List of 

Idioms

1. "to have one's finger in too

many pies" - To be involved in too

many things at the same time. (so you

can't do any of them well)

2. "to kill two birds with one

stone" - To manage to do two things

at the same time.

3. "a bird in the hand is worth two

in the bush" - It is better to accept

or be content with what one has than

to try to get more and risk losing

everything.

4. "come hell or high water " - No

matter what happens.

5. "I've got a bone to pick with

you" - People will say this when they

want to make a complaint against

you. Usually because your actions or

words have made them angry or

upset.

6. "don't count your chickens

before they hatch" - It means that

you should not plan on everything

 going exactly as you expected until

you see the results for yourself.

7. "beauty is in the eye of the

beholder" - This means that

different people possess different

standards of beauty and that not

everyone agrees on who is beautiful

and who is not.

8. "don't look a gift horse in the

mouth" - Don't be ungrateful when

you receive a gift.

9. "don't give me that cock and bull

story"  - An unbelievable tale or

story.

10. "to hit the nail on the head" -

When someone completely

understands what you have said.

11-20

1. "loose cannon" - Someone who is

unpredictable and can cause damage

if not kept in check or watched

carefully.

2. "mum's the word" - To keep

something secret. Don't tell anyone.

 3. "sitting on the fence" - A person

who doesn't want to make a decision.

4. "over the top" - To an excessive

degree; beyond reasonable or

acceptable limits.

5. "pulling your leg" - Tricking

someone, or joking.

6. "put a sock in it" - To tell someone

to be quiet.

7. "raining cats and dogs" - Raining

very heavily.

8. "saved by the bell" - Saved by a

last minute intervention. Saved at the

last possible moment.

9. "the ball is in your court" - It is

your turn to make the decision.

10. "tie the knot" - Get married.

21-30

1. "to turn a blind eye" - To

knowingly refuse to acknowledge

something which you know to be real.

2. "when pigs fly" - Something that

will never happen.

3. "you can't take it with you" -

Enjoy life with what you have and

 don't worry about not having a lot,

because once you're dead, money or

things are of no use to you then.

4. "you can lead a horse to water

but you can't make it drink" -

This implies that a person will only

do what he wants to do.

5. "cut from the same cloth" - This

means that two or more people are

very alike or act in a very similar way.

6. "a chip on your shoulder" - This

means to blame other people for

something bad that has happened to

you and to continue to be angry about

it.

7. "to give someone the cold

shoulder" - To behave towards

someone in an unfriendly way.

Sometimes for reasons that this

person does not understand.

8. "a slap on the wrist" - The

punishment did not fit the crime.

9. "a piece of cake" - Something that

is very easy to do.

 10. "a shot in the dark" - An

attempt to do something without

knowing much about it.

31-40

1. "once bitten, twice shy" - This

means that when you have had a bad

experience you are much more

careful to avoid similar experiences in

the future.

2. "barking up the wrong tree" -

Looking for something in the wrong

place.

3. "all bark and no bite" - When

someone talks tough but really isn't.

When people threaten to do things

that they are not willing or able to do.

4. "all bets are off" - Agreements that

have been made no longer apply.

5. "air your dirty laundry in

public" - To reveal aspects of your

private life that should really remain

private.

6. "asleep at the wheel" - They are

not doing their job or taking their

responsibilities very carefully.

 7. "the lights are on but nobody's

home" - Something that you say

when you think someone is stupid, or

when someone does not react because

they are thinking about something

else.

8. "adding salt to the wound" -

When you say or do things that make

the situation worse or cause people to

suffer more.

9. "a chain is no stronger than its

weakest link" - An organization

(especially a process or a business) is

only as strong or powerful as its

weakest person.

10. "up the creek without a paddle"

- To be in a very difficult situation

that you are not able to improve or

rectify.

41-50

1. "to farm (something) out" - To

have someone else do something, to

send something away to have it done.

2. "give away the farm" - Business

managers should not give away

 information that could damage

themselves.

3. "bought the farm" - To die. He

died.

4. "push the envelope" - To go

beyond the limit of what has usually

been done or was the accepted

standard.

5. "pay the piper" - To accept the

unpleasant results of something you

have done.

6. "lay a guilt trip on" - To make or

try to make someone feel guilty.

7. "a blessing in disguise" -

Something good that isn't recognized

at first.

8. "a dime a dozen" - Something that

is easy to get.

9. "a taste of your own medicine" -

You are going to do something bad to

someone just like they have done to

you in order to teach them a good

lesson.

10. "add fuel to the fire" - Whenever

something is done to make a bad

situation even worse.

51-60

1. "out of my hands" - There is

nothing else you can do because it's

out of your control.

2. "someones hands are tied" - If

someone's hands are tied, they are

not free to behave in the way that

they would like. You are being

prevented from doing something.

3. "win (something) hands down" -

To win easily.

4. "two heads are better than one"

- Some problems may be solved more

easily by two people working together

than by one working alone.

