task…
English Idiom – Rule of Thumb. Meaning – A rough guide or general principle, usually based on experience or practical wisdom. A guideline that is used to make…
English Idiom – Long Shot. Meaning – Used to describe something that has a very small chance of success, or that is unlikely to happen. This expression is…
English Idiom – Feel Blue. Meaning – To feel sad or depressed. This expression can be used to describe any unhappy feeling you may have. Colours and Emotions: Different colours…
English Idiom – Ring a bell or Ring any bells. Meaning – To sound or seem familiar. If something rings a bell it awakens a memory or reminds you of something. This…
English Idiom – On Thin Ice or Be Skating/Treading/Walking On Thin Ice. Meaning – To be doing something dangerous or risky. If someone is on thin ice they are doing…
English Idiom – To smell a rat. Meaning – To suspect that something is wrong or that something dishonest is happening. You can use this expression when you recognize that…
English Idiom – Right as rain or As right as rain Meaning – In good order or in good health. To be completely healthy or well again after an illness or…
English Idiom – Kangaroo Court. Meaning – An unofficial or unauthorised “mock” court. This expression can be used to refer to an unofficial court or a court that exists to come…
English Idiom – Catch somebody’s eye. Meaning – To attract someone’s attention or interest. This expression can be used when you make eye contact (two people look directly into each other’s…
English Idiom – (Be) Like talking to a brick wall. Meaning – To be completely ignored by someone. This expression is used when the person you are speaking to does not…
English Idiom – Elephant in the room or Elephant in the living room Meaning – An obvious problem or issue that people avoid talking about or even acknowledge….
English Idiom – Light at the end of the tunnel. Meaning – The end of a difficult situation, or the solution to a problem. If there is light at the…
English Idiom – As one door closes, another door opens or As one door closes, another one opens. Meaning – As one opportunity ends, another opportunity often follows. If one…
English Idiom – Not a dry eye in the house. Meaning – This expression is used to say that everyone (in a place) was emotional about something. Everyone in…
English Idiom – Hold your horses. Meaning – Wait. This expression is a command that tells someone to stop doing something or to wait for a moment. Hold your…
English Idiom – Pull your socks up or Pull up your socks. Meaning – To do better. To make a real effort to improve. If you pull your socks up…
English Idiom – Pipe dream. Meaning – An idea or plan that is very unlikely to happen. An impossibility or an unrealistic dream. A pipe dream is a dream that…
English Idiom – Under the weather. Meaning – To be feeling unwell. If you are under the weather you are feeling poorly or generally run-down (feeling bad because you…
English Idiom – Square the circle. Meaning – To try to do something that is impossible. An attempt to do something that is extremely difficult and is unlikely to be…
English Idiom – Tread water. Meaning – To be active but not make progress towards something. To put time and effort into something, but not get much of a…
English Idiom – Face the music. Meaning – To accept responsibility for something you have done. To accept the consequences or criticism for your actions. If you face…
English Idiom – On the same page. Meaning – To be in agreement on something. If everyone is on the same page then multiple people have come to…
English Idiom – Avoid (something or someone) like the plague. Meaning – To completely avoid something or someone. To avoid at any cost. If you avoid something or…
English Idiom – Call it a day. Meaning – To stop doing what you are doing (usually work) for the day. You may call it a day because you are…
English Idiom – The apple of somebody’s eye. Meaning – The person that you love the most. A person that you cherish or adore more than anyone else. Related Expressions:…
English Idiom – On the nose. Meaning – To be exactly right about something. If you are on the nose you guess something correctly and accurately. You may be on…
English Idiom – Chase rainbows. Meaning – To pursue unrealistic goals or dreams. To try to get something you can never have. If you are chasing rainbows you are wasting…
English Idiom – Take a rain check or Rain check Meaning – To politely refuse an offer or invitation, on the implication that you may accept it some time in…
English Idiom – A stone’s throw. Meaning – A short distance away from something. Not very far. This idiom is usually used to emphasize how close two places or objects…
English Idiom – Loan shark. Meaning – Someone who lends people money and charges them an extremely high rate of interest. A loan shark is usually dishonest and sometimes they…
English Idiom – A few sandwiches short of a picnic. Meaning – Unintelligent. The expression is used to describe a person who is stupid or displaying an obvious lack of intelligence….
English Idiom – Puppy-dog eyes. Meaning – An innocent or naive facial expression. The expression puppy-dog eyes is used to describe a begging or pleading look – just like a…
English Idiom – Hit the nail on the head. Meaning – To be exactly right about something. Find exactly the right answer. If you hit the nail on the head…
English Idiom – Take something with a pinch of salt or Take something with a grain of salt. Meaning – To listen to a story or explanation of something with…
English Idiom – Rob Peter to pay Paul. Meaning – To solve a problem in a way that makes another problem worse. If you rob Peter to pay Paul you…
English Idiom – Back to square one. Meaning – To start again. If you go back to square one you go back to where you started, having made no progress….
