[English] Commonly Used Idioms and Phrases

English idioms, proverbs, and expressions are an important part of everyday English. They come up all the time in both written and spoken English. Because idioms don’t always make sense literally, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the meaning and usage of each idiom. That may seem like a lot of work, but learning idioms is fun, especially when you compare English idioms to the idioms in your own language.

S.No.	Idioms & Phrases	Meaning
1	Rank and File	Ordinary People
2	By fits and starts	In short periods, not regularly
3	A wee bit	A little
4	Out of the wood	Free from difficulties and dangers
5	Under his thumb	Under his control
6	At one’s wits end	In a state where one does not know what to do
7	Between the devil and the deep sea	Between two dangers
8	Burn the midnight oil	Work or study hard
9	Call a spade a spade	Speak frankly and directly
10	Come off with flying colors	Be highly successful
11	Hoping against hope	Without hope
12	Hit the nail on the head	Do or say the exact thing
13	An axe to grind	A personal interest in the matter
14	To get rid of	Dispose of
15	At daggers drawn	Bitterly hostile
16	To play ducks and drakes	To act foolishly or inconsistently
17	To take the bull by the horns	To tackle a problem in a bold and direct fashion
18	Rain cats and dogs	Rain heavily
19	To move heaven and earth	To make a supreme effort
20	No avail	Without any result
21	Bark up the wrong tree	Accuse or denounce the wrong person
22	Keep one at bay	Keep one at a distance
23	Make a clean breast of it	Confess – especially when a person has done a wrong thing
24	Have a card up one’s sleeve	Have a secret plan in reserve
25	Like a cat on hot bricks	Very nervous
26	Cat and dog life	Life full of quarrels
27	Cock and bull story	Made up story that one should not believe
28	Cry for the moon	Ask for the impossible
29	The pros and cons	The various aspects of a matter in detail
30	Be in a tight corner	In a very difficult situation
31	Cross one’s t’s and dot	Be precise, careful and one’s i’s exact
32	At arm’s length	To keep at a distance
33	Out of the question	Impossible
34	Out of the way	Strange
35	Show a clean pair of heals	Run away
36	Keep one’s fingers crossed	The anxiety in which you hope that nothing will upset your plans
37	In the nick of time	Just at the last moment
38	Sitting on the fence	Hesitate between two decisions
39	Spread like wild fire	Spread quickly
40	The gift of the gab	Talent for speaking
41	By hook or by crook	By fair or foul means
42	Feather one’s own nest	Make money unfairly
43	Throw out of gear	Disturb the work
44	Take to one’s heels	Run away
45	Tooth and nail	With all one’s power
46	Die in harness	Die while in service
47	Take a leaf out of one’s book	Imitate one
48	Leave no stone unturned	Use all available means
49	A man of straw	A man of no substance
50	Read between the lines	Understand the hidden meaning
51	In cold blood	Deliberately and without emotion
52	A thorn in the flesh	A constant source of annoyance
53	Smell a rat	Suspect something foul
54	Harp on the same string	Dwell on the same subject
55	Bury the hatchet	End the quarrel and make peace
56	Leave one in the lurch	Desert one in difficulties; leave one in a helpless condition
57	Like a fish out of water	In a strange situation
58	At one’s beck and call	Under his control
59	To make both ends meet	To live within one’s income
60	In hot water	In trouble
61	Nip in the bud	Destroy in the early stage
62	Stick to one’s guns	Remain faithful to the cause
63	To eat humble pie	To apologize humbly and to yield under humiliating circumstances
64	In high spirits	Very happy
65	Put the cart before the horse	Put or do things in the wrong order
66	To all names	To abuse
67	On tenterhooks	In a state of suspense and anxiety
68	Wash one’s dirty linen	Discuss unpleasant in public-private matters before strangers
69	To bell the cat	To face the risk
70	A hard nut to crack	A difficult problem
71	Let the cat out of the bag	Reveal a secret
72	A big gun	An important person
73	Kill two birds with one stone	To achieve two results with one effort
74	Take one to task	Rebuke
75	Gain ground	Become Popular
76	To blow one’s own	To praise one’s own trumpet achievement
77	A bosom friend	A very close friend
78	A brown study	Dreaming
79	Turn a deaf ear	Disregard / ignore what one says
80	A close shave	Narrow escape
