Idiom Meaning Sentence Example

1 Under the weather Feeling ill / Getting a cold My mom was feeling a bit under the weather.

2 Cold feet Becoming nervous It was her chance to speak and she was
getting cold feet.
3 Apple of my eye Used to refer to someone whom My younger brother is the apple of my eye.
you are very fond of or like
4 Set the record straight To reveal the truth / To clarify In order to set the record straight, the umpires
checked the camera to review the previous shot.
5 Kill two birds with a stone Achieve two results by doing one None of us understood that he was trying to kill
thing two birds with a stone when he joined the military
forces.
6 Snowed under To be busy My father seems to have been snowed under for
the last few weeks.
7 To break someone’s bubble To do or say something that Chloe just broke my bubble when he said that he
proves someone else’s beliefs was a part of it.
are not true
8 Walk on eggshells To be very careful with your Talking to my mom about my grades made me
actions and words feel like I was walking on eggshells.
9 Bite the bullet Finish something no matter how Danny had been putting off discussing the
unsatisfying or unpleasant it is / financial management of the company but
Get something over with decided to bite the bullet and talk to Sid today.
10 Make two ends meet To have just enough money for Harry and Hani are finding it really difficult
all your needs to make two ends meet.
11 To be at loggerheads with To quarrel or disagree Peter’s parents seem to be at loggerheads over
someone something or the other all the time.
12 Pretty penny Expensive The dress she wants for her birthday will cost
a pretty penny.
13 Break a leg Used instead of good luck The teacher asked us to break a leg at the annual
day dance.
14 Through thick and thin At all times – both good and bad My friends are always there for me – through thick
and thin.
15 Beat around the bush Not saying directly Jason’s neighbour kept beating around the
bush and did not give a direct answer.
16 Hang in there Stay strong in a difficult situation Hang in there! Everything will be okay before you
know it.
Cut corners Purchase something in the least I often cut corners in order to buy something for
expensive way or do something my brother.
easily / reduce expenses
Steal someone’s thunder Directing the attention and doing Monica claimed that Rachel tried to steal her
something to gain praise and thunder.
preventing another person from
gaining praise
Call it a day To stop doing something After the movie, we had planned to go to the
beach, but we decided to call it a day as everyone
was tired.
Better late than never To do something rather than not Well, we thought it was better late than never, but
doing where are the others?
Stick to your guns Stay morally strong or be firm in The lawyer asked Jinny to stick to his guns if he
decisions especially when being wants to win the case.
opposed
Leave no stone unturned To look everywhere without The police were determined not to leave any
missing a spot or to take every stone unturned.
effort possible to achieve
something
Clouds on the horizon Problems/ Trouble Jinny sensed that there were multiple clouds on
the horizon.
A blessing in disguise Something that you think is bad Catching a cold was a blessing in disguise
but turns out to be a blessing because I had met my fiancée in the hospital.

Blue in the face To be exhausted due to strain or Jinny looked blue in the face after the marathon.
anger
Make a long story short To say something in simple We decided to cut the long story short and tell
words in a brief manner them what actually happened at the mall.
Cup of tea Not something that a person Cooking has never been Rachel’s cup of tea.
would do
Beating a dead horse Overdoing something or an She was just beating a dead horse in thinking she
action that is pointless could change her mind.
Speak of the devil A phrase used to refer to a Speak of the devil! Here he comes.
person who appears as soon as
they are being mentioned
Let sleeping dogs lie To stop discussing something The police had warned us to let sleeping dogs
that is already over or sorted outlie and move ahead with our lives.
Let the cat out of the bag Reveal a secret carelessly John just let the cat out of the bag by revealing
the gender of the baby.
Elephant in the room A controversial problem or a We had to identify the elephant in the room before
major issue we made a decision.
To say in a nutshell To sum up the points and be The teacher asked us to quote the findings in a
brief nutshell.
Worth its weight in gold To be highly valuable Every word of what you say is worth its weight in
gold.
To weather the storm To go through something difficult My mom taught me how to stand strong
and weather the storm.
A piece of cake An easy task Solving the World everyday was just a piece of
cake.
Get your act together To stop fooling around and do It is time you get your act together and do
something in the way it should something useful.
be done
Cost an arm and a leg Used to refer to something that I think it will cost an arm and a leg to get the car
is extremely expensive my brother wants.
On top of the world A state of extreme happiness Sophia seemed to be on top of the world since
she heard the news of her son’s promotion.
Time is money To work quickly in the time that The manager encouraged the employees to
is left realize that time is money and work harder.
Get out of hand Not in one’s control anymore The situation has gotten out of hand and there is
nothing anyone here can do to help.
Like two peas in a pod Be together always My cousin and I are always like two peas in a pod.
Know which way the wind blows To understand what is As a detective, you are always obliged to
happening learn which way the wind blows and then make a
statement.
Hit the nail on the head To do something the exact way Harish hit the nail on the head with his decision to
in which it should be done / Also buy this piece of land.
refers to giving a direct answer
Catch more flies with honey than Getting what you want by being If you ask politely, you may be able to catch more
you can with vinegar nice flies with honey than you can with vinegar.

