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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.

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
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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