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.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
What you have is worth more than what you might have later
A penny for your thoughts
Tell me what you’re thinking
A penny saved is a penny earned
Money you save today you can spend later
A perfect storm
the worst possible situation
(as part of a sentence)
A picture is worth 1000 words
Better to show than tell
Actions speak louder than words
Believe what people do and not what they say
Add insult to injury
To make a bad situation worse
(as part of a sentence)
Barking up the wrong tree
To be mistaken, to be looking for solutions in the wrong place
(as part of a sentence)
Bite off more than you can chew
Take on a project that you cannot finish
(as part of a sentence)
Break the ice
Make people feel more comfortable
(as part of a sentence)
By the skin of your teeth
Just barely
(as part of a sentence)
Comparing apples to oranges
Comparing two things that cannot be compared
(as part of a sentence)
Costs an arm and a leg
Very expensive
(as part of a sentence)
Do something at the drop of a hat
Do something without having planned beforehand
(as part of a sentence)
Don’t cry over spilt milk
There’s no reason to complain about something that can’t be fixed
Don’t give up your day job
You’re not very good at this
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
What you’re doing is too risky
Every cloud has a silver lining
Good things come after bad things
Get a taste of your own medicine
Get treated the way you’ve been treating others (negative)
(as part of a sentence)
Give someone the cold shoulder
Ignore someone
(as part of a sentence)
Go on a wild goose chase
To do something pointless
Good things come to those who wait
Be patient
He has bigger fish to fry
He has bigger things to take care of than what we are talking about now
He’s a chip off the old block
The son is like the father
Hit the nail on the head
Get something exactly right
Ignorance is bliss
You’re better off not knowing
It ain’t over till the fat lady sings
This isn’t over yet
It takes one to know one
You’re just as bad as I am
It’s raining cats and dogs
It’s raining hard
Kill two birds with one stone
Get two things done with a single action
Let the cat out of the bag
Give away a secret
Live and learn
I made a mistake
Look before you leap
Take only calculated risks
On thin ice
On probation. If you make another mistake, there will be trouble.
Once in a blue moon
Rarely
(as part of a sentence)
Play devil’s advocate
To argue the opposite, just for the sake of argument
(as part of a sentence)
Put something on ice
Put a projet on hold
(as part of a sentence)
Rain on someone’s parade
To spoil something
(as part of a sentence)
Saving for a rainy day
Saving money for later
(as part of a sentence)
Slow and steady wins the race
Reliability is more important than speed
Spill the beans
Give away a secret
(as part of a sentence)
Take a rain check
Postpone a plan
(as part of a sentence)
Take it with a grain of salt
Don’t take it too seriously
(as part of a sentence)
The ball is in your court
It’s your decision
The best thing since sliced bread
A really good invention
The devil is in the details
It looks good from a distance, but when you look closer, there are problems
The early bird gets the worm
The first people who arrive will get the best stuff
The elephant in the room
The big issue, the problem people are avoiding
There are other fish in the sea
It’s ok to miss this opportunity. Others will arise.
There’s a method to his madness
He seems crazy but actually he’s clever
There’s no such thing as a free lunch
Nothing is entirely free
Throw caution to the wind
Take a risk
(as part of a sentence)
You can’t have your cake and eat it too
You can’t have everything
You can’t judge a book by its cover
This person or thing may look bad, but it’s good inside