81	Turn over a new leaf	Change for the better
82	Make up one’s mind	Decide
83	In the long run	Eventually; ultimately
84	Bring to light	Disclose
85	Pay off old scores	Take revenge
86	Hard and fast rules	Strict rules
87	At the eleventh hour	At the last moment
88	A close shave	Narrow escape
89	To cut a sorry figure	To make a poor show
90	With a high hand	Oppressively
91	Burn one’s fingers	Get into trouble by interfering in other’s affairs
92	Laugh one’s head off	Laugh heartily
93	Chew the cud	Ponder over something
94	Play second fiddle	Take an unimportant part
95	Above board	Honest and open
96	Through thick and thin	Under all conditions
97	Put a spoke in one’s wheel	To upset one’s plans
98	At sixes and sevens	In a disordered/disorganized manner, chaotic
99	At home	Comfortable
100	Alpha and omega	The beginning and the end
101	At sea	Confused and lost
102	A bosom friend	A very close friend
103	At one’s beck and call	At one’s service
104	By leaps and bounds	Rapidly
105	To burn one’s boats	Go back on a decision
106	To beat about the bush	Talk irrelevantly
107	To burn candle at both ends	To waste lavishly
108	Take one to task	Rebuke
109	A bone of contention	A source of quarrel
110	Add fuel to the fire	To aggravate the situation
111	An acid test	A critical test
112	At a snail’s pace	Very slowly
113	A bolt from the blue	Something unexpected
114	To build castles in the air	Make imaginary schemes
115	Once in a blue moon	Something that happens very rarely
116	Beating around the bush	Avoiding the main topic
117	Cry over spilled milk	Complaining about a loss or failure from the past
118	Chip on your shoulder	When someone is upset about something that happened a while ago
119	Piece of cake	Something that is easy to understand or do
120	Golden handshake	A big sum of money given to a person when he/she leaves a company or retires
121	Spill the beans	To disclose a secret
122	Blessing in disguise	Something good and useful that did not initially seem that way
123	Mean business	Being Serious or Dedicated
124	Come hell or high water	Possible obstacles in your path
125	Apple of one’s eye	Being cherished
126	Bite off more than you can chew	Not able to complete a task due to lack of ability
127	The best of both worlds	The benefits of widely differing situations, enjoyed at the same time
128	Feeling a bit under the weather	Feeling slightly ill
129	Icing on the cake	Something that turns good into great
130	Cost an arm and a leg	Be very expensive
131	Jump the bandwagon	To join a popular activity or trend
132	Ball is in your court	When it is up to you to make the next decision or step
133	To be in the doldrums	To be in low spirits
134	To sit on the fence	To remain neutral
135	Break the ice	To initiate a social conversation or interaction
136	Hear it on grapevine	To hear rumors about something or someone
137	Can’t judge a book by its cover	Cannot judge something primarily on appearance
138	It takes two to tango	Actions or communications need more than one person
139	Let the cat out of the bag	To reveal the secret carelessly or by mistake
140	Black and blue	Full of Bruises
141	Be on cloud nine	Be very happy
142	Last straw	The final problem in a series of problems
143	A bird’s eye view	A view from a very high place that allows you to see a very large area
144	A litmus Test	A method that helps to know if something is correct
145	At the drop of a hat	Willingness to do something instantly
146	Afraid of one’s own shadow	To become easily frightened
147	A house of cards	A poor plan
148	Fool’s paradise	False sense of happiness
149	Get a raw deal	To not be treated as well as other people
150	Give cold shoulder	To ignore
151	Hand to mouth	Live on only basic necessities
152	Make a face	To show dislike or disappointment through facial expressions
153	It’s Greek to me	Something that is not understandable
154	To pour oil on troubled waters	To make peace
155	Don’t put all your eggs in one basket	Do not put all your resources in one basket (in one place or thing)
156	To put in a nutshell	To say in a few words or to make something concise
157	Back out	To withdraw from a promise or contract
158	Blow up	To explode
159	Back Up	To support and sustain
160	Back Upon	To be relevant
161	Break Down	Failure in something
162	Break off	To end or discontinue
163	Break Up	To disperse / dissolve
164	Bring up	To rear
165	Call forth	To provoke
166	Call out	To shout
