200 Common Idiomatic Expressions

Their Meanings and Examples

Compiled for Easy Reference

June 6, 2025

Generated by Grok, created by xAI

 Introduction
Idiomatic expressions are phrases or sayings whose meanings differ from the literal in-
terpretation of their words. They are integral to fluent English communication, adding
expressiveness and cultural nuance. This document lists 200 commonly used idiomatic
expressions, each with its meaning and an example sentence to illustrate its use in con-
text. This resource is ideal for language learners, educators, and anyone seeking to master
English idioms.

200 Common Idiomatic Expressions

Idiom Meaning Example

A dime a dozen Very common and of little Cheap trinkets like these are a dime a
value dozen at flea markets.
A piece of cake Something very easy The math test was a piece of cake for
her.
A storm in a teacup A big fuss over a small prob- Their argument was just a storm in a
lem teacup and was soon forgotten.
Add fuel to the fire To worsen a situation His comments only added fuel to the
fire during the heated debate.
All ears Listening eagerly Tell me your story; Im all ears!
All in the same In the same difficult situa- Were all in the same boat with these
boat tion tight deadlines.
An arm and a leg Very expensive That designer bag costs an arm and a
leg!
Apple of my eye Someone very dear His daughter is the apple of his eye.
At the drop of a hat Immediately, without hesi- Shed help you at the drop of a hat.
tation
Back to square one Starting over from the be- After the failed plan, were back to
ginning square one.
Barking up the Mistaking the target or ap- If you think I broke it, youre barking
wrong tree proach up the wrong tree.
Beat around the Avoiding the main topic Stop beating around the bush and get
bush to the point!
Bite the bullet To endure a painful situa- He bit the bullet and finished the tough
tion bravely task.
Break the ice To start a conversation in a A joke helped break the ice at the meet-
tense situation ing.
Burn the midnight To work late into the night She burned the midnight oil to meet the
oil deadline.
By the skin of your Barely succeeding He passed the exam by the skin of his
teeth teeth.
Call it a day To stop working for the day Lets call it a day and head home.
Caught red-handed Caught in the act of doing The kid was caught red-handed stealing
something wrong cookies.
Chip on your shoul- Holding a grudge Hes got a chip on his shoulder about
der the promotion.

1
Idiom Meaning Example
Cry over spilled To regret something that Theres no use crying over spilled milk;
milk cannot be undone lets move on.
Cut to the chase To get to the point quickly Lets cut to the chase and discuss the
plan.
Dont count your Dont assume success pre- Dont count your chickens before they
chickens maturely hatch; the deal isnt done yet.
Down to the wire Until the very last moment The project went down to the wire, but
we finished it.
Every cloud has a Theres something positive Losing that job was tough, but every
silver lining in every bad situation cloud has a silver liningshe found a bet-
ter one.
Fit as a fiddle In great health After the workout routine, hes fit as a
fiddle.
Get a kick out of To enjoy something greatly I get a kick out of watching old come-
dies.
Get cold feet To become nervous and She got cold feet before the big presen-
back out tation.
Give the benefit of To trust someone despite Ill give him the benefit of the doubt and
the doubt uncertainty assume hes honest.
Hit the nail on the To be exactly right Your suggestion hit the nail on the
head head.
In hot water In trouble Hes in hot water for missing the dead-
line.
Kick the bucket To die The old truck finally kicked the bucket.
Let the cat out of To reveal a secret She let the cat out of the bag about the
the bag party.
Once in a blue Very rarely We go camping once in a blue moon.
moon
Over the moon Extremely happy She was over the moon when she got
the job.
Pull someones leg To tease or joke Im just pulling your leg; its not true!
Spill the beans To reveal a secret Come on, spill the beans about the sur-
prise!
The ball is in your Its your turn to decide Ive made my offer; now the ball is in
court your court.
Through thick and Through good and bad Theyve stayed friends through thick
thin times and thin.
Under the weather Feeling unwell Hes under the weather with a cold.
When pigs fly Something that will never Hell finish his homework on time when
happen pigs fly!
A blessing in dis- A misfortune that leads to Losing that job was a blessing in dis-
guise something good guise; she started her own business.
Actions speak What you do matters more He promised to help, but actions speak
louder than words than what you say louder than words.
Bark is worse than Someone is less dangerous Dont worry about him; his bark is
bite than they seem worse than his bite.

