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Common
English idioms
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These English idioms are used quite regularly in the United States. You may not hear them every day, but they will be very familiar to any native English speaker. You can be confident using any of them when the context is appropriate.
Total: 50
Clean
Idiom
Meaning
a
bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
what
you have is worth more than what you might have later
actions
speak louder than words
believe
what people do and not what they say
add
insult to injury
to
make a bad situation worse
a
penny for your thoughts
tell
me what youre thinking
a
penny saved is a penny earned
money
you save today you can spend later
a
perfect storm
the
worst possible situation
a
picture is worth 1000 words
better
to show than tell
the
best thing since sliced bread
a
really good invention
barking
up the wrong tree
to
be mistaken
good
things come to those who wait
be
patient
birds
of a feather flock together
people
who are alike are often friends (usually used negatively)
bite
off more than you can chew
take
on a project that you cannot finish
break
the ice
make
people feel more comfortable
by
the skin of your teeth
just
barely
comparing
apples to oranges
comparing
two things that cannot be compared
costs
an arm and a leg
very
expensive
dont
count your chickens before they hatch
dont
count on something good happening until its happened.
dont
cry over spilt milk
theres
no reason to complain about something that cant be fixed
dont
give up your day job
youre
not very good at this
dont
put all your eggs in one basket
what
youre doing is too risky
take
it with a grain of salt
don’t
take it too seriously
do
something at the drop of a hat
do
something without having planned beforehand
do
unto others as you would have them do unto you
treat
people fairly. also known as ""the golden rule""
every
cloud has a silver lining
good
things come after bad things
get
a taste of your own medicine
get
treated the way youve been treating others (negative)
hit
the nail on the head
get
something exactly right
kill
two birds with one stone
get
two things done with a single action
let
the cat out of the bag
give
away a secret
spill
the beans
give
away a secret
give
someone the cold shoulder
ignore
someone
go
on a wild goose chase
to
do something pointless
he
has bigger fish to fry
he
has bigger things to take care of than what we are talking about now
hes
a chip off the old block
the
son is like the father
ignorance
is bliss
youre
better off not knowing
live
and learn
i
made a mistake
it
aint over till the fat lady sings
this
isnt over yet
the
devil is in the details
it
looks good from a distance
its
a piece of cake
its
easy
its
raining cats and dogs
its
raining hard
the
ball is in your court
its
your decision
it
takes one to know one
youre
just as bad as i am
look
before you leap
take
only calculated risks
once
in a blue moon
rarely
on
thin ice
on
probation. if you make another mistake
play
devils advocate
to
argue the opposite
take
a rain check
postpone
a plan
put
something on ice
put
a projet on hold
rain
on someones parade
to
spoil something
slow
and steady wins the race
reliability
is more important than speed
saving
for a rainy day
saving
money for later