(CAE) A-D Idioms & Phrases
A
| A Bird In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush | Having something that is certain is much better than taking a risk for more, because chances are you might lose everything. |
| A Blessing In Disguise | Something good that isn’t recognized at first. |
| A Chip On Your Shoulder | Being upset for something that happened in the past. |
| A Dime A Dozen | Anything that is common and easy to get. |
| A Doubting Thomas | A skeptic who needs physical or personal evidence in order to believe something. |
| A Drop in the Bucket | A very small part of something big or whole. |
| A Fool And His Money Are Easily Parted | It’s easy for a foolish person to lose his/her money. |
| A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand | Everyone involved must unify and function together or it will not work out. |
| A Leopard Can’t Change His Spots | You cannot change who you are. |
| A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned | By not spending money, you are saving money (little by little). |
| A Picture Paints a Thousand Words | A visual presentation is far more descriptive than words. |
| A Piece of Cake | A task that can be accomplished very easily. |
| A Slap on the Wrist | A very mild punishment. |
| A Taste Of Your Own Medicine | When you are mistreated the same way you mistreat others. |
| A Toss-Up | A result that is still unclear and can go either way. |
| Against The Clock: | Rushed and short on time. |
| All Bark And No Bite: | When someone is threatening and/or aggressive but not willing to engage in a fight. |
| All Greek to me: | Meaningless and incomprehensible like someone who cannot read, speak, or understand any of the Greek language would be. |
| All In The Same Boat: | When everyone is facing the same challenges. |
| An Arm And A Leg: | Very expensive. A large amount of money. |
| An Axe To Grind: | To have a dispute with someone. |
| Apple of My Eye: | Someone who is cherished above all others. |
| As High As A Kite: | Anything that is high up in the sky. |
| At The Drop Of A Hat: | Willing to do something immediately. |
B
| Back Seat Driver: | People who criticize from the sidelines, much like someone giving unwanted advice from the back seat of a vehicle to the driver. |
| 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. |
| Baker’s Dozen: | Thirteen. |
| Barking Up The Wrong Tree: | A mistake made in something you are trying to achieve. |
| Beat A Dead Horse: | To force an issue that has already ended. |
| Beating Around The Bush: | Avoiding the main topic. Not speaking directly about the issue. |
| Bend Over Backwards: | Do whatever it takes to help. Willing to do anything. |
| Between A Rock And A Hard Place: | Stuck between two very bad options. |
| Bite Off More Than You Can Chew: | To take on a task that is way to big. |
| Bite Your Tongue: | To avoid talking. |
| Blood Is Thicker Than Water: | The family bond is closer than anything else. |
| Blue Moon: | A rare event or occurance. |
| Break A Leg: | A superstitious way to say ‘good luck’ without saying ‘good luck’, but rather the opposite |
| Buy A Lemon | To purchase a vehicle that constantly gives problems or stops running after you drive it away. |
C
| Can’t Cut The Mustard | Someone who isn’t adequate enough to compete or participate. |
| Cast Iron Stomach | Someone who has no problems, complications or ill effects with eating anything or drinking anything. |
| Charley Horse | Stiffness in the leg / A leg cramp. |
| Chew someone out | Verbally scold someone. |
| Chip on his Shoulder | Angry today about something that occured in the past. |
| Chow Down | To eat. |
| Close but no Cigar | To be very near and almost accomplish a goal, but fall short. |
| Cock and Bull Story | An unbelievable tale. |
| Come Hell Or High Water | Any difficult situation or obstacle. |
| Crack Someone Up | To make someone laugh. |
D
| Dark Horse | One who was previously unknown and is now prominent. |
| Dead Ringer | 100% identical. A duplicate. |
| Devil’s Advocate | Someone who takes a position for the sake of argument without believing in that particular side of the arguement. It can also mean one who presents a counter argument for a position they do believe in, to another debater. |
| Dog Days of Summer | The hottest days of the summer season. |
| Don’t count your chickens before they hatch | Don’t rely on it until your sure of it. |
| Don’t Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth | When someone gives you a gift, don’t be ungrateful. |
| Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket | Do not put all your resources in one possibility. |
| Doozy | Something outstanding. |
| Down To The Wire | Something that ends at the last minute or last few seconds. |
| Drastic Times Call For Drastic Measures | When you are extremely desperate you need to take extremely desperate actions. |