2
Idiom Meaning Example
Break a leg Good luck (especially in Break a leg in your play tonight!
performance)
Burn bridges To ruin relationships per- Quitting angrily might burn bridges
manently with your boss.
Cant judge a book Dont judge based on ap- She looks quiet, but you cant judge a
by its cover pearance book by its cover.
Cross that bridge Deal with a problem when Well cross that bridge when we come to
when you come to it arises it; lets not worry now.
it
Dont put all your Dont risk everything on one Invest in multiple stocks; dont put all
eggs in one basket plan your eggs in one basket.
Go the extra mile To do more than required She went the extra mile to make the
event perfect.
Hit the ground run- To start something quickly The new employee hit the ground run-
ning and effectively ning on the project.
In the heat of the Acting impulsively He said that in the heat of the moment
moment and didnt mean it.
Jump on the band- To follow a popular trend Everyones jumping on the bandwagon
wagon with that new app.
Keep your chin up Stay positive despite diffi- Keep your chin up; things will get bet-
culties ter.
Let sleeping dogs Avoid stirring up trouble Dont mention that old argument; let
lie sleeping dogs lie.
Off the hook Freed from responsibility Hes off the hook since someone else
took the blame.
On cloud nine Extremely happy She was on cloud nine after her promo-
tion.
Out of the blue Unexpectedly He called me out of the blue after years.
Pull the wool over To deceive someone He tried to pull the wool over my eyes
someones eyes with that excuse.
Raining cats and Raining heavily Its raining cats and dogs; bring an um-
dogs brella!
See eye to eye To agree We dont always see eye to eye, but we
respect each other.
Sit on the fence To remain undecided Stop sitting on the fence and choose a
side.
Take it with a grain Dont take it too seriously Take his advice with a grain of salt; hes
of salt not an expert.
The last straw The final problem that His lateness was the last straw, and she
causes a reaction fired him.
Throw in the towel To give up After hours of trying, he threw in the
towel.
Under your nose In plain sight The keys were right under your nose
the whole time.
Wild goose chase A pointless pursuit Searching for that book was a wild
goose chase.

3
Idiom Meaning Example
A penny for your Asking what someone is You look deep in thoughta penny for
thoughts thinking your thoughts?
Against the grain Contrary to ones nature Going to parties goes against her grain.
All bark and no Threatening but not acting He yells a lot, but hes all bark and no
bite bite.
At your wits end Extremely frustrated Im at my wits end with this broken
computer.
Backseat driver Someone who gives un- Stop being a backseat driver and let me
wanted advice work!
Beat a dead horse To waste effort on a lost Arguing with him is like beating a dead
cause horse.
Bite off more than To take on too much She bit off more than she could chew
you can chew with that project.
Blow off steam To release stress He went for a run to blow off steam.
Break the bank To use up all your money That vacation wont break the bank if
you plan wisely.
Burn your fingers To suffer from a bad deci- He burned his fingers investing in that
sion scam.
Call the shots To be in charge Shes the one calling the shots in this
project.
Cat got your Why arent you speaking? Whats wrong, cat got your tongue?
tongue?
Chew the fat To chat casually We sat down to chew the fat over coffee.
Cold shoulder To ignore someone She gave him the cold shoulder after
the argument.
Cost an arm and a Very expensive That new phone costs an arm and a leg.
leg
Cry wolf To raise a false alarm He cried wolf so often that no one be-
lieved him.
Cut corners To do something cheaply or Dont cut corners on this project; qual-
quickly ity matters.
Devils advocate To argue the opposite view Ill play devils advocate to test your
idea.
Dont hold your Dont expect it to happen Hell apologize, but dont hold your
breath soon breath.
Drop the ball To make a mistake She dropped the ball by forgetting the
meeting.
Eat your words To admit you were wrong He had to eat his words after the pre-
diction failed.
Face the music To accept consequences Its time to face the music for your ac-
tions.
Feather in your cap A notable achievement Winning that award is a feather in her
cap.
Get your act to- To organize yourself You need to get your act together be-
gether fore the deadline.
Give the cold shoul- To ignore or snub He gave her the cold shoulder after the
der disagreement.

