English Idioms and Phrases List

REF	IDIOM/PHRASE	MEANING	EXAMPLE
COLOURS
ID01	(be) green with envy	be very jealous, envious	Steve's friends were green with envy when they saw his new car.
ID01	a red-letter day	a day which will always be remembered	This is certainly a red-letter day for us to remember all our lives.
ID01	grey matter	a person's intelligence	If she uses her grey matter, she can solve this math problem.
ID01	lend colour to something	make sth appear more credible	Don't believe him. He always lends colour to his story.
ID01	out of the blue	without warning, unexpectedly	She told me, out of the blue, that she was going to live in Spain.
ID01	be (kept) in the dark	be kept uninformed about something	It wasn't right for a man in his position to be kept in the dark.
ID01	be in the black	have money in your bank account	After years of financial problems our company is in the black again.
ID01	white-collar	relating to people who work in offices	It has put many white-collar workers in danger of losing their jobs.
ID01	yellow-bellied	not brave and easily frightened	The yellow-bellied soldier ran away from the battlefield.
ID01	be tickled pink	be very pleased or happy	They were tickled pink to see their friends on television.
TIME
ID02	in the blink of an eye	extremely quickly	That shopping centre has gone up in the blink of an eye.
ID02	at the crack of dawn	very early in the morning, at dawn	Greg was up at the crack of dawn and often not home until late.
ID02	around/round the clock	all day and all night without stopping	They are working around the clock to find survivors of the explosion.
ID02	on the spur of the moment	on impulse, without planning in advance	He doesn't make decisions like this on the spur of the moment.
ID02	live on borrowed time	likely to fail or die very soon	She's been living on borrowed time ever since her last heart attack.
ID02	in the long run	over or after a long period of time	Moving to Australia will be better for her in the long run.
ID02	since time immemorial	for a very long time	These islands have been Japanese territory since time immemorial.
ID02	on the dot	exactly at the stated or expected time	Marianne always leaves the office at 4.30 p.m. on the dot.
ID02	in the nick of time	just before it is too late	He escaped from his smoke-filled home just in the nick of time.
ID02	at the best of times	when everything is going well	It's crowded at the best of times but today it was unbearable.
PARTS OF THE BODY (NOUNS)
ID03	poke one's nose into sth	get involved in sb else's private affairs	Alice was always poking her nose into other people's business.
ID03	catch sb's eye	be attractive enough to be noticed by sb	It was the unusual colour of her jacket that caught my eye.
ID03	put a brave face on sth	deliberately concealing one's true feelings	His results were disappointing but he tried to put a brave face on it.
ID03	get sth off your chest	tell sb about sth that's been worrying you	You're worried about something; why not get it off your chest?
ID03	off/on the back of sth	as a result of an achievement or a success	The company's profits have risen on the back of increased sales.
ID03	by the skin of one's teeth	by a very narrow margin, only just	Thankfully, the crew escaped by the skin of their teeth.
ID03	pull somebody's leg	deceive someone playfully, tease someone	Is it really your house or are you pulling my leg?
ID03	have a change of heart	a move to a different opinion or attitude	She said she's not coming, but she might have a change of heart.
ID03	cost an arm and a leg	be extremely expensive	A week at a health resort can cost an arm and a leg.
ID03	have sth on the brain	be always thinking about something	It's unbelievable - you have music on the brain 24 hours a day!
PARTS OF THE BODY (VERBS)
ID04	foot the bill	pay for sth, esp. something expensive	Who is going to foot the bill for the failure of this experiment?
ID04	face the music	accept punishment for sth one has done	Someday she's going to have to face the music for her actions.
ID04	shoulder a responsibility	deal with or accept something difficult	Matt has had to shoulder the responsibility of his father's mistakes.
ID04	elbow your way	make one's way through something	I had to elbow my way through the crowd to board the train.
ID04	thumb a lift	hitchhike, ask for a ride	It's a common thing to thumb a lift to travel in western countries.
ID04	hand it to somebody	admire someone for their skills	You have to hand it to him. He's really good at football.
ID04	back the wrong horse	support sb/sth that is not successful	If you choose Ann over Mark, you would back the wrong horse.
ID04	head a team	lead or be in charge of (a team, agency)	He replaced Adam who headed the team for five years.
ID04	toe the line	follow orders, rules etc. strictly	In this company you must toe the line if you want to keep your job.
ID04	nose around/about	look for sth, especially information about sb	I caught Alice nosing around in my living room.
APPEARANCE
ID05	down at heel	having a poor, shabby appearance	John has been looking increasingly down at heel recently.
ID05	beauty is in the eye of the beholder	the perception of beauty is subjective	The truth is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
ID05	a sight for sore eyes	sb or sth that you are happy to see	After weeks of rain, the sunny day was a sight for sore eyes.
ID05	not a hair out of place	have a very neat appearance	Margaret had a lot of make-up on and not a hair out of place.
ID05	in your birthday suit	not wearing any clothes	The small boy dashed out of the bath in his birthday suit.
ID05	be thin on top	have lost some of the hair on your head	Freddie is wearing a hat because he's getting thin on top.
ID05	don't judge a book by its cover	do not form opinion using appearance	You can't judge a book by its cover, as the old saying goes.
