⚠️ 40 Commonly Used and Popular English Idioms
●A blessing in disguise
Meaning: A good thing that initially seemed bad
●A dime a dozen
Meaning: Something that is very common, not unique
●Adding insult to injury
Meaning: To make a bad situation even worse
●Beat around the bush
Meaning: Avoid sharing your true viewpoint or feelings because it is uncomfortable
●Beating a dead horse
Meaning: giving time or energy to something that is ended or over
●Bite the bullet
Meaning: To get an unfavorable situation or chore over with now because it will need to get finished eventually
●Best of both worlds
Meaning: The choice or solution has all of the advantages of two contrasting things at the same time
●Biting off more than you can chew
Meaning: Not having the capacity to take on a new assignment or task that is just too taxing
●By the skin of your teeth
Meaning: Just barely making it
●Don’t judge a book by its cover
Meaning: Not judging something by its initial appearance
●Doing something at the drop of a hat
Meaning: Doing something at the moment of being asked
●Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
Meaning: Not to count on something happening until after it’s already happened
●Caught between a rock and a hard place
Meaning: Making a choice between two unpleasant choices
●Costs an arm and a leg
Meaning: Something that is overpriced or very expensive
●Cutting corners
Meaning: Not performing a task or duty correctly in order to save time or money
●Devil’s advocate
Meaning: To take the side of the counter-argument, or offer an alternative point of view
●Feeling under the weather
Meaning: Not feeling well, or feeling sick
●Fit as a fiddle
Meaning: Being in good health
●Getting a taste of your own medicine
Meaning: Being treated the way that you have been treating others
●Getting a second wind
Meaning: Having energy again after being tired
●Giving the benefit of the doubt
Meaning: Believing someone’s story without proof even though it may seem unbelievable
●Giving someone the cold shoulder
Meaning: ignoring someone
●Going on a wild goose chase
Meaning: doing something that is pointless
●Heard it on the grapevine
Meaning: Hearing rumors about someone or something
●Hitting the nail on the head
Meaning: Performing a task with exactness
●Killing two birds with one stone
Meaning: Accomplishing two different tasks in the same undertaking
●Letting someone off the hook
Meaning: Not holding someone responsible for something
●Letting the cat out of the bag
Meaning: Sharing information that was intended to be a secret
●No pain, no gain
Meaning: You have to work hard in order to see results
●On the ball
Meaning: Doing a good job, being prompt, or being responsible
●Once in a blue moon
Meaning: Something that doesn’t happen very often
●Piece of cake
Meaning: A task or job that is easy to complete
●Pulling someone’s leg
Meaning: Joking with someone
●Speak of the devil
Meaning: When the person you have just been talking about arrives
●Stealing someone’s thunder
Meaning: Taking credit for someone else’s achievements
●Straight from the horse’s mouth
Meaning: Reading or hearing something from the source
●The last straw
Meaning: The last difficulty or annoyance that makes the entire situation unbearable
●The elephant in the room
Meaning: An issue, person, or problem that someone is trying to avoid
●Throwing caution to the wind
Meaning: Being reckless or taking a risk
●Your guess is as good as mine
Meaning: To not know something
✍ 20 Familiar English Idioms
▪️A snowball effect
Meaning: Something has momentum and builds on each other, much like rolling a snowball down a hill to make it bigger
▪️An apple a day keeps the doctor away
Meaning: Apples are healthy and good for you
▪️Burning bridges
Meaning: Damaging a relationship beyond repair
▪️Every dog has his day
Meaning: Everyone gets their chance to do something big
▪️Fit as a fiddle
Meaning: Excellent health
▪️Go down in flames
Meaning: To fail in a spectacular manner
▪️Getting a second wind
Meaning: Having energy again after being tired or worn out.