English Idioms

Definitions Translations Usage

A blessing in disguise| - something good that isn't recognized at first| A hot potato| - controversial or sensitive issue| A penny for your thoughts| - asking someone what they are thinking about| A piece of cake| - very easy| A slap on the wrist| - a very mild punishment| A Toss-Up| - a result that is still unclear and can go either way| Add insult to injury| - make a bad situation even worse| Against the clock| - rushed and short on time| All Greek to me| - meaningless and incomprehensible either due to complexity or imprecision| All in the same boat| - when everyone is facing the same challenges| All of a sudden| - something that happens very quickly and unexpectedly| An arm and a leg| - very expensive; a large amount of money| An ax to grind| - to have a dispute with someone| At the drop of a hat| - willing to do something immediately, on the slightest signal or urging| Back to square one| - having to start all over again| Back to the drawing board| - when an attempt fails and it's time to start all over| Be sick and tired of| - to be angry, bored or annoyed with something| Beat a dead horse| - to force an issue that has already ended| Beat around the bush| - avoiding the main topic| Bend over backwards| - do whatever it takes to help| Break the ice| - to break social formality and to initiate conversation| Buy a lemon| - to buy a car that constantly gives problems| Call it a night| - to stop an activity for the rest of the night| Catch 22| - a situation in which a desired outcome is impossible no matter what choice is made| Caught between two stools| - when it is difficult to choose between two alternatives| Come a long way| - make a lot of progress and improvemen| Costs an arm and a leg| - to be very expensive| Cut corners| - to do something in the fastest or cheapest way| Cut it out!| - stop doing something bad| Cut to the chase| - leave out unnecessary details and just get to the point| Devil's advocate| - one who takes a position just for the sake of argument| Down to the wire| - something that ends at the last minute or last few seconds| Draw a line in the sand| - establish a limit beyond which things will not accepted| Feeling a bit under the weather| - feeling slightly ill| For crying out loud!| - expresses frustration or annoyance with somebody or something| From the horse's mouth| - to hear something from the authoritative or dependable source| Get over it| - to move beyond something that is bothering you| Get the ball rolling| - get a process started| Go the extra mile| - going above and beyond whatever is required for the task at hand| Good Samaritan| - one who helps others when they are in need, with no thought of a reward| Gut feeling| - a personal, intuitive feeling or response, especially when something may not be right| Head over heels| - very excited and/or joyful, especially when in love| Hear it on the grapevine| - receive information indirectly, similar to a rumor| High five| - slapping palms above each others heads as celebration gesture| Hit the books| - to study; prepare for class| Hit the nail on the head| - do something or say something exactly right| Hocus pocus| - in general, a term used in magic or trickery| In ages| - for a very long time| In hot water| - in trouble; in difficulties| In the blink of an eye| - in an extremely short time| It's a small world| - something you say when seeing the same people, events or situations in different places.| Jaywalk| - crossing the street without using the crosswalk| Kick the bucket| - to die| Kill two birds with one stone| - accomplish two tasks with only one effort| Learn the ropes| - to learn the basics| Lend a hand| - to help; to give assistance| Let sleeping dogs lie| - to avoid restarting a conflict| Let the cat out of the bag| - to share a secret that wasn't suppose to be shared| Long time, no see!| - an expression used to greet someone who you have not seen for a long time| Long shot| - highly unlikely| Look like a million dollars| - to be very well dressed; to look great| Loose cannon| - someone whose actions are unpredictable and uncontrollable| Lose your head| - to become upset, confused or overly emotional about something| Lose your short| - to lose all of or most of your money| Miss the boat| - to be too late; lose the opportunity; fail to take action| Money talks| - money has influence and power| Mumbo jumbo| - nonsense or meaningless speech or writing| Nest egg| - savings set aside for future use| Off the hook| - freed from a blame or obligation; having avoided a difficult situation| On the ball| - to understand the situation well| Once in a blue moon| - something that happens very rarely| Once in a while| - sometimes, not very often| Out of the blue| - something that suddenly and unexpectedly occurs| Over my dead body| - when you absolutely will not accept or allow something to happen| Over the top| - very excessive; outrageously overdone| Poker face| - a face with no expression| Pull the plug| - to stop something; to bring something to an end| Pulling your leg| - tricking someone as a joke| Rule of thumb| - a useful principle, basic rule that is usually but not always correct| Run out of steam| - to be completely out of energy| Saved by the bell| - rescued from a danger at the last possible moment| Scapegoat| - someone else who takes the blame| See eye to eye| - be in agreement| Sit on the fence| - undecided about an issue; not able to make a decision| Sleep on it| - wait until the next day before making an important decision| Speak of the devil!| - reference to a person who appears unexpectedly while being talked about| Start from scratch| - to do it all over again from the beginning| Take it easy| - good-bye; calm down; relax| Take with a pinch of salt| - do not completely believe it| The ball is in your court| - your turn to speak or act next| The best of both worlds| - get the benefits and advantages of two different things| The last straw| - the last little burden or problem that causes everything to collapse| The whole nine yards| - everything, all of it| Time out| - stop; take a break; calm down| Turn a blind eye| - to ignore something you know is real and pretend you do not see it| Twenty-four/seven| - all the time; continuous operation| Up to the minute| - the most recent| When pigs fly| - something that will never ever happen| You bet!| - sure, yes, of course| Zero Tolerance| - no crime or law breaking to be overlooked|