ABA’s 99 English Idioms

Hey!

Let’s begin by saying that there are thousands of idioms in English. According to Wikipedia, there are at least 25.000. Put that in your pipe and smoke it! This idiom is used to tell someone that they must accept what you say is true even though they might not like it or agree with you.

So what is an idiom? An idiom is an expression, word or phrase that has a figurative meaning. The “problem” is that you cannot understand its meaning from the separate words.

Also, it can be hard for non-native speakers to translate idioms into their native language: sometimes they exist but are very different. Other times, they simply do not exist. A funny example is “to kick the bucket”. It means to die.

“Her old neighbour has kicked the bucket“

In many other languages this expression also exists, but they say it in very different ways:

Polish: “Kick the calendar” – kopnąć w kalendarz
Bulgarian: “Kick the bell” – да ритнеш камбаната
Dutch: “To lay the piece of lead” – het loodje leggen
Finnish: “To kick the void” – potkaista tyhjää
French: “To eat dandelions by the root” – manger des pissenlits par la racine
Spanish: “To stretch the foot” – estirar la pata
German: “To give the spoon away” – den Löffel abgeben
Latvian: “To put the spoon down” – nolikt karoti
Portuguese: “To beat the boots” – bater as botas
Danish: “To take off the clogs” – at stille træskoene
Swedish: “To fall off the stick” – trilla av pinnen
Norwegian: “To park the slippers” – å parkere tøflene
Greek: “To shake the horse-shoes” –  τινάζω τα πέταλα

Below you can read a list of idioms we consider very popular at ABA English, but we want to know your favourite idioms too! Please write them in the comments section.

A

A blessing in disguise – something that at first appears to be bad or unlucky but is actually good.
Example: “Being fired was a blessing in disguise: she decided to take the opportunity and start a new business”

A chip on your shoulder – being upset for something that happened in the past.
Example: “James had a terrible chip on his shoulder about not having an education”

A penny saved is a penny earned – by not spending money, you are saving money (little by little).
Example: “My mother always used to say a penny saved is a penny earned, because that’s how she bought the flat”

A piece of cake – a task that can be accomplished very easily.
Example: “I’ll teach you how to do calculus, don’t worry: it’s a piece of cake!”

A slip of the tongue – a mistake you make when speaking, such as using the wrong word
Example: “He shouldn’t have told Tom the truth, it was a slip of the tongue”

A taste of your own medicine – when you are mistreated the same way you mistreat others.
Example: “Oliver is always so rude to everyone, now his girlfriend is as rude as him he will get a taste of his own medicine”

A wolf in sheep’s clothing – someone who seems to be pleasant and friendly but is in fact dangerous or evil
Example: “That polititian is a wolf in sheep’s clothing; he looks nice but his policies are evil”

Actions speak louder than words – what you do is more significant than what you say.
Example: “You have to show people you care: actions speak louder than words”

All bark and no bite – when someone is threatening and/or aggressive but not willing to engage in a fight.
Example: “Don’t worry about Mrs Smith, she’s all bark and no bite, always shouting but she never punishes you”

All in the same boat – when everyone is facing the same challenges.
Example: “Let’s study together, we’re all in the same boat: we have to pass this exam”

All that glitters is not gold – something that you say to warn someone that sometimes people or things that appear attractive have no real value
Example: “Yes, that job pays very well but remember that all that glitters is not gold. You might not like it”

B

Barking up the wrong tree – believing the wrong explanation for something.
Example: “The police arrested the wrong criminal, they were barking up the wrong tree”

Beat a dead horse -to waste time doing something that has already been attempted.
Example: “You won’t sell that laptop so don’t keep beating a dead horse”

Beating around the bush – avoiding the main topic. Not speaking directly about the issue.
Example: “Just tell her you’re in love with her, stop beating around the bush and ask her out on a date”

Better late than never – doing something late is better than not doing it.
Example: “John gave in his homework yesterday. He was supposed to do it a month ago, but better late than never”

Between a rock and a hard place – stuck between two very bad options.
Example: “If I leave the job I won’t have any money, if I stay I will be unhappy: I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place”

Birds of a feather flock together – people who are alike tend to do things together.
Example: “All the artists go to a club downtown because, as you know, birds of a feather flock together”

