A blessing in disguise – Something good that isn’t recognized at

first.
A dime a dozen – Something common and of little value.
A piece of cake – Something very easy to do.
Actions speak louder than words – What people do matters more
than what they say.
Add insult to injury – To make a bad situation worse.
All bark and no bite – Someone who talks tough but doesn’t act on
it.
All ears – Fully listening.
All in the same boat – Everyone is facing the same challenges.
An arm and a leg – Very expensive.
Back to square one – To start over again.
Barking up the wrong tree – Pursuing a mistaken or misguided
course of action.
Beat around the bush – To avoid the main point.
Bite the bullet – To endure a painful experience or to face a difficult
situation.
Break the ice – To initiate conversation in a social setting.
Burn the midnight oil – To work late into the night.
Burning the candle at both ends – Exhausting oneself by doing too
much.
Call it a day – To stop working on something.
Caught between a rock and a hard place – Facing two difficult
choices.
Close, but no cigar – Almost succeeding, but not quite.
Come rain or shine – No matter what happens.
Cutting corners – Doing something poorly to save time or money.
Devil’s advocate – Someone who argues a point for the sake of dis-
cussion.
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch – Don’t assume suc-
cess before it happens.
Down to the wire – Something that is completed at the last minute.
Drop the ball – To make a mistake or fail.
Every cloud has a silver lining – There is something good in every
bad situation.
Feel a bit under the weather – To feel slightly ill.
Finding a needle in a haystack – Something that is very difficult to
find.
Fit as a fiddle – In good health.
Go the extra mile – To make a special effort.
Hit the nail on the head – To be exactly right about something.
Hit the sack – To go to bed.
In the heat of the moment – Overwhelmed by what is happening in
the moment.
It takes two to tango – Actions or communications need more than
one person.
Jump on the bandwagon – To follow a trend or do what everyone
else is doing.
Keep your chin up – To stay positive.
Kill two birds with one stone – To accomplish two things at once.
Let the cat out of the bag – To reveal a secret.
Miss the boat – To miss an opportunity.
Once in a blue moon – Something that happens very rarely.
Out of the blue – Something that happens unexpectedly.
Piece of cake – Something very easy.
Pull someone’s leg – To joke with someone.
Put all your eggs in one basket – To risk everything on a single ven-
ture.
Put the cart before the horse – To do things in the wrong order.
Rain on someone’s parade – To spoil something for someone.
Read between the lines – To understand the hidden meaning.
Sit on the fence – To remain neutral.
Spill the beans – To reveal secret information.
Steal someone’s thunder – To take credit for someone else’s achieve-
ments.
Take it with a grain of salt – To not take something too seriously.
The ball is in your court – It’s up to you to make the next decision
or take action.
The best of both worlds – An ideal situation.
The early bird catches the worm – People who wake up early or get
things done first have the best chance of success.
The elephant in the room – An obvious problem or issue that peo-
ple avoid discussing.
Throw in the towel – To give up.
Through thick and thin – In good times and bad.
Under the weather – To feel ill.
Up in the air – Uncertain or unresolved.
Variety is the spice of life – Different experiences make life interest-
ing.
We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it – Deal with a problem if
and when it becomes necessary.
You can’t judge a book by its cover – Don’t judge something based
solely on appearance.
Bite off more than you can chew – To take on more than you can
handle.
Break the bank – To spend all of one’s money.
Cut to the chase – To get to the point.
Digging your own grave – To do something that will cause oneself
harm or trouble.
Dog days of summer – The hottest days of the summer.
Driving me up the wall – To irritate or annoy very much.
Eat your heart out – To be very jealous.
Face the music – To accept the consequences of one’s actions.
Foaming at the mouth – To be very angry.
Get a second wind – To have renewed energy after a period of fa-
tigue.
Give the cold shoulder – To ignore someone deliberately.
Go down in flames – To fail spectacularly.
Hang in there – To persevere, not give up.
Have bigger fish to fry – To have more important things to do.
Hold your horses – To wait and be patient.
In hot water – In trouble.
Keep an eye on – To watch carefully.
Knock on wood – A superstitious phrase said to avoid bad luck.
Last straw – The final problem in a series of problems.
Let sleeping dogs lie – To avoid interfering in a situation that is cur-
rently causing no problems.
Make a long story short – To summarize.
Method to the madness – There is a reason for what appears to be
strange behavior.
Not playing with a full deck – Someone who is not mentally sound.
Off the hook – No longer in trouble.
On the ball – Alert and competent.
Open a can of worms – To create a situation that will cause trouble.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire – From a bad situation to a
worse one.
Over the moon – Extremely happy.
Paint the town red – To go out and have a good time.
Pull yourself together – To calm down and behave normally.
Raining cats and dogs – Raining very heavily.
Rise and shine – Time to get out of bed and get ready for the day.
Saving grace – Something that saves someone from failure.
Slow and steady wins the race – Consistency leads to success.
Speak of the devil – The person we were just talking about has ap-
peared.
Take a rain check – Postpone a plan.
Under the gun – Under pressure.
Your guess is as good as mine – I have no idea.