| Drink like a fish | To drink very heavily. |
| Drive someone up the wall | To irritate and/or annoy very much. |
| Dropping Like Flies | A large number of people either falling ill or dying. |
| Dry Run | Rehearsal. |
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E
| Eighty Six | A certain item is no longer available. Or this idiom can also mean, to throw away. |
| Elvis has left the building | The show has come to an end. It’s all over. |
| Ethnic Cleansing | Killing of a certain ethnic or religious group on a massive scale. |
| Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining | Be optomistic, even difficult times will lead to better days. |
| Everything But The Kitchen Sink | Almost everything and anything has been included. |
| Excuse my French | Please forgive me for cussing. |
| Cock and Bull Story | An unbelievable tale. |
F
| Feeding Frenzy | An aggressive attack on someone by a group. |
| Field Day | An enjoyable day or circumstance. |
| Finding Your Feet | To become more comfortable in whatever you are doing. |
| Finger lickin’ good | A very tasty food or meal. |
| Fixed In Your Ways | Not willing or wanting to change from your normal way of doing something. |
| Flash In The Pan | Something that shows potential or looks promising in the beginning but fails to deliver anything in the end. |
| Flea Market | A swap meet. A place where people gather to buy and sell inexpensive goods. |
| Flesh and Blood | This idiom can mean living material of which people are made of, or it can refer to anything in the end. |
| Flip The Bird | To raise your middle finger at someone. |
| Foam at the Mouth | To be enraged and show it. |
| Fools’ Gold | Iron pyrites, a worthless rock that resembles real gold. |
| French Kiss | An open mouth kiss where tongues touch. |
| From Rags To Riches | To go from being very poor to being very wealthy. |
| Fuddy-duddy | An old-fashioned and foolish type of person. |
| Full Monty | This idiom can mean either, “the whole thing” or “completely nude”. |
| Funny Farm | A mental institutional facility. |
G
| Get Down to Brass Tacks | To become serious about something. |
| Get Over It | To move beyond something that is bothering you. |
| Get Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed | Someone who is having a horrible day. |
| Get Your Walking Papers | Get fired from a job. |
| Give Him The Slip | To get away from. To escape. |
| Go Down Like A Lead Balloon | To be received badly by an audience. |
| Go For Broke | To gamble everything you have. |
| Go Out On A Limb | Put yourself in a tough position in order to support someone/something. |
| Go The Extra Mile | Going above and beyond whatever is required for the task at hand. |
| Good Samaritan | Someone who helps others when they are in need, with no discussion for compensation, and no thought of a reward. |
| Graveyard Shift | Working hours from about 12:00 am to 8:00 am. The time of the day when most other people are sleeping. |
| Great Minds Think Alike | Intelligent people think like each other. |
| Green Room | The waiting room, especially for those who are about to go on a tv or radio show. |
| Gut Feeling | A personal intuition you get, especially when feel something may not be right. |
H
| Haste Makes Waste | Quickly doing things results in a poor ending. |
| Hat Trick | When one player scores three goals in the same hockey game. This idiom can also mean three scores in any other sport, such as 3 homeruns, 3 touchdowns, 3 soccer goals, etc. |
| Have an Axe to Grind | To have a dispute with someone. |
| He Lost His Head | Angry and overcome by emotions. |
| Head Over Heels | Very excited and/or joyful, especially when in love. |
| Hell in a Handbasket | Deteriorating and headed for complete disaster. |
| High Five | Slapping palms above each others heads as celebration gesture. |
| High on the Hog | Living in Luxury. |
| Hit The Books | To study, especially for a test or exam. |
| Hit The Hay | Go to bed or go to sleep. |
| Hit The Nail on the Head | Do something exactly right or say something exactly right. |
| Hit The Sack | Go to bed or go to sleep. |
| Hocus Pocus | In general, a term used in magic or trickery. |
| Hold Your Horses | Be patient. |
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I
| Icing On The Cake | When you already have it good and get something on top of what you already have. |
| Idle Hands Are The Devil’s Tools | You are more likely to get in trouble if you have nothing to do. |
| If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another | When one thing goes wrong, then another, and another… |
| In Like Flynn | To be easily successful, especially when sexual or romantic. |
| In The Bag | To have something secured. |
| In The Buff | Nude. |
| In The Heat Of The Moment | Overwhelmed by what is happening in the moment. |
| In Your Face | An aggressive and bold confrontation. |