Let someone off the hook Releasing someone or letting The court decided to let the guy off the hook as
someone go there was no evidence proving his crime.
Like riding a bicycle A skill that you learn and will Learning a language is like riding a bicycle; you
never forget will never forget it.
Blame one’s tools Blaming something on someone When he understood he had no way out of the
else problem, he blamed his tools.
It’s not rocket science Not that difficult to comprehendCooking kimchi is easy; I will figure it out. After
all, it is not rocket science.
Spill the beans Reveal a secret Remya spilled the beans about her sister coming
Spill the tea to her mom.
Get the show on the road Start something or begin an The circus company had completed its trail run
enterprise and was ready to get the show on the road.
Pull the last straw The final point in a series of Sophia decided to pull the last straw and inform
unfortunate events when you the manager about what was happening in the
feel you cannot take it anymore office.
That ship has sailed It is too late to do something Norah said that she won’t be performing live
anymore as she announced to the press, “That
ship has sailed”.
It is always the darkest before Something good is coming / Do not be worried about what is going on in your
dawn Things will get better life right now; it is always the darkest before
dawn.
Have one’s head in the clouds To have no concentration at all I knew that you had your head in the
clouds throughout the ceremony. What happened
to you?
On thin ice Used to refer to a sensitive Jinny was on thin ice; she had to figure out a way
scenario or a person who is in to help her brother.
trouble
Give a cold shoulder Act rudely to someone Nobody knows why Dias gave Rayon a cold
shoulder.

Cannot make an omelet without Everything has a cost to pay You just have to understand that you cannot
breaking some eggs make an omelet without breaking some eggs.
Once bitten, twice shy Being extremely cautious as you Sophia has been extremely careful with making
have been hurt already new friends. After all, once bitten, twice shy right?
Bolt from the blue Something that happens The news of my friend’s pregnancy was a bolt
unexpectedly or without a from the blue.
warning
When it rains, it pours When everything goes wrong at They not only left home late but also got stuck in
once traffic. When it rains, it pours.
Miss the boat To act too slowly and miss an You will miss the boat if you wait any longer.
 opportunity
Pull someone’s leg To make fun of someone Kevin’s friends kept pulling his leg all evening.

No pain no gain Suffering or making efforts is It is better you start learning now. It will be difficult
required to achieve something but no pain, no gain.
See eye to eye Have the same opinion or have It is highly required that you both see eye to eye if
the same point of view you want this resolved.
Wear your heart on your sleeve To be extremely open about Sophia wears her heart on her sleeve; she tends
what you feel and think to get hurt very often.
Takes two to tango Two persons are equally It is not possible Sophia is the only one involved.
responsible for what is After all, it takes two to tango.
happening or has happened
Come rain or shine Chloe’s HW No matter what happens Come rain or shine, I will be there for you.
So far so good Means that everything has Everything so far has been so good.
turned out well until that point
Comparing apples to oranges To compare two things that are Comparing a doctor’s profession to a teacher’s
completely different and cannot profession is like comparing apples to oranges.
be compared
When pigs fly When something uncanny or Pigs would fly if you cooked.
impossible happens
Curiosity killed the cat Asking too many questions or It is better we don’t dig more into this
involving too much in other case; curiosity killed the cat.
people’s affairs will get you into
trouble
The best of both worlds Good in every way Having my best friend is the best of both worlds.