ID05	somebody has a face like thunder	look extremely angry	Mary had a face like thunder. She looked very angry.
ID05	put years on somebody	cause to look or feel older	She's not even 40, but having two kids has put years on her!
ID05	grin/smile from ear to ear	smile widely	She was holding the baby, and grinning from ear to ear.
ANIMALS 1
ID06	take to sth (like a duck to water)	start to like someone or something	Henry took to learning languages like a duck to water.
ID06	have a bee in your bonnet	talk and think a lot about something	My teacher has a bee in her bonnet about spelling.
ID06	take the bull by the horns	bravely deal with a difficult problem	Why don't you take the bull by the horns and tell her to leave?
ID06	let the cat out of the bag	reveal a secret carelessly or by mistake	When Mary glanced at the carpet, she let the cat out of the bag.
ID06	shed/cry crocodile tears	become extremely emotional, moved	She shed crocodile tears when she dismissed him from his job.
ID06	have butterflies in one's stomach	feel very nervous or excited about sth	She used to have butterflies in her stomach before school tests.
ID06	till the cows come home	for an indefinitely long time	Arnold stays up and plays cards till the cows come home.
ID06	hold one's horses	wait a moment	Just hold your horses, Sean! Let's think about this for a moment.
ID06	have a whale of a time	enjoy oneself very much	We took our holidays in Ibiza and had a whale of a time.
ID06	wild goose chase	an attempt to find sth that does not exist	It looks like they've sent us on a wild goose chase.
ANIMALS 2
ID07	flog a dead horse	waste energy on a lost cause	She's flogging a dead horse by asking him to lend you money.
ID07	like water off a duck's back	having no effect on someone	Advice and correction roll off him like water off a duck's back.
ID07	the lion's share	the largest or best part of something	He earned a lot, but the lion's share goes for taxes.
ID07	as the crow flies	the most direct route between two places	The towns are no more than a kilometre apart as the crow flies.
ID07	eager beaver	an enthusiastic person who works very hard	When Hannah first started working she was a real eager beaver.
ID07	kill two birds with one stone	achieve two things in a single action	To speed my escape, we decided to kill two birds with one stone.
ID07	let sleeping dogs lie	leave things undisturbed	Don't tell him that I broke the window. Let sleeping dogs lie.
ID07	not enough room to swing a cat	very little or no space, very cramped	This bus is too crowded! I don't have enough room to swing a cat!
ID07	mutton dressed as lamb	a woman who tries to look younger	She's always careful to avoid looking like mutton dressed as lamb.
ID07	cook someone's goose	spoil sb's plans, cause sb's downfall	Another year of dismal sales will cook our goose, I'm afraid.
TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT
ID08	be in the same boat	be in the same difficult situation	Everyone has lost their job. We're all in the same boat.
ID08	be flying high	be very successful	Kevin's been flying high ever since he passed his driving test.
ID08	come to a standstill	slow down and finally stop	Because of the strike, the production has come to a standstill.
ID08	a backseat driver	a passenger who criticises the driver	I'm sorry to be a backseat driver, but why are you taking this route?
ID08	carry/take coals to Newcastle	take sth to a place where it is not needed	To offer her money is to carry coals to Newcastle; she is wealthy.
ID08	life in the fast lane	a way of living that is full of excitement	Tom lived life in the fast lane when he was young.
ID08	off the beaten track	in or into an isolated place	We are looking for a holiday spot that is off the beaten track.
ID08	put the cart before the horse	do two things in the wrong order	To teach writing before reading is to put the cart before the horse.
ID08	drive sb round the bend	make someone very bored or very angry	My girlfriend's been driving me round the bend recently.
ID08	have a bumpy ride	have a difficult time	He's had a bumpy ride at work during the last few months.
NATURE 1
ID09	come rain or shine	no matter what the weather is	Come rain or shine, we're going on a trip the day after tomorrow.
ID09	beat about the bush	avoid talking about what is important	Don't beat about the bush any more! Come straight to the point!
ID09	barking up the wrong tree	trying to do sth in a way that will not work	You're barking up the wrong tree if you think Gary can help you.
ID09	not hold water	not be or not appear to be true	Her demonstration of the deduction logic does not hold water.
ID09	not see the wood for the trees	not understand the main point about sth	He can't see the wood for the trees, he is really confused.
ID09	a storm in a teacup	great excitement about a trivial matter	They are continually quarreling, but it is usually a storm in a teacup.
ID09	walk/float on air	feel extremely excited or happy	Sonia has been walking on air since she is going to marry Greg.
ID09	under a cloud	under suspicion or discredited	The minister left his office under a cloud after a fraud scandal.
ID09	be in the land the living	be awake or to be alive	They tried to resuscitate her, but she wasn't in the land of the living.
ID09	make a mountain out of a molehill	exaggerate the importance of sth trivial	You are making a mountain out of a molehill, David.
NATURE 2
ID10	in broad daylight	during the day with many witnesses	The robbery occurred in broad daylight, in a crowded street.
ID10	a bolt from the blue	something totally unexpected	Her death at the age of 32 was a bolt from the blue.
ID10	down to earth	practical and realistic	Kevin was always down to earth and had very little imagination.
