Idioms Flashcards
Fifteen Minutes of Fame
A very short time in the spotlight
The Eleventh Hour
To do it at the last possible moment
A Catch 22
Impossible situation because you cannot do both things at the same time
A Stitch in Time Saves Nine
It is better to spend time to deal with a problem right now than wait until later
A Sunday Drive
A person who drives slowly
Your Sunday’s Best
Wearing your best clothes for special occasions
Six Ways to Sunday
In every way imaginable
From Here Until Next Tuesday
For a great distance or a long time
Break the Ice
To say or do something to make people feel relaxed and comfortable
Burning Daylight
To waste time
The Cold Shoulder
To treat someone with coldness
Full of Hot Air
Someone is talking a lot but saying very little
Above the Law
To criticize someone for acting like they do not need to obey the law
Below the Belt
Unfairly disregarding the rules
A Notch Above
Something is slightly superior to someone else
To fly below the radar
Not creating attention
Ace up your sleeve
A powerful advantage to be used if needed
Stack the deck
To arrange something like cards or situation in dishonest way to give yourself an unfair advantage
A card shark
A person who makes money by cheating at card games
The trump card
An advantage that makes you win more than others and they don’t know about it
A dime a dozen
Very common and of no popular value
Penny wise pound foolish
Careful about small amounts of money but not about large amounts
Put your money where your mouth is
Spending money to improve a bad situation instead of simply talking about it
From rags to riches
A life of someone who was poor and later became very rich
A rain on your parade
To do something that spoils someones plans
Steal someones thunder
Take attention away from other person while being to your own advantage
On cloud nine
To be extremely happy
Tempest in a teapot
A great commotion over an unimportant matter
A green thumb
Good at gardening
Caught red-handed
Caught in the act
Hat in hand
Humble manner to not brag
Work my fingers to the bone
To work very hard
A rising tide lifts all boats
All problems that are huge like the ocean
Dave Jones locker
Bottom of the ocean
Like ships passing in the night
People who don’t see each other
Apple of my eye
Someone or something that is very important to you and you are fond of them
When life gives you lemons make lemonade
Way to encourage a positive attitude
Sour grapes
Person is very angry because they have not gotten what they wanted
I heard it through the grapevine
Something that has been learned through word of mouth
A little bird told me
You are not going to say how you found out about something
A feather in my cap
An achievement or honor that someone can be proud of
A swan song
A farewell appearance
A canary in a coal mine
An early warning of danger
Don’t look a gifted horse in a mouth
Don’t criticize a gift when you don’t like it
You can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink
You can do everything to help someone but you cant force someone to accept your help
Don’t change horses midstream
To stop using one system and start using another one
A dark horse
A contestant or political figure whos abilities and chances are not known
Bring home the bacon
To earn the money that is needed to live
Pork barrell
Spending a lot of money on a local project in order to win votes
Pig in poke
Used when someone buys something without inspecting it
Ham fisted
Clumsy with hands
A red herring
Something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question
You have bigger fish to fry
To not be interested in something because you have something more interesting to do
Big fish in a small pond
Powerful and important but only with a small group of people
A fish out of water
Person who feels akward because they are in a situation that is not familiar
Under my skin
To irritate or upset someone
Blood is thicker than water
Bonds formed by being in a battle together with someone
Made my blood run cold
To feel very frightened
Speak of the devil
When someone mentioned in the current conversation happens to walk in the room
Blue blooded
Has been born into a family that belongs in the highest social class
Too rich for my blood
Too expensive or fancy to for someones preferences
Get blood from a stone
To make someone give or tell you something
Devils advocate
Someone who pretends in a argument or discussion
To get cold feet
A lack of courage or confidence
To drag your feet
Delay doing something or doing it slowly because you don’t want to do it
Hold your feet to the fire
To maintain social, political, or legal pressure on someone
Put your foot in your mouth
To say something by accident that is embarrassing
Get your ducks in a row
Make all preparations to do something
Like a sitting duck
Easy to attack
Lame duck
Something is not successful
Just ducky
Very pleasing
