Every cloud has a silver lining: There's something
100 Commonly Used good in every bad situation
Idioms with Meanings Face the music: Confront the consequences
Feeling under the weather: Feeling sick
A blessing in disguise: A good thing that seemed
Fish out of water: Uncomfortable in a situation
bad at first
Fly off the handle: Lose your temper
A dime a dozen: Very common and of no particular
value Get a taste of your own medicine: Get treated the
way you treat others
A piece of cake: Something very easy
Get cold feet: Become nervous or hesitant
Add fuel to the fire: Make a bad situation worse
Get out of hand: Become uncontrollable
All in the same boat: In the same difficult situation
Give someone the cold shoulder: Ignore someone
An arm and a leg: Very expensive
Go the extra mile: Make an extra effort
At the drop of a hat: Without hesitation; instantly
Hit the nail on the head: Say something exactly
Back to the drawing board: Start over again
right
Barking up the wrong tree: To have the wrong
Hit the sack: Go to bed
idea
In hot water: In trouble
Beat around the bush: Avoid saying something
directly It takes two to tango: Both parties involved are
responsible
Bite the bullet: Endure a painful experience
Jump on the bandwagon: Join a popular trend
Break the ice: Make people feel more comfortable
Keep your chin up: Stay positive
Burn the midnight oil: Work late into the night
Kill two birds with one stone: Accomplish two
By the book: According to the rules
things at once
Call it a day: Stop working for the day
Let the cat out of the bag: Reveal a secret
Caught between a rock and a hard place: In a
Make a long story short: Get to the point
difficult situation with no easy choice
Miss the boat: Miss an opportunity
Costs an arm and a leg: Very expensive
Not playing with a full deck: Someone who is
Cut corners: Do something badly or cheaply
mentally deficient
Cut to the chase: Get to the point
Off the hook: Freed from obligation or trouble
Devil’s advocate: Someone who argues a point to
On the ball: Alert and efficient
test its validity
On thin ice: In a risky situation
Don’t cry over spilled milk: Don’t worry about
things in the past Once in a blue moon: Very rarely
Don’t judge a book by its cover: Don’t judge Out of the blue: Unexpectedly
something by appearance
Out of the frying pan into the fire: From a bad
Down in the dumps: Feeling sad situation to a worse one
Piece of the pie: A share of something valuable Turn a blind eye: Ignore something deliberately
Pull someone’s leg: Joke with someone Under the table: Secret or illegal payment
Put all your eggs in one basket: Rely on one plan Up in the air: Uncertain or undecided
or idea
Water under the bridge: Past event no longer
Rain on someone’s parade: Spoil someone’s plans important
Read between the lines: Understand the hidden When pigs fly: Something that will never happen
meaning
Wrap your head around something: Understand
Rome wasn’t built in a day: Important things take something complicated
time
You can’t judge a book by its cover: Don’t base
Rub someone the wrong way: Annoy or irritate opinions on appearance
someone
Your guess is as good as mine: I don’t know either
Rule of thumb: A general guideline
Zip your lip: Keep something secret
Run out of steam: Lose energy or interest
Break a leg: Good luck
Rock the boat: Cause trouble in a situation
By the skin of your teeth: Barely succeed
See eye to eye: Agree completely
In the nick of time: Just in time
Shoot for the stars: Aim high
Go down in flames: Fail spectacularly
Sit on the fence: Remain neutral
Like two peas in a pod: Very similar
Sleep on it: Think about something overnight
Go out on a limb: Take a risk
Smell a rat: Suspect something is wrong
Keep your eyes peeled: Stay alert
Speak of the devil: Someone appears when being
talked about Lend an ear: Listen to someone
Spill the beans: Reveal a secret Not one’s cup of tea: Not something one likes
Steal someone’s thunder: Take credit for Put your money where your mouth is: Support
someone else’s idea your words with actions
Take it with a grain of salt: Don’t take it too Rain cats and dogs: Rain heavily
seriously Skeleton in the closet: Hidden secret
Take the bull by the horns: Face a challenge Take a rain check: Postpone a plan
directly
To each their own: Everyone has different tastes
The ball is in your court: It’s your turn to act
Touch base: Make contact
The best of both worlds: An ideal situation
Under the weather: Feeling sick
The early bird catches the worm: Those who act
early succeed
The elephant in the room: An obvious problem no
one wants to address
Throw in the towel: Give up
