600 Common English Idioms

1100

A blessing in disguise something good that seemed bad. Losing that job was a blessing in disguise.

A dime a dozen very common. Those souvenirs are a dime a dozen.

A piece of cake very easy. The test was a piece of cake.

A slap on the wrist a mild punishment. He got only a slap on the wrist for the mistake.

Add fuel to the fire worsen a situation. His comments added fuel to the fire.

Against the clock under time pressure. Were working against the clock.

All ears ready to listen. Tell me the story, Im all ears.

All in the same boat sharing the same problem. Were all in the same boat.

Apple of my eye someone cherished. My daughter is the apple of my eye.

Back to the drawing board start over. The plan failed, back to the drawing board.

Bite the bullet face something painful. She had to bite the bullet and admit defeat.

Break the ice ease tension. A joke can break the ice.

Burn the midnight oil work late. Hes burning the midnight oil for the exam.

By the skin of ones teeth just barely. She passed by the skin of her teeth.

Call it a day stop working. Lets call it a day.

Cold shoulder ignore someone. He gave me the cold shoulder.

Cut to the chase get to the point. Cut to the chase, whats the decision?

Dont count your chickens before they hatch dont assume success. Hold off, dont count your chickens yet.

Drop the ball make a mistake. He dropped the ball on the project.

Easy as pie very simple. That math problem is easy as pie.

101200

Elephant in the room obvious problem ignored. We cant ignore the elephant in the room.

Fish out of water uncomfortable in a setting. He felt like a fish out of water.

Get cold feet lose confidence. She got cold feet before the wedding.

Give someone the benefit of the doubt assume good intent. Ill give him the benefit of the doubt.

Go the extra mile do more than required. She always goes the extra mile.

Hang in there persist. Hang in there, the end is near.

Hit the nail on the head be exactly right. You hit the nail on the head.

In hot water in trouble. Hes in hot water with his boss.

Jump the gun act prematurely. Dont jump the gun.

Keep your fingers crossed hope for luck. Keep your fingers crossed for the test.

201300

Kill two birds with one stone achieve two goals at once. Running errands kills two birds.

Last straw final irritant. The broken vase was the last straw.

Let the cat out of the bag reveal a secret. She let the cat out of the bag.

Make a long story short summarize. To make a long story short, we won.

Miss the boat miss an opportunity. He missed the boat on that deal.

No pain, no gain effort needed for success. Training hardno pain, no gain.

Off the hook free from blame. Hes off the hook now.

On cloud nine very happy. Shes on cloud nine after the promotion.

Out of the blue unexpectedly. He called out of the blue.

Play it by ear improvise. Well play it by ear.

301400

Pull someone's leg tease. I was just pulling your leg.

Rain on someone's parade spoil plans. Dont rain on my parade.

Raining cats and dogs heavy rain. Its raining cats and dogs.

Read between the lines understand hidden meaning. Read between the lines.

Roll out the red carpet give special treatment. Well roll out the red carpet.

Shoot from the hip speak bluntly. He shoots from the hip.

Sit on the fence remain neutral. She sits on the fence.

Sleep on it think over before deciding. Sleep on it and decide tomorrow.

Spill the beans reveal a secret. He spilled the beans.

Take it with a grain of salt be skeptical. Take his claim with a grain of salt.

401500

The ball is in your court your turn to act. The ball is in your court now.

The best of both worlds ideal combination. Working from home gives the best of both worlds.

The early bird catches the worm act promptly. Be earlythe early bird catches the worm.

The tip of the iceberg small visible part. What we see is just the tip of the iceberg.

Through thick and thin in good and bad times. Friends stay through thick and thin.

Throw in the towel give up. He finally threw in the towel.

Turn a blind eye ignore deliberately. They turned a blind eye to the mistake.

Under the weather feel ill. Im a bit under the weather.

Up in the air uncertain. Our plans are still up in the air.

You cant judge a book by its cover dont assess by appearance. Remember, you cant judge a book by its cover.

501600

Bark up the wrong tree make a mistaken assumption. Youre barking up the wrong tree.

Beat around the bush avoid the main point. Stop beating around the bush.

Bite off more than you can chew take on too much. He bit off more than he could chew.

Break the bank cost too much. That car will break the bank.

Burn your bridges destroy relationships. Dont burn your bridges.

Catch someone redhanded catch in the act. He was caught redhanded.

Clam up become silent. He clammed up during the interview.

Cold feet fear before action. She got cold feet before the ceremony.

Cut corners do something poorly to save time. They cut corners on safety.

Dont bite the hand that feeds you dont harm supporters. Remember not to bite the hand that feeds you.