ID10	sell somebody down the river	betray sb for a personal benefit	He didn't expect to be sold down the river by his best friend.
ID10	leave no stone unturned	look for sth in every possible place	She left no stone unturned in her search for her natural mother.
ID10	stand your ground	refuse to change your opinion	Alice knows when to stand her ground and when to give in.
ID10	take something by storm	quickly become very successful or popular	Donato is set to take the music world by storm.
ID10	the tip of the iceberg	only a small part of a much larger problem	The reported cases of poisoning are only the tip of the iceberg.
ID10	muddy the waters	make a situation more confused	They keep on muddying the waters by raising other political issues.
ID10	go with the flow	follow trends without planning	I always do things your way. Can't you go with the flow for once?
LIFE AND DEATH
ID11	pay your last respects	honour someone after their death	We paid our last respects by standing quietly at the graveside.
ID11	look on the bright side	find good things in a bad situation	Even when things go badly, try to look on the bright side.
ID11	be alive and well/kicking	continue to be popular or successful	The carp was still alive and kicking when I bought it in the market.
ID11	be in the family way	be pregnant	They let her off the boat first because she's in the family way.
ID11	take the bad with the good	accept all the features or parts of sth	When it comes to this job, you have to take the bad with the good.
ID11	live on the breadline	be extremely poor	They've been living on the breadline for months now.
ID11	from beyond the grave	after a person has died	The old lady still influences the family from beyond the grave.
ID11	life is not all beer and skittles	life is not always easy, enjoyable, or fun	It goes without saying that life is not all beer and skittles.
ID11	be pushing up (the) daisies	be dead	You'll be pushing up the daisies long before it happens.
ID11	a new lease of life	another chance to lead a happy life	Since his heart surgery he's had a new lease of life.
NUMBERS
ID12	second to none	better than all others of the same kind	The city's public transport system is undoubtedly second to none.
ID12	dressed (up) to the nines	wearing very smart or elegant clothes	Last year at his party, everyone was dressed to the nines.
ID12	at the eleventh hour	the last moment or almost too late	Can you believe they backed out of the deal at the eleventh hour?
ID12	knock someone for six	utterly surprise or overcome someone	The emotional impact of losing a parent can knock us for six.
ID12	kill two birds with one stone	achieve two aims at once	Well, I'm planning to kill two birds with one stone tonight.
ID12	back to square one	back to where one started	If this suggestion isn't accepted, I'll be back to square one.
ID12	at sixes and sevens	in a state of total confusion or disarray	Things happened so fast that John was at sixes and sevens.
ID12	never in a million years	not at any point, under no circumstances	Never in a million years did I think that I would win the lottery!
ID12	be scattered to the four winds	be dispersed across a wide area	After the firm went bankrupt, our team was scattered to the winds.
COMPARING
ID13	as different as chalk and cheese	completely different from each other	They are twins, but they are as different as chalk and cheese.
ID13	be in a league of one's own	superior to others of one's or its kind	The most recently released Porsche model is in a league of its own.
ID13	not fit to hold a candle	be much less good, beautiful, impressive	Pete's fast all right, but he isn't fit to hold a candle to Mary!
ID13	bear a striking resemblance	be similar to someone or something	Everybody says that my son bears a striking resemblance to me.
ID13	be on the same wavelength	be in agreement, think or behave similarly	It's great to work with people who are on the same wavelength.
ID13	a world of difference between	a stark contrast, a vast improvement	There's a world of difference between Europe and Australia.
ID13	be a chip off the old block	look or behave like one of your parents	The son followed his father's footstep; a chip off the old block.
ID13	be/stand head and shoulders above	be much better than other people	The two candidates stood head and shoulders above the rest.
ID13	not to be a patch on something	be much less attractive than something	This new washing machine isn't a patch on our old one.
ID13	pale into insignificance	seem much less important	Our problems pale into insignificance when compared to theirs.
CLOTHES
ID14	wear the trousers	be the dominant partner in a relationship	It's quite clear who wears the trousers in that house!
ID14	at the drop of a hat	without hesitation or good reason	Weather can vary dramatically and change at the drop of a hat.
ID14	burst at the seams	be very full or crowded	This sitting room will be bursting at the seams when they arrive.
ID14	hot under the collar	angry, resentful, or embarrassed	Don't get hot under the collar. She didn't mean to offend you.
ID14	to cap it all	to provide the finishing touch	It was raining, the bus was late, and to cap it all, I had no coat.
ID14	hand in glove	in close collusion or association	The drug traffickers are working hand in glove with the terrorists.
ID14	pull one's socks up	try hard to improve your behaviour or work	For your health's sake, you need to pull your socks up.
ID14	give somebody the boot	dismiss someone from their job	Last week Jim was given the boot from the team.
ID14	on a shoestring	using very little money	She started her business on a shoestring and built it up gradually.
ID14	keep your shirt on	don't lose your temper, stay calm	Keep your shirt on, Mike! There's no need to get so upset.
FOOD
ID15	bring home the bacon	earn the money that is needed to live	They struggle to earn enough money to bring home the bacon.
ID15	take sth with a pinch of salt	not fully believe in something	You have to take what Helen says with a pinch of salt.
ID15	have a finger in every pie	be involved in a lot of different things	He had a finger in every pie at school, from music to football.
