Idioms and Phrases Meaning Usage in Sentence

1. A piece of cake Something that is easy to understand or do Completing the assignment was a piece of
cake for him.
2. Beat around the bush To avoid the main topic Stop beating around the bush and get to the
point.
3. Cry over spilt milk To complain about a loss in the past There's no use crying over spilt milk. We have
to think about what to do next.
4. Don't count your Don't plan anything that depends on a good He's already planning to buy a car with his
chickens before they thing you expect to happen in the future bonus, but I told him not to count his
hatch chickens before they hatch.
5. Every cloud has a silver Every bad situation has some good aspect Even though I lost my job, I believe that every
lining cloud has a silver lining. Maybe I'll get a
better one.
6. Feel a bit under the Feeling slightly ill I'm feeling a bit under the weather today.
weather
7. Get out of hand To lose control The situation got out of hand and the police
had to be called.
8. Hit the nail on the head Do or say something exactly right You've really hit the nail on the head with
that answer.
9. In the heat of the Overwhelmed by what is happening in the In the heat of the moment, he said things he
moment moment later regretted.
10. Jump on the Join a popular activity When e-commerce started booming, many
bandwagon businesses jumped on the bandwagon.
11. Keep something at Keep something away The vaccine has helped to keep the virus at
bay bay.
12. Lose one's touch Not be able to do something as well as He's lost his touch in playing piano.
before
13. Make a long story Tell something briefly To make a long story short, we won the
short game.
14. No pain, no gain You can't achieve anything without effort You have to study hard for your exams. No
pain, no gain.
15. Out of the blue Unexpectedly He arrived out of the blue after two years of
silence.
16. Put something on ice Postpone something for later We'll have to put our plans on ice due to the
pandemic.
17. Queer the pitch Spoil a plan He queered the pitch by revealing the
surprise.
18. Rain on someone's Ruin someone's plans or mood Don't rain on her parade by criticising her
parade achievements.
19. Spill the beans Reveal secret information She spilled the beans about the surprise
party.
20. Take with a grain of Not to take something too seriously Take his advice with a grain of salt; he's not
salt always right.
21. Up in arms Very angry The residents are up in arms over the
proposed demolition of the library.
22. Vanish into thin air Disappear completely The magician made the rabbit vanish into
thin air.
23. Wear one's heart on Show one's emotions openly She always wears her heart on her sleeve,
one's sleeve you can tell when she's upset.
24. X marks the spot Used to indicate a precise location In the treasure map, X marks the spot where
the treasure is buried.
25. You can't judge a Don't judge someone or something by He seems quiet, but you can't judge a book
book by its cover appearance alone by its cover.
26. Zero in on Focus closely on The police have zeroed in on a suspect.
27. Break a leg Good luck Break a leg in your performance tonight.
28. Cool as a cucumber Very calm and composed Even in a crisis, he is as cool as a cucumber.
29. Down in the dumps Feeling depressed He's been down in the dumps since his
girlfriend broke up with him.
30. Elephant in the room An obvious problem that people avoid We need to address the elephant in the room
discussing and talk about our financial problems.
31. Fit as a fiddle In good health After a week in the hospital, she's as fit as a
fiddle now.
32. Go the extra mile Make more effort than is expected of you He always goes the extra mile to ensure his
customers are satisfied.
33. Hit the books Start studying seriously With exams next week, I need to hit the
books.
34. In a pickle In a difficult situation He's in a pickle now that his lie has been
exposed.
35. Just what the doctor Exactly what was needed This vacation is just what the doctor ordered.
ordered
36. Kick the bucket Die He lived a long life before he kicked the
bucket.
37. Let the cat out of the Reveal a secret I let the cat out of the bag about their
bag wedding plans.
38. Miss the boat Miss an opportunity He missed the boat on that deal.
39. Not playing with a full Someone who lacks intelligence I think he's not playing with a full deck.
deck
40. Once in a blue moon Very rarely We only see each other once in a blue moon.
41. Put all your eggs in Risk everything by investing all in one plan Don't put all your eggs in one basket; you
one basket should diversify your investments.
42. Quiet as a mouse Very quiet Be as quiet as a mouse while I put the baby
to sleep.
43. Rule of thumb A broadly accurate guide or principle As a rule of thumb, I don't eat after 8 pm.
44. Smell a rat Start to suspect trickery or deception I smell a rat; they are being unusually nice to
me.
45. Take it with a pinch of Consider something to be not completely You must take everything he says with a
salt true or right pinch of salt.
46. Under the weather Feeling ill or sick I'm feeling a bit under the weather, I think I
have a cold.
47. Variety is the spice of Changes and new experiences make life I love to travel, variety is the spice of life.
life more enjoyable
48. When pigs fly Something that will never happen He'll tidy up his room when pigs fly.
49. You can't make an It's impossible to achieve anything We'll have to cut costs somewhere; you can't
omelette without significant without causing some harm make an omelette without breaking eggs.
breaking eggs
50. Zip your lip Keep quiet Zip your lip, I'm trying to concentrate.
51. Barking up the wrong Make a wrong assumption about something He's barking up the wrong tree if he thinks I
tree stole his wallet. I have an alibi.
52. Bite the bullet Face a difficult or unpleasant situation with I know the surgery will be tough, but I'm
courage ready to bite the bullet and get it over with.
53. Cry wolf Give a false alarm or exaggerate a situation He's always crying wolf about his problems. I
don't believe him anymore.
