English Idiom Examples

A Idioms

a blessing in disguise a dime a dozen ace up your sleeve add fuel to the fire against the clock all ears as easy as pie at one's wit's end at the drop of a hat avoid like the plague

B Idioms

back to the drawing board barking up the wrong tree beat around the bush behind the scenes bite off more than you can chew bite the bullet break the ice bring home the bacon burn the midnight oil by the book

C Idioms

call it a day caught red handed chip on your shoulder cold feet come rain or shine cost an arm and a leg crack the whip cross that bridge when you come to it cry over spilled milk cut corners

D Idioms

dead end devil is in the details dog eat dog don't judge a book by its cover down to earth drag your feet draw the line dressed to kill drive someone crazy drop the ball

E Idioms

early bird earn your stripes easy does it eat your words elbow grease elephant in the room end of the road even the score every cloud has a silver lining eyes in the back of your head

F Idioms

face the music feather in your cap feel under the weather fish out of water fit as a fiddle fly off the handle foot the bill for the birds from scratch full of hot air

G Idioms

get cold feet get out of hand get the ball rolling give someone a hand give the cold shoulder go down in flames go the extra mile golden opportunity grasp at straws green light

H Idioms

hands down hang in there hard pill to swallow have a blast head over heels heart of gold hit the ground running hit the nail on the head hit the sack hold your horses

I Idioms

icing on the cake in a nutshell in hot water in over your head in plain sight in the long run in the nick of time in the same boat iron out it takes two to tango

J Idioms

jack of all trades jazz something up jog your memory joined at the hip joyride jump on the bandwagon jump ship jump the gun jury is still out just the ticket

K Idioms

keep an eye on keep it under wraps keep your chin up key player kick off kick the bucket kill two birds with one stone knock on wood know the ropes knuckle down

L Idioms

last straw learn the hard way leave no stone unturned let the cat out of the bag light at the end of the tunnel long shot look before you leap lose your cool lose your touch low hanging fruit

M Idioms

make a long story short make ends meet make waves mean business method to the madness miss the boat miss the mark mixed bag moment of truth move the goalposts

N Idioms

neck and neck needle in a haystack nine to five nip it in the bud no brainer no pain no gain not playing with a full deck not your cup of tea nothing to write home about now or never

O Idioms

odds and ends off the beaten path off the hook old hat on cloud nine on the same page on thin ice once in a blue moon out of the blue over the moon

P Idioms

pass the buck penny for your thoughts piece of cake plain as day play it by ear practice makes perfect pull someone's leg push the envelope put all your eggs in one basket put your foot down

Q Idioms

quality time queer the pitch question mark queue jump quick fix quick on the draw quicker said than done quicksand situation quiet as a mouse quit cold turkey

R Idioms

rain on your parade raise the bar read between the lines red tape right off the bat road to nowhere rock the boat rough around the edges rule of thumb run out of steam

S Idioms

saved by the bell see eye to eye shoot yourself in the foot silver lining small potatoes speak of the devil spill the beans step on toes stick to your guns straight from the horse's mouth

T Idioms

take with a grain of salt talk the talk the ball is in your court think outside the box through thick and thin throw in the towel time flies tip of the iceberg toe the line turn a blind eye

U Idioms

out of the woods under the weather under your nose until the cows come home up in the air up the creek up to no good uphill battle upper hand use your head

V Idioms

value for money vanish into thin air variety is the spice of life vent your spleen very last straw vested interest vicious circle victory lap voice your opinion vote with your feet

W Idioms

wake‑up call water under the bridge white lie whole nine yards wild goose chase wolf in sheep's clothing word of mouth work your fingers to the bone worth your weight in gold wrap your head around

X Idioms

x marks the spot xenial behavior xenophobia xerox copy xylophone effect x‑axis x‑factor x‑out x‑over x‑rated

Y Idioms

yardstick yellow‑bellied yesterday's news yield results yin and yang yoke together you bet you name it young at heart your guess is as good as mine

Z Idioms

zany idea zebra crossing zero in on zero tolerance zest for life zigzag course zip through zip your lip zone out zoom in