109 Common Idioms With Examples And Meanings
What Is an Idiom?
An idiom is a group of words that are used as a common expression whose meaning is not easily deduced from the literal words within. Idioms are often put into the class of figurative language, which is when words are used in an imaginative or unusual manner.
For example, the phrase: “writing an idiom is a piece of cake” does not mean that writing an idiom is a literal ‘piece of cake’ that you can eat. Instead, ‘piece of cake’ is a figurative expression for saying that something is easy to do.
While idioms are more commonly used in America, idioms are also often used in the English language on TV shows, movies, written literature and other media.
Familiarizing yourself with the meaning behind common idioms is important as idioms don’t often make literal sense. Here is a list of the most popular and commonly used idioms in American English along with examples and meanings.
Common English Idioms
A blessing in disguise
Meaning: A good thing that initially seemed bad
A dime a dozen
Meaning: Something that is very common, not unique
Adding insult to injury
Meaning: To make a bad situation even worse
Beat around the bush
Meaning: Avoid sharing your true viewpoint or feelings because it is uncomfortable
Bite the bullet
Meaning: To get an unfavorable situation or chore over with now because it will need to get finished eventually
Best of both worlds
Meaning: The choice or solution has all of the advantages of two contrasting things at the same time
Biting off more than you can chew
Meaning: Committing to do something that you don’t really have the time, resources or ability to do
Don’t judge a book by its cover
Meaning: Don’t judge someone or something by how it looks
Doing something at the drop of a hat
Meaning: Doing something at a moment’s notice
Caught between a rock and a hard place
Meaning: Making a choice between two unpleasant choices
Cutting corners
Meaning: Taking risky shortcuts to save time and/or money
Devil’s advocate
Meaning: To argue for the other side in an argument in order to encourage further debate
Getting a taste of your own medicine
Meaning: Being treated the (usually negative) way that you have been treating others
Giving the benefit of the doubt
Meaning: Believing someone’s story without proof even though it may seem unbelievable
Hitting the nail on the head
Meaning: To be exactly right
Letting someone off the hook
Meaning: Not holding someone responsible for something
No pain, no gain
Meaning: You have to suffer to see results
On the ball
Meaning: Attentive and doing a good job
Once in a blue moon
Meaning: Something that doesn’t happen very often
Speak of the devil
Meaning: When the person you have just been talking about arrives
The last straw
Meaning: The last act that makes an entire situation unbearable
Your guess is as good as mine
Meaning: I have no idea
Dead ringer
Meaning: Someone who looks extremely similar to someone else
The whole nine yards
Meaning: Everything. All of it.
Get down to brass tacks
Meaning: Get down to business
Burning bridges
Meaning: Damaging a relationship beyond repair
Fit as a fiddle
Meaning: Excellent health
Go down in flames
Meaning: To fail in a spectacular manner
He/She is off their rocker
Meaning: Someone who is acting crazy or not thinking rationally
It’s always darkest before the dawn
Meaning: Things always get worse before they get better
It takes two to tango
Meaning: One person usually isn’t the only responsible party
Like riding a bike
Meaning: Something that you never forget how to do
Through thick and thin
Meaning: Everyone experiences hard and good times
Time is money
Meaning: Work faster or more efficiently
Food Idioms
Can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs
Meaning: You can’t make everyone happy
Like two peas in a pod
Meaning: Two people who are always together
An apple a day keeps the doctor away
Meaning: Apples are healthy and good for you
Heard it through the grapevine
Meaning: Hearing rumors about someone or something
Piece of cake
Meaning: A task or job that is easy to complete
Bread and butter
Meaning: Something you do or use to survive or thrive in a situation
Bring home the bacon
Meaning: Make money, specifically money to live on
Crying over spilled milk
Meaning: Worrying about the past or things that are already done or settled
Not my cup of tea
Meaning: Something that you don’t like
Take it with a grain of salt
Meaning: Believe it at your own risk
Top banana
Meaning: The most powerful or important person in a group or organization
Bad apple
Meaning: A troublemaker
Bad egg
Meaning: Like a troublemaker but worse; someone who seems fundamentally dishonest or otherwise ill-behaved