167	Call upon	To order
168	Carry on	To continue
169	Cast away	To throw aside
170	Catch up with	To overtake
171	Come off	To take place
172	Cry Down	To make little of
173	Catch up with	To overtake
174	Cry out against	To complain loudly against
175	Cut out	Designed for
176	Drop in	To Visit Casually
177	Drop out	To fall
178	Fall back	To Recede; To Retreat
179	Fall down	From a higher position to a lower one
180	Fall off	To Withdraw; To Drop Off
181	Fall under	To come under
182	Get along	To Prosper; To Progress; To Proceed
183	Get on with	To Live Pleasantly Together; To Progress
184	Get into	To be involved in
185	Give in	To Surrender; To Yield
186	Give over	Not to do any longer
187	Go after	To Follow; To Pursue
188	Go Down	To be accepted
189	Go without	To remain without
190	Go by	To follow
191	Hang about	To Loiter near a place
192	Hang upon	To depend upon
193	Hold out	To Endure; To Refuse to yield; To continue; To offer
194	Hold to	Abide By
195	Keep off	To ward off
196	Keep up with	To keep pace with
197	Knock out	To win by hitting another one
198	It takes two to tango	Both people involved in a bad situation are responsible for it
199	Last straw	The final problem in a series of problems
200	Keep something at bay	Keep something away
201	Kill two birds with one stone	To solve two problems at a time with just one action
202	Let sleeping dogs lie	Leave something alone if it might cause trouble
203	Open the floodgates	Release something that was previously under control
204	Out of the blue	Happen unexpectedly
205	Out on a limb	Do something risky
206	Over the Top	Totally excessive and not suitable for the occasion
207	Pen is mightier than the sword	Words and communication have a greater effect than war
208	Push one’s luck	Trying to obtain more than what one has
209	Reap the harvest	Benefit or suffer as a direct result of past actions
210	Roll up sleeves	To get yourself prepared
211	See eye to eye	To be in agreement with
212	Shot in the dark	A complete guess
213	Sink your teeth into	Do something with a lot of energy and enthusiasm
214	Take with a grain/pinch of salt	To doubt theaccuracy of information
215	Skating on thin ice	Do or say something risky
216	Tight spot	A difficult situation
217	Strike while the iron is hot	To act at the right time
218	Take the plunge	Venture into something of one’s interest despite the risks involved
219	Take a nosedive	Rapid drop or decrease in value
220	Think the world of	Admire someone very much
221	Stand in a good stead	To be useful or be of good service to someone
222	Take a back seat	Choose to be less important in a role
223	Wave a dead chicken	Do something useless
224	Whale of a time	Enjoy a lot
225	Wrap one’s brain around	Concentrate on something to understand
226	Zero in on something	Focus all attention on one thing
227	Above all	Chiefly, Mainly
228	On Account of	Due to
229	On no account	Not for Any Reason
230	Fidus Achates	A faithful friend or a devoted follower
231	The Heel of Achilles	A Weak Point
232	An Adonis	A very handsome man
233	To assume airs	To affect superiority
234	To stand aloof	To keep to oneself and not mix with others
235	To lead to the altar	To marry
236	An Ananias	A Liar
237	An Apollo	A Man with Perfect Physique
238	To Upset the Apple Cart	To disturb the peace
239	Apple Pie Order	In perfect order
240	Arcadian Life	A blissful, happy, rural and simple life
241	To take up arms	To fight or go to the war
242	To Grind	To have some selfish objective in view
243	To break the back of anything	To perform the most difficult part
244	To backbite a person	To speak disguise about someone
245	He has no backbone	He has no will of his own
246	To cause bad blood	To Cause Enmity
247	Bag and Baggage	With all one’s belongings
248	To keep the ball rolling	To keep things going
249	Barmecide feast	Imaginary Benefits
250	Bee-line	The shortest distance between two places
251	Behind one’s back	Without one’s Knowledge
252	Behind the scenes	In Private
253	To hit below the belt	To act unfairly in a contest
254	To bite the dust	To be Defeated in Battle
255	A Wet Blanket	A person who discourages enjoyment or enthusiasm
256	In Cold Blood	Deliberately
257	A blue Stocking	A learned/educated or intellectual woman
258	At First Blush	At first sight
259	A Bolt from the Blue	Something completely unexpected that surprises you
260	One’s bread and butter	One’s means of livelihood
