A List of idioms. This page contains examples of idioms and an ever growing list of idioms. It is a good practice to avoid use of these idioms in poetry unless used in a completely original way.
See also: Proverbs
Idioms are expressions, sayings, or phrases whose meanings cannot be understood from the meanings of the words that make it up.
BackfireMeaning:to produce an unexpected / undesired / opposite result. If your plan or action backfires, you get the opposite result to the one you wanted. Example:The new stricter school policy may backfire and do more harm to the students than good. Her plan to lose weight backfired. After losing 10 pounds, she started to eat a lot again and gained 20 pounds quickly.
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Bark up the wrong treeMeaning:To misunderstand a situation and complain to a wrong person or blame a wrong thing.
If someone is barking up the wrong tree, he/she has an incorrect idea about a situation, and his/her course of action is wrong.
Example: Don't blame me. I have nothing to do with it. You are barking up the wrong tree. The committee spent more than 5 month to try to solve the problem. They were just barking up the wrong tree.
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Barking up the wrong treeMeaning:Looking in the wrong place.
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Basket caseMeaning:One made powerless or ineffective, as by nerves, panic, or stress.
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Be (as) cool as a cucumber
Meaning:
very calm and relaxed even in a difficult situation If someone is (as) cool as a cucumber, he/she is very relaxed and/or calm when you expect him/her to be nervous or upset. Example:He had very bad news last night, but he came to the office as cool as a cucumber this morning as if nothing had happened.
She was cool as a cucumber even right after she was fired.
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Be a piece of cake
Meaning:
To be very easy If something is a piece of cake, it is very easy to do.
Example:
A: How was the driving test yesterday? Did you pass?
B: Of course! It was a piece of cake.
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Be all ears
Meaning:Be very intersted in what someone is about to say.
If you are all ears, you are eager and ready to listen to what someone is going to say.
Example: Now tell us all about your adventures in Afraica last summer. I'm all ears. When the president started his speech, he found everyone listening, all ears.
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Be as American as apple pie
Meaning: Be typically American If something or someone is as American as apple pie, it/he/she is typically or completely American. Example: Jose and Maria came to the U.S. 10 years ago and still keep the traditions of their home country. However, their children are as American as apple pie.
An American couple opened a restaurant in Japan, and their food tasts as American as apple pie.
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Be as blind as a bat
Meaning: Be unable to see well or unable to see at all. If someone is as blind as a bat, he/she cannot see well or cannot see at all because of his/her very bad eyesight. Example: A: Can you read the first paragraph on page 115 for me?
B: Sorry, I forgot to bring my glasses. I'm as blind as a bat without them.
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Be brokeMeaning:Without money If you are broke, you don't have money. Example:"Do you want to go to the movies tonight?" "I can't go. I'mbroke. Tomorrow is payday."
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Be chickenMeaning:Coward. If you are chicken, you are not brave enough to do something. Example:"Why won't you dive in? Are you chicken? (Don't be chicken!)"
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Be cut from the same cloth
Meaning: Be very similar, act in a very similar way If you say two or more people are cut from the same cloth, you mean they are very alike or act in a very similar way. Example: When you teach children, remember that they are not cut from the same cloth. Each child has his/her own personality.
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Be down in the dumpsMeaning: Be very sad and depressed. If you are down in the dumps, you feel very sad and miserable. You don't have much interest in life.
Example:
Mary has been down in the dumps since her mother's death.
He looks a bit down in the dumps these days. Let's cheer him up.
She failed her exam and is down in the dumps.
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Be fishy
Meaning:Seem not to be true / honest; be suspicioius
If a situation or something/someone is fishy, you mean it seems someone is not completely honest or someething is not true.
Example: I was offered an unbelievably good business opportunity, but there was something fishy about it. A lot of strange people are coming in and out of the house recently. There's something fishy going on.