Good egg
Meaning: The opposite of a bad egg; someone who is honest and trustworthy
Bigger fish to fry
Meaning: More important things to do
Cool as a cucumber
Meaning: Calm, especially under pressure
Couch potato
Meaning: A sedentary person who spends a lot of time seated, often watching TV
Can’t cut the mustard
Meaning: Can’t keep up with the competition
Hard nut to crack
Meaning: Something or someone that’s difficult to figure out
Big cheese
Meaning: The person in charge
Bun in the oven
Meaning: Pregnant
Apple of someone’s eye
Meaning: To be loved and adored
Buttering someone up
Meaning: Being super-nice to someone because you want something from them
Egg someone on
Meaning: Encourage someone to do something, typically something that they shouldn’t be doing
In a nutshell
Meaning: To sum things up
Spill the beans
Meaning: Divulge secret info
Animal Idioms
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
Meaning: Not to count on something happening until after it’s already happened
Going on a wild goose chase
Meaning: Doing something that is pointless
Killing two birds with one stone
Meaning: Accomplishing two different tasks in the same undertaking
The elephant in the room
Meaning: An issue, person, or problem that someone is trying to avoid
Straight from the horse’s mouth
Meaning: Reading or hearing something from the source
Letting the cat out of the bag
Meaning: Sharing information that was intended to be a secret
Beating a dead horse
Meaning: Giving time or energy to something that is ended or over
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink
Meaning: You can’t force someone to make what is seemingly the right decision
Every dog has his day
Meaning: Everyone gets their chance to do something big
A leopard can’t change its spots
Meaning: People don’t change
Wag the dog
Meaning: Divert attention from something important to something trivial
The birds and the bees
Meaning: Sex education
Ants in one’s pants
Meaning: Being nervous and unable to sit still
Chicken out
Meaning: To decide not to do something, usually at the last minute
Clam up
Meaning: Stop talking
The cat’s got someone’s tongue
Meaning: That person is oddly quiet
Have a cow
Meaning: Get extremely upset, usually about something that’s not worth it
Hold your horses
Meaning: Be patient
Pig out
Meaning: To eat a lot of food
Take the bull by the horns
Meaning: To show initiative
Until the cows come home
Meaning: Forever, or at least a mighty long time
Smell a rat
Meaning: To suspect that somebody’s up to no good.
Nest egg
Meaning: Sum of money saved for later
Raining cats and dogs
Meaning: Raining heavily
Get the lion’s share
Meaning: Get the biggest portion
Weather Idioms
Feeling under the weather
Meaning: Not feeling well, or feeling sick
Stealing someone’s thunder
Meaning: To take attention away from someone by doing or sharing something before that person can do so
Clouds on the horizon
Meaning: Trouble is coming or is on its way
Run like the wind
Meaning: To run really fast
Weather the storm
Meaning: Enduring a trial or hardship
Getting a second wind
Meaning: Having energy again after being tired
A snowball effect
Meaning: Something has momentum and builds on each other, much like rolling a snowball down a hill to make it bigger
Throwing caution to the wind
Meaning: Being reckless or taking a risk
Body Idioms
Having your head in the clouds
Meaning: Day dreaming, not paying attention
By the skin of your teeth
Meaning: Just barely making it
Costs an arm and a leg
Meaning: Something that is overpriced or very expensive
Giving someone the cold shoulder
Meaning: Ignoring someone
Pulling someone’s leg
Meaning: Joking with someone
Cold feet
Meaning: Getting nervous before a big event, to the point of backing out
Face the music
Meaning: Face the consequences of your actions
Get something off your chest
Meaning: Vent or complain
Head over heels
Meaning: In love
Makes my blood boil
Meaning: Makes me extremely angrily
Rule of thumb
Meaning: A basic rule or principle
Stick your neck out
Meaning: Support someone or something, even if it may have negative consequences for you
Wash your hands of something
Meaning: Abandon a problem or responsibility
See eye to eye
Meaning: Agree
Neck of the woods
Meaning: A location and its immediate surroundings
Keep your chin up
Meaning: Don’t give up
This Is Just a Small Sample of Common Idioms
Idioms are everywhere. They’re how we make everything from casual conversation to roadside advertising more colorful, and they convey a certain level of cultural understanding and kinship. What are some of your favorite commonly used idioms? Share the wealth in the comments below!
