#1
On cloud nine.
Meaning: feeling very happy.
#2
Bite the bullet.
Meaning: to decide to do something that is difficult or unpleasant, but necessary.
#3
Speak of the devil.
Meaning: when the person you are talking about appears unexpectedly.
#4
Left out in the cold.
Meaning: to be ignored.
#5
Snug as a bug in a rug.
Meaning: cozy and warm.
#6
Shoot from the hip.
Meaning: to speak bluntly or rashly without thinking carefully.
#7
Born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth.
Meaning: someone who was born in a wealthy and successful family.
#8
It takes two to tango.
Meaning: only one person is not enough to make something happen.
#9
To hit the books.
Meaning: study hard.
#10
The elephant in the room.
Meaning: an obvious problem that people do not want to talk about.
#11
Smell a rat.
Meaning: to suspect someone is a traitor or behaving illegally.
#12
Wouldn’t be caught dead.
Meaning: dislike or would never do something.
#13
Swan Song.
Meaning: the last piece of work of an artist before his/her death.
#14
Boil the ocean.
Meaning: taking up an almost impossible or overly ambitious project.
#15
Hit the road.
Meaning: to leave somewhere or start a journey.
#16
Hold your horses.
Meaning: wait a moment/slow down.
#17
So far so good.
Meaning: things are going well.
#18
Steal someone’s thunder.
Meaning: to take attention or praise away from someone else’s accomplishments by outdoing them with your own.
#19
To have bigger fish to fry.
Meaning: to have more important things to do.
#20
At the eleventh hour.
Meaning: complete something at the very last minute before it’s too late.
#21
Add insult to injury.
Meaning: to make a bad situation worse.
#22
It’s the best thing since sliced bread.
Meaning: it’s really, really good.
#23
Take it with a pinch of salt.
Meaning: don’t take it too seriously.
#24
Don’t cry over spilt milk.
Meaning: do not cry over the situation which can not be fixed.
#25
To get your wires crossed.
Meaning: to misunderstand another person particularly because you thought that they were talking about one thing when they were actually talking about another thing.
#26
Cut someone some slack.
Meaning: to avoid being critical or judgmental of someone.
#27
A bolt from the blue.
Meaning: a sudden, unexpected event.
#28
By the skin of your teeth.
Meaning: to just barely get by or make it.
#29
Crying wolf.
Meaning: to ask for help when you don’t actually need it.
#30
To be left in the dark.
Meaning: when someone doesn’t receive all the appropriate information that tells the whole story.
#31
A blessing in disguise.
Meaning: a good thing that seemed bad at first.
#32
Looking to your laurels.
Meaning: not being lost in your achievements and losing the sight of what is supposed to happen.
#33
Hit the sack.
Meaning: go to sleep.
#34
Beat around the bush.
Meaning: to avoid talking about what’s important.
#35
Call it a day.
Meaning: stop working on something.
#36
It’s raining cats and dogs.
Meaning: raining very hard.
#37
A stone’s throw.
Meaning: something is very close or near.
#38
Couch potato.
Meaning: a person who doesn’t do much exercise and spends a lot of time on the sofa watching television.
#39
Full of beans.
Meaning: someone who is energetic or enthusiastic.
#40
Not one’s cup of tea.
Meaning: something you don’t like or are not interested in.
#41
Shed light on.
Meaning: to reveal information about something or to clarify something.
#42
Bell the cat.
Meaning: to undertake a risky or dangerous task.
#43
Get your act together.
Meaning: get organized and do things effectively.
#44
Pull someone’s leg.
Meaning: to play a practical joke.
#45
As right as rain.
Meaning: perfect, amazing.
#46
Take a rain check.
Meaning: to postpone a plan.
#47
Go cold turkey.
Meaning: suddenly quit addictive or dangerous behavior such as smoking or drinking alcohol.
#48
One-trick pony.
Meaning: a person with only one talent or area of expertise.
