idioms Flashcards
Idiom
Meaning
A blessing in disguise
A misfortune that turns out to be beneficial
A dime a dozen
Very common, not unique
A drop in the bucket
A small amount compared to what’s needed
A penny for your thoughts
Asking someone what they’re thinking
A picture is worth a thousand words
Visuals convey more than words
Actions speak louder than words
What you do matters more than what you say
Add fuel to the fire
Worsen an already bad situation
All bark and no bite
Threatening but not acting
All ears
Listening eagerly
All in the same boat
In the same situation
Apple of my eye
Someone very dear
At the drop of a hat
Instantly, without hesitation
Back to square one
Start over
Back to the drawing board
Start over after a failure
Barking up the wrong tree
Mistaking the target or approach
Beat a dead horse
Waste effort on a lost cause
Beat around the bush
Avoid the main issue
Bend over backwards
Try very hard to help
Best of both worlds
Ideal situation with all benefits
Better late than never
It’s good even if delayed
Bite off more than you can chew
Take on too much
Bite the bullet
Face a tough situation bravely
Blood is thicker than water
Family ties are stronger
Break a leg
Wish for good luck
Break the ice
Start a conversation
Burn bridges
Destroy relationships
Burn the midnight oil
Work late
By the skin of your teeth
Barely succeed
Call it a day
Stop working
Can’t judge a book by its cover
Don’t judge by appearance
Caught red-handed
Caught in the act
Chip on your shoulder
Holding a grudge
Clean slate
Fresh start
Climb the ladder
Advance in career
Come rain or shine
No matter what
Cross that bridge when you come to it
Deal with it later
Cry over spilled milk
Regret what’s done
Cry wolf
Raise false alarms
Curiosity killed the cat
Being too curious causes trouble
Cut corners
Do something poorly to save time
Cut to the chase
Get to the point
Devil’s advocate
Argue to test ideas
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
Don’t assume success
Down to the wire
Until the last moment
Draw the line
Set a limit
Drop the ball
Make a mistake
Easier said than done
Harder to do than say
Every cloud has a silver lining
Something good in bad situations
Every dog has its day
Everyone gets a chance
Fit as a fiddle
In great health
Get a taste of your own medicine
Experience what you’ve done
Get your act together
Organize yourself
Give the benefit of the doubt
Trust despite uncertainty
Go the extra mile
Do more than expected
Hit the nail on the head
Be exactly right
Hit the ground running
Start effectively
In hot water
In trouble
In the heat of the moment
Acting impulsively
Jump on the bandwagon
Follow a trend
Keep your chin up
Stay positive
Kick the bucket
Die (informal)
Kill two birds with one stone
Solve two problems at once
Let the cat out of the bag
Reveal a secret
Let sleeping dogs lie
Avoid old issues
Make a long story short
Summarize
No pain, no gain
Hard work brings results
Off the hook
Escape responsibility
On cloud nine
Extremely happy
Once in a blue moon
Very rarely
Over the moon
Thrilled
Piece of cake
Very easy
Pull someone’s leg
Tease
Pull the plug
Stop something
Rain on someone’s parade
Spoil their mood
Rome wasn’t built in a day
Big tasks take time
Shoot the breeze
Chat casually
Sit on the fence
Be undecided
Spill the beans
Reveal a secret
Steal someone’s thunder
Take their credit
Take it with a grain of salt
Don’t fully believe
The ball is in your court
Your turn to act
The last straw
Final problem
Throw in the towel
Give up
Under the weather
Feeling unwell
Up in the air
Uncertain
When pigs fly
Never going to happen
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
Value what you have
A fish out of water
Feeling out of place
A leopard can’t change its spots
People don’t change
All’s fair in love and war
Rules don’t apply
An arm and a leg
Very expensive
At your wits’ end
Frustrated, no ideas left
Between a rock and a hard place
Tough choice
Blow off steam
Release stress
Break the bank
Spend too much
Burn your fingers
Get hurt by risk
Caught in the crossfire
Harmed in a conflict
Cross your fingers
Wish for luck
Cut your losses
Stop to avoid worse
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you
Don’t harm your supporter
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Diversify risks
Down in the dumps
Feeling sad
Face the music
Accept consequences
Get cold feet
Become nervous
Give someone the cold shoulder
Ignore them
Go down in flames
Fail spectacularly
Have a bone to pick
Have an issue to discuss
Hit the jackpot
Big success
Hold your horses
Wait a moment
In a nutshell
Briefly
In the doghouse
In trouble
Jump the gun
Act too soon
Keep your eyes peeled
Stay alert
Leave no stone unturned
