Colorful English Idioms Dictionary

A Everyday Life Idioms

(all) Greek to me

unintelligible to me.

A Nature Idioms

(as) black as pitch

very black; very dark.

(as) bold as brass

brazen; very bold and impertinent.

A Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

(as) bright as a button

very intelligent; extremely alert.

(as) calm as a millpond

to be exceptionally calm.

A Weather Idioms

(as) cold as charity

very cold; icy.

(as) fit as a fiddle

healthy and physically fit.

A Animal Idioms

(as) happy as a lark

visibly happy and cheerful.

(as) happy as a sandboy and (as) happy as Larry; (as) happy as the day is long

very happy; carefree.

A Food and Eating Idioms

(as) hungry as a hunter

very hungry.

A Everyday Life Idioms

(as) large as life (and twice as ugly)

an exaggerated way of saying that a person or a thing actually appeared in a particular place.

E Relationship Idioms

(every) Tom, Dick, and Harry

everyone without discrimination; ordinary people.

A Relationship Idioms

above one’s station

higher than one’s social class or position in society.

A Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

above someone’s head

too difficult or clever for someone to understand.

A Decision and Risk Idioms

according to one’s (own) lights

according to the way one believes; according to the way one’s conscience or inclinations lead one.

A Animal Idioms

act the goat

deliberately to behave in a silly or eccentric way; to play the fool.

A Time Idioms

advanced in years

old; elderly.

afraid of one’s own shadow

easily frightened; always frightened, timid, or suspicious.

A Problems and Difficulties Idioms

aid and abet someone

to help someone, especially in a crime or misdeed; to incite someone to do something which is wrong.

airs and graces

proud behaviour adopted by one who is trying to impress others by appearing more important than one actually is.

all ears (and eyes)

listening eagerly and carefully.

A Time Idioms

all hours (of the day and night)

very late in the night or very early in the morning.

A Time Idioms

all over bar the shouting

decided and concluded; finished except for the formalities.

all thumbs

very awkward and clumsy, especially with one’s hands.

A Success and Failure Idioms

all to the good

for the best; for one’s benefit.

A Weather Idioms

any port in a storm

a phrase indicating that when one is in difficulties one must accept any way out, whether one likes the solution or not.

A Food and Eating Idioms

apple of someone’s eye

someone’s favourite person or thing.

armed to the teeth

heavily armed with weapons.

A Animal Idioms

as a duck takes to water

easily and naturally.

A Everyday Life Idioms

as black as one is painted

as evil or unpleasant as one is thought to be.

B Health and Body Idioms

babe in arms

an innocent or naive person.

B Travel and Movement Idioms

back of beyond

the most remote place; somewhere very remote.

B Problems and Difficulties Idioms

back to the drawing-board

[it is] time to start over again; [it is] time to plan something over again, especially if it has gone wrong.

B Travel and Movement Idioms

bag and baggage

with one’s luggage; with all one’s possessions.

B Problems and Difficulties Idioms

baptism of fire

a first experience of something, usually something difficult or unpleasant.

B Relationship Idioms

be a thorn in someone’s side

to be a constant source of annoyance to someone.

be getting on for something

to be close to something; to be nearly at something, such as a time, date, age, etc.

be old hat

to be old-fashioned; to be outmoded.

B Everyday Life Idioms

be poles apart

to be very different, especially in opinions or attitudes; to be far from coming to an agreement.

B Emotion Idioms

be thankful for small mercies

to be grateful for any small benefits or advantages one has, especially in a generally difficult situation.

B Animal Idioms

beard the lion in his den

to face an adversary on the adversary’s home ground.

B Travel and Movement Idioms

beat a (hasty) retreat

to retreat or withdraw very quickly.

beat about the bush

to avoid answering a question or discussing a subject directly; to stall; to waste time.

B Emotion Idioms

bed of roses

a situation or way of life that is always happy and comfortable.

before you can say Jack Robinson

almost immediately.

B Decision and Risk Idioms

beg off

to ask to be released from something; to refuse an invitation.

beggar description

to be impossible to describe well enough to give an accurate picture; to be impossible to do justice to in words.

B Decision and Risk Idioms

believe it or not

to choose to believe something or not.

bend someone’s ear

to talk to someone at length, perhaps annoyingly.

B Everyday Life Idioms

best bib and tucker

one’s best clothing.

B Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

beyond one’s ken

outside the extent of one’s knowledge or understanding.

B Everyday Life Idioms

beyond the pale

unacceptable; outlawed.

B Decision and Risk Idioms

beyond the shadow of a doubt and beyond any shadow of doubt

completely without doubt.

beyond words

more than one can say.

bide one’s time

to wait patiently.

bill of health

to pronounce someone well and healthy.

bite someone’s head off

to speak sharply and angrily to someone.

B Health and Body Idioms

bite the hand that feeds one

to do harm to someone who does good things for you.

B Food and Eating Idioms

bitter pill to swallow

an unpleasant fact that has to be accepted.

B Animal Idioms

black sheep (of the family)

a member of a family or group who is unsatisfactory or not up to the standard of the rest; the worst member of the family.

B Money Idioms

blank cheque

freedom or permission to act as one wishes or thinks necessary.

butterflies in one’s stomach

to cause someone to have a nervous stomach.

L Health and Body Idioms

by heart

to know something perfectly; to have memorized something perfectly.

C Conversation and Communication Idioms

call a spade a spade

to call something by its right name; to speak frankly about something, even if it is unpleasant.

C Work and Business Idioms

call it a day

to leave work and go home; to say that a day’s work has been completed; to bring something to an end; to stop doing something.

call of nature

the need to go to the lavatory.

can’t hold a candle to someone

not equal to someone; unable to measure up to someone.

C Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

can’t make head nor tail of someone or something

unable to understand someone or something.

can’t see beyond the end of one’s nose

unaware of and uncaring for the things which might happen in the future; not far-sighted.

can’t see one’s hand in front of one’s face

unable to see very far, usually owing to darkness or fog.

C Emotion Idioms

carry a torch for someone

to be in love with someone who does not return love; to brood over a hopeless love affair.

C Success and Failure Idioms

carry all before one

to be exceptionally successful.

C Problems and Difficulties Idioms

carry the weight of the world on one’s shoulders

to appear to be burdened by many problems.

C Decision and Risk Idioms

carte blanche

complete freedom to act or proceed as one pleases.

C Everyday Life Idioms

cast in the same mould

very similar.

C Conversation and Communication Idioms

Cat got your tongue?

Why don’t you speak?; Speak up and answer my question!.

catch one’s breath

to resume one’s normal breathing after exertion; to return to normal after being busy or very active.

catch someone on the hop

to find someone unprepared or defenceless.

catch someone’s eye

to establish eye contact with someone; to attract someone’s attention.

C Weather Idioms

catch the sun

to become sunburnt.

C Problems and Difficulties Idioms

caught over a barrel

at the mercy of someone; under the control of someone.

C Conversation and Communication Idioms

cause tongues to wag

to cause people to gossip; to give people something to gossip about.

C Emotion Idioms

champ at the bit

to be ready and anxious to do something; to be impatient.

chance one’s arm

to do something risky or dangerous.

C Money Idioms

change hands

to be sold.

C Decision and Risk Idioms

change horses in mid-stream

to make major changes in an activity which has already begun; to choose someone or something else after it is too late.

change someone’s tune

to change the manner, attitude, or behaviour of a person, usually from bad to good, or from rude to pleasant.

C Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

chapter and verse

detailed sources of information.

C Problems and Difficulties Idioms

chapter of accidents

a series of misfortunes.

cheek by jowl

side by side; close together.

C Food and Eating Idioms

cheese-paring

mean; niggardly.

C Emotion Idioms

cheesed off

bored; depressed; annoyed.

C Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

chew the cud

to think deeply.

daily dozen

physical exercises done every day.

D Work and Business Idioms

daily grind

the everyday work routine.

damn someone or something with faint praise

to criticize someone or something indirectly by not praising enthusiastically.

D Success and Failure Idioms

damp squib

something which fails to be as successful or exciting as it promised to be.

dance attendance on someone

to be always ready to tend to someone’s wishes or needs.

Darby and Joan

an old married couple living happily together.

D Animal Idioms

dark horse

someone whose abilities, plans, or feelings are little known to others.

D Nature Idioms

Davy Jones’s locker

the bottom of the sea, especially when it is the final resting place for someone or something.

D Money Idioms

daylight robbery

[an instance of] the practice of blatantly or grossly overcharging.

dead and buried

gone forever.

dead centre

at the exact centre of something.

D Success and Failure Idioms

dead on one’s or its feet

exhausted; worn out; no longer effective or successful.

dead set against someone or something

totally opposed to someone or something.

dead to the world

sleeping very soundly.

D Problems and Difficulties Idioms

death to something

having a harmful effect on something; liable to ruin something.

die a natural death

to fade away or die down.

die laughing

to laugh very long and hard.

die of a broken heart

to die of emotional distress, especially grief over a lost love.

D Emotion Idioms

die of boredom

to suffer from boredom; to be very bored.

D Problems and Difficulties Idioms

dig one’s own grave

to be responsible for one’s own downfall or ruin.

D Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

dine out on something

to be asked to social gatherings because of the information one has.

D Money Idioms

dirt cheap

extremely cheap.

dirty look

a look or glance expressing disapproval or dislike.

D Emotion Idioms

do a double take

to react with surprise; to have to look twice to make sure that one really saw correctly.

do an about-face

to make a total reversal of opinion or action.

D Success and Failure Idioms

do justice to something

to do something well; to represent or portray something accurately.

D Animal Idioms

dog in the manger

one who prevents others from enjoying a privilege that one does not make use of or enjoy oneself.

D Food and Eating Idioms

done to a turn

cooked just right.

D Work and Business Idioms

donkey-work

hard or boring work.

D Time Idioms

donkey’s ages and donkey’s years

a very long time.

E Work and Business Idioms

eager beaver

someone who is very enthusiastic; someone who works very hard.

E Animal Idioms

eagle eye

careful attention; an intently watchful eye.

E Time Idioms

early bird

someone who gets up or arrives early or starts something very promptly, especially someone who gains an advantage of some kind by so doing.

eat humble pie

to act very humbly, especially when one has been shown to be wrong; to accept humiliation.

eat like a bird

to eat only small amounts of food; to peck at one’s food.

eat like a horse

to eat large amounts of food.

eat one’s hat

a phrase telling the kind of thing that one would do if a very unlikely event were actually to happen.

eat one’s heart out

to be very sad.

eat one’s words

to have to take back one’s statements; to confess that one’s predictions were wrong.

eat out of someone’s hands

to do what someone else wants; to obey someone eagerly.

E Money Idioms

eat someone out of house and home

to eat a lot of food; to bring someone to the point of financial ruin by eating all the food in the person’s house.

either feast or famine

either too much or not enough.

E Work and Business Idioms

elbow-grease

physical exertion; hard work.

E Decision and Risk Idioms

eleventh-hour decision

a decision made at the last possible minute.

enough is as good as a feast

a saying that means one should be satisfied if one has enough of something to meet one’s needs, and one should not seek more than one needs.

E Decision and Risk Idioms

enter the lists

to begin to take part in a contest or argument.