#49
To get a taste of your own medicine.
Meaning: to be treated the way you’ve treated others.
#50
To go down in flames.
Meaning: to fail miserably at something.
#51
Bite off more than one can chew.
Meaning: trying to do something which is too difficult for them.
#52
Don’t run before you can walk.
Meaning: a warning not to try something difficult before you understand the basics
#53
Ignorance is bliss.
Meaning: sometimes it’s better not to know all the facts about something.
#54
Leave no stone unturned.
Meaning: to do everything you can to achieve something.
#55
Up in arms.
Meaning: being angry about something.
#56
See eye to eye.
Meaning: to agree completely.
#57
Face the music.
Meaning: deal with the reality of the situation and accept all the consequences, whether good or bad.
#58
Read the riot act.
Meaning: to reprimand someone for behaving badly, with the intention of improving that person’s behavior.
#59
Cost a bomb.
Meaning: something very expensive.
#60
Heard it on the grapevine.
Meaning: to hear news about something from someone else, not directly.
#61
Jump ship.
Meaning: to leave or abandon a difficult situation.
#62
Sit tight.
Meaning: to wait patiently.
#63
Call a spade a spade.
Meaning: to speak the truth even if it’s unpleasant.
#64
Take a back seat.
Meaning: choosing not to be in a position of responsibility.
#65
Draw first blood.
Meaning: the first point or advantage gained in a contest.
#66
Your guess is as good as mine.
Meaning: do not know something.
#67
Sell like hot cakes.
Meaning: to be bought quickly and in large numbers.
#68
Eat like a horse.
Meaning: eating too much.
#69
Between a rock and a hard place.
Meaning: to be in a difficult situation where both options are bad.
#70
Lose your marbles.
Meaning: to go insane.
#71
Back against the wall.
Meaning: stuck in a difficult situation with no escape.
#72
Under the weather.
Meaning: to feel ill.
#73
The ball is in your court.
Meaning: it is up to you.
#74
Spill the beans.
Meaning: to give away a secret.
#75
Go down in flames.
Meaning: to fail spectacularly.
#76
Down for the count.
Meaning: giving up.
#77
Barking up the wrong tree.
Meaning: to be wrong or misguided about the reason for something.
#78
Don’t give up the day job.
Meaning: a humorous way to tell someone they’re not very good at something.
#79
Pigs might fly.
Meaning: something that will never happen.
#80
Sleep on it.
Meaning: to delay making a decision for a short period of time.
#81
Spanner in the works.
Meaning: something that prevents or disrupts an event from happening.
#82
Egg on your face.
Meaning: look stupid and face embarrassment because of something you’ve done.
#83
Ring a bell.
Meaning: it reminds you of something, but you cannot remember exactly what it is.
#84
Good things come to those who wait.
Meaning: to have patience.
#85
Sat on the fence.
Meaning: to be undecided.
#86
Through thick and thin.
Meaning: to be loyal no matter what.
#87
Once in a blue moon.
Meaning: very rarely.
#88
Come rain or shine.
Meaning: no matter what.
#89
You can say that again.
Meaning: that’s true.
#90
Jump on the bandwagon.
Meaning: following a trend.
#91
Miss the boat.
Meaning: too late on something.
#92
Blow hot and cold.
Meaning: alternate inconsistently between moods and actions.
#93
Keep an ear to the ground.
Meaning: staying informed and updated about everything.
#94
You can say that again.
Meaning: it’s absolutely true about something.
#95
To hit the nail on the head.
Meaning: to do exactly the right thing.
#96
To be as right as rain.
Meaning: to feel healthy or well again.
#97
A penny for your thoughts.
Meaning: say what’s on your head.
#98
In full swing.
Meaning: something that is currently in process and moving efficiently along.
#99
Third time’s a charm.
Meaning: to describe that the first two times did not work, but it will work on your third try.
#100
Steal one’s thunder.