Try everything
Let the genie out of the bottle
Cause irreversible change
Miss the boat
Miss an opportunity
Off the top of your head
Without preparation
On the same page
In agreement
Out of your depth
Beyond ability
Play it by ear
Improvise
Put the cart before the horse
Do things out of order
Rock the boat
Cause trouble
Roll with the punches
Adapt to setbacks
See eye to eye
Agree
Smell a rat
Suspect something wrong
Speak of the devil
Person appears when mentioned
Take the bull by the horns
Face a challenge boldly
The elephant in the room
Obvious issue ignored
Through thick and thin
In all circumstances
Turn a blind eye
Ignore something
Up your sleeve
Hidden plan
Walk on eggshells
Be cautious
Water under the bridge
Past, forgiven
Weather the storm
Survive tough times
Wrap your head around
Understand
Your guess is as good as mine
No idea
A chip off the old block
Like their parent
A clean bill of health
Declared healthy
A feather in your cap
An achievement
A fool and his money are soon parted
Foolish spending
A needle in a haystack
Hard to find
A tough nut to crack
Difficult problem
An ace up your sleeve
Hidden advantage
At the end of your rope
No more patience
Back against the wall
In a tough spot
Batten down the hatches
Prepare for trouble
Beat the clock
Finish early
Beggars can’t be choosers
Take what’s offered
Bell the cat
Take on a risky task
Birds of a feather flock together
Similar people group
Bite your tongue
Hold back words
Break the mold
Be unique
Bring home the bacon
Earn money
Burn the candle at both ends
Overwork
By hook or by crook
Any way possible
Call the shots
Be in charge
Cast the first stone
Judge first
Caught with your pants down
Unprepared
Chew the fat
Chat idly
Clear the air
Resolve tension
Close but no cigar
Almost succeeded
Cost an arm and a leg
Very expensive
Crack the whip
Enforce discipline
Cry your eyes out
Cry a lot
Cut the mustard
Meet expectations
Dead as a doornail
Completely dead
Don’t hold your breath
Don’t expect it soon
Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater
Don’t discard good with bad
Down the rabbit hole
Into a strange situation
Draw a blank
Forget something
Drop like flies
Fail or die quickly
Eat your heart out
Be jealous
Every trick in the book
All possible methods
Fall on deaf ears
Be ignored
Fish or cut bait
Decide or give up
Fit like a glove
Perfect match
Flat as a pancake
Very flat
Follow in someone’s footsteps
Do as they did
Get a kick out of
Enjoy
Get the ball rolling
Start something
Give an inch, they take a mile
They take advantage
Go belly up
Fail
Grind to a halt
Stop completely
Have a screw loose
Act crazy
High and dry
Abandoned
Hit rock bottom
Lowest point
Hold the fort
Take charge
In the driver’s seat
In control
Jump through hoops
Work hard
Keep your powder dry
Stay ready
Kick up a fuss
Complain loudly
Knock it out of the park
Do great
Last ditch effort
Final try
Let off steam
Release stress
Light at the end of the tunnel
Hope ahead
Like herding cats
Very difficult
Make a mountain out of a molehill
Exaggerate
Mend fences
Repair relations
Off your rocker
Crazy
On a shoestring
Low budget
On the back burner
Delayed
Over the top
Excessive
Paint the town red
Celebrate wildly
Play second fiddle
Be less important
Pull out all the stops
Do everything
Put your money where your mouth is
Prove it
Rack your brains
Think hard
Read the riot act
Scold
Red herring
Distraction
Rub elbows
Socialize
Run the gauntlet
Face challenges
See red
Get angry
Shape up or ship out
Improve or leave
Shoot from the hip
Speak impulsively
Six of one, half a dozen of the other
Same thing
Skate on thin ice
Take risks
Sleep with the fishes
Dead (informal)
Spare the rod, spoil the child
Discipline needed
Split hairs
Argue small details
Steal the show
Outshine
Stir the pot
Cause trouble
Take a rain check
Postpone
Talk turkey
Discuss seriously
Thick as thieves
Very close
Throw a wrench in the works
Disrupt
Turn on a dime
Change quickly
Walk a tightrope
Balance carefully
Wheel and deal
Negotiate cleverly
Whistle in the dark
Pretend bravery
With flying colors
Great success
You reap what you sow
Face consequences
A hard pill to swallow
Tough to accept
A one-trick pony
Limited skill
A wolf in sheep’s clothing
Hidden danger
All thumbs
Clumsy
Backseat driver
Unwanted advisor
Bark is worse than your bite
Threats are empty
Beat the bushes
Search thoroughly
Below the belt
Unfair
Bend the rules
Make exceptions
Big fish in a small pond
Important locally
Black sheep
Odd one out
Blow your top
Get angry
Break even
No profit or loss
Bring the house down
Get big applause
Bury the hatchet
Make peace
By the book
Follow rules
Call a spade a spade
Be blunt
Can of worms
Complex problem
Cat got your tongue?