4
Idiom Meaning Example
Go down in flames To fail spectacularly The plan went down in flames due to
poor execution.
Hold your horses Wait a moment Hold your horses; lets think this
through.
In the doghouse In trouble Hes in the doghouse for forgetting her
birthday.
Jump the gun To act too soon Dont jump the gun; wait for the signal.
Keep an eye on To watch closely Keep an eye on the kids while Im out.
Let the chips fall Accept the outcome Weve done our best; let the chips fall
where they may where they may.
Make a long story To summarize briefly To make a long story short, we missed
short the flight.
Miss the boat To miss an opportunity He missed the boat by not applying
early.
Not playing with a Not thinking clearly Hes not playing with a full deck if he
full deck believes that.
On the ball Alert and efficient Shes really on the ball with this project.
Out of your depth In a situation too difficult He was out of his depth in the advanced
class.
Pass the buck To shift responsibility Dont pass the buck; take responsibility
for the error.
Put your foot in To say something embar- He put his foot in his mouth by men-
your mouth rassing tioning her ex.
Rain on your pa- To spoil someones plans I hate to rain on your parade, but the
rade event is canceled.
Shoot the breeze To chat casually We were just shooting the breeze over
lunch.
Straight from the Directly from the source I heard it straight from the horses
horses mouth mouth that shes leaving.
Take the bull by the To confront a problem di- She took the bull by the horns and ad-
horns rectly dressed the issue.
The whole nine Everything possible They went the whole nine yards for the
yards party.
Under your belt Gained as experience She has three years of teaching under
her belt.
Up in the air Uncertain Our plans for the trip are still up in the
air.
Water under the Past events that are no That argument is water under the
bridge longer important bridge now.
A needle in a Very hard to find Finding that file is like finding a needle
haystack in a haystack.
All thumbs Clumsy Im all thumbs when it comes to sewing.
At the end of your Out of options Im at the end of my rope with this
rope problem.
Bend over back- To try very hard She bent over backwards to help her
wards friend.

5
Idiom Meaning Example
Bite your tongue To stay silent I had to bite my tongue during his rude
comments.
Blow your own To boast Hes always blowing his own trumpet
trumpet about his skills.
Burn the candle at To overwork yourself Shes burning the candle at both ends
both ends with two jobs.
Bury the hatchet To make peace They decided to bury the hatchet after
years of fighting.
Caught between a Facing two difficult choices Im caught between a rock and a hard
rock and a hard place with this decision.
place
Climb the walls To be very agitated The kids were climbing the walls during
the lockdown.
Cook someones To ruin someones plans His mistake cooked his goose in the
goose competition.
Dont throw the Dont discard something Keep the good ideas; dont throw the
baby out with the valuable baby out with the bathwater.
bathwater
Eat humble pie To admit you were wrong He had to eat humble pie after his failed
prediction.
Fish out of water Feeling out of place She felt like a fish out of water at the
formal event.
Get the ball rolling To start something Lets get the ball rolling on this project.
Go out on a limb To take a risk I went out on a limb to support his idea.
Hit rock bottom To reach the lowest point After losing his job, he hit rock bottom.
In the same boat In the same situation Were all in the same boat with this
challenge.
Keep your nose to To work hard She kept her nose to the grindstone to
the grindstone finish the report.
Let off steam To release pent-up energy He went hiking to let off steam after the
argument.
Make waves To cause a disturbance Her new ideas made waves in the com-
pany.
No stone unturned To try every possibility We left no stone unturned to find the
missing keys.
On thin ice In a risky situation Hes on thin ice with his boss after being
late.
Play it by ear To improvise We dont have a plan, so lets play it by
ear.
Pull out all the To make every effort They pulled out all the stops for the
stops wedding.
Put all your cards To be completely honest Lets put all our cards on the table and
on the table discuss this.
Rock the boat To cause trouble Dont rock the boat by bringing up old
issues.
Skeleton in the A hidden secret Every family has a skeleton in the
closet closet.