Meaning: to take credit for someone else’s work or achievements.
#101
Back to the drawing board.
Meaning: to start over.
#102
All ears.
Meaning: waiting to hear about something too hard.
#103
Bob’s your uncle.
Meaning: to say that a set of instructions or task is simple.
#104
Cut to the chace.
Meaning: to get directly to the point when speaking.
#105
Green fingers.
Meaning: to be good at gardening.
#106
The final straw.
Meaning: the last in a series of bad things to happen.
#107
Cross that bridge when come to it.
Meaning: to deal with something when it happens rather than worrying about it before.
#108
Wild goose chase.
Meaning: a hopeless pursuit.
#109
Over my dead body.
Meaning: to do everything you can to prevent something.
#110
In the same boat.
Meaning: two or more persons are in the same difficult situation.
#111
The pot calling the kettle black.
Meaning: used to convey that the criticisms a person is aiming at someone else could equally well apply to themselves.
#112
Have your heart in your mouth.
Meaning: feeling extremely nervous.
#113
Not the only fish in the sea.
Meaning: not the only suitable thing or person one can find.
#114
Play your cards right.
Meaning: to behave or work in a way that gives you an advantage or improves your odds of success.
#115
A black sheep.
Meaning: being a disgrace for the family.
#116
Fish out of water.
Meaning: to be out of your comfort zone.
#117
Rain on someone’s parade.
Meaning: to spoil a moment.
#118
Cry for the moon.
Meaning: to ask for something that is rather difficult.
#119
Read between the lines.
Meaning: understanding the real message behind something.
#120
A cold day in July.
Meaning: something that will never happen.
#121
Scrape the barrel.
Meaning: making the most of the worst situations because you can’t do anything about it.
#122
Burn your boats/bridges.
Meaning: destroy all possible ways of going back to that situation.
#123
Break fresh/ new ground.
Meaning: doing something that has never been done before.
#124
Run around in circles.
Meaning: putting efforts into something that is not a worthwhile result.
#125
Throw caution to the wind.
Meaning: to take a risk.
#126
A sandwich short of a picnic.
Meaning: a humorous way of saying someone is stupid or a bit crazy.
#127
Call a spade a spade.
Meaning: to state the truth about something even if it’s unpopular or unpleasant.
#128
Chinese whispers.
Meaning: information or rumors that have been passed on by many people and are no longer reliable.
#129
Straight from the Horse’s mouth.
Meaning: directly from the person involved.
#130
Has bigger fish to fry.
Meaning: has more important work to do.
#131
Look before you leap.
Meaning: calculate the risks before advancing towards a possibility.
#132
Ignorance is bliss.
Meaning: better off not knowing some things.
#133
Cut corners.
Meaning: choose to do something in an easier and least expensive manner.
#134
A snowball effect.
Meaning: a situation in which one action causes many other similar actions.
#135
Like two peas in a pod.
Meaning: two people who are always together.
#136
Taste of one’s own medicine.
Meaning: when someone does something unpleasant and the same is wished on him/her.
#137
The ball is in your court.
Meaning: to take the initiative or make the next move.
#138
The best of both words.
Meaning: all the advantages of two different situations and none of the disadvantages.
#139
Beside yourself with joy.
Meaning: to be extremely happy.
#140
Play devil’s advocate.
Meaning: to argue, just for the sake of it.
#141
The whole nine yards.
Meaning: everything, all the way.
#142
Break a leg.
Meaning: to wish someone luck.
#143
Fair and square.
Meaning: being direct or fair.
#144
Give it a whirl.
Meaning: to give something a try.
#145
Step up your game.
Meaning: to start performing better.
#146
Play by the ear.
Meaning: to improvise.
#147
Blow off steam.
Meaning: experiencing strong feelings like anger or stress.
#148
Bear a grudge.
Meaning: to continue to feel angry or unfriendly for someone or something because of a particular past incident.
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