Burn bridges Do something to spoil Susan did not realize she would be burning
relationships bridges when she took up the job.
The whole nine yards Refer to everything that is there He has to sell the whole nine yards if he wants to
buy that house.
Grass is greener on the other Never being satisfied with what For her, grass is always greener on the other
side one gets side.
Every dog has its day Everyone gets a chance Do not worry about it. Every dog has his
day. Today, it is his.
Counting your chickens before Expecting good results before She started counting her chickens before they
they hatch something is done hatched. That will only disappoint her; I hope she
understands.
Go down in flames To fail terribly Everything went down in flames when we lost the
lottery.
Adding fuel to the fire Aggravating the problem She was just adding fuel to the fire telling Tom’s
Sophia’s HW mom about his health.
Wrap your head around Try to make sense about what is My mom was finding it hard to wrap her head
something going on around the fact that I am getting married
tomorrow.
Cut the mustard Do a perfectly good job The police cut the mustard in finding the gang that
robbed the bank.
Jump from the frying pan into the Refers to a situation becoming He did not know he was jumping off the frying pan
fire worse into the fire when he decided to speak about the
 problems at work.
Cry over spilt milk Worrying or complaining about There is no use crying over spilt milk; you just
something that cannot be have to move on with your life.
fixed/rectified
Have a method to one’s Seeming to be crazy but in fact, Everyone thinks he is crazy, but he sure has a
madness clever method to his madness.
Do something at the drop of a hat Do something unplanned He can plan a whole trip at the drop of a hat.
Get wind of something To have information about It is so hard to get wind of what is going on here.
something secret
Hear it from the horse’s mouth To know something from the We finally heard it from the horse’s mouth.
person involved
Fit as a fiddle To be in good health My great grandmother is surprisingly fit as a
fiddle.
Take everything with a pinch of Refers to being sceptic and not My mom always asks to believe everyone with a
salt believing blindly pinch of salt.
A pain in the neck Refers to a person who is Rayana was a constant pain in the neck.
annoying
The best thing since sliced bread A good and useful invention The smartphone is the best thing since sliced
bread.
Walk in the other’s shoes To understand what the other is You will not understand unless you walk in their
going through shoes.
Break the ice To make people feel comfortable The communication trainer conducted an activity
with those who are unfamiliar to to break the ice.
them
Having a monkey on your back To have a problem that you Not completing my degree is a monkey on my
cannot solve or get rid off easily back.
Go on a wild goose chase Doing something pointless Finding the red and black dress I saw online felt
like going on a wild goose chase.
Rain cats and dogs Raining heavily It has been raining cats and dogs since yesterday.
Once in a blue moon Very rarely We met each other only once in a blue moon.
Bark up the wrong tree Following a misguided or He did not know he was barking up the wrong
mistaken thought or action tree.
Have the ball in one’s court One can make a call / decide on Rahul finally had the ball in his court.
their own
Devil quoting the Bible Good things being twisted for Mephistopheles speaking about going to heaven
selfish and evil purposes is like the devil quoting the Bible.
The devil is in the details Refers to something that seems Haven’t you heard the devil’s in the details?
to be good only from a distance
Other fish in the sea More opportunities My father told me not to worry about the
competition as there would be other fish in the
sea.
A snowball’s chance in hell No chance at all at surviving You will require a snowball’s chance in hell to
clear this exam.
Something ain’t over until the fat It is not over yet / there is more For all we know, this will not end until the fat lady
lady sings to the situation sings.
Bounce off the walls To be extremely excited and The children were bouncing off the walls the
energetic moment they heard about going to an amusement
park this weekend.
As right as rain Something is perfect I don’t know about the others, but I feel that your
decision is as right as rain.
To get bent out of shape To be upset, to take offence, to My cousins have been bent out of shape after my
be angry uncle passed away.
Every cloud has a silver lining There is always some good in Do not be worried about your current situation;
every thing that happens / after all, every cloud has a silver lining.
Something good will happen
after something bad
Play the devil’s advocate To argue or fight over something
We had no idea why he was playing the devil’s
just for the sake of it advocate when he knew what had happened.
Cross that bridge when we get to Deal with the problem when itI know there are decisions to be made about the
it happens selling of the house but we will cross that bridge
when we get to it. As of now, let us focus on this.
Throw caution to the wind To take a risk Gaurav threw caution to the wind in trying to save
me from the accident.
A penny for your thoughts Used to ask someone what they I would like to give a penny for your thoughts.
are thinking
Bite off more than you can chew To do more than you can My mom thinks that my brother is biting off more
than he can chew by taking up a night job and a
day job.
Judging a book by its cover Judge or form an opinion on People are known to always judge a book by its
someone based on appearances cover.
Rain on one’s parade To spoil someone’s moment of Rachel did not really think she was raining on
praise / To spoil something Monica’s parade when she announced about her
new job.
By the skin of your teeth By a very narrow margin, the The doctors said that Manu had escaped serious
slightest if chances injuries by the skin of his teeth.
Put all your eggs in one basket Doing something risky Rounak’s parents think that he is putting all his
eggs in one basket.
Put something on ice To hold off something We decided to put the case on ice until we had
some clue of what had happened.
Cannot have a cake and eat it Cannot have everything for It is not at all that you have the cake and eat it
too yourself too.