| It Takes Two To Tango | A two person conflict where both people are at fault. |
| It’s A Small World | You frequently see the same people in different places. |
| Its Anyone’s Call | A competition where the outcome is difficult to judge or predict. |
J
| Jaywalk | Crossing the street (from the middle) without using the crosswalk. |
| Joshing Me | Tricking me. |
K
| Keep An Eye On Him | You should carefully watch him. |
| Keep body and soul together | To earn a sufficient amount of money in order to keep yourself alive . |
| Keep your chin up | To remain joyful in a tough situation. |
| Kick The Bucket | Die. |
| Kitty-corner | Diagonally across. Sometimes called Catty-Corner as well. |
| Knee Jerk Reaction | A quick and automatic response. |
| Knock On Wood | Knuckle tapping on wood in order to avoid some bad luck. |
| Know the Ropes | To understand the details. |
L
| Last but not least | An introduction phrase to let the audience know that the last person mentioned is no less important than those introduced before him/her. |
| Lend Me Your Ear | To politely ask for someone’s full attention. |
| Let Bygones Be Bygones | To forget about a disagreement or arguement. |
| 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. |
| Level playing field | A fair competition where no side has an advantage. |
| Like a chicken with its head cut off | To act in a frenzied manner. |
| Liquor someone up | To get someone drunk. |
| Long in the Tooth | Old people (or horses). |
| Loose Cannon | Someone who is unpredictable and can cause damage if not kept in check. |
(CAE) M-P Idioms & Phrases
M
| Make No Bones About | To state a fact so there are no doubts or objections. |
| Method To My Madness | Strange or crazy actions that appear meaningless but in the end are done for a good reason. |
| Mumbo Jumbo | Nonsense or meaningless speech. |
| Mum’s the word | To keep quiet. To say nothing. |
N
| Nest Egg | Savings set aside for future use. |
| Never Bite The Hand That Feeds You | Don’t hurt anyone that helps you. |
| New kid on the block | Someone new to the group or area. |
| New York Minute | A minute that seems to go by quickly, especially in a fast paced environment. |
| No Dice | To not agree. To not accept a proposition. |
| No Room to Swing a Cat | An unsually small or confined space. |
| Not Playing With a Full Deck | Someone who lacks intelligence. |
O
| Off On The Wrong Foot | Getting a bad start on a relationship or task. |
| Off The Hook | No longer have to deal with a tough situation. |
| Off the Record | Something said in confidence that the one speaking doesn’t want attributed to him/her. |
| On Pins And Needles | Anxious or nervous, especially in anticipation of something. |
| On The Fence | Undecided. |
| On The Same Page | When multiple people all agree on the same thing. |
| Out Of The Blue | Something that suddenly and unexpectedly occurs. |
| Out On A Limb | When someone puts themself in a risky situation. |
| Out On The Town | To enjoy yourself by going out. |
| Over My Dead Body | When you absolutely will not allow something to happen. |
| Over the Top | Very excessive. |
P
| Pass The Buck | Avoid responsibility by giving it to someone else. |
| Pedal to the metal | To go full speed, especially while driving a vehicle. |
| Peeping Tom | Someone who observes people in the nude or sexually active people, mainly for his own gratification. |
| Pick up your ears | To listen very carefully. |
| Pig In A Poke | A deal that is made without first examining it. |
| Pig Out | To eat alot and eat it quickly. |
| Pipe Down | To shut-up or be quiet. |
| Practice Makes Perfect | By constantly practicing, you will become better. |
| Pull the plug | To stop something. To bring something to an end. |
| Pulling Your Leg | Tricking someone as a joke. |
| Put a sock in it | To tell noisy person or a group to be quiet. |
(CAE) R-T Idioms & Phrases
R
| Raincheck | An offer or deal that is declined right now but willing to accept later. |
| Raining Cats and Dogs | A very loud and noisy rain storm. |
| Ring Fencing | Seperated usual judgement to guarantee protection, especially project funds. |
| Rise and Shine | Time to get out of bed and get ready for work/school. |
| Rome Was Not Built In One Day | If you want something to be completely properly, then its going to take time. |
| Rule Of Thumb | A rough estimate. |
| Run out of steam | To be completely out of energy. |
S
| Sixth Sense | A paranormal sense that allows you to communicate with the dead. |
| Skid Row | The rundown area of a city where the homeless and drug users live. |
| Smell A Rat | To detect somone in the group is betraying the others. |
| Smell Something Fishy | Detecting that something isn’t right and there might be a reason for it. |
| Son of a Gun | A scamp. |
| Southpaw | Someone who is left-handed. |
| Spitting Image | The exact likeness or kind. |
| Start From Scratch | To do it all over again from the beginning. |