261	To breadth one’s last	To Die
262	To make bricks without straw	To attempt to do something without proper materials
263	To kick the bucket	To die
264	Good wine needs no bush	There is no need to advertise something good
265	To burn the candle at both ends	To expend energy in two directions at the same time
266	If the cap fits, wear it	If you think the remarks refer to you, then accept the criticism
267	Care killed the cat	Don’t fret and worry yourself to death
268	To Catch one’s eye	To attract attention
269	To take the chair	To preside a meeting
270	She is no chicken	She is older than she says
271	To pick and choose	To make a careful selection
272	To square the circle	To attempt something impossible
273	Every cloud has a silver lining	Adverse conditions do not last forever
274	Close-fisted	Mean
275	Cut your cloth according to your cloth	Live within your income
276	A cock and bull story	A foolishly incredible story
277	To be cock sure	To be perfectly sure or certain
278	To throw cold water upon anything	To discourage efforts
279	Off color	Not in the usual form
280	To commit to memory	To learn by heart
281	Too many cooks spoil the broth	Where there are more workers than necessary
282	Crocodile tears	Hypocritical Tears
283	By hook or by crook	By fair or foul means
284	Cut and dried	Readymade
285	Up to date	Recent
286	Evil days	A period of misfortune
287	Halcyon Days	A time when there are peace and happiness in the land
288	To step into dead man’s shoes	To come into an inheritance
289	Go to the devil	Be off
290	Devil’s bones	Dice
291	Devil’s Playthings	Playing Cards
292	Give a dog a bad name and hang him	Once a person loses his reputation
293	Every dog has his day	Sooner or later, everyone has his share of good fortune
294	To throw dust in one’s eyes	To try to deceive someone or mislead someone
295	A white elephant	A useless possession which is extremely expensive to keep
296	To set the Thames on fire	To do something sensational or remarkable
297	A burnt child dreads the fire	One who has had a previous unpleasant experience is always scared of situations where such experiences are likely to be repeated
298	A fish out of water	Anyone in an awkward
299	Foul play	Cheating
300	To jump from a frying pan into fire	To come out of one trouble and get into a worse
301	All that glitters are not gold	Things are not always as attractive as they appear
302	To die in harness	To continue at one’s occupation until death
303	Make hay while the sun shines	Take advantage of all opportunities
304	Lock, stock and barrel	The whole of everything
305	A miss is as good as a mile	Comes nowhere near it. If someone narrowly misses the target it still is treated as a missed one or failure.
306	To move heaven and earth	To exert all efforts
307	One swallow does not make a summer	It is unreliable to base one’s conclusions on only a single test or incident
308	If wishes were horses, beggars might ride	If wishing could make things happen, then even the most destitute people would have everything they wanted
309	A nine days’ wonder	An event which relates a sensation for a time but is soon forgotten
310	Yellow press	Newspapers which publish sensational and unscrupulous stories and exaggerates the news to attract readers.
311	A ball park figure	A general financial figure
312	To balance the books	To make certain that the amount of money spent is not more than the amount of money received.
313	A cash cow	A product or service that makes a lot of money for a company
314	Devil’s Advocate	To present a counter argument
315	Don’t give up the day job	You are not very good at something. You could not do it professionally.
316	To cook the books	To modify financial statements
317	To get the sack	To be dismissed from your job
318	To be snowed under	To be very busy
319	To work your fingers to the bone Or To sweat blood	To work really hard
320	Hear it on the grapevine	To hear rumors
321	In the heat of the moment	Overwhelmed by what is happening in the moment
322	Not a spark of decency	No Manners
323	Speak of the devil!	This expression is used when the person you have just been talking about arrives
324	Whole nine yards	Everything. All of it
325	Your guess is as good as mine	To have no idea about anything

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[English] Commonly Used Idioms and Phrases

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