ID15	the icing on the cake	an attractive but inessential addition	Her coming home for a few days was the icing on the cake.
ID15	the apple of sb's eye	someone most cherished, above others	My cousin Danny was always the apple of his father's eye.
ID15	spill the beans	reveal secret information unintentionally	Don't spill the beans, Hannah. It's supposed to be a secret.
ID15	live off the fat of the land	have the best of everything	She won a lot of money and began to live off the fat of the land.
ID15	not one's cup of tea	not what one likes or is interested in	I appreciate the offer, but that kind of music isn't my cup of tea.
ID15	eat sb out of house and home	eat a lot of someone else's food	A lot of visiting relatives have eaten her out of house and home.
ID15	in a nutshell	very briefly, giving only the main points	In a nutshell, the application helps you to plan parties.
HAPPINESS AND SADNESS
ID16	like a dog with two tails	very happy and excited	He's been like a dog with two tails ever since he got his promotion.
ID16	cry your eyes out	cry in an uncontrolled way	The poor kid's so miserable, he's upstairs crying his eyes out.
ID16	pull a long face	look sad, glum, or disappointed	Tommy pulled a long face when he got his exam results back.
ID16	make somebody's day	cause one to feel very happy	Seeing Agnes again after such a long time really made my day.
ID16	down in the dumps/mouth	feeling unhappy or without hope	If you're feeling down in the dumps, come over and have a chat.
ID16	paint the town red	go out drinking, dancing	He has passed his exam. We are going to paint the town red.
ID16	be full of the joys of spring	be lively and cheerful	Ann has been full of the joys of spring since she got her new job.
ID16	feel hard done by	treated harshly or unfairly	He feels hard done by after his girlfriend dumped him.
ID16	hit/reach rock bottom	reach the lowest point possible	Confidence in the city's police force has hit rock bottom.
ID16	let your hair down	enjoy yourself and start to relax	You can really let your hair down and do what you want at the club.
MONEY
ID17	from rags to riches	from extreme poverty to great wealth	Margaret went from rags to riches in only four years.
ID17	make ends meet	earn just enough money to live on	Clearly she's struggling to make ends meet on her meagre salary.
ID17	be rolling in it	be extremely rich	You have such a beautiful car. You must be rolling in it.
ID17	in the region of	close to some amount	The cost of the plan would be in the region of £20 to £30 billion.
ID17	be strapped for cash	having little or no money at the moment	I can't come to the pub tonight - I'm a bit strapped for cash.
ID17	go Dutch	share the cost of a meal in a restaurant	Martin and Monika always go Dutch at the restaurant.
ID17	grease someone's palm	give money to, esp. as a bribe	I'd never grease a police officer's palm. That's illegal.
ID17	money is the root of all evil	avarice gives rise to selfish actions	Don't worry so much about it. Money is the root of all evil, after all.
ID17	pay through the nose	pay much more than a fair price	To get a ticket to the theatre, Mila had to pay through the nose.
ID17	cook the books	falsify financial records for a company	Officials at the bank were found to have cooked the books.
CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY
ID18	behind the times	old-fashioned in your ideas, methods	Her style of dress is attractive but it's really behind the times.
ID18	a jack of all trades	sb who can do many different types of work	Garrett has become jack of all trades and master of none.
ID18	a fair weather friend	a loyal friend only during a time of success	Everyone knows that Arnold is only a fair weather friend.
ID18	a rolling stone	sb who is unwilling to settle in one place	I'm sure Sarah wouldn't want Jack to be a rolling stone.
ID18	keep oneself to oneself	stay apart from other people	She was a very shy girl who kept herself to herself.
ID18	the salt of the earth	a very good and honest person	He is really the salt of the earth. He has never harmed anyone.
ID18	dead wood	useless personnel or material	They want to cut out the dead wood and streamline production.
ID18	a sitting duck	sb who is easy to attack or easy to cheat	His comments on taxes made him a sitting duck to critics.
ID18	a stick-in-the-mud	someone who refuses to try anything new	I regard him as a stick-in-the-mud. He can't accept anything new.
ID18	not be cut out for sth	not be the right type of person for sth	Peter is certainly not cut out for the work of a trial lawyer.
FRIENDSHIP
ID19	birds of a feather flock together	people who are similar to each other	Have you ever noticed that birds of a feather flock together?
ID19	hit it off	like sb and become friendly immediately	Knowing both of them, I knew they would hit it off immediately.
ID19	live in each other's pockets	enjoy yourself very much	At the summer camp they lived in each other's pockets.
ID19	through thick and thin	support sb through good and bad times	She's always been there for me through thick and thin.
ID19	get on like a house on fire	have a very good and friendly relationship	I'm sure you and Steve will get on like a house on fire.
ID19	see eye to eye with someone	be in full agreement with somebody	My brothers don't see eye to eye with me about the arrangements.
ID19	have friends in high places	know important people who can help you	She won't lose her job - she has plenty of friends in high places.
ID19	a shoulder to cry on	a person who gives sympathy and support	Remember, I'm always here if you need a shoulder to cry on.
ID19	bury the hatchet	end a conflict and become friendly	After not speaking to each other for years, they buried the hatchet.