5. "a drop in a bucket" - Something

that isn't very important because it is

very small.

6. "all Greek to me" - Meaningless

and incomprehensible like someone

who cannot read, speak, or

understand any of the Greek language

would be.

7. "beat a dead horse" - To waste

time doing something that has

already been attempted.

 8. "beat around the bush" - To avoid

talking about a difficult or

embarrassing subject because you are

worried about upsetting the person

you are talking to.

9. "cross your fingers" - To hope that

something happens the way you want

it to.

10. "cry over spilt milk" - Cry or

complain about something that has

already happened and you usually

can't change.

61-70

1. "you can't judge a book by it's

cover" - You shouldn't make

judgments based only on

appearances.

2. "I could eat a horse" - To say that

you could eat a horse means that you

are very hungry.

3. "X marks the spot" - You say this

when you find what you have been

looking for.

4. "you are what you eat" - In order

to stay healthy you must eat healthy

foods.
 5. "practice what you preach" - You

shouldn't say one thing and then do

another. To behave the way you tell

other people to behave

6. "that's water under the bridge" -

Anything from the past that isn't

significant or important anymore.

7. "variety is the spice of life" - The

more experiences you try the more

exciting you life will be.

8. "holy cow" or "holy smoke" -

What a surprise! That's unbelievable!

9. "the best of both worlds" - You

get the advantages of two different

things at the same.

10. " to go the whole nine yards" - To

go the distance. To continue doing

something dangerous or difficult until

it is finished. To go all the way.

71-80

1. "there's more than meets the

eye" - More interesting or

complicated than someone or

something appears at first. Part of the

story has not been told.

2. "there's more than one way to

skin a cat" - There are many ways to

do it, I know another method. There

are several possible ways of achieving

something.

3. "caught between a rock and a hard

place" - You have to make a difficult

decision between two things that are

equally unpleasant.

4. "laughing all the way to the

bank" - They have made a lot of

money very easily, often because

someone else has been stupid.

5. "taking off the gloves" or "the

gloves are off" - People start to

argue or fight in a more serious way.

6. "burn a hole in one's pocket" -

Money that someone wants to spend

quickly. It applied to people who

couldn't control the spending urge.

7. "dig in your heels" - To refuse to do

what other people are trying to

persuade you to do, especially to

refuse to change your opinions or

plans.
 8. "kick up your heels" - To do things

that you enjoy.

9. "to put one's foot down" - To

exert your authority to prevent

something from happening.

10. "caught with one's pants down"

- You are caught doing something bad

or forbidden. Or you are caught

unprepared.

81-90

1. "a stick-in-the-mud" - Someone

who has old-fashioned ideas and does

not want to try new activities. A

person who doesn't like change and

wants things to stay the same.

2. "a doubting Thomas" - A skeptic

who needs physical or personal

evidence in order to believe

something.

3. "a taste of your own medicine" - You

do something bad to someone just

like they have done to you in order to

teach them a lesson.

4. "bite off more than you can

chew" - To take on a task or job that

is way too big for you to do.

5. "break a leg" - 'Break a leg' means

to make a strenuous effort. This

idiom is also a way of wishing

someone good luck. It is usually said

to actors for good luck before they go

on stage, especially on an opening

nights.

6. "a leopard can't change his

spots" - You cannot change who you

are.

7. "actions speak louder than words" -

What one does is more important

than what one says.

8. "you could hear a pin drop" -

This idiom is used when someone

says something and everyone in the

room becomes quiet.

9. "bury the hatchet" - This idiom is

used when two people have had a

disagreement or a fight and decide to

forget about it and become friends

again.
 10. "back to the drawing board" -

When an attempt fails and it's time to

start all over.

91-100

1. "Bury one's head in the sand" -

To avoid reality; ignore the facts of a

situation. Refuse to face something by

pretending not to see it.

2. "curiosity killed the cat" -

Curiosity can be dangerous.

Something that you say in order to

warn someone not to ask too many

questions about something.

3. "have one's head screwed on

(right)" - Someone who has their

head screwed on (right) is a sensible

and realistic person.

4. "blood is thicker than water" -

Family relations are more important

or stronger than all other

relationships.

5. "close but no cigar" - To be very

near and almost accomplish your

goal, but then fall short and get

nothing for your efforts. Or what they

 tell you or what they do is nearly

correct but not completely.

6. "Keep one's head above water" -

To keep out of difficult financial

problems, to stay out of trouble .

7. "dropping like flies" - If people are

dropping like flies, large numbers of

them are dying or becoming ill or

injured within a short period of time.

8. "don't put all your eggs in one

basket" - Don't risk everything all at

once. To risk losing everything by

putting all your efforts or all your

money into one plan or one course of

action.

9. "run around like a chicken with its

head cut off" - To do something in a

frenzied manner.

10. "Rome wasn't built in one day" - All

great works take time to finish.

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