Bite off more than you can chew – to take on a task that is way to big.
Example: “I said I’d help her plan her wedding but I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew”

Bite your tongue – to avoid talking and saying something you might regret later on.
Example: “If you can’t say anything nice, bite your tongue”

Burn your bridges – to act unpleasantly in a situation that you are leaving, ensuring that you’ll never be welcome to return. To make decisions that cannot be changed in the future.
Example: “She insulted her boss! She really burnt her bridges at that company…”

Burning the candle at both ends – to exhaust oneself or one’s resources by leading a hectic or extravagant life.
Example: “Mark was working 8 hours a day and then going to university. He was burning the candle at both ends”

C

Catch some Z’s – go to sleep.
Example: “It’s been a long day, let’s go catch some z’s”

Can’t make heads or tails of something – to not be able to understand something at all.
Example: “The instructions to build this cupboard are impossible; I can’t make heads not tails of it!”

Chow down – to eat something, usually quickly or without good manners.
Example: “We only have 5 minutes to eat, let’s chow down quickly!”

Cost an arm and a leg – to be very expensive.
Example: “Charlie bought his fiancée a diamond ring which cost an arm and a leg”

Cold turkey – the unpleasant physical and mental effects someone suffers when they suddenly stop taking drugs.
Example: “It was hard for David, he had been an alcoholic for 15 years but he stopped cold turkey”

Come hell or high water – if you say you will do something come hell or high water, you mean you are determined to do it even if it is difficult.
Example: “Come hell or high water I am going to pass that exam with a good grade”

Cross your fingers – to hope that things will happen in the way you want them to.
Example: “I’ll cross my fingers for you, I hope you get the job”

Cry over spilt milk – to be unhappy about what cannot be undone.
Example: “There’s no use in crying over spilt milk: if you didn’t get that job you will get another”

Cry wolf – to cry or complain about something when nothing is really wrong.
Example: “Walter has cried wolf about being sick too many times, I don’t believe him anymore”

Curiosity killed the cat – something that you say in order to warn someone not to ask too many questions about something. Being curious can get you into trouble.
Example: “Bruno kept asking questions until Joanna told him the truth. He was very upset but curiosity kills the cat”

D

Don’t count your chickens until they hatch – something that you say in order to warn someone to wait until a good thing they are expecting has really happened before they make any plans about it.
Example: “Think before you leave your job; don’t count your chickens until they hatch”

Down in the dumps – unhappy, miserable.
Example: “Paula had a horrible day, she’s feeling down in the dumps”

Drag one’s feet – postpone doing what one should be doing.
Example: “You know you have to go to the gym, stop dragging your feet and go!”

Drive someone up the wall – to push someone to an extreme position; to put someone into an awkward position.
Example: “Those children are driving me up the wall: they haven’t stopped shouting for 2 hours”

E

Every cloud has a silver lining – you can derive some benefit from every bad thing that happens to you.
Example: “At work they have reduced my work hours from 8 to 5, but every cloud has a silver lining: I have a lot more personal time now”

Excuse my French – excuse my use of swear words or taboo words.
Example: “Oh f@$*!! Sorry, excuse my French… I just banged my knee”

F

Field day – a time of unusual pleasure and success.
Example: “I can’t wait to go hiking this Saturday, I’m going to have a field day”

Flip the bird – to make a very impolite sign by raising your middle finger towards someone in order to show that you are angry with them.
Example: “James is a very bad driver, the other day someone on a motorbike flipped him the bird. James almost run him over”

G

Get up on the wrong side of the bed – to seem grouchy on a particular day.
Example: “Ian has been in a bad mood all day, he seems to have got up on the wrong side of the bed”

Go for broke  – to risk everything; to try as hard as possible.
Example: “Todd has been in love with Tina for years, tonight he’s going for broke and will ask her out on a date”

Go the extra mile – to try harder to please someone or to get the task done correctly; to do more than one is required to do to reach a goal.
Example: “If you want to succeed in this business, you’ll have to go that extra mile”

Good samaritan – a compassionate person who unselfishly helps others.
Example: “Miriam is always the good samaritan; the other day she was helping me with my homework and today she’s helping Alex”