ID19	be (as) thick as thieves	be very close friends and share secrets	They have been as thick as thieves for all of their lives.
SUCCESS AND FAILURE
ID20	bring the house down	make an audience applaud enthusiastically	It's really an amazing dance. It just always brings the house down.
ID20	a blind alley	a course of action leading nowhere	Honestly, I think that your idea will lead you down a blind alley.
ID20	a nail in the coffin	an event that causes the failure of sth	His comment about the lower class was the final nail in the coffin.
ID20	rise to the occasion	deal successfully with a difficult problem	In the exam she rose to the occasion and wrote a brilliant essay.
ID20	with flying colours	very well, with a very high mark	In spite of his worries, he passed the exam with flying colours.
ID20	bite the dust	die, fail, or be defeated	Half of all new businesses bite the dust in the first year.
ID20	set your heart on sth	have a strong desire for or to do	Mary had always set her heart on a career in the fine arts.
ID20	draw a blank	fail to remember something	Every time I try to remember my phone number, I draw a blank.
ID20	a feather in your cap	an achievement to be proud of	If this clinical trial is successful, it will be a real feather in his cap.
ID20	make a clean sweep of	get rid of everything unwanted	It's impossible to make a clean sweep of drugs in every area.
WORK
ID21	a dead-end job	a job with little to no opportunity for career	Eric was worried that he was stuck in a dead-end job.
ID21	a golden handshake	a payment given to sb who retires early	He should be able to spare £3,000 out of his golden handshake.
ID21	be snowed under	have too much work	We were snowed under with complaints about working conditions.
ID21	work your fingers to the bone	work extremely hard, esp. for a long time	He'll work his fingers to the bone until he pays back all his debts.
ID21	burn the midnight oil	work or study late into the night	Some students often burn the midnight oil before their exams.
ID21	talk shop	talk about work-related things	The people in that company always talk shop, even at weekends.
ID21	call it a day	stop doing sth, especially working	I'm getting a bit tired now - shall we call it a day?
ID21	red tape	excessive bureaucracy	The new rules should help cut the red tape for farmers.
ID21	a hive of activity	a location where things are very busy	During the holidays, the shopping center is a hive of activity.
ID21	get the axe	be fired or dismissed from a job	With so few orders some of the workers are bound to get the axe.
HEALTH
ID22	be the picture of health	look very healthy	There's nothing wrong with him - he's the picture of health.
ID22	kick the bucket	die	Jim kicked the bucket just two days before his ninetieth birthday.
ID22	look/feel like death warmed up	look or feel very ill	He shouldn't be working - he looks like death warmed up!
ID22	on the mend	improving in health or condition	Helen's been ill with flu but she's on the mend now.
ID22	as fit as a fiddle	be in very good health	My grandfather is 95 years old, but he is still as fit as a fiddle.
ID22	feel on top of the world	feel extremely happy and healthy	Everything is going smoothly and she feels on top of the world.
ID22	go under the knife	have a medical operation	He was to go under the knife when his surgeon stopped everything.
ID22	be green around the gills	look ill and pale	We were all green about the gills after such a turbulent plane ride.
ID22	have one foot in the grave	be near death through old age or illness	When I had the flu last month, I felt like I had one foot in the grave.
ID22	prevention is better than cure	it's better to prevent sth than to cure it	Prevention is better than cure, so start looking after your heart.
PAIRS 1
ID23	kith and kin	family and friends	Last week we invited all our kith and kin to our new home.
ID23	haves and have-nots	the rich people and the poor people	There is a widening gap between the haves and the have-nots.
ID23	prim and proper	having very traditional conservative beliefs	We tend to imagine that the Victorians were very prim and proper.
ID23	cut and dried	being or done according to a plan	The situation wasn't as cut and dried as people had thought.
ID23	toss and turn	move around restlessly while sleeping	Marion tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.
ID23	bow and scrape	show too much politeness or attention to sb	The empress expected everyone to bow and scrape to her.
ID23	bright-eyed and bushy-tailed	happy and full of energy	She always leaps out of bed bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
ID23	the nuts and bolts	the basic practical details	I can drive a car but I don't know anything about the nuts and bolts.
ID23	part and parcel of sth	an essential feature or element of	Occasional unemployment is part and parcel of being an actor.
ID23	null and void	having no legal force	The change in the law makes the previous agreement null and void.
PAIRS 2
ID24	every nook and cranny	every part of a place	I've searched every nook and cranny but I still can't find the wallet.
ID24	odds and ends	miscellaneous articles or remnants	He spent the day sorting through a box full of odds and ends.
ID24	wheel and deal	try to make a profit or get an advantage	David likes to wheel and deal everywhere he goes.
ID24	go rack and ruin	become decayed, decline or fall apart	The house has been going steadily to rack and ruin for years.
ID24	all and sundry	everyone rather than particular people	I don't want you telling our private business to all and sundry.
ID24	wine and dine	entertain someone with food and drink	A lot of money went on wining and dining prospective clients.
ID24	hale and hearty	healthy and strong	John had come back from the war in one piece, hale and hearty.
ID24	hammer and tongs	with great force, vigor, or violence	I could hear the neighbours going at each other hammer and tongs.
ID24	nearest and dearest	closest family members or friends	Mary always spends Christmas with her nearest and dearest.