E Everyday Life Idioms

escape someone’s notice

to go unnoticed; not to have been noticed.

E Time Idioms

every time one turns around

frequently; at every turn; with annoying frequency.

E Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

everything but the kitchen sink

almost everything one can think of.

E Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

everything from A to Z

almost everything one can think of.

E Health and Body Idioms

expecting (a child)

pregnant.

E Relationship Idioms

extend one’s sympathy (to someone)

to express sympathy to someone.

E Relationship Idioms

eyeball to eyeball

person to person; face to face.

face the music

to receive punishment; to accept the unpleasant results of one’s actions.

face value

outward appearance; what something first appears to be.

fair crack of the whip

a fair share of something; a fair opportunity of doing something.

F Relationship Idioms

fair do’s

fair and just treatment [done to someone].

F Relationship Idioms

fair game

someone or something that it is quite permissible to attack.

fall about

to laugh heartily.

F Problems and Difficulties Idioms

fall apart at the seams

to break into pieces; to fall apart.

fall between two stools

to come somewhere between two possibilities and so fail to meet the requirements of either.

fall by the wayside

to give up and quit before the end; not to succeed.

F Work and Business Idioms

fall down on the job

to fail to do something properly; to fail to do one’s job adequately.

F Relationship Idioms

fall foul of someone or something

to do something that annoys or offends someone or something; to do something that is contrary to the rules.

F Problems and Difficulties Idioms

fall from grace

to cease to be held in favour, especially because of some wrong or foolish action.

F Work and Business Idioms

fall into line

to conform.

fancy someone’s chances

to have confidence in someone’s [including one’s own] ability to be successful.

far cry from something

a thing which is very different from something else.

F Food and Eating Idioms

feast one’s eyes (on someone or something)

to look at someone or something with pleasure, envy, or admiration.

feather in one’s cap

an honour; something of which one can be proud.

feather one’s (own) nest

to use power and prestige selfishly to provide for oneself, often immorally or illegally.

feel fit

to feel well and healthy.

feel it beneath one (to do something)

to feel that one would be humbling oneself or reducing one’s status to do something.

feel like a million dollars

to feel well and healthy, both physically and mentally.

feel like a new person

to feel refreshed and renewed, especially after getting well or getting dressed up.

F Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

feel something in one’s bones

to sense something; to have an intuition about something.

fiddle while Rome burns

to do nothing or something trivial while something disastrous happens.

F Decision and Risk Idioms

fight shy of something

to avoid something; to keep from doing something.

fighting chance

a good possibility of success, especially if every effort is made.

F Work and Business Idioms

fill someone’s shoes

to take the place of some other person and perform satisfactorily in that role.

fill the bill

to be exactly the thing that is needed.

find it in one’s heart to do something

to have the courage or compassion to do something; to persuade oneself to do something.

find one’s feet

to become used to a new situation or experience.

G Everyday Life Idioms

game at which two can play

a manner of competing which two competitors can use; a strategy that competing sides can both use.

G Problems and Difficulties Idioms

generous to a fault

too generous.

get a black eye

to get a bruise near the eye from being struck.

get a clean bill of health

to be pronounced healthy by a doctor.

G Money Idioms

get a good run for one’s money

to receive what one deserves, expects, or wants; to be well compensated for effort, money, etc., spent.

G Success and Failure Idioms

get a lucky break

to have good fortune; to receive a bit of luck.

get a lump in one’s throat

to have the feeling of something in one’s throat—as if one were going to cry; to become emotional or sentimental.

G Problems and Difficulties Idioms

get a slap on the wrist

to get a light punishment.

get a start

to receive training or a big opportunity in beginning one’s career.

G Conversation and Communication Idioms

get a tongue-lashing

to receive a severe scolding.

G Relationship Idioms

get a word in (edgeways)

to succeed in saying something when other people are talking and one is being ignored.

G Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

get above oneself

to think or behave as though one is better or more important than one is.

G Travel and Movement Idioms

get away (from it all)

to get away from one’s work or daily routine; to go on a holiday.

get back on one’s feet

to become independent again; to become able to move around again.

get butterflies in one’s stomach

to get a nervous feeling in one’s stomach.

G Everyday Life Idioms

get by (on a shoe-string)

to manage to live.

G Emotion Idioms

get carried away

to be overcome by emotion or enthusiasm.

G Weather Idioms

get cold feet

to become timid or frightened.

G Success and Failure Idioms

get credit (for something)

to receive praise or recognition for one’s role in something.

G Conversation and Communication Idioms

get down to brass tacks

to begin to talk about important things.

get down to business

to begin to get serious; to begin to negotiate or conduct business.

get in someone’s hair

to bother or irritate someone.

get into full swing

to move into the peak of activity; to start moving fast or efficiently.

G Everyday Life Idioms

get into the swing of things

to join in the routine or the activities.

G Success and Failure Idioms

get nowhere fast

not to make progress; to get nowhere.

G Problems and Difficulties Idioms

get off lightly

to receive very little punishment.

H Travel and Movement Idioms

hail from somewhere

to come originally from somewhere.

H Relationship Idioms

hail-fellow-well-met

friendly to everyone; falsely friendly to everyone.

H Animal Idioms

hair of the dog (that bit one)

an alcoholic drink taken when one has a hangover.

hale and hearty

well and healthy.

hand in glove (with someone)

very close to someone.

hand it to someone

give credit to someone, often with some reluctance.

hand over fist

to be exchanged very rapidly.

hand over hand

[moving] one hand after the other.

hand-me-down

something, such as an article of used clothing, which has been “handed down,” or given, to someone because another person no longer needs it.

H Relationship Idioms

handle someone with kid gloves

to be very careful with a sensitive or touchy person.

hang by a hair and hang by a thread

to be in an uncertain position; to depend on something very insubstantial.