Graveyard shift – a work shift that runs during the early morning hours, as from midnight to 8 a.m.
Example: “Poor Valery, the only job she got was working the graveyard shift at the 24/7 petrol station”

H

Have an axe to grind – to have a strong opinion about something, which you are often trying to persuade other people is correct.
Example: “My boss has an axe to grind with anyone who has creative ideas”

Hit the hay – go to bed. We can also say “hit the sack”.
Example: “Ok everyone, it’s 3am, I’m going to hit the hay”

Hit the nail on the head – to describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem.
Example: “When Joe said I was scared of changing jobs, he hit the nail on the head… he’s so right!”

I

Icing on the cake – something good that is added to another good thing.
Example: “Getting the promotion after making so much money was the icing on the cake”

In the heat of the moment – if you say or do something in the heat of the moment, you say or do it without thinking because you are angry or excited.
Example: “Ignore what he said to you… he didn’t mean it, he said it in the heat of the moment”

It takes two to tango – something that you say which means if two people were involved in a bad situation, both must be responsible.
Example: “When two people argue they must admit they are both to blame, it takes two to tango”

It’s a small world – something that you say when you discover that someone knows a person that you know.
Example: “Can you believe it? I met my best friend from high school in Costa Rica! It’s a small world”

K

Keep your chin up – an expression of encouragement to someone who has to bear some emotional burdens.
Example: “Keep your chin up, we’re going on holiday soon!”

Kick the bucket – do you remember what this meant?! 🙂

L

Last but not least – last in sequence, but not last in importance.
Example: “My favourite foods are crisps, tuna sandwiches and last, but not least, cake”

Let sleeping dogs lay – do not instigate trouble.; Leave something alone if it might cause trouble.
Example: “Don’t bring up the same problem again, let sleeping dogs lay”

Let the cat out of the bag – to reveal a secret or a surprise by accident.
Example: “We’re throwing Ganesh a surprise birthday party, please don’t let the cat out of the bag!”

Like a chicken with its head cut off – if you do something like a headless chicken, you do it very quickly and without thinking carefully about what you are doing (usually in continuous tenses).
Example: “My dad gets very stressed in the airport, he runs around like a headless chicken”

Loose cannon – a person whose actions are unpredictable and uncontrollable.
Example: “My little brother is a loose cannon; we never know what he’ll do next”

M

Method to my madness – a purpose in what one is doing, even though it seems to be crazy.
Example: “I know everything looks messy but there’s a method to my madness: I’m spring cleaning”

Mum’s the word –  a pledge not to reveal a secret or to tell about something or someone.
Example: “Hilda promised not to say anything, she said mum’s the word”

N

Never bite that hand that feeds you – don’t hurt anyone that helps you.
Example: “Jenny has helped you so much and you have been very ungrateful. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you”

New York Minute – An extremely short period of time.
Example: “You should accept that scholarship. I would in a New York minute”

No room to swing a cat – An unsually small or confined space.
Example: “This apartment is tiny! There isn’t enough room to swing a cat…”

O

Off on the wrong foot – starting something (such as a friendship) with negative factors.
Example: “Caitlin and her neighbour got off on the wrong foot”

Off the hook –  freed from an obligation.
Example: “My teacher let me off the hook, I don’t have to do the homework this week”

On the same page – thinking in a similar way.
Example: “Quinn and Charles are always on the same page, they always agree on everything”

Out of the blue – if something happens out of the blue, it happens suddenly and you are not expecting it.
Example: “The breakup came out of the blue; suddenly they weren’t living together”

Over my dead body – if you say that something will happen over your dead body, you mean that you will do everything you can to prevent it.
Example: “My mother said she would let me get a motorbike over her dead body. I’ll have to buy a bike…”

Over the top – outrageously overdone. In social media, often abbreviate as OTT.
Example: “That dress is totally OTT”

P

Pass the buck – to pass the blame (to someone else); to give the responsibility (to someone else).
Example: “Nobody wanted to take responsability for the problem, they just passed the buck”

Pig out – to eat too much of something; to make a pig of oneself.
Example: “Gosh… I ate so much over the weekend. I just pigged out on pizza and pasta”

Practice makes perfect – doing something over and over again is the only way to learn to do it well.
Example: “Tia is an amazing guitar player, she always says practice makes perfect”

Pulling your leg – to play a joke on someone.
Example: “Julia is pulling your leg, of course she’s not going to live in Spain!”

