200 idioms and their meanings in english
Barking up the wrong tree: Looking in the wrong place.
Be glad to see the back of: Be happy when a person leaves.
Against The Clock: Rushed and short on time.
Don’t judge a book by its cover: Don’t judge something primarily by its appearance.
Thanks to: Due to
Ball is in your court: It is up to you to make the next decision or step
Blind date: A date where the two people have never met before
Get along with: To have a good relationship with someone
Kick The Bucket: Die
Oddball: a weirdo or a strange person
Knee Jerk Reaction: A quick and automatic response
Hang in there: Don’t give up
Pull yourself together: Calm down
So far so good: Things are going well so far
Down-To-Earth: sensible and realistic
Curiosity killed the cat: Being too curious can get you into trouble
9 Elvis has left the building:The show has come to an end It’s all over
2 Last straw: The final problem in a series of problems
Joined at the hip: to be exceptionally close to someone
Elbow grease: hard physical efford
Forty winks: a short nap
30 Common English idioms and their meanings
Idioms about Colors in English
Red tape
Official or bureaucratic tasks
To be yellow
To be cowardly
To see red
To be very angry
Black out
Faint
Black and blue
Describe something that is badly bruised
Golden opportunity
The perfect chance
Have the blues
Be sad or depressed
Black sheep
A person who is a disgrace to a family or group
All ears
Fully listening
Keep an eye on
Take care of, watch in order to protect
Joined at the hip
To be exceptionally close to someone
Pat on the back
Recognition or a thank-you
See eye to eye
Agree
On the nose
Precisely, at an exact time
A sight for sore eyes
Someone that you’re pleased to see
Cost an arm and a leg
Be very expensive
Two heads are better than one
My son, don’t forget; Two heads are better than one
Learn the ropes
It didn’t take her new assistant long to learn the ropes.
Doing your homework
You can’t play game any more until you do your homework!
Under one’s belt
She has almost a year as minister under her belt.
Pick his brain
You should pick Mary’s brain sometime; she knows all about math.
Be common knowledge
It’s common knowledge that she is a beautiful girl.
As far as anyone knows
As far as anyone knows, this is the last of the great herds of buffalo.
Knowledge is power
In this situation, knowledge is power.
Bookworm
Someone who reads a lot
Brainstorm something
To think of new ideas
Skip class
To not go to school when you should
Teacher’s pet
The teacher’s favourite student
As easy as ABC
Very easy
Cover a lot of ground
Complete a lot of material in a class
Eager beaver
Someone who works hard and is very enthusiastic
Copycat
Someone who copies the work of another person
Dropout
To stop attending school
Pass with flying colors
To experience particular trouble or difficulty
| Have a heart | Be merciful |
| Have you heart set on something | To want something very much |
| Eat your heart out | We say this when we make someone jealous |
| In a heartbeat | Very quickly withous any hesitation |
| A heart of stone | No feelings |
| Lose one’s heart to | Fall in love |
| Cross my heart | Tell the truth |
| Heart and soul | Completely; entirely |
| Wears heart on his sleeve | Always lets feeling be known |
| Broken heart | To lose love |
| Know by heart | Memorize |
Souped up
Made more powerful or stylish
Sell like hot cakes
Bought by many people
Big cheese
Very important person (VIP)
Cream of the crop
The best
Butter someone up
Be extra nice to someone
One smart cookie
A very intelligent person
Egg someone on
Urge someone to do something
Hard nut to crack
Difficult to understand, often a person
Cool as a cucumber
Very relaxed
Apple of one’s eye
A person that is adored by someone
| As fit as a fiddle | To be heathy and phsically fit |
| At death’s door | Very near death |
| As pale as a ghost | Extremely pale |
| Bitter pill to swallow | An unpleasant fact that one must accept |
| Get a charley horse | To develop a cramp in the arm or the leg |
| Have one foot in the grave | To be near death |
| Run in the family | To be a common family characteristic |
| Under the weather | Not feeling well |
| Sick and tired of | Extremely annoyed by something that occurs repeatedly |
| Go under the knife | Undergo surgery |
Helicopter Parenting
Over attentive child-raising
Bob’s Your Uncle
The rest is easy; you’re almost finished
My Old Man, My Old Lady
My spouse
Pop the Question
Propose marriage
Up the Duff
Pregnant
Like Taking Candy from a Baby
Very easy
Accident Of Birth
Luck in something due to family good fortune
One big happy family
A group of people who live or work together or in close proximity
Family man
A man devoted to taking care of his wife and children
Spitting Image
Have a strong resemblance, often familiar
On another planet
not paying attention, acting strangely
Bells and whistles
extra features and trimmings
To blow a fuse
to lose your temper
Cutting edge
advanced and innovative
A shoulder to cry on
someone who listens to your problems
By Hook or by Crook
By some possibly dishonest means
To push someone’s buttons
to provoke someone
Cog in the machine
said about one part of a large system or organization
Get your wires crossed
being confused or not understanding someone
At boiling point
reached one’s limit in patience or temper
Blow a fuse
become very angry/lose one’s temper
Not rocket science
easy to do or understand
a piece of cake
A task that can be accomplished very easily.
up and running
properly functioning
like two peas in a pod
very similar
to be as thick as thieves
to be very close or friendly
to bury the hatchet
to end a conflict
to clear the air
to defuse the tension
a shoulder to cry on
someone who listens to your problems
strike up a friendship
to become friends
to see eye to eye with someone
to agree with someone
Friends in high places
has friends who have important or influential positions
to know someone inside out
to know someone very well
to build bridges
to promote friendly relations between people or groups
To foot the bill
To pay for something
Money talks
Rich people can get what they want
Be made of money
If you are made of money, you are rich man
Banner Year
A year marked by strong successes
Money to burn
Extra money to spend however one likes
To cut your losses
To stop doing something for avoid loosing money
To make a killing
To earn a lot of money
As sound as a dollar
Very secure and dependable
Cash-and–carry
Selling something for cash only and with no delivery
Get a run for one’s money
to receive a challenge, to receive what one deserves
Get the Ball Rolling
Do something to begin a process
Against The Run Of Play
Atypical of the way a game has been going
Ballpark figure
A rough estimate
Throw in the Towel
To give up, admit defeat
Take the Gloves off
Negotiate in a more aggressive way
Play ball
Cooperate, agree to participate
Hit the Ground Running
To begin a job or project with no learning period needed
Heavy Hitter
A powerful, influential person
Come Out Swinging
Respond to something very aggressively
Ball’s in Your Court
It’s your turn to make an offer or decision