H Time Idioms

hang fire

to delay or wait; to be delayed.

H Decision and Risk Idioms

hang in the balance

to be in an undecided state; to be between two equal possibilities.

H Everyday Life Idioms

hang on by an eyebrow and hang on by one’s eyebrows

to be just hanging on or just surviving.

H Conversation and Communication Idioms

hang on someone’s every word

to listen carefully and obsequiously to everything someone says.

H Success and Failure Idioms

hang on to someone’s coat-tails

to gain good fortune or success through another person’s success, rather than through one’s own efforts.

H Emotion Idioms

Hang on to your hat! and Hold on to your hat!

Prepare for a sudden surprise or shock.

H Travel and Movement Idioms

hang one’s hat up somewhere

to take up residence somewhere.

H Money Idioms

hard cash

cash, not cheques or credit.

H Relationship Idioms

hard on someone’s heels

following someone very closely.

H Everyday Life Idioms

hard on the heels of something

soon after something.

H Decision and Risk Idioms

hard-and-fast rule

a strict rule.

H Time Idioms

hardly have time to breathe

to be very busy.

H Time Idioms

hark(en) back to something

to have originated as something; to have started out as something.

H Emotion Idioms

hate someone’s guts

to hate someone very much.

H Conversation and Communication Idioms

haul someone over the coals

to give someone a severe scolding.

H Animal Idioms

have a bee in one’s bonnet

to have an idea or a thought remain in one’s mind; to have an obsession.

have a big mouth

to be a gossiper; to be a person who tells secrets.

have a bone to pick (with someone)

to have a matter to discuss with someone; to have something to argue about with someone.

H Everyday Life Idioms

have a brush with something

to have a brief contact with something; to have a brief experience of something, especially with the law.

ill at ease

uneasy; anxious.

I Money Idioms

ill-gotten gains

money or other possessions acquired in a dishonest or illegal fashion.

in a (pretty) pickle

in a mess; in trouble.

in a (tight) spot

caught in a problem;.

in a bad mood

sad; depressed; cross; with low spirits.

in a bad way

in a critical or bad state.

I Success and Failure Idioms

in a dead heat

[finishing a race] at exactly the same time; tied.

in a fix

in a bad situation.

in a flash

quickly; immediately.

in a huff

in an angry or offended manner or state.

I Food and Eating Idioms

in a jam

in a tight or difficult situation.

in a jiffy

very fast; very soon.

in a mad rush

in a hurry.

I Conversation and Communication Idioms

in a nutshell

in a few words; briefly; concisely.

I Decision and Risk Idioms

in a quandary

uncertain about what to do; confused.

in a sense

in a way.

in a split second

in an instant.

I Conversation and Communication Idioms

in a stage whisper

in a loud whisper which everyone can hear.

I Relationship Idioms

in a stew (about someone or something)

upset or bothered about someone or something.

in all one’s born days

ever; in all one’s life.

I Decision and Risk Idioms

in all probability

very likely; almost certainly.

I Money Idioms

in arrears

overdue; late, especially in reference to bills and money.

in at the kill

present at the end of some activity, usually an activity with negative results.

I Conversation and Communication Idioms

in black and white

official, in writing or printing.

in broad daylight

publicly visible in the daytime.

in clover

with good fortune; in a very good situation, especially financially.

in deep water

in a dangerous or vulnerable situation; in a serious situation; in trouble.

in dribs and drabs

in small irregular quantities.

in fear and trembling

with anxiety or fear; with dread.

I Travel and Movement Idioms

inch along (something)

to move slowly along something little by little.

jack-of-all-trades

someone who can do several different jobs instead of specializing in one.

J Time Idioms

jam tomorrow

good things in the future.

J Relationship Idioms

Jekyll and Hyde

someone with both an evil and a good personality.

job lot

a mixed collection of varying quality.

J Relationship Idioms

Job’s comforter

someone who makes matters worse when trying to comfort or console someone.

jockey for position

to try to push or manoeuvre one’s way into an advantageous position at the expense of others.

J Time Idioms

johnny-come-lately

someone who joins in after it is under way.

joking apart

being serious for a moment; in all seriousness.

J Emotion Idioms

jolly someone along

to keep someone happy and satisfied in order to obtain compliance with one’s wishes.

J Health and Body Idioms

jump down someone’s throat and jump on someone

to scold someone severely.

J Health and Body Idioms

jump out of one’s skin

to react strongly to shock or surprise.

jump the gun

to start before the starting signal, as in a race.

jumping-off point

a point or place from which to begin a venture.

just the job

exactly what is required.

just what the doctor ordered

exactly what is required, especially for health or comfort.

keen on someone or something

enthusiastic about someone or something.

keep a civil tongue (in one’s head)

to speak decently and politely.

keep a stiff upper lip

to be cool and unmoved by unsettling events.

keep a straight face

to make one’s face stay free from laughter or smiling.

K Weather Idioms

keep a weather eye open

to watch for something; to be on the alert; to be on guard.

keep an eye out (for someone or something)

to watch for the arrival or appearance of someone or something.

keep body and soul together

to feed, clothe, and house oneself.

K Everyday Life Idioms

keep house

to manage a household.

keep in with someone

to remain friendly with a person, especially a person who might be useful.

K Time Idioms

keep late hours

to stay up or stay out until very late.

keep oneself to oneself

to remain private; not to mix with other people very much.

K Everyday Life Idioms

keep one’s chin up

to keep one’s spirits high; to act brave and confident.

keep one’s distance (from someone or something)

to maintain a respectful or cautious distance from someone or something.

keep one’s eye on the ball

to remain alert to the events occurring around one.

keep one’s hand in (something)

to retain one’s control of something.

