Idiomatic Expressions Flashcards
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
Having something that is certain is much better than taking a risk for more because chances are you might lose
A blessing in disguise
Something good that isn’t recognized at first
A chip on your shoulder
Being upset for something that happened in the past
A dime a dozen
Anything that is common and easy to get
A doubting thomas
A skeptic needs physical or personal evidence in order to believe something
A drop in a bucket
A very small part of something big or whole
A fool and his money are easily parted
It is easy for a foolish person to lose his or her money
A penny safe is a penny earned
By not spending money you are saving money
A picture paints a thousand words
A visual presentation is far more descriptive than words
A piece of cake
A task that can be accomplished very easily
Slap on the wrist
Very mild punishment
A taste of your own medicine
When you are mistreated the same way you mistreated others
A toss up
A result that is still unclear and can go either way
Add fuel to the fire
Whenever something is done to make a bad situation even worse than it is
Action speaks louder than words
It is better to actually do something than just talk about it
Against the clock
Rush and short on time
All bark and no bite
When someone is threatening and/or aggressive but not willing
All in the same boat
When everyone is facing the same challenges
An arm and a leg
Very expensive/ a large amount of money
An acts to grind
To have a dispute with someone
Apple of my eye
Someone who is cherished above all others
As high as kite
Anything that is high up in the sky
At the drop of a hat
Willing to do something immediately
Back seat driver
People who criticize from the sideline much like someone giving unwanted advice from the backseat of a vehicle to the driver
Back to square one
Having to start all over again
Back to the drawing board
When an attempt feel and it’s time to start all over
Barker’s dozen
Thirteen
Barking up the wrong tree
A mistake made is something you are trying to achieve
Beat a dead horse
To force an issue that has already ended
Beating around the bush
Avoiding the main topic /not speaking directly about the issue
Bend over backwards
Do whatever it takes to help/ willing to do anything
Between a rock and a hard place
Stuck between two very bad options
Bite off more than you can chew
To take on a test that is way too big
Bite your tongue
To avoid talking
Blood is thicker than water
Family bond is closer than anything else
Blue moon
A rare event or occurrence
Break a leg
A superstitious ways to say good luck without saying good luck but rather opposite
Buy a lemon
To purchase a vehicle that constantly gives problem or stop running after you drive it away
Can’t cut the mustard
Someone who isn’t adequate enough to compete or participate
Cast iron stomach
Someone was no problem complication or ill effects with eating anything or drinking anything
Charley horse
Stiffness in legs or a leg cramp
Chew someone out
Verbally scold someone
Chow down
To eat
Close but no cigar
To be very near and almost accomplish a goal but fall short
Cock and bull story
An unbelievable tale
Come hell for high water
Any difficult situation or obstacle
Crack someone up
To make someone laugh
Cross your fingers
To hope that something happens the way you wanted it to
Cry over spilt milk
When you complain about a loss from the past
Cry wolf
Intentionally raise a false alarm
Cup of joe
A cup of coffee
Curiosity killed the cat
Being inquisitive you into dangerous situation
Cut to the chase
Live out all the unnecessary details and just get to the point
Dark horse
One who was previously unknown and is now prominent
Dead ringer
100% identical or duplicate
Devil’s advocate
Someone who takes a position for the sake of argument without believing in the particular side of argument
The one who presents a counter argument for a position they do believe in to another debater
Dog days of summer
The hottest days of summer season
Don’t count your chicken before they hatch
Don’t rely on it until you’re sure of it
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
When someone gives you a gift don’t be and grateful
Don’t pull all your eggs in one basket
Do not pull all your resources in one possibility
Doozy
Something outstanding
Down to the wire
Something that ends at the last minute or last few seconds
Drink like a fish
To drink very heavily
Dry run
Rehearsal
Dropping like flies
A large number of people either falling ill or dying
Drive someone up the wall
To irritate or annoy very much
86
A certain item is no longer available/ to throw away
Very cloud has a silver lining
Be optimistic, even difficult times will lead to better days
Excuse my french
Please forgive me for cussing
Everything but the kitchen sink
Almost everything and anything has been included
Finding your feet
To become more comfortable in whatever you are doing
Finger lickin’ good
A very tasty food or meal
Foam at the mouth
To be enrage and show it
French kiss
An open mouth kiss where tongue touches
From rugs to riches
From being very poor to being very wealthy
Full monty
The whole thing or completely nude
Fuddy dubby
An old fashioned and foolish type of person
Funny farm
A mental institutional facility
Get over it
To move beyond something that is bothering you
Get up on the wrong side of the bed
Someone who is having a horrible day
Get your walking papers
Get fired from a job
Give him the slip
To get away from or to escape
Go down like a lead balloon
To be received badly by an audience
Go for broke
To gamble everything you have
Go the extra mile
Going above and beyond whatever is required for the task at hand
Gut feeling
A personal intuition you get especially when feel something may not be right
Haste make waste
Quickly doing things result in a poor ending
He lost his head
Angry and overcome by emotions
Head over heels
Very excited enjoyful especially when in love
High five
Slapping palm over each other’s head as a celebration
High on the hog
Living in luxury
Hit the books
To study especially for an
Hit the hay
Hit the sack
Go to bed or to sleep
Hit the nail on the head
Do something exactly right or say something exactly right
Hold your horses
Be patient
I sing on the cake
When you already have it good and get something on the top of what you’re already have
If it’s not one thing it’s another
When one thing goes wrong then another and another
In like Flynn
To be easily successful especially when sexual or romantic
In the bag
To have something secured
In the buff
Nude
In the head of the moment