ID24	airs and graces	an affectation of superiority	The rich man has lost many friends because of his airs and graces.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
ID25	bring someone to book	officially punish someone	He was determined to bring Paul to book as soon as he could.
ID25	catch somebody red-handed	apprehend sb in the course of wrongdoing	She was caught red-handed taking money from the cash register.
ID25	pull the wool over someone's eyes	deceive someone by not telling the truth	They are just trying to pull the wool over voters' eyes again.
ID25	get away with murder	avoid consequences for any of one's actions	His influence in high society allowed him to get away with murder.
ID25	line your pocket(s)	earn money using dishonest methods	This new contract is going to line their pockets for years.
ID25	the long arm of the law	the far-reaching power of the authorities	The long arm of the law finally caught up with her 10 years later.
ID25	be on the straight and narrow	maintain a morally upright way of life	His girlfriend helps him stay on the straight and narrow.
ID25	blow the whistle on somebody	expose something scandalous or deceptive	The airport official blew the whistle on the drug smuggling ring.
ID25	behind bars	in prison	Almost 2,000 people have been shown what it's like behind bars.
BUYING AND SELLING
ID26	the bottom drops/falls out of sth	people stop buying a particular product	The bottom dropped out of the market and she lost a lot of money.
ID26	come/go under the hammer	be put up for or sold at auction	The rest of our collection is going under the hammer next week.
ID26	do a roaring trade	sell a lot of goods very quickly	I could do a roaring trade renting umbrellas so close to the beach.
ID26	buy a pig in a poke	buy or pay for something without seeing it	Buying from a catalogue can mean buying a pig in a poke.
ID26	black market	illegal trading of goods	You could buy anything you needed on the black market.
ID26	settle an account	pay or receive money owed	Could you give us another month to settle an account?
ID26	in mint condition	looking new and in perfect condition	The shop can take goods back if they are still in mint condition.
ID26	drive a hard bargain	be uncompromising in making a deal	You drive a hard bargain, so I'll make a decision immediately.
ID26	under the counter	bought or sold secretly and illegally	They are selling the goods under the counter at reduced prices.
ID26	buy in bulk	buy something in large amounts	The office buys paper in bulk to keep down costs.
PROVERBS 1
ID27	bite off more than you can chew	take on a commitment one cannot fulfil	Don't be afraid to bite off more than you can chew. Take big risks.
ID27	lightning never strikes twice	the same misfortune will never recur	People say that lightning never strikes twice in the same place.
ID27	when in Rome do as the Romans do	it's good to follow the local customs	When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Eat late and stay up late.
ID27	the grass is always greener	people are never happy with their own lives	Many people think the grass is always greener on the other side.
ID27	the early bird catches the worm	if we do sth early, we will be successful	Mark believes that the early bird catches the worm.
ID27	too many cooks spoil the broth	many people participate in a task can ruin it	Everyone is giving orders! Too many cooks spoil the broth.
ID27	life is not all beer and skittles	life is not pleasurable all the time	Life isn't all beer and skittles; it has a serious side to it as well.
ID27	all good things come to an end	nothing great will last forever	It's been a great holiday but all good things must come to an end.
PROVERBS 2
ID28	don't count your chickens	don't expect all your hopes to come true	You'll probably get the job, but don't count your chickens just yet.
ID28	a bad workman blames his tools	a poor workman blames his tools	Complaining about the script? A bad workman blames his tools.
ID28	throw good money after bad	spending more money when sth is failing	Further intervention would be throwing good money after bad.
ID28	every cloud has a silver lining	don't expect all your hopes to come true	Don't be discouraged, John - every cloud has a silver lining.
ID28	a swallow doesn't make a summer	one instance of sth doesn't indicate a trend	As the proverb goes, one swallow does not make a summer.
ID28	it's an ill wind (that blows ...)	even misfortune can benefit sb or sth	But it's an ill wind; He married one of his nurses from that hospital.
ID28	the end justifies the means	any methods are allowed to achieve sth	Do you really think that the end justifies the means?
ID28	two wrongs don't make a right	a second mistake does not cancel the first	The fact remains, however, that two wrongs don't make a right.
SIMILES (LIKE)
ID29	like a bat out of hell	very fast and wildly	I looked in my mirror and saw a car flying like a bat out of hell.
ID29	be like a red rag to a bull	be certain to produce an angry reaction	Don't tell her you're a vegetarian - it's like a red rag to a bull.
ID29	fight like Kilkenny cats	fight until both parties are destroyed	By the time I called the police, they were fighting like Kilkenny cats.
ID29	like a lamb to the slaughter	as a helpless victim	Bill went into the exam room like a lamb to the slaughter.
ID29	go down like a lead balloon	be completely unsuccessful or unpopular	Adam's jokes about women drivers went down like a lead balloon.
ID29	like a toad under the harrow	subject sb to undergoing distress, sorrow	They felt like toads under the harrow, enduring years of hardship.
ID29	have a memory like a sieve	have difficulty remembering things	I have a memory like a sieve so I have to note down everything.
ID29	like a bump on a log	inactive, unresponsive, or sluggish	Don't just sit there like a bump on a log - help me with the dinner!