K Work and Business Idioms

keep one’s head above water

to stay ahead of one’s problems; to keep up with one’s work or responsibilities.

keep one’s mouth shut (about someone or something)

to keep quiet about someone or something; to keep a secret about someone or something.

K Work and Business Idioms

keep one’s nose to the grindstone

to keep busy doing one’s work.

keep one’s own counsel

to keep one’s thoughts and plans to oneself; not to tell other people about one’s thoughts and plans.

keep one’s side of the bargain

to do one’s part as agreed; to attend to one’s responsibilities as agreed.

keep one’s word

to uphold one’s promise.

keep someone in line

to make certain that someone behaves properly.

keep someone in stitches

to cause someone to laugh loud and hard, over and over.

K Emotion Idioms

keep someone on tenterhooks

to keep someone anxious or in suspense.

keep someone posted

to keep someone informed; to keep someone up to date.

keep something under one’s hat

to keep something a secret; to keep something in one’s mind.

keep something under wraps

to keep something concealed.

keep the home fires burning

to keep things going at one’s home or other central location.

K Everyday Life Idioms

keep the lid on something

to restrain something; to keep something quiet or under control.

K Animal Idioms

keep the wolf from the door

to maintain oneself at a minimal level; to keep from starving, freezing, etc.

R Problems and Difficulties Idioms

knuckles rapped

to receive punishment.

L Work and Business Idioms

labour of love

a task which is either unpaid or poorly paid and which one does simply for one’s own satisfaction or pleasure or to please someone whom one likes or loves.

L Emotion Idioms

lady-killer

a man who likes to flirt and make love to women, and who is popular with them.

L Travel and Movement Idioms

lag behind (someone or something)

to fall behind someone or something; to linger behind someone or something.

L Animal Idioms

lame duck

someone or something that is helpless, useless, or inefficient.

L Health and Body Idioms

land a blow (somewhere)

to strike someone or something with the hand or fist.

L Time Idioms

land of Nod

sleep.

L Success and Failure Idioms

land on one’s feet and land on both feet

to recover satisfactorily from a trying situation or a setback.

last but not least

last in sequence, but not last in importance.

last-ditch effort

a final effort; the last possible attempt.

L Time Idioms

late in life

when one is old.

L Time Idioms

late in the day

far on in a project or activity; too late in a project or activity for action, decisions, etc., to be taken.

laugh something out of court

to dismiss something as ridiculous.

laugh up one’s sleeve

to laugh secretly; to laugh quietly to oneself.

L Success and Failure Idioms

law unto oneself

one who makes one’s own laws or rules; one who sets one’s own standards of behaviour.

lay about one

to strike at people and things in all directions around one; to hit everyone and everything near one.

lay down the law

to state firmly what the rules are.

L Conversation and Communication Idioms

lay something on the line

to speak very firmly and directly about something.

lead a dog’s life

to lead a miserable life.

lead someone (on) a merry chase and lead someone (on) a merry dance

to lead someone in a purposeless pursuit.

L Travel and Movement Idioms

lead someone by the nose

to force someone to go somewhere; to lead someone by coercion.

lead someone to believe something

to imply something to someone; to cause someone to believe something untrue, without lying.

lead someone to do something

to cause someone to do something.

lead someone up the garden path

to deceive someone.

L Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

learn something by heart

to learn something so well that it can be written or recited without thinking; to memorize something.

L Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

learn something by rote

to learn something without giving any thought to what is being learned.

L Work and Business Idioms

learn the ropes

to learn how to do something; to learn how to work something.

L Emotion Idioms

leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth

to leave a bad feeling or memory with someone.

L Nature Idioms

leave no stone unturned

to search in all possible places.

L Problems and Difficulties Idioms

leave oneself wide open for something and leave oneself wide open to something

to invite criticism or joking about oneself; to fail to protect oneself from criticism or ridicule.

leg

to cost too much.

maiden speech

a first public speech, especially a British Member of Parliament’s first speech to the House of Commons.

M Travel and Movement Idioms

maiden voyage

the first voyage of a ship or boat.

M Money Idioms

make (both) ends meet

to manage to live on a small amount of money.

make a beeline for someone or something

to head straight towards someone or something.

M Everyday Life Idioms

make a clean breast of something

to confess something.

make a clean sweep

to do something completely or thoroughly, with no exceptions.

make a comeback

to return to one’s former career.

make a go of it

to make something work out all right.

make a great show of something

to make something obvious; to do something in a showy fashion.

M Nature Idioms

make a mountain out of a molehill

to make a major issue out of a minor one; to exaggerate the importance of something.

make a name for oneself

to make oneself famous; to become famous.

make a pitch for someone or something

to say something in support of someone or something; to attempt to promote or advance someone or something.

M Everyday Life Idioms

make a point of (doing) something

to make an effort to do something.

M Problems and Difficulties Idioms

make an example of someone

to punish someone as a public warning to others.

make cracks (about someone or something)

to ridicule or make jokes about someone or something.

make do (with someone or something)

to do as well as possible with someone or something.

M Health and Body Idioms

make eyes at someone

to flirt with someone.

make fun of someone or something

to ridicule someone or something.

make good as something

to succeed in a particular role.

M Money Idioms

make good money

to earn a large amount of money.

M Time Idioms

make good time

to proceed at a fast or reasonable rate.

M Money Idioms

make it worth someone’s while

to make something profitable enough for someone to do.

make light of something

to treat something as if it were unimportant or humorous.

M Emotion Idioms

make merry

to have fun; to have an enjoyable time.

M Problems and Difficulties Idioms

make mischief

to cause trouble.

M Health and Body Idioms

make no bones about something

to have no hesitation in saying or doing something; to be open about something.

M Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

make nothing of it

not to understand something; not to get the significance of something.

M Everyday Life Idioms

make oneself at home

to make oneself comfortable as if one were in one’s own home.

make or break someone

to improve or ruin someone.

make someone look good

to cause someone to appear successful or competent.

N Relationship Idioms

nail in someone’s or something’s coffin

something which will harm or destroy someone or something.

nail one’s colours to the mast

to commit oneself to a particular course of action or to a particular point of view.

naked eye

the human eye, unassisted by optics such as a telescope, microscope, or spectacles.

N Conversation and Communication Idioms

name of the game

the goal or purpose; the important or central thing.

near the bone and near the knuckle

coming too close to mentioning something which should not be mentioned, for example because it might hurt or offend someone.

neck and neck

exactly even, especially in a race or a contest.

needs must

if it is absolutely necessary for something to be done, then it must be done.

N Animal Idioms

neither fish nor fowl

not any recognizable thing.

neither hide nor hair

no sign or indication.

N Emotion Idioms

never fear

do not worry; have confidence.

never had it so good

[have] never had so much good fortune.

never in one’s life

not in one’s experience.

N Conversation and Communication Idioms

never mind

forget it; pay no more attention.

new lease of life

a renewed and revitalized outlook on life.

new one on someone

something one has not heard before and that one is not ready to believe.

night on the town

a night of celebrating.

night-owl

someone who usually stays up very late.

nine days’ wonder

something that is of interest to people only for a short time.

N Work and Business Idioms

nine-to-five job

a job with regular and normal hours.

nip something in the bud

to put an end to something at an early stage.

N Emotion Idioms

no hard feelings

no anger or resentment.

no holds barred

with no restraints.

no ifs or buts about it

absolutely no discussion, dissension, or doubt about something.

N Relationship Idioms

no love lost between someone and someone else and no love lost between people

no friendship wasted between someone and someone else.

no skin off someone’s nose

no difficulty for someone; no concern of someone.

no sooner said than done

done quickly and obediently.

N Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

nobody’s fool

a sensible and wise person who is not easily deceived.

N Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

none the wiser

not knowing any more.

none the worse for wear

no worse because of use or effort.

none too something

not very; not at all.

odd man out

an unusual or atypical person or thing.

odour of sanctity and air of sanctity

an atmosphere of excessive holiness or piety.

O Success and Failure Idioms

of the first water

of the finest quality.

of the old school

holding attitudes and ideas that were popular and important in the past, but are no longer considered relevant or in line with modern trends.

off colour

not very well; slightly ill.

O Travel and Movement Idioms

off the beaten track

in an unfamiliar place; on a route which is not often travelled.

off-centre

not exactly in the centre or middle.

old enough to be someone’s mother and old enough to be someone’s father

as old as someone’s parents.

old hand at doing something

someone who is experienced at doing something.

on a first-name basis (with someone) and on first-name terms (with someone)

knowing someone very well; good friends with someone.

O Problems and Difficulties Idioms

on a fool’s errand

involved in a useless journey or task.

on a par with someone or something

equal to someone or something.

O Work and Business Idioms

on active duty

in battle or ready to go into battle.

on all fours

on one’s hands and knees.

on average

generally; usually.

on behalf of someone and on someone’s behalf

[doing something] as someone’s agent; [doing something] in place of someone; for the benefit of someone.

O Weather Idioms

on cloud nine

very happy.

once and for all

finally and irreversibly.

once in a blue moon

very rarely.

once in a while

occasionally.

once upon a time

once in the past.

once-in-a-lifetime chance

a chance that will never occur again in one’s lifetime.

one a start

to give one training or a big opportunity in beginning one’s career.

G Relationship Idioms

one credit (for something)

to praise or recognize someone for doing something.

one for the record (books)

a record-breaking act.

one in a thousand and one in a hundred; one in a million

unique; one of a very few.

one-up (on someone)

ahead of someone; with an advantage over someone.

O Problems and Difficulties Idioms

one’s days are numbered

to face death, dismissal, or ruin.

one’s eyes are bigger than one’s stomach

to take more food than one can eat.

O Nature Idioms

one’s old stamping-ground

the place where one was raised or where one has spent a lot of time.

one’s way of life

one’s life-style; one’s pattern of living.

O Conversation and Communication Idioms

one’s words stick in one’s throat

one finds it difficult to speak because of emotion.

pack someone off (to somewhere)

to send someone away to somewhere, often with the suggestion that one is glad to do so.

pack them in

to draw a lot of people.

packed out

very crowded; containing as many people as possible.

paddle one’s own canoe

to do by oneself; to be alone.

P Health and Body Idioms

pain in the neck

a bother; an annoyance.

P Health and Body Idioms

pale around the gills and green around the gills; green about the gills

looking sick.

P Problems and Difficulties Idioms

paper over the cracks (in something)

to try to hide faults or difficulties, often in a hasty or not very successful way.

par for the course

typical; about what one could expect.

parrot-fashion

without understanding the meaning of what one has learnt, is saying, etc.

part and parcel of something

an essential part of something; something that is unavoidably included as part of something else.

parting of the ways

a point at which people separate and go their own ways.

party line

the official ideas and attitudes which are adopted by the leaders of a particular group, usually political, and which the other members are expected to accept.

pass as someone or something

to succeed in being accepted as someone or something.

P Success and Failure Idioms

pass muster

to measure up to the required standards.

P Work and Business Idioms

pass the buck

to pass the blame; to give the responsibility.

pass the hat round

to attempt to collect money for some project.

pass the time of day (with someone)

to chat or talk informally with someone.