6
Idiom Meaning Example
Smell a rat To suspect something is I smell a rat; this deal seems too good
wrong to be true.
Spill your guts To confess everything He spilled his guts about what really
happened.
Steal someones To take credit for someones She stole his thunder by presenting his
thunder idea idea first.
Take the wind out To deflate someones enthu- His criticism took the wind out of her
of your sails siasm sails.
The early bird Success comes to those who She arrived early for the salethe early
catches the worm act early bird catches the worm!
Through the Hearing rumors I heard through the grapevine that shes
grapevine moving.
Turn a blind eye To ignore deliberately The teacher turned a blind eye to the
minor infraction.
Up to your neck Deeply involved Im up to my neck in paperwork this
week.
Wear your heart on To show emotions openly He wears his heart on his sleeve, so you
your sleeve always know how he feels.
You cant have your You cant have two desir- You want a high salary and short
cake and eat it able but mutually exclusive hours? You cant have your cake and
things eat it.
A chip off the old Very similar to a parent Hes a chip off the old block, just like
block his dad.
All hell broke loose Chaos ensued When the news broke, all hell broke
loose in the office.
Back to the draw- Start over The plan failed, so its back to the draw-
ing board ing board.
Between a rock and Facing two bad options Im between a rock and a hard place
a hard place with this choice.
Bite the dust To fail or die Another plan bit the dust after the
meeting.
Blow a fuse To lose your temper He blew a fuse when he saw the mess.
Break even To neither gain nor lose The business broke even this year.
Burn a hole in your Money youre eager to spend That bonus is burning a hole in her
pocket pocket.
Cast the first stone To be the first to criticize Who are you to cast the first stone?
Caught with your Caught unprepared He was caught with his pants down dur-
pants down ing the surprise audit.
Clear the air To resolve misunderstand- Lets clear the air and talk about what
ings happened.
Cut your losses To stop a failing effort Its time to cut your losses and move on.
Dont give up your Stick to what youre good at Your singings okay, but dont give up
day job your day job.
Draw a blank To fail to remember I drew a blank when asked her name.
Every dog has its Everyone gets a chance Dont worry; every dog has its day.
day eventually

7
Idiom Meaning Example
Get a taste of your Experience what youve He got a taste of his own medicine when
own medicine done to others he was ignored.
Go for broke To risk everything He went for broke and invested all his
savings.
Hit the jackpot To achieve great success She hit the jackpot with her new busi-
ness.
In the blink of an Very quickly The opportunity was gone in the blink
eye of an eye.
Keep your fingers To wish for good luck Keep your fingers crossed for my inter-
crossed view!
Leave no stone un- To try every option They left no stone unturned to solve
turned the mystery.
Make ends meet To manage financially She works two jobs to make ends meet.
Off your rocker Crazy or irrational Youre off your rocker if you think thatll
work.
On a roll Experiencing success Shes on a roll, winning every game.
Out of the frying From bad to worse He escaped one problem, only to jump
pan into the fire out of the frying pan into the fire.
Put your money Prove your claims If you think youre right, put your
where your mouth money where your mouth is.
is
Rome wasnt built Things take time Be patient; Rome wasnt built in a day.
in a day
Spill the tea To share gossip Spill the teawhat happened at the
party?
The bigger they The more powerful, the He was arrogant, but the bigger they
are, the harder greater the failure are, the harder they fall.
they fall
Under the thumb Under someones control Hes completely under her thumb.
When the going When things get difficult When the going gets tough, she always
gets tough steps up.
Your guess is as I dont know either Wheres the file? Your guess is as good
good as mine as mine.