Overwhelmed by what is happening in the moment
In your face
An aggressive and bold confrontation
It takes two to tango
A two person conflict where both people are at fault
It’s a small world
You frequently see the same people in different places
Its anyone call
A competition where the outcome is difficult to judge or predict
Jaywalk
Crossing the street without using the crosswalk
Joshing me
Tricking me
Keep an eye on him
You should carefully watch him
Keep your chin up
To remain joyful in a tough situation
Kick the bucket
Die die
Knee jerk reaction
A quick and automatic response
Knock on wood
Knuckle topping on wood in order to avoid something bad luck
Know the ropes
To understand the details
Last but not the least
An introduction phrase to let audience know that the last person mentioned is no less important than those introduced before him or her
Lend me your ears
To politely ask for someone’s full attention
Let bygones be bygones
To forgot about a disagreement or argument
Let’s sleeping dogs lie
To avoid restarting a conflict
Let the cut out of the bag
To share a secret that wasn’t supposed to be shared
Level playing field
A fair competition where no side has an advantage
Liquor someone up
To get someone drunk
Long in the tooth
Old people or horses
Loose canon
Someone who is unpredictable and can cause damage if not kept in check
Make no bones about
To state a fact so there are no doubts or objections
Method to my madness
Strange or crazy actions that appear meaningless but in the end are done for a good reason
Mambo jumbo
Nonsense or meaningless speech
Mums the word
To keep quiet/ to say nothing
Nest egg
Saving sets aside for future use
Never bite the hand that feeds you
Don’t hurt anyone that helps you
New kid on the block
Someone new in the group or area
New york minute
Eminent that seems to go by quickly especially in a fast paced environment
No dice
To not agree/ to not accept
Not playing with a full deck
Someone who lacks intelligence
Off on the wrong foot
Getting a bad start on a relationship or task
Off the hook
No longer have to deal with a tough situation
Off the record
Something said in confidence that when speaking doesn’t want attributed to him or her
One pins and needles
Anxious or nervous especially in anticipation of something
On the fence
Undecided
On the same page
When multiple people all agree on the same thing
Out of the blue
Something that suddenly and unexpectedly occurs
Out on a limb
When someone puts self in a risky situation
Out on the town
To enjoy yourself by going out
Over my dead buddy
When you absolutely will not allow something to happen
Over the top
Very excessive
Pass the buck
Avoid responsibility by giving it to someone else
Pedal to the metal
To go full speed especially while driving a vehicle
Peeping tom
Someone who observes people in the nude or sexual active people mainly for his own gratification
Pick up your ears
To listen very carefully
Pig in a poke
A deal that is made without first examining it
Pig out
To eat a lot and eat it quickly
Pipe down
To push up or be quiet
Practice makes perfect
By constantly practicing you will become better
Pull the plug
To stop something or to bring something to an end
Pulling your leg
Tricking someone as a joke
Put a suck in it
To tell noisy people or other group to be quiet
Queer the pitch
Destroy a ruin a plan
Raincheck
An offer or deal that is declined right now but willing to accept later
Raining cats and dogs
I very loud enough your rain storm
Rain fencing
Separated usual judgment to guarante protection especially project funds
Rain and shine
Time to get out of bed and get ready for work or school
Rule of thumb
A rough estimate
Run out of steam
To be completely out of energy
Saved by the bell
Save at the last possible moment
Scott free
To escape and not have to pay
Sick as the dog
To be very sick
Sitting shotgun
Riding in the front passenger seat of the car
Sixth sense
A paranormal sense that allows you to communicate with the dead
Skid row
The random area of the city where the homeless and drug users live
Smell a rat
To detect someone in the group of betraying the others
Smell something fishy
Detecting something isn’t right and there might be a reason for it
Son of a gun
A scamp
Southpaw
Someone who is left handed
Spitting image
The exact likeness or kind
Start from scratch
To do it all over again from the beginning
The ball in your court
It is your decision this time
The best of both worlds
There are two choices and you have them both
The bigger they are the harder they fall
While the bigger and stronger opponent might be a lot more difficult to beat when you do they suffer a much bigger loss
The last straw
When one small burden after another creates and unbearable situation the last straw is the last small burden that one can take
The whole 9 yards
Everything/ all of it
Third times a charm
After no success the first two times the third try is a lock one
Tie the knot
To get married
Till the cow comes home
A long time
To make a long story short
Something someone would say during a long and boring story in order to keep his audience from losing attention usually the story isn’t shortened
To steal someone’s thunder
To take the credit for something someone else did
Tongue and cheek
Humor not to be taken serious
Turn a blind eye
Refused acknowledge is something you know is real or legit
23 skidoo
To be turned away
Under the weather
Feeling ill or sick
Up a blind alley
Going down a course of action that leads to a bed outcome
Use your loaf
Use your head/ think smart
Van Gogh’s ear for music
Tone deaf
Variety is the spice of life
The more experiences you try the more exciting life can be
Wag the dog
Other version away from something of greater importance
Water under the bridge
Anything from the past that isn’t significant or important anymore
Where your heart on your sleeve
To openly and freely express your emotions
When it rains it pours
Since it really rains when it does it will be a huge storm
When pigs fly
Something that will never ever happen
Wild and woolly
Uncultured and without laws
Wine and dine
When somebody is treated to an expensive meal
Without a doubt
For certain
X marks the spot
The phrase that is said when someone finds something he or she has been looking for
You are what you eat
In order to stay healthy you must eat healthy foods
You can’t judge a book by its cover
Decisions should be made primarily on appearance
You can’t take it wirth you
Enjoy what you have and not what you don’t have since when you die you can take things with you
Your guest is as good as mine
I have no idea
Zero tolerance
No crime or law breaking