54. Devil's advocate Someone who takes a position for the sake I'll play devil's advocate and present the
of argument opposing viewpoint.
55. Easy as pie Very easy Don't worry, the task is easy as pie.
56. Fish out of water Feeling uncomfortable or out of place in a As an introvert, attending parties makes me
particular situation feel like a fish out of water.
57. Golden opportunity A great chance or opportunity Don't miss this golden opportunity to
showcase your talent.
58. Hit the ground Start a project or task quickly and I had to hit the ground running on my first
running energetically day at the new job.
59. Ignorance is bliss Not knowing about a problem or situation She chose not to know about the gossip
allows one to be happier because ignorance is bliss.
60. Jack of all trades Someone who can do many different tasks He's a jack of all trades; he can fix a car, paint
or jobs a house, and cook a gourmet meal.
61. Keep your chin up Remain cheerful and optimistic in difficult Things may be tough right now, but keep
times your chin up. It'll get better.
62. Leave no stone Do everything possible to find a solution or We'll leave no stone unturned until we find
unturned get information the missing keys.
63. Monkey business Silly or foolish behavior Stop the monkey business and focus on the
task at hand.
64. Nip in the bud Deal with a problem or situation at an early He addressed the issue immediately, trying
stage to nip it in the bud.
65. On cloud nine Feeling extreme happiness or joy After winning the championship, she was on
cloud nine.
66. Play it by ear Decide or act spontaneously based on the We don't have a specific plan; let's just play it
situation by ear.
67. Quick as a flash Very fast or quickly He responded quick as a flash when the
alarm went off.
68. Rome wasn't built in a Great things take time to achieve Don't expect immediate results. Rome wasn't
day built in a day.
69. Shake a leg Hurry up or move quickly We need to leave soon; shake a leg!
70. Taste of your own Experience the same negative treatment He had always been mean to his colleagues,
medicine you have given to others and now he's getting a taste of his own
medicine.
71. Up for grabs Available for anyone to take or win The last ticket to the concert is up for grabs.
72. Vanishing point A point in the distance where something The road seemed to stretch to the vanishing
disappears from view point.
73. Whole nine yards The complete or full extent of something She went all out and decorated the whole
house for the party, the whole nine yards.
74. X-factor A special quality or factor that sets Her confidence and charisma are her x-
someone or something apart factor.
75. You scratch my back, Help each other mutually If you cover my shift today, I'll cover yours
I'll scratch yours next week. You scratch my back, I'll scratch
yours.
76. A bird in the hand is It's better to have something certain or I'm not quitting my job without a new one
worth two in the bush available now than to expect something lined up. A bird in the hand is worth two in
better in the future the bush.
77. Back to the drawing Starting over or going back to the beginning The project didn't meet the expectations, so
board because the previous attempt failed we have to go back to the drawing board.
78. Caught between a Being in a situation where there are no She was caught between a rock and a hard
rock and a hard place good options place, having to choose between her job and
her family.
79. Diamond in the rough Someone or something with potential, but He may be a bit rough around the edges, but
needs polishing or development he's a diamond in the rough.
80. Early bird catches the The person who starts or arrives early has I always wake up early to study. The early
worm an advantage bird catches the worm.
81. Face the music Accept the consequences of one's actions He knew he had to face the music and
apologize for his mistake.
82. Go down the rabbit To delve into a confusing or complex I started researching about quantum physics
hole situation or topic and went down the rabbit hole of scientific
theories.
83. Haste makes waste When you rush and don't do things Take your time with the project. Remember,
carefully, you're likely to make mistakes haste makes waste.
84. In hot water In trouble or facing difficulties He's in hot water after missing the deadline.
85. Jack of all trades, Someone who is competent in many things He can do a bit of everything, but he's a jack
master of none but doesn't excel in any particular skill of all trades, master of none.
86. Keep your fingers Hope for good luck or success I have a job interview tomorrow. Keep your
crossed fingers crossed for me.
87. Let sleeping dogs lie Avoid stirring up trouble or reopening old It's best to let sleeping dogs lie and not bring
conflicts up past issues.
88. Make hay while the Take advantage of an opportunity while it's The store is offering a discount. Let's make
sun shines available hay while the sun shines and buy what we
need.
89. Not a hair out of place Immaculately neat and tidy She always looks perfect, not a hair out of
place.
90. On thin ice In a risky or precarious situation He's on thin ice with his boss after making
that mistake.
91. Penny for your Asking someone what they're thinking You look lost in thought. Penny for your
thoughts about thoughts?
92. Quick on the draw Reacting or responding quickly He's known for being quick on the draw and
always having a clever comeback.
93. Rain or shine Regardless of the weather conditions The event will take place, rain or shine.
94. See eye to eye Agree or have the same opinion as They rarely see eye to eye on political
someone else matters.
95. Taste of victory The feeling of success or accomplishment After months of training, she finally had a
taste of victory.
96. Up a creek without a In a difficult or challenging situation We're up a creek without a paddle if the car
paddle without any means of help or solution breaks down and we're in the middle of
nowhere.
97. Variety is the spice of Changes and new experiences make life I love trying different cuisines. Variety is the
life more enjoyable spice of life.
98. When in Rome, do as Adapt to the customs and behaviors of the When visiting a foreign country, it's best to
the Romans do place you're in observe local customs and do as the Romans
do.
99. Year in, year out Happening consistently or repeatedly every They have been celebrating the festival year
year in, year out.
100. Zero hour The exact time when an event is scheduled We need to be at the venue by zero hour for
to begin the concert.