P Success and Failure Idioms

past someone’s or something’s best and past someone’s or something’s sell-by date; past it

less good or efficient now than someone or something was before.

pay an arm and a leg (for something) and pay through the nose (for something)

to pay too much money for something.

pay lip-service (to something)

to express loyalty, respect, or support for something insincerely.

P Problems and Difficulties Idioms

pay one’s debt to society

to serve a sentence for a crime, usually in prison.

P Work and Business Idioms

pay one’s dues

to pay the fees required to belong to an organization.

pay someone a back-handed compliment

to give someone an apparent compliment that is really an insult.

pay someone a compliment

to compliment someone.

pay the earth

to pay a great deal of money for something.

pay the piper

to provide the money for something and so have some control over how the money is spent.

pick a quarrel (with someone)

to start an argument with someone.

P Decision and Risk Idioms

pick and choose

to choose very carefully from a number of possibilities; to be selective.

pick holes in something

to criticize something severely; to find all the flaws or fallacies in an argument.

Q Everyday Life Idioms

queue up

to get into a queue; to form a queue.

Q Decision and Risk Idioms

quick on the draw

quick to draw a gun and shoot.

Q Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

quick on the uptake

quick to understand.

Q Money Idioms

quids in with someone

in an advantageous or favourable position with someone.

R Time Idioms

race against time

to hurry to beat a deadline; to hurry to achieve something by a certain time.

rack one’s brains

to try very hard to think of something.

R Weather Idioms

rain cats and dogs

to rain very hard.

rained off

cancelled or postponed because of rain.

R Emotion Idioms

raise a few eyebrows

to shock or surprise people mildly by doing or saying something.

raise one’s sights

to set higher goals for oneself.

R Relationship Idioms

rally round someone or something

to come together to support someone or something.

rant and rave

to shout angrily and wildly.

R Relationship Idioms

rap someone’s knuckles

to rebuke or punish someone.

R Emotion Idioms

rarin’ to go

extremely keen to act or do something.

R Work and Business Idioms

rat race

a fierce struggle for success, especially in one’s career or business.

read between the lines

to infer something.

read someone like a book

to understand someone very well.

R Conversation and Communication Idioms

read someone the Riot Act

to give someone a severe scolding.

read someone’s mind

to guess what someone is thinking.

read something into something

to attach or attribute a new or different meaning to something; to find a meaning that is not intended in something.

R Health and Body Idioms

rear its ugly head

to appear or become obvious after lying hidden.

R Health and Body Idioms

receive someone with open arms and welcome someone with open arms

to welcome someone eagerly.

red herring

a piece of information or suggestion introduced to draw attention away from the truth or real facts of a situation.

red tape

over-strict attention to the wording and details of rules and regulations, especially by government or public departments.

redbrick university

one of the universities built in England in the late nineteenth century, contrasted with Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

R Emotion Idioms

regain one’s composure

to become calm and composed.

R Success and Failure Idioms

rest on one’s laurels

to enjoy one’s success and not try to achieve more.

R Travel and Movement Idioms

return ticket

a ticket which allows one to go to a destination and return.

R Relationship Idioms

ride roughshod over someone or something

to treat someone or something with disdain or scorn.

R Decision and Risk Idioms

riding for a fall

risking failure or an accident, usually owing to overconfidence.

right up someone’s street

ideally suited to one’s interests or abilities.

ring a bell

to cause someone to remember something or to seem familiar.

ring down the curtain (on something) and bring down the curtain (on something)

to bring something to an end; to declare something to be at an end.

S Animal Idioms

sacred cow

something that is regarded by some people with such respect and veneration that they don’t like it being criticized by anyone in any way.

safe and sound

safe and whole or healthy.

S Travel and Movement Idioms

sail through something

to finish something quickly and easily.

S Travel and Movement Idioms

sail under false colours

to pretend to be something that one is not.

S Food and Eating Idioms

salt of the earth

the most worthy of people; a very good or worthy person.

S Time Idioms

same old story

something that occurs or has occurred in the same way often.

save one’s breath

to refrain from talking, explaining, or arguing.

save someone’s skin

to save someone from injury, embarrassment, or punishment.

S Time Idioms

save something for a rainy day

to reserve something—usually money—for some future need.

S Problems and Difficulties Idioms

saved by the bell

rescued from a difficult or dangerous situation just in time by something which brings the situation to a sudden end.

S Conversation and Communication Idioms

say something under one’s breath

to say something so softly that hardly anyone can hear it.

S Conversation and Communication Idioms

say the word

to give a signal to begin; to say or as a signal to begin.

S Emotion Idioms

scare someone stiff

to scare someone severely; to make someone very frightened.

S Decision and Risk Idioms

scrape the bottom of the barrel

to select from among the worst; to choose from what is left over.

S Relationship Idioms

scratch someone’s back

to do a favour for someone in return for a favour done for you.

scratch the surface

just to begin to find out about something; to examine only the superficial aspects of something.

S Emotion Idioms

screw up one’s courage

to get one’s courage together; to force oneself to be brave.

S Money Idioms

scrimp and save

to be very thrifty; to live on very little money, often to save up for something.

second nature to someone

easy and natural for someone.

S Success and Failure Idioms

second to none

better than anyone or anything else.

see double

to see two of everything instead of one.

see eye to eye (about something) and see eye to eye (on something)

to view something in the same way.

S Emotion Idioms

see red

to be angry.

S Relationship Idioms

see someone home

to accompany someone home.

see something with half an eye

to see or understand very easily.

see stars

to see flashing lights after receiving a blow to the head.

see the light

to understand something clearly at last.

see the light at the end of the tunnel

to foresee an end to one’s problems after a long period of time.

S Time Idioms

see the light of day

to be finished or produced.

seeing is believing

one must believe something that one sees.