English Idiom – Shoot the breeze. Meaning – To have an informal chat or casual conversation. Shooting the breeze can also be used to describe a situation when you waste…
English Idiom – Yellow-belly. Meaning – To be a coward or easily scared. This expression is used to describe a person who is not brave. This expression can also be used in the form yellow-bellied. A…
Idiom – Green fingers. Meaning – This expression is used to describe someone who is a highly skilled gardener. This expression is British English and is common in the…
English Idiom – In someone’s black books. Meaning – To be out of favour with someone. If you are in somebody’s black books you are in trouble with them. You may have…
English Idiom – The lion’s share. Meaning – The majority. This idiom is used to describe the largest part of something. This idiom possibly originates from a story or fable about…
English Idiom – Smell fishy or Fishy. Meaning – Suspicious. This idiom is used when something is making us suspicious or when we believe somebody is being dishonest. The expression smell fishy can…
English Idiom – Gild the Lily. Meaning – To improve something unnecessarily. To further decorate something that already looks perfect. Attempt to improve something beautiful and therefore spoil it. To…
English Idiom – Hit the sack or Hit the hay. Meaning – Go to bed. To go to bed in order to sleep. Usage: When could you use this…
Here at Funky English we love to share our favourite idioms with you. In this article we’ll list our Top 10 English Animal Idioms! Which one do you…
English Idiom – High horse. Meaning – An attitude of moral superiority. Behaving in a superior way. If you tell someone to ‘get off their high horse‘ you are…
English Idiom – Walking on air. Meaning – Extremely happy or excited. If someone is walking on air they are feeling elated. The idiom walking on air might be…
Idiom – Up in the air. Meaning – Undecided. If something is up in the air, the plans for it are not completed. Uncertain about someone or something….
Idiom – Miss the boat or Miss the bus. Meaning – To miss an opportunity. To be too late to act to take advantage of something. If you…
English Idiom – Man cave. Meaning – A room or small building that is created to be a private area for the men in a household. The area of the…
English Idiom – Full of the joys of spring. Meaning – Very happy. This expression is used to describe someone who is both happy and full of energy. This…
English Idiom – Music to my ears. Meaning – Very pleasing information or news. If something is music to your ears you are very happy to hear it! Other…
English Idiom – Play it by ear. Meaning – To decide what to do as a situation develops. To do something without making detailed plans, to decide on your…
English Idiom – Salt of the earth. Meaning – This expression is used to refer to a person who is simple, honest and worthy. A very good person. Someone who…
English Idiom – Canary in the coal mine or Canary in a coal mine. Meaning – Someone or something that is an early warning for trouble or danger. An early…
English Idiom – Down in the mouth. Meaning – Sad or depressed. A person who is down in the mouth is probably showing visible signs of unhappiness. The idiom…
English Idiom – Neck of the woods. Meaning – A neighborhood or nearby area. This expression usually refers to the area where somebody lives. A wood is an area…
English Idiom – Let the cat out of the bag. Meaning – To reveal a secret. This expression is usually used when you reveal a secret by accident. You can…
English Idiom – Tickled pink. Meaning – Extremely pleased. To be delighted about something. Very amused or entertained by something. Colours and Emotions: Different colours can be used to portray…
English Idiom – Dragged through a hedge backwards or Pulled through a hedge backwards. Meaning – to look like you’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards is to look…
English Idiom – A piece of cake. Meaning – Very easy. A task is very easy to do. Other expressions to describe something easy: A breeze A cakewalk…
English Idiom – Rat race. Meaning – The modern daily way of life – a struggle to get a better job and improve our social life. The fierce…
English Idiom – Pain in the neck. Meaning – Something or someone that is annoying or difficult to deal with. Someone or something that causes trouble or irritation. This…
English Idiom – As sick as a parrot. Meaning – Very disappointed. This expression means that you are disappointed or unhappy about something that has happened. As sick…
English Idiom – Up to your neck in something. Meaning – To be very busy with something. To be very involved with something or to be very occupied with…
English Idiom – Whet your appetite. Meaning – To increase your desire for something. To stimulate your interest in something. You can whet someone’s appetite for anything, but…
Idiom – Too many irons in the fire or Several irons in the fire Meaning – To have too much to do at the same time. To be engaged…
Phrasal Verb – Storm out. Meaning – To leave angrily. To quickly leave a place because you are angry or upset about something. To leave or exit a…
English Idiom – Pick somebody’s brain. Meaning – To obtain information by asking someone questions. To ask advice about something from someone who knows a lot about it. Request…
English Idiom – Wouldn’t say boo to a goose. Meaning – If someone wouldn’t say boo to a goose, they are very timid and nervous. This expression might be used…
