FAMILIAR ENGLISH IDIOMS & PROVERBS Flashcards
These English idioms and proverbs are familiar and easily understood by native English speakers, but they are not usually used in everyday conversation. If you haven't mastered the more frequent idioms yet, they are a better place to start
A little learning is a dangerous thing
People who don’t understand something fully are dangerous
A snowball effect
Events have momentum and build upon each other
(as part of a sentence)
A snowball’s chance in hell
No chance at all
(as part of a sentence)
A stitch in time saves nine
Fix the problem now because it will get worse later
A storm in a teacup
A big fuss about a small problem
(as part of a sentence)
An apple a day keeps the doctor away
Apples are good for you
As right as rain
Perfect / well
(as part of a sentence)
Burn bridges
Destroy relationships
(as part of a sentence)
Calm before the storm
Something bad is coming, but right now it’s calm
(as part of a sentence)
Come rain or shine
No matter what
(as part of a sentence)
Curiosity killed the cat
Stop asking questions
Cut the mustard
Do a good job
(as part of a sentence)
Don’t beat a dead horse
Move on, this subject is over
Every dog has his day
Everyone gets a chance at least once
Familiarity breeds contempt
The better you know someone the less you like him
Fit as a fiddle
In good health
(as part of a sentence)
Get a second wind
Have more energy after having been tired
(as part of a sentence)
Get wind of something
Hear news of something secret
(as part of a sentence)
Go down in flames
Fail spectacularly
(as part of a sentence)
Have your head in the clouds
Not be concentrating
(as part of a sentence)
He who laughs last laughs loudest
I’ll get you back for what you did
Hear something straight from the horse’s mouth
Hear something from the person involved
(as part of a sentence)
He’s off his rocker
He’s crazy
He’s sitting on the fence
He can’t make up his mind
It is a poor workman who blames his tools
If you can’t do the job, don’t blame it on others
It is always darkest before the dawn
Things are going to get better
It takes two to tango
One person alone isn’t responsible. Both people are involved.
Jump on the bandwagon
Follow a trend, do what everyone else is doing
(as part of a sentence)
Leave no stone unturned
Look everywhere
(as part of a sentence)
Like riding a bicycle
Something you never forget how to do
(as part of a sentence)
Like two peas in a pod
They’re always together
(as part of a sentence)
Make hay while the sun shines
Take advantage of a good situation
(as part of a sentence)
On cloud nine
Very happy
(as part of a sentence)
Once bitten, twice shy
You’re more cautious when you’ve been hurt before
Out of the frying pan and into the fire
Things are going from bad to worse
Run like the wind
Run fast
(as part of a sentence)
Snowed under
Busy
(as part of a sentence)
That ship has sailed
It’s too late
The pot calling the kettle black
Someone criticizing someone else he is just as bad
(as part of a sentence)
Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones
People who are morally questionable shouldn’t criticize others
Through thick and thin
In good times and in bad times
(as part of a sentence)
Time is money
Work quickly
Waste not, want not
Don’t waste things and you’ll always have enough
We see eye to eye
We agree
When it rains it pours
Everything is going wrong at once
You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar
You’ll get what you want by being nice
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink
You can’t force someone to make the right decision
You can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs
There’s always a cost to doing something