Put a sock in it – to be quiet, to shut up.
Example: “Please put a sock in it, you’ve been talking for hours”

R

Raincheck – A promise that an unaccepted offer will be renewed in the future.
Example: “I can’t meet you today, I have a meeting. Let’s take a rain-check and meet next Tuesday?”

Raining cats and dogs – to be raining in great amounts.
Example: “My friend is in India, she says now it’s monsoon season it’s raining cats and dogs”

Rome was not built in one day – something that you say which means that it takes a long time to do an important job.
Example: “Don’t worry that you haven’t finished your thesis, you have time and remember: Rome wasn’t built in a day”

Rule of thumb – a general principle developed through experiential rather than scientific means.
Example: “My rule of thumb with clothes is: if I don’t wear something in 3 months, I throw it away”

S

Saved by the bell – saved by the timely intervention of someone or something.
Example: “I was about to take the wrong decision but was saved by the bell: my best friend told me it would never work”

Scapegoat – to make someone take the blame for something.
Example: “They gave John a detention at school. He wasn’t the only child misbehaving but the teachers picked him as the scapegoat”

Sick as a dog – very sick; sick and vomiting.
Example: “Lily spent all weekend at home in bed, as sick as a dog”

Sitting shotgun – Riding in the front passenger seat of a car.
Example: “My husband was driving the car and I was sitting shotgun”

Sixth sense – a supposed power to know or feel things that are not perceptible by the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
Example: “I think we all have a sixth sense, like an animal instinct we can’t explain”

Smell a rat – to suspect that something is wrong; to sense that someone has caused something wrong.
Example: “Tora smelt a rat before they discovered her assistant was stealing money”

Spitting image – A perfect likeness or counterpart.
Example: “Ben is the spitting image of his father”

T

The ball is in your court – It is your decision this time.
Example: “I told you what I would do, now the ball is in your court”

The last straw – The final annoyance or setback, which even though minor makes one lose patience.
Example: “You have been late every day but this is the last straw; you’re fired”

Tie the knot – to get married.
Example: “Her husband and her tied the knot in August, last year”

Til the cows come home – until the last; until very late.
Example: “Mary will come back late at night, so you can wait until the cows come home”

To steal someone’s thunder – To take the credit for something someone else did.
Example: “Uma was getting married but her bridesmaid stole the thunder”

Tongue-in-cheek – if you say something tongue in cheek, what you have said is a joke, although it might seem to be serious.
Example: “It was a joke! He said it tongue-in-cheek, not seriously”

Turn a blind eye – to ignore something and pretend you do not see it.
Example: “Oliver turned a blind eye to his wife spending so much money”

U

Under the weather – to feel ill.
Example: “Tomas was feeling a bit under the weather, so he hasn’t gone to work today”

W

Water under the bridge – something that has happened and cannot be changed.
Example: “After they argued they agreed it was water under the bridge and now they’re friends again”

Wear your heart on your sleeve – To openly and freely express your emotions.
Example: “Dana always wears her heart of her sleeve, you always know what she’s feeling”

When pigs fly – Something that will never ever happen.
Example: “You want me to go bungee jumping? Pigs might fly…”

Y

You can’t judge a book by its cover – Decisions shouldn’t be made primarily on appearance.
Example: “Don’t judge a book by its cover; just because he looks posh, he might be lovely”

Your guess is as good as mine – to not know something.
Example: “Is Gina coming to class today?” “I don’t know, your guess is as good as mine”

Z

Zero tolerance – absolutely no toleration of even the smallest infraction of a rule.
Example: “The policy was a zero tolerance on serving alcohol to minors”

Wow! Well that was a lot of idioms, right? Don’t worry, you will learn them with time. One of the best ways to memorize idioms and expressions is to slowly begin using them in conversation or when you are writing. Next time you are speaking in English or writing some homework, choose some of these idioms and use them!

Which are your favourite idioms? Let us know!