English Idiom – Chicken. Meaning – A coward. A chicken is used to refer to a person who is nervous, timid or afraid. If you call someone a chicken you…
English Idiom – Storm in a teacup. Meaning – A small event that has been exaggerated out of proportion. A lot of fuss over a trivial matter. This expression is used when something…
Idiom – Get a wriggle on or Get a wiggle on. Meaning – Hurry up. This expression is used when you want to tell someone (quite forcefully) to do something faster. In the…
Idiom – Cheap as chips or As cheap as chips. Meaning – Very inexpensive. This expression can be used to refer to something that is reduced in price, something that…
English Idiom – On top of the world. Meaning – Feeling wonderful. This idiom can be used when you are feeling ecstatic, glorious or delighted. When someone uses this…
English Idiom – Speak of the devil or Talk of the devil. Meaning – This expression is used when a person being talked about suddenly appears. This idiom…
English Idiom – No skin off my nose. Meaning – To not care about something because it will not affect you. It doesn’t bother me or it makes no…
English Idiom – By the skin of one’s teeth. Meaning – To only just succeed in doing something. To just barely do something; to succeed by the smallest…
English Idiom – Cold feet. Meaning – A fear of doing something. To suddenly become too frightened to do something that you had planned to do. The idiom…
English Idiom – Butterflies in my stomach. Meaning – To feel nervous or anxious. This feeling is the nervous feeling you sometimes get in the pit of your…
English Idiom – See eye to eye. Meaning – To agree with someone about something – or in general. This expression is used when people completely agree with each…
English Idiom – Paint the town red. Meaning – To go out and celebrate. To have a wild and exciting night out, usually involving a lot of partying…
English Idiom – Eat your words or Swallow your words. Meaning – To admit that you’ve said something wrong. This expression is used to ‘take back’ an earlier…
Idiom – Cherry-pick or cherry pick Meaning – To selectively choose only the best or most suitable from a number of options. To choose things that support your…
Slang – Hang out. Meaning – To spend leisure time with someone. To spend time in a certain place or with certain people. To waste time – to do…
Idiom – No dice. Meaning – No. Not possible. This expression is used to refuse a request, to make it clear that something is not possible. This idiom…
English Idiom – Two left feet. Meaning – To be clumsy or awkward with your feet. This idiom often refers to poor dancing and is aimed at people who are…
English Idiom – Too much on my plate or A lot on my plate or Enough on my plate. Meaning – To be too busy. To have too…
Idiom – Hit the books or Pound the books. Meaning – Study. To study hard or with a concentrated effort for something. In this expression hit means to start or…
English Idiom – Once in a blue moon. Meaning – Very rarely or almost never. If something happens once in a blue moon it happens very infrequently. The…
British English Idiom – Like turkeys voting for Christmas or Like turkeys voting for Xmas. Meaning – This expression is used to describe a situation when people accept something that…
English Idiom – Get your skates on or Put your skates on. Meaning – Hurry up. This expression is used to tell someone to do something faster. This…
Idiom – Choppy waters. Meaning – This expression refers to troublesome, difficult or uncertain times. This idiom is usually used when someone or something has difficult times ahead. It…
In English there are many slang expressions we can use to say somebody is pregnant. These expressions are informal and can be used in everyday conversations with friends and…
English Idiom – Put a sock in it. Meaning – Be quiet. This expression is used to tell someone to stop making so much noise. Put a sock…
English Idiom – Raining cats and dogs. Meaning – Raining very hard. This expression is said when it is raining very heavily. There are a number of different…
Idiom – (Has the) Cat got your tongue? Meaning – This expression is said to someone who has nothing to say. If you are annoyed with someone because…
English Idiom – Twist Somebody’s Arm. Meaning – To persuade somebody to do something that they do not want to do. To put pressure on someone in order…
English Idiom – Pigs might fly. Meaning – This idiom is said about something that has no chance of happening. This expression is usually used in a humorous or sarcastic…
English Idiom – Let sleeping dogs lie. Meaning – This idiomatic expression means you should leave something alone if it might cause trouble. This idiom advises you to…
English Idiom – Kiss and make up. Meaning – To make friends after a disagreement or argument. This is a phrase used to encourage two people who have…
English Idiom – Tie the knot. Meaning – To get married. This expression can refer to the action of getting married in general, or the actual wedding ceremony….
English Idiom – Whale of a time. Meaning – To have a great time. To enjoy yourself very much and have a positive experience. More featured phrases to…
English Idiom – Copycat. Meaning – A person who copies someone else. Someone or something that closely imitates another. A copycat might copy the words, actions or behaviour…
English Idiom – Hit the road. Meaning – To leave or to begin a journey. To depart, especially in order to go home. The idiom hit the road…