T Animal Idioms

tail wagging the dog

a situation where a small or minor part is controlling the whole thing.

take a leaf out of someone’s book

to behave or to do something in the way that someone else would; to use someone as an example.

T Success and Failure Idioms

take a stab at something

to make a try at something, sometimes without much hope of success.

T Health and Body Idioms

take leave of one’s senses

to become irrational.

T Problems and Difficulties Idioms

take one’s medicine

to accept the punishment or the bad fortune which one deserves.

take someone down a peg (or two)

to reprimand someone who is acting in too arrogant a way.

take someone to task

to scold or reprimand someone.

take someone under one’s wing

to take over and care for a person.

T Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

take something as read

to assume something or regard something as being understood and accepted without reading it out, stating it, or checking it.

take something in one’s stride

to accept something as natural or expected.

take something lying down

to endure something unpleasant without fighting back.

T Problems and Difficulties Idioms

take something on the chin

to experience and endure a blow stoically.

T Health and Body Idioms

take something to heart

to take something very seriously.

take the rough with the smooth

to accept the bad things along with the good things.

T Weather Idioms

take the wind out of someone’s sails

to put an end to someone’s boasting or arrogance and make the person feel embarrassed; to take an advantage away from someone.

take the words (right) out of one’s mouth

to say what you were going to say.

take up the cudgels on behalf of someone or something

to support or defend someone or something.

talk nineteen to the dozen

to talk a lot, usually quickly.

talk of the town

the subject of gossip; someone or something that everyone is talking about.

talk through one’s hat

to talk nonsense.

talk until one is blue in the face

to talk until one is exhausted.

T Work and Business Idioms

talking-shop

a place or meeting where things are discussed, but action may or may not be taken.

tarred with the same brush

having the same faults or bad points as someone else.

T Food and Eating Idioms

teach one’s grandmother to suck eggs

to try to tell or show someone more knowledgeable or experienced than oneself how to do something.

Tell it to the marines. and Tell that to the marines.

I do not believe you.

tell tales out of school

to tell secrets or spread rumours.

thank one’s lucky stars

to be thankful for one’s luck.

T Time Idioms

thick and fast

in large numbers or amounts and at a rapid rate.

thick-skinned

not easily upset or hurt; insensitive.

thin end of the wedge

a minor or unimportant event or act that is the first stage in something more serious or unfortunate.

U Travel and Movement Idioms

up a blind alley

at a dead end; on a route that leads nowhere.

U Everyday Life Idioms

up and doing

active and lively.

U Health and Body Idioms

up in arms

rising up in anger.

U Decision and Risk Idioms

up in the air

undecided; uncertain.

U Problems and Difficulties Idioms

up to no good

doing something bad or criminal.

U Everyday Life Idioms

upper crust

the higher levels of society; the upper class.

U Problems and Difficulties Idioms

upset the applecart

to spoil or ruin something.

U Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

use every trick in the book

to use every method possible.

V Nature Idioms

vanish into thin air

to disappear without leaving a trace.

V Relationship Idioms

vent one’s spleen

to get rid of one’s feelings of anger caused by someone or something by attacking someone or something else.

V Problems and Difficulties Idioms

vexed question

a difficult problem about which there is a lot of discussion without a solution being found.

V Relationship Idioms

villain of the piece

someone or something that is responsible for something bad or wrong.

W Work and Business Idioms

waiting in the wings

ready or prepared to do something, especially to take over someone else’s job or position.

W Decision and Risk Idioms

walk a tightrope

to be in a situation where one must be very cautious.

W Emotion Idioms

walk on air

to be very happy; to be euphoric.

W Decision and Risk Idioms

walk on eggs

to be very cautious.

walls have ears

we may be overheard.

W Decision and Risk Idioms

want it both ways

to want two incompatible advantages at the same time.

warm the cockles of someone’s heart

to make someone feel pleased and happy.

warts and all

including all the faults and disadvantages.

W Time Idioms

water under the bridge

something past and forgotten.

W Work and Business Idioms

wear more than one hat

to have more than one set of responsibilities; to hold more than one office.

wear out one’s welcome

to stay too long; to visit somewhere too often.

weep buckets

to weep a great many tears.

W Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

weigh on someone’s mind

to be constantly in a person’s thoughts; for something to be bothering someone’s thinking.

W Conversation and Communication Idioms

weigh one’s words

to consider one’s own words carefully when speaking.

W Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

well up in something

having a great deal of knowledge about something.

W Work and Business Idioms

wheeling and dealing

taking part in clever but sometimes dishonest or immoral business deals.

W Conversation and Communication Idioms

wheels within wheels

circumstances, often secret or personal, which all have an effect on each other and lead to a complicated, confusing situation.

W Time Idioms

when the time is ripe

at exactly the right time.

W Problems and Difficulties Idioms

whistle for something

to expect or look for something with no hope of getting it.

W Animal Idioms

white elephant

something which is useless and which is either a nuisance or expensive to keep up.

whole (bang) shooting match

the whole lot.

W Success and Failure Idioms

win the day and carry the day

to be successful; to win a competition, argument, etc.

W Success and Failure Idioms

win through

to succeed.

W Learning and Speaking Skills Idioms

wise after the event

knowledgeable of how a situation should have been dealt with only after it has passed.

W Relationship Idioms

wish someone joy of something

to express the hope that someone will enjoy having or doing something, usually while being glad that one does not have to have it or do it.

with all one’s heart and soul

very sincerely.

with every other breath

saying something repeatedly or continually.

with flying colours

easily and excellently.

W Success and Failure Idioms

wither on the vine

to decline or fade away at an early stage of development.

within an inch of doing something

very close to doing something.

Z Time Idioms

zero hour

the time at which something is due to begin; a crucial moment.