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CINDY TEA - ENGLISH > COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS > Flashcards

COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS Flashcards

These English idioms are used quite regularly in, you may not hear them every day, but they will be very familiar to any native English speaker.

1
Q

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

A

What you have is worth more than what you might have later

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2
Q

A penny for your thoughts

A

Tell me what you’re thinking

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3
Q

A penny saved is a penny earned

A

Money you save today you can spend later

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4
Q

A perfect storm

A

the worst possible situation

(as part of a sentence)

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5
Q

A picture is worth 1000 words

A

Better to show than tell

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6
Q

Actions speak louder than words

A

Believe what people do and not what they say

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7
Q

Add insult to injury

A

To make a bad situation worse

(as part of a sentence)

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8
Q

Barking up the wrong tree

A

To be mistaken, to be looking for solutions in the wrong place

(as part of a sentence)

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9
Q

Bite off more than you can chew

A

Take on a project that you cannot finish

(as part of a sentence)

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10
Q

Break the ice

A

Make people feel more comfortable

(as part of a sentence)

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11
Q

By the skin of your teeth

A

Just barely

(as part of a sentence)

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12
Q

Comparing apples to oranges

A

Comparing two things that cannot be compared

(as part of a sentence)

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13
Q

Costs an arm and a leg

A

Very expensive

(as part of a sentence)

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14
Q

Do something at the drop of a hat

A

Do something without having planned beforehand

(as part of a sentence)

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15
Q

Don’t cry over spilt milk

A

There’s no reason to complain about something that can’t be fixed

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16
Q

Don’t give up your day job

A

You’re not very good at this

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17
Q

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

A

What you’re doing is too risky

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18
Q

Every cloud has a silver lining

A

Good things come after bad things

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19
Q

Get a taste of your own medicine

A

Get treated the way you’ve been treating others (negative)

(as part of a sentence)

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20
Q

Give someone the cold shoulder

A

Ignore someone

(as part of a sentence)

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21
Q

Go on a wild goose chase

A

To do something pointless

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22
Q

Good things come to those who wait

A

Be patient

23
Q

He has bigger fish to fry

A

He has bigger things to take care of than what we are talking about now

24
Q

He’s a chip off the old block

A

The son is like the father

25
Q

Hit the nail on the head

A

Get something exactly right

26
Q

Ignorance is bliss

A

You’re better off not knowing

27
Q

It ain’t over till the fat lady sings

A

This isn’t over yet

28
Q

It takes one to know one

A

You’re just as bad as I am

29
Q

It’s raining cats and dogs

A

It’s raining hard

30
Q

Kill two birds with one stone

A

Get two things done with a single action

31
Q

Let the cat out of the bag

A

Give away a secret

32
Q

Live and learn

A

I made a mistake

33
Q

Look before you leap

A

Take only calculated risks

34
Q

On thin ice

A

On probation. If you make another mistake, there will be trouble.

35
Q

Once in a blue moon

A

Rarely

(as part of a sentence)

36
Q

Play devil’s advocate

A

To argue the opposite, just for the sake of argument

(as part of a sentence)

37
Q

Put something on ice

A

Put a projet on hold

(as part of a sentence)

38
Q

Rain on someone’s parade

A

To spoil something

(as part of a sentence)

39
Q

Saving for a rainy day

A

Saving money for later

(as part of a sentence)

40
Q

Slow and steady wins the race

A

Reliability is more important than speed

41
Q

Spill the beans

A

Give away a secret

(as part of a sentence)

42
Q

Take a rain check

A

Postpone a plan

(as part of a sentence)

43
Q

Take it with a grain of salt

A

Don’t take it too seriously

(as part of a sentence)

44
Q

The ball is in your court

A

It’s your decision

45
Q

The best thing since sliced bread

A

A really good invention

46
Q

The devil is in the details

A

It looks good from a distance, but when you look closer, there are problems

47
Q

The early bird gets the worm

A

The first people who arrive will get the best stuff

48
Q

The elephant in the room

A

The big issue, the problem people are avoiding

49
Q

There are other fish in the sea

A

It’s ok to miss this opportunity. Others will arise.

50
Q

There’s a method to his madness

A

He seems crazy but actually he’s clever

51
Q

There’s no such thing as a free lunch

A

Nothing is entirely free

52
Q

Throw caution to the wind

A

Take a risk

(as part of a sentence)

53
Q

You can’t have your cake and eat it too

A

You can’t have everything

54
Q

You can’t judge a book by its cover

A

This person or thing may look bad, but it’s good inside

CINDY TEA - ENGLISH (6 decks)

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