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Be glued to somethingMeaning: Cannot stop watching / looking at something. If you are glued to something, you cannot stop watching / looking at it because it is very attractive. You look at it
with all your attention. TV is a typical thing you are glued to.
Example:
Soldierswere glued to the TV that was carrying them good news from their home country.
We were glued to the television watching the news about the accident.
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Be in a pickleMeaning:Be in a difficult situation.
If you are in a pickle, you are in a situation that is awkward and/or difficult to solve.
Example:
Last night Sam was in a pickle. After having a dinner at an expensive restaurant, he found he had neither enough money nor a credit card.
Now Janet is in a pickle. She had made two very important appointments at the same time.
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Be in hot water
Meaning:
Be in trouble. If you are in hot water, you are in a difficult situation because you have said or done something wrong.
Example:
He has been in hot water with his boss. He might be fired.
Her recent comment on civil rights put Mayor Jones into hot water.
(Mayor Jones is in hot water because of something she said about civil rights.)
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Be in the same boatMeaning:Be in the same situation or have the same problem as another person. If you and I are in the same boat, we are in the same bad or unpleasant situation. Example:Nobody has any money to go out tonight. We're in the same boat. During the Great Depression, we were all in the same boat. Many people lost their jobs all over the world.
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Be like taking candy from a baby
Meaning:To be very easy to do.
If something is like taking candy from a baby, it is very easy to do.
Example: A: It was a very impressive video presentation. I imagine it was very difficult to make such a complex work.
B: No, it was very easy with this software -- like taking candy from a baby. It took me only an hour to make it.
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Be like the cat that got the cream
Meaning:(about a person) To be pleased with his/her ability or what he/she has done.
If you are like the cat that got the cream, you are very happy because you are happy about or satisfied with your own talent, accomplishment, or what has happened to you.
People also say, "You look like the cat that ate the canary."
Example: At our high school reunion last week, Sue grinned like the cat that got the cream and told us about her success story.
She got 100% on her final exam yesterday. She looked like the cat that got the cream.
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Be on the tip of someone's tongueMeaning: Cannot remember something such as a word or the name of a person although you think you know it and you will remember it soon. If you say something is on the tip of your tongue, you mean you can almost remember itbut not right away. Example: What's the girl's name there?
Wait a second, it's on the tip of my tongue. ... Yes! Her name is Joanne.
The teacher asked them a question. The answer was on the tip of his tongue, but another student raised her hand and said it first.
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Be over the hill
Meaning:To be too old to do something.
If you call someone to be over the hill, you say rudely that he/she is old and no longer attractive or productive, not suitable for something, or not capable of doing something useful.
Example: Sam, a famous football player, has decided to retire next year. Although he is only 34, he thinks he is over the hill as an athlete. At the age of 85, she says she's never felt she's over the hill. She always finds something good she can do for other people.
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Be shaking like a leaf
Meaning: Be shaking your body a lot because you are cold, nervous, or frightened If you are shaking like a leaf, you are shaking a lot especially when you are very cold, nervous or frightened. Example: The child was shaking like a leaf while he was meeting with the principal.
I went to a place in the city, and I didn't know it was one of the most dangerous areas there. After I heard 5 people were shot and killed on the same day in the same place, I was shaking like a leaf.
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Be sold outMeaning: Nothing is left to sell
If something is sold out, it is not available for sale any more.
Example:
The tickets for the ceremony were sold out in 60 minutes.
(In a supermarket)
Where do you have the 30 cent bananas?
I'm sorry. They're all sold out.
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Be the apple of someone's eyeMeaning: Be loved very much by someone. If someone is the apple of your eye, you think he/she is very important to you, and you love him/her very much. This idiom is used especially when someone is loved by an older member of his/her family. Example: Erika is Mark's only granddaughter, and she's the apple of his eye.
Sarah's only son was the apple of her eye.
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Be tongue-tiedMeaning: Unable to speak. If you are tongue-tied, you cannot speak and express yourself easily because you are shy, nervous, or embarrassed. Example: James talks a lot with friends, but often gets tongue-tied in important interviews.
