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Idioms are an integral part of any language, adding color and depth to our expressions. These phrases, which often have figurative meanings beyond their literal interpretations, are essential to understanding the nuances of a language.
In this article, we present 100 important idioms with their meanings to help you improve your English language skills and enhance your communication abilities.
- To add insult to injury ; To intensify a person
- To be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth ; To be born in a rich family
- A bolt from the blue ; An expected disaster
- To blow one’s own trumpet ; To boast
- A bone of contention ; Cause of quarrel
- To burn one’s fingers ; To suffer
- To beat black & blue ; To beat mercilessly
- To cast an aspersion ; To bring discredit
- To cry over spilt milk ; To feel sorry for what has happened
- To cut a sorry figure ; To make a poor impression
- To die in harness ; To die while doing one’s duty
- To end in smoke ; To fail
- To go to the dogs ; To be ruined
- To hang in the balance ; To remain undecided
- To hit the nail on the head; To do the right thing at the right time
- To hold water ; To sound logical
- To live no stone unturned ; To try one’s level best
- To live from hand to mouth ; To live with great difficulty
- To make up one’s mind ; To decide
- To see eye to eye with ; Agree
- To play ducks and drakes ; Waste
- To put the cart before the hors ; To do a thing in a wrong way
- To have too many irons in the fire ; To have too many things in hand
- To read b/w the lines ; To try to understand the hidden meaning
- To turn over a new leaf ; To change for the better
- To take the bull by horns; To face difficulties boldly
- To win laurels ; To distinguish oneself
- At daggers drawn ; At enmity or fighting
- Blake and white ; Written
- By leaps and bounds ; Very fast
- In cold blood ; deliberately
- Laid up with ; Confined to bed
- Ins and outs ; Full details
- A black sheep ; Scoundrel; a bad person
- A cock and bull story ; An absurd tale
- A gala day ; A day of festivity; a holiday with rejoicing
- A hard nut to crack ; A difficult person or problem to deal with
- A turn coat ; One who changes one’s opinion or party
- A fool’s paradise ; In a state of happiness founded on vain hopes
- Beat a retreat ; To retire before the enemy
- To be on the horns of a dilemma; To have a choice b/w two equal evils
- To beat about the bush ; Approach a subject in a round about method
- Bury the hatchet ; To make peace
- By fits and starts ; Irregularly
- Capital punishment ; Death sentence
- By hook or by crook ; By fair or foul means
- Eat humble pie ; To face humiliation
- Hit below the belt ; To act unfairly
- In apple pie order ; In perfect order
- Leave one in lurch ; To desert in difficulty
- To make a clean breast of ; To confess fully one’s faults
- To nip the evil in the bud ; To destroy an evil in early stage
- Pick holes in another’s coat ; To find fault with another
- Scot free ; To go unpunished
- Smell a rat ; To have a reason to suspect
- Through thick and thin ; Through every difficulty
- True to one’s salt ; Faithful to one’s master
- To turn the corner ; To begin to improve
- With a grain of salt ; To accept a statement with doubt as to its complete true
- Worship the rising sun ; To respect one rising in power
- A Herculean task ; An extremely difficult or dangerous task
- A fish out of water ; In a wrong place
- A leap in the dark ; An act of which we can’t force consequences
- A thorn in one’s side ; A constant source of annoyance
- To be at one’s beck and call ; Under one’s absolute control
- Bread and Butter ; Means of subsistence
- Burn one’s fingers ; To get into trouble
- Burn the candle at both ends; Use up too much energy
- To cut the Gordian knot ; To solve the difficulty
- Cut and dried ; Ready-made
- Feather one’s own nest ; To make money by unfair means
- To fish in troubled water ; To do something under very unpromising circumstance
- To give oneself airs ; Affected manners
- To give the devil his due ; To allow even a bad man the credit due
- To hang by thread ; To be in a critical condition
- A henpecked husband ; A man habitually snubbed by his wife
- Hush money ; Money given as a bribe to hush or make one keep silent
- Kick up a row ; Make a great noise
- To let the cat out of the bag; To reveal a secret
- Null and void ; Not valid; of no effect
- On the spur of the moment; At once
- Pay one back in one’s own coin ; To treat in the same way as one has been treated
- Put in cold storage; To forget or neglect something
- Pull wires ; To manage the show by secret Influence
- Read b/w the lines ; To hit at the real meaning
- Sit on the fence ; To avoid taking sides; to remain neutral
- A square deal ; Justice
- Sword of Damocles ; Treating danger
- To take up the gauntlet ; To accept the challenge
- To eat one’s heart out ; To suffer silently, bitterly
- B/t the devil and the deep sea ; B/w two dangers equally harmful
- A sweet tooth ; A liking for sweetmeat
- A dark horse ; An unknown person
- A bottleneck ; Anything that cause delays
- To put one’s foot down ; To show determination
- A wet blanket ; A grumbling, depressing person
- To throw up the sponge ; To acknowledge defeat
- A feather in one’s cap ; Something to be proud of
- A red letter day ; An auspicious day
- Bag and baggage ; With all one’s belongings
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