A tough row to hoe – A difficult task or responsibility.

Against the clock – Rushed and short on time.
All in a day’s work – Part of what is expected in one’s job.
All thumbs – Clumsy or awkward.
Apple of my eye – Someone very precious or dear.
As cool as a cucumber – Very calm and composed.
As the crow flies – The shortest distance between two points.
Back to the drawing board – To start over.
Baker’s dozen – Thirteen.
Ballpark figure – An approximate estimate.
Beat a dead horse – To continue talking about a lost cause.
Bite your tongue – To avoid talking.
Blind leading the blind – Incompetent people leading others who
are equally incompetent.
Break the bank – To go bankrupt or spend all of one’s money.
Burn bridges – To destroy relationships.
Bury the hatchet – To make peace.
By the skin of your teeth – Just barely.
Caught red-handed – Caught in the act of doing something wrong.
Chew the fat – To chat or gossip.
Clear as mud – Not clear at all.
Close but no cigar – Almost succeeding.
Cold turkey – To quit something abruptly.
Come hell or high water – No matter what happens.
Cool as a cucumber – Very calm and composed.
Couch potato – A lazy person.
Cry over spilled milk – To complain about a loss from the past.
Curiosity killed the cat – Being too inquisitive can lead to trouble.
Cut the mustard – To meet expectations or standards.
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you – Don’t harm someone who is
helping you.
Don’t cry wolf – Don’t raise false alarms.
Don’t hold your breath – Don’t wait in anticipation.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket – Don’t risk everything on one
venture.
Down to earth – Practical and realistic.
Drive someone up the wall – To irritate or annoy someone.
Drop a dime – To inform on someone.
Dressed to the nines – Dressed very stylishly.
Easy as pie – Very simple.
Elbow grease – Hard physical effort.
Everything but the kitchen sink – Almost everything imaginable.
Every dog has its day – Everyone gets a chance or will be lucky
eventually.
Eye for an eye – Revenge or retribution.
Fair-weather friend – A friend who is only around during good
times.
Fifth wheel – An unnecessary extra.
Flash in the pan – Something that shows potential at the start but
fails to deliver.
Foam at the mouth – To be extremely angry.
Full of hot air – Talking a lot without saying anything of value.
Get a taste of your own medicine – To experience the same un-
pleasantness one has inflicted on others.
Get out of hand – To become uncontrollable.
Get the ball rolling – To start something.
Get your act together – Organize yourself.
Give someone the cold shoulder – To ignore someone.
Go for broke – To risk everything to achieve the best outcome.
Go out on a limb – To take a risk.
Go the whole nine yards – To do something thoroughly.
Gone to the dogs – Something has gone bad.
Graveyard shift – Working hours from late night to early morning.
Have a bone to pick – To have a disagreement.
Have your head in the clouds – To be daydreaming.
Hit the books – To study.
Hit the ground running – To start something energetically.
In the nick of time – Just in time.
In the same boat – In the same situation.
It takes two to tango – Actions or communication require more
than one person.
Jump the gun – To do something prematurely.
Keep your eyes peeled – To be alert and watchful.
Kick the bucket – To die.
Kick up your heels – To celebrate.
Knock on wood – To avoid bad luck.
Know the ropes – To be familiar with the details.
Last but not least – Last in order but not least in importance.
Lay down the law – To enforce rules strictly.
Leave no stone unturned – To do everything possible.
Let bygones be bygones – To forget past disagreements.
Let sleeping dogs lie – To avoid stirring up trouble.
Let the cat out of the bag – To reveal a secret.
Like a fish out of water – To feel uncomfortable or out of place.
Look before you leap – Consider the consequences before taking
action.
Make a mountain out of a molehill – To exaggerate a minor prob-
lem.
Method to the madness – There is reasoning behind the seemingly
crazy behavior.
Miss the mark – To fail to achieve the desired result.
My cup of tea – Something one enjoys or is good at.
Neck of the woods – A specific area or neighborhood.
No pain, no gain – Effort is required to achieve something.
Not my first rodeo – Not new to a particular experience.
Off one’s rocker – Crazy or irrational.
On cloud nine – Extremely happy.
On the ball – Alert and efficient.
Once in a blue moon – Very rarely.
Out of the woods – Out of danger.
Over the hill – Past one’s prime.
Pass the buck – To shift responsibility to someone else.
Play it by ear – To proceed without a plan.
Pull someone’s leg – To tease or joke with someone.
Put a sock in it – To tell someone to be quiet.
Raining cats and dogs – Raining very heavily.
Rock the boat – To cause trouble or disrupt a situation.
Run of the mill – Ordinary or average.
Saved by the bell – Rescued from a difficult situation at the last mo-
ment.
Spill the beans – To reveal secret information.
Take it with a grain of salt – To be skeptical about something