Common idioms

Idioms are sayings that do not make sense by analysing each word, they only make sense when taken as a whole. Here follows a list of 47 common idioms and what they mean.

1. Break a leg – good luck
2. Hit the sack – go to sleep
3. Beat around the bush – to avoid getting to the point
4. By the skin of your teeth – barely managed
5. Actions speak louder than words – a person’s actions are a better indication of their character than what they say
6. Bite the bullet – take action on the impending hardship
7. A penny for your thoughts -aAn invitation to a person lost in thought to share what’s on their mind
8. Go back to the drawing board – start again from the beginning
9. Get out of hand – get out of control
10. Don’t bite off more than you can chew – don’t take on more than you can manage
11. Cutting corners – doing something poorly to save time or money
12. Come rain or shine – whatever happens
13. At the drop of a hat – without hesitation
14. Call it a day – to decide or agree to stop doing something
15. Better late than never – better to arrive late than not to come at all
16. Don’t beat a dead horse – don’t keep talking about a subject that has already been discussed or decided
17. Don’t give up your day job – suggesting to someone that they wouldn’t be able to succeed at something professionally
18. Hang in there – persevere
19. Cut someone some slack – allow someone some leeway in their conduct
20. Barking up the wrong tree – making a mistake or a false assumption in something you are trying to achieve
21. Break the ice – to break down social formality
22. Add insult to injury – to make a bad situation worse
23. Don’t cry over spilled milk – there’s no use in being upset over situations that have already happened and cannot be changed
24. A blessing in disguise – an apparent misfortune that works to the eventual benefit of the recipient
25. Costs and arm and a leg – costs a lot of money
26. Let someone off the hook – to not hold someone responsible for something
27. On the ball – doing a good job
28. Pull someone’s leg – to joke with someone
29. Speak of the devil and the devil appears – the person we’re talking about has just turned up
30. Get bent out of shape – get upset
31. That’s the last straw that broke the camel’s back – my patience has run out
32. Wrap your head around something – understand something complicated
33. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch – don’t count on something good until it’s in place
34. Go on a wild goose chase – to do something pointless
35. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket – don’t concentrate on just one thing
36. Give someone the cold shoulder – ignore someone
37. Having bigger fish to fry – having bigger things to take care of
38. It ain’t over till the fat lady sings – nothing is irreversible until the final act is played out
39. It’s raining cats and dogs – it’s raining heavily
40. Let the cat out of the bag – give away a secret
41. Play devil’s advocate – to argue the opposite, just for the sake of argument
42. Rain on someone’s parade – spoil something
43. Put something on ice – put something on hold or pause
44. Take it with a grain of salt – don’t take it too seriously
45. The early bird gets the worm – the people who get there first get the best options
46. The elephant in the room – the big issue, the problem people are avoiding
47. There’s no such thing as a free lunch – everything comes at a cost

Final word

We hope you’ve found this list helpful. If you want to learn more about idioms, why not check out our article ‘What is an idiom?’.