SIMILES (AS ... AS)
ID30	as dead as the dodo	not be important or popular any longer	Though popular in the 1970s, disco is as dead as a dodo today.
ID30	as mad as a hatter	completely insane, crazy	I know some of my students think I'm as mad as a hatter.
ID30	as large as life	present before someone	Believe it or not, Diana was here yesterday as large as life.
ID30	as brown as a berry	having tanned skin due to sun exposure	She was as brown as a berry after two weeks in the sun.
ID30	as snug as a bug in a rug	in a very comfortable position	Are you warm enough? Yes, I'm as snug as a bug in a rug.
ID30	as thick as two short planks	very stupid	Jim's new girlfriend is very nice, but she's as thick as two planks.
ID30	as keen as mustard	extremely eager or enthusiastic	Little kids are always as keen as mustard to learn new things.
ID30	as regular as clockwork	never late or always at the same time	Donna arrives every day at seven as regular as clockwork.
ID30	as slippery as an eel	devious, scheming, and untrustworthy	The man can't be trusted. He is as slippery as an eel.
MUSIC
ID31	play second fiddle	play a minor role in relation to sb else	He is tired of playing second fiddle to men with less talent.
ID31	music to your ears	news that you are very pleased to hear	The news of her resignation was music to my ears.
ID31	strike a chord	cause sb to feel sympathy or enthusiasm	Her story may strike a chord for other women in the same situation.
ID31	be on the horns of a dilemma	having to decide between two things	I was on the horns of a dilemma when I was offered another job.
ID31	bang/beat the drum	voice one's support for something	They joined together to bang the drum for their candidate.
ID31	ring a bell	sound familiar	Her face rings a bell. I wonder if I know her from somewhere.
ID31	bells and whistles	attractive additional features or trimmings	Don't invest in bells and whistles such as expensive office furniture.
ID31	and all that jazz	and other similar things	Rick spent his money on clothes, women, cars and all that jazz.
ID31	blow your own trumpet	talk a lot about your own achievements	I hate people who are always blowing their own trumpet.
ID31	be/sound like a broken record	say the same thing many times	After he won the lottery, he sounded like a broken record player.
NAMES AND SURNAMES
ID32	keep up with the Joneses	try to not be outdone by one's neighbours	He was holding down two jobs just to keep up with the Joneses.
ID32	Hobson's choice	a choice when there is no real alternative	They must take the brown car. It's Hobson's choice.
ID32	Walter Mitty	a fictional character prone to daydreaming	At school Mark lived in a Walter Mitty world of adventure.
ID32	the real McCoy	the real thing, the genuine article	The moment I smelled the cigar, I knew it was the real McCoy.
ID32	a plain Jane	an unattractive girl or woman	She was a shy girl, who always thought of herself as a plain Jane.
ID32	Heath Robinson	having a very complicated design	The contraption he built was a real Heath Robinson.
ID32	the Midas touch	an uncanny ability for making money	All her firms are extremely profitable. She has the Midas touch.
ID32	doubting Thomas	an incredulous or doubtful person	He kept trying, hoping to prove those doubting Thomases wrong.
ID32	John Hancock	a person's signature	Please put your John Hancock at the bottom of the paper.
COUNTRIES, CITIES, NATIONALITIES
ID33	excuse/pardon my French	used to apologise for swearing	Excuse my French, but you have taken my bloody parking space.
ID33	send someone to Coventry	ostracise, or systematically ignore someone	Men who refused to strike were sent to Coventry.
ID33	it's all Greek to me	I can't understand it at all	Can you make sense of these instructions? It's all Greek to me!
ID33	meet one's Waterloo	suffer a very severe defeat or failure	Jack was just about to meet his Waterloo, and she couldn't bear it.
ID33	not for all the tea in China	not at any price, never	I wouldn't do your job. Not for all the tea in China!
ID33	Dutch courage	confidence gained from drinking alcohol	I had to have a drink to give me Dutch courage before my wedding.
ID33	take French leave	leave suddenly without notice or permission	They took French leave, causing a disruption in the work schedule.
ID33	Indian summer	a warm spell of weather during autumn	We had an Indian summer that year, very warm until October.
ID33	all roads lead to Rome	all activities lead to the center of things	Take any route of your choice because all roads lead to Rome.
REDUPLICATIVES (RHYMING EXPRESSIONS)
ID34	helter-skelter	quickly and in all directions	They rushed about helter-skelter collecting dung and carrying earth.
ID34	dilly-dally	waste time by loitering or delaying	We really need to stop dilly-dallying and get to work.
ID34	teeny-weeny	very small, tiny	Just a teeny-weeny slice of cake for me, please - I'm on a diet.
ID34	hush-hush	kept secret from people	Eventually Sarah was forced to resign but it was all very hush-hush.
ID34	bric-a-brac	miscellaneous objects of little value	Bric-a-brac was arranged along window sills as ornaments.
ID34	high and dry	without resources or help	Sandra took all the money and left Adam high and dry.
ID34	nitty-gritty	the basic facts of a situation	Let's get down to the nitty-gritty and work out the costs.
ID34	wishy-washy	lacking in character or determination	This wishy-washy statement always made me feel uneasy.
ID34	hoi polloi	an insulting word for ordinary people	The art exhibit was meant for the hoi polloi, not for the art critics.