Why so quiet?
Caught napping
Unprepared
Change your tune
Alter opinion
Chase your tail
Waste effort
Clean as a whistle
Pure or clear
Clutch at straws
Desperate attempt
Come clean
Admit truth
Cook the books
Falsify records
Count your blessings
Be grateful
Crack of dawn
Very early
Cut and dried
Clear and simple
Cut to the quick
Deeply hurt
Dead in the water
No progress
Die hard
Resist change
Don’t rock the boat
Avoid trouble
Draw the short straw
Get unlucky
Drive a hard bargain
Negotiate tough
Drop the mic
End dramatically
Eat crow
Admit wrong
Face value
Take literally
Fall by the wayside
Fail or quit
Fence-sitter
Undecided
Get bent out of shape
Upset
Get the show on the road
Start
Give someone a run for their money
Challenge them
Go for broke
Risk everything
Grin and bear it
Endure silently
Have a blast
Have fun
Head over heels
Deeply in love
Hit the books
Study hard
Hot off the press
Fresh news
In a pickle
In trouble
In over your head
Beyond ability
It takes two to tango
Both are responsible
Jump ship
Abandon something
Keep it under wraps
Keep secret
Knock on wood
Wish for luck
Know the ropes
Be experienced
Lay it on thick
Exaggerate praise
Leave in the lurch
Abandon someone
Let your hair down
Relax
Like shooting fish in a barrel
Very easy
Live and learn
Learn from mistakes
Look before you leap
Think first
Make ends meet
Cover expenses
Money doesn’t grow on trees
It’s not easy to get
Nip it in the bud
Stop early
Not my cup of tea
Not my preference
On a roll
Having success
On pins and needles
Nervous
Once bitten, twice shy
Cautious after failure
Out of the frying pan into the fire
Worse situation
Pass the buck
Shift blame
Pay through the nose
Pay a lot
Play with fire
Take risks
Put a sock in it
Be quiet
Put your foot in your mouth
Say something embarrassing
Raise the bar
Set higher standards
Read between the lines
Understand hidden meaning
Reinvent the wheel
Redo unnecessarily
Rest on your laurels
Rely on past success
Right as rain
Perfectly fine
Rub salt in the wound
Make worse
Run out of steam
Lose energy
Saved by the bell
Rescued at the last moment
Set the record straight
Correct a mistake
Show your true colors
Reveal character
Sick as a dog
Very ill
Sit tight
Wait patiently
Sleep on it
Think overnight
Smell something fishy
Suspect deceit
Spit and image
Very similar
Start from scratch
Begin anew
Stick to your guns
Hold your position
Strike while the iron is hot
Act at the right time
Sweep under the rug
Hide a problem
Take the wind out of your sails
Disappoint
Test the waters
Try cautiously
The best of both worlds
All benefits
The bigger they are, the harder they fall
Big failures hurt more
The whole nine yards
Everything
Through the grapevine
By rumor
Throw caution to the wind
Take a risk
Tie the knot
Get married
Time flies when you’re having fun
Time passes quickly
Toot your own horn
Boast
Turn the tables
Reverse a situation
Under your nose
Obvious but missed
Up to scratch
Meets standards
Walk the plank
Face punishment
Wear your heart on your sleeve
Show emotions
When the going gets tough
In hard times
Wild goose chase
Pointless pursuit
Work like a charm
Work perfectly
You can’t have your cake and eat it too
Can’t have everything
Your call
Your decision
A dime a dozen
Very common
A clean sweep
Complete victory
A dark horse
Unexpected winner
A house of cards
Fragile structure
A labor of love
Work done for passion
A shot in the dark
Guess with little chance
A stone’s throw
Very close
A taste of your own medicine
Experience what you give
Above board
Honest
Against the grain
Contrary to preference
All hell breaks loose
Chaos erupts
All over the map
Disorganized
An axe to grind
Hidden motive
Around the bend
Crazy
As the crow flies
Direct route
At loose ends
Idle
Back the wrong horse
Support the loser
Bad blood
Hostility
Bang for your buck
Value for money
Beat the pants off
Defeat thoroughly
Behind the eight ball
In trouble
Below par
Substandard
Bite the dust
Die or fail
Blow a fuse
Lose temper
Blue blood
Aristocracy
Boil down to