He met a very beautiful woman at the party and was tongue-tied.
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Be under pressureMeaning: Live or work in a way that causes you feel anxiety and worry. If you are under pressure, you feel anxious or frustrated because you have too many things to do in very little time, or people expect you to do a lot. Example: Some people perform well under pressure and some others don't.
Athletes must perform well under extreme pressure especially in big events such as Olympic Games.
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Be up and running
Meaning:be working well
If something, especially a system or a machine is up and running, it is functioning.
Example: Since we got the new leader, our program has finally been up and running. Our computer crashed, but the engineer got it up and running soon again.
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Be up in the air
Meaning:Be not decided yet
If something is up in the air, it is uncertain because no decision has been made about it yet.
Example: The company is going to build a new factory, but the location is still up in the air. They are eager to see the king, but his visit to their village is very much up in the air.
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Beat around the bush
Meaning:Avoid or delay talking about something unpleasant or embarrassing
If you beat around the bush, you don't say something directly to someone because you are worried about his/her reaction and don't want to upset him/her.
Some people also say " beat about the bush. "
Example: Don't beat around the bush! Tell me what exactly you want.
Let's not beat around the bush anymore. You'd better do this project over. It's not acceptable to us.
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Beat itMeaning:Go away immediately. If you say "Beat it" to someone, you tell him/her to leave quickly because he/she is annoying. This is an impolite command. Example:I guess we should beat it before she comes back. "This is not your place. Beat it!" (This is not a polite way to ask someone to leave.)
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Bend over backwards (backward)Meaning:Do as much as you can to help or please someone. If you bend over backwards, you do your best or try harder than you need in order to please someone or do something he/she wants. Example:The manager bent overbackwards to help new employees.
I bent over backward, trying to defend her. I don't know what else I can do for her.
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Bite off more than one can chew Meaning:To try to do something that is too difficult
If you bite off more than you can chew, you try to do more than you are able to.
Example: She has bitten off more than she can chew again. She has agreed to finish 3 very difficult projects by the end of this year.
Do your best. Do whatever you can, but don't bite off more than you can chew.
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Bite the bulletMeaning:To endure a painful or unpleasant situation that is unavoidable.
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Bite the dustMeaning:Euphemism for dying or death.
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Bookworm
Meaning: Someone who loves reading very much If you describe someone as a bookworm, he/she likes reading very much and reads a lot. Example: My daughter was a real bookworm when she was a child. I found the joys of reading when I read that book. I became a bookworm after that.
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Break a legMeaning:A saying from the theatre that means "good luck".
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Bring the house down
(Bring down the house)
Meaning:Make people (audience) excited, laugh, or enjoy a lot while performing or making a speech
If you, your performance, or your speech brings the house down, your performance or speech is so good that the audience enjoys it a lot, becomes excited, applauds (clap their hands), or laughs a lot.
Example: Sarah is a musical genius. Her performances always bring the house down. The Prime Minister brought the house down when he made his monumental speech in 1965.
He's a very poor actor. Instead of bringing down the house, he always empties it.
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Bug someone
Meaning:Bother someone
If someone/something bugs you, he/she/it annoys you.
Example: That's enough! Stop bugging me. Don't ask me anymore. He's always talking too loud in the office. It really bugs us.
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Burn the midnight oilMeaning:To work late into the night, alluding to the time before electric lighting.
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Bust one's chopsMeaning:To say things intended to harass.
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(Have / Get) Butterflies in someone's stomachMeaning:Very nervous or excited before doing something important such as giving a speech and taking a test. If you have butterflies in your stomach, you are very nervous and/or excited about something you are going to do soon.
Example:He always gets butterflies in his stomach before taking a test.
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By the seat of one's pantsMeaning:To achieve through instinct or do something without advance preparation.
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By the skin of one's teethMeaning:Narrowly; barely. Usually used in regard to a narrow escape from a disaster.
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