English Idioms List
Idiom Meaning Example
Break the ice Start a conversation in a He told a joke to break the
friendly way ice at the meeting.
A blessing in disguise Something that seems bad Losing that job was a
at first but turns out good blessing in disguise—it
pushed me to start my own
business.
Hit the nail on the head Describe something exactly You hit the nail on the head
with your analysis.
Under the weather Feeling sick I’m feeling under the
weather, so I’ll stay home.
Burn the midnight oil Work late into the night She burned the midnight oil
to finish the project.
Once in a blue moon Very rarely We go out for dinner once
in a blue moon.
Let the cat out of the bag Reveal a secret He let the cat out of the bag
about the surprise party.
Bite the bullet Decide to do something I decided to bite the bullet
difficult and take the exam.
Cost an arm and a leg Very expensive That car costs an arm and a
leg.
On the same page In agreement We need to be on the same
page before presenting to
the client.
The ball is in your court It’s your turn to act or I’ve done all I can; now the
decide ball is in your court.
A piece of cake Very easy The exam was a piece of
cake.
Back to square one Start over The plan failed, so we’re
back to square one.
Keep an eye on Watch closely Can you keep an eye on my
bag for a minute?
In hot water In trouble He’s in hot water with his
boss for missing the
deadline.
Go the extra mile Do more than expected She always goes the extra
mile for her customers.
Throw in the towel Give up After several failed
attempts, he threw in the
towel.
By the book Follow the rules exactly The project was completed
by the book.
Think outside the box Think creatively We need to think outside
the box to solve this
problem.
The tip of the iceberg Only a small part of a bigger These complaints are just
problem the tip of the iceberg.
Hit the sack Go to bed I’m tired, so I’m going to hit
the sack.
Kick the bucket Die He finally kicked the bucket
after a long illness.
Cry over spilled milk Complain about something It’s no use crying over
that can’t be changed spilled milk.
Pull someone’s leg Joke or tease someone I’m just pulling your leg.
Miss the boat Miss an opportunity I missed the boat on
investing early in that
company.
Beat around the bush Avoid talking about the Stop beating around the
main topic bush and tell me what
happened.
Break a leg Good luck You’ll do great—break a leg!
Hit the road Leave or start a journey We need to hit the road
early tomorrow.
Spill the beans Reveal a secret She spilled the beans about
the engagement.
Call it a day Stop working on something I’m tired, let’s call it a day.
Under your nose Right in front of you The keys were right under
your nose.
In the same boat In the same difficult We’re all in the same boat
situation after the changes at work.
Out of the blue Unexpectedly He showed up out of the
blue.
Break the bank Be very expensive That vacation will break the
bank.
Get cold feet Lose courage He got cold feet before the
wedding.
Bend over backwards Try very hard to help She bent over backwards to
make him comfortable.
Hit the jackpot Have great success or luck I hit the jackpot when I
found this job.
Face the music Accept the consequences You have to face the music
for your actions.
Get the hang of it Learn how to do something After a week, I finally got
the hang of it.
Jump on the bandwagon Join something popular Everyone is jumping on the
bandwagon for that new
app.
Burn bridges Destroy relationships Don’t burn bridges with
your old colleagues.
Play it by ear Decide as you go Let’s play it by ear and see
what happens.
Throw caution to the wind Take a risk They threw caution to the
wind and moved abroad.
Make ends meet Have just enough money It’s hard to make ends meet
these days.
Get out of hand Become uncontrolled The argument got out of
hand.
Under the table Secretly or illegally He was paid under the
table.
A storm in a teacup A big fuss over a small Their fight was just a storm
matter in a teacup.
Cut to the chase Get to the point Let’s cut to the chase and
discuss the main issue.