Simplify to
Break the mold
Be original
Bring to the table
Contribute
Buckle down
Work hard
Burn rubber
Drive fast
Burst your bubble
Disappoint
Butter someone up
Flatter
By the skin of your teeth
Barely
Call it quits
Give up
Carve out a niche
Create a specialty
Cash cow
Reliable profit source
Cast-iron stomach
Tolerate bad food
Cat’s out of the bag
Secret revealed
Caught with your hand in the cookie jar
Caught stealing
Change horses in midstream
Switch plans
Chase rainbows
Pursue impossible dreams
Cheap shot
Unfair attack
Chickens come home to roost
Consequences return
Chin up
Stay positive
Clip someone’s wings
Limit freedom
Close shave
Narrow escape
Cold feet
Nervousness
Come full circle
Return to start
Cook someone’s goose
Ruin their plans
Crash and burn
Fail spectacularly
Cross the line
Go too far
Crunch time
Critical moment
Cut a rug
Dance well
Cut the cheese
Fart
Dead ringer
Exact lookalike
Deep pockets
Wealthy
Dog days
Hot summer period
Dog-eat-dog
Ruthlessly competitive
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
Accept gifts graciously
Down the drain
Wasted
Draw a line in the sand
Set a boundary
Dress to the nines
Wear fancy clothes
Drink the Kool-Aid
Believe blindly
Drop the dime
Inform on someone
Dry run
Practice
Duck and cover
Hide
Eat humble pie
Admit fault humbly
Eat your words
Admit being wrong
Every man for himself
Self-preservation
Eye for an eye
Retaliation
Fall off the wagon
Relapse
Feather your nest
Build wealth
Feel the pinch
Financial strain
Fiddle while Rome burns
Ignore crisis
Fight fire with fire
Match aggression
Find your feet
Adjust
First things first
Prioritize
Fish out of water
Out of place
Flash in the pan
Short-lived success
Fly by the seat of your pants
Improvise
Fly off the handle
Lose temper
Fool’s gold
False promise
Foot the bill
Pay
Full steam ahead
Maximum effort
Get a leg up
Gain advantage
Get off your high horse
Stop acting superior
Get the boot
Be fired
Get your goat
Annoy
Give lip service
Empty promises
Give the shirt off your back
Be generous
Go cold turkey
Quit abruptly
Go out on a limb
Take a risk
Go to pot
Deteriorate
Go to the dogs
Decline
Golden handshake
Generous severance
Good riddance
Glad they’re gone
Grasp at straws
Desperate effort
Grease the wheels
Facilitate
Green with envy
Jealous
Ground zero
Starting point
Hands down
Easily
Hang in the balance
Uncertain outcome
Hang your hat
Settle
Hard nut to crack
Difficult person
Have a field day
Enjoy greatly
Have your cake and eat it too
Want everything
Heart on your sleeve
Show emotions
Hit below the belt
Unfair attack
Hit the ceiling
Get furious
Hold a candle to
Compare favorably
Hold your own
Compete well
Hot potato
Controversial issue
In a jam
In trouble
In cold blood
Deliberately cruel
In the bag
Certain success
In the black
Profitable
In the red
In debt
It’s Greek to me
Incomprehensible
Jack of all trades
Versatile
Jump down someone’s throat
Criticize harshly
Keep a stiff upper lip
Stay brave
Keep tabs on
Monitor
Knock someone’s socks off
Impress greatly
Know which way the wind blows
Understand trends
Lay down the law
Enforce rules
Leave high and dry
Abandon
Let the chips fall where they may
Accept outcomes
Like a bat out of hell
Very fast
Like taking candy from a baby
Very easy
Live hand to mouth
Barely survive
Long in the tooth
Old
Loose cannon
Unpredictable person
Make a clean break
End completely
Make waves
Cause disruption
Meet halfway
Compromise
Mind your own beeswax
Stay out of it
Muddy the waters
Confuse
Neck and neck
Equal
No spring chicken
Not young
Not playing with a full deck
Not smart
Off the rails
Out of control
On a wing and a prayer
With little chance
On the ball
Competent
On the fence
Undecided
On the ropes
In trouble
Once in a lifetime
Very rare
One foot in the grave
Near death
Out of left field
Unexpected
Out of the woods
Safe
Over a barrel
At a disadvantage
Pass with flying colors
Succeed brilliantly
Pay the piper
Face consequences
Penny wise, pound foolish
Frugal but wasteful
Pick up the pieces
Recover