ID34	fuddy-duddy	a person who is old-fashioned and fussy	Benny loves pop culture, and not being seen as a fuddy-duddy.
THOUGHT AND MEMORY
ID35	bear/keep in mind	remember a fact and take it into account	Bear in mind the age of the vehicle when assessing its value.
ID35	a flight of fancy	an unrealistic idea or fantastic notion	His ambition is to become a rock star, but it's just a flight of fancy.
ID35	by no stretch of the imagination	certainly not, not by any means	By no stretch of the imagination could we call her ambitious.
ID35	slip your mind/memory	be forgotten, especially of an obligation	I meant to buy some coffee, but it completely slipped my mind.
ID35	in a world of one's own	consumed by one's thoughts, imagination	Ella was a shy child who seemed to live in a world of her own.
ID35	a shot in the dark	an attempt to guess something	My answer to the first question was a complete shot in the dark.
ID35	a penny for your thoughts	used to ask sb what they are thinking about	She hasn't said very much - a penny for her thoughts.
LOVE
ID36	fall head over heels in love	fall deeply in love with someone	It was obvious Alan had fallen head over heels in love with Ann.
ID36	pop the question	ask someone to marry you	She's been waiting four years for him to pop the question.
ID36	over the moon	extremely happy and excited	The whole team was over the moon at winning the competition.
ID36	whisper sweet nothings	speak to someone in a romantic way	He whispered sweet nothings in her ear while they danced.
ID36	carry a torch for somebody	secretly love and admire someone	Kevin has been carrying a torch for Lynn ever since high school.
ID36	wear your heart on your sleeve	make one's feelings apparent	She is such an affectionate girl. She wears her heart on her sleeve.
ID36	an old flame	a former lover	I bumped into my old flame in the shopping centre the other day.
ID36	tie the knot	get married	All of my friends have tied the knot and started having kids.
ID36	absence makes the heart grow ...	separation intensifies love	In this case, it can be that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
ID36	hit it off with somebody	be naturally friendly or well suited	Unfortunately, he didn't really hit it off with his boss.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ID37	a cog in the machine	a small member of a larger organization	He's just a cog in the machine of a big insurance company.
ID37	get your wires crossed	fail to understand each other	We got our wires crossed and she waited in the wrong place.
ID37	blow a fuse/gasket	lose one's temper and become very angry	When his daughter got married against his wishes, he blew a fuse.
ID37	oil/grease the wheels	help something go smoothly	Mark's father tried to oil the wheels for him to get the job.
ID37	it's not rocket science	something is not difficult to understand	Designing a website may be a lot of work but it's not rocket science.
ID37	in layman's terms	in plain or simple language	The complicated process was explained to us in layman's terms.
ID37	reinvent the wheel	try to do sth that has already been done	I don't have to reinvent the wheel, but I will be cautious before I act.
ID37	a silver surfer	an old person who uses the Internet	My granny has become a real silver surfer since I got her a laptop.
ID37	as bright as a button	very intelligent and full of energy	Jim's as bright as a button, so he'll find a solution to this problem.
WEATHER
ID38	steal somebody's thunder	prevent somebody from having success	Somebody stole his thunder by leaking the designs he had made.
ID38	it never rains but it pours	misfortunes tend to follow each other	Just as the saying goes, it never rains but it pours.
ID38	save something for a rainy day	save sth for a time when it might be needed	Put it in a box in your guitar case and save it for a rainy day.
ID38	get wind of something	find out about something secret or private	We'd better do something fast before the public gets wind of it.
ID38	be as pure as the driven snow	be morally perfect	She's tall, blonde, twenty-six and as pure as the driven snow.
ID38	make heavy weather of	make sth harder or more laborious to do	He's making such heavy weather of that report she's writing.
ID38	the calm before the storm	a very quiet period before sth chaotic starts	For Paul, this weekend represents the calm before the storm.
ID38	throw/cast caution to the wind(s)	act in a completely reckless manner	He threw caution to the wind and dived into the water.
ID38	in the dead of winter	in the coldest time of the year	They found the last three survivors in the dead of winter.
LUCK AND OPPORTUNITY
ID39	make hay while the sun shines	act while an opportunity exists	He's making hay while the sun shines and who can blame him?
ID39	miss the boat	fail to take advantage of an opportunity	If you don't buy now, you may find that you've missed the boat.
ID39	a vested interest	a personal stake in something	Damian has a vested interest in keeping the house in his name.
ID39	push your luck	try too hard to get a particular result	You didn't get caught last time, but don't push your luck!
ID39	climb/jump on the bandwagon	join an activity that has become popular	Should you jump on the bandwagon and trade stocks in the news?
ID39	get/take a free ride	get something without paying for it	You're really taking a free ride living with your parents.
ID39	a fighting chance	a small possibility to succeed	There's just a fighting chance that she'll be able to pull through.
ID39	a second/another bite at the cherry	another opportunity to do something	We've lost it and we probably won't get another bite at the cherry.
ID39	be waiting in the wings	be ready to do something	The team has several talented young players waiting in the wings.
ID39	Murphy's/sod's law	anything that can go wrong, will go wrong	To know Murphy's Law is to draw its attention.