100 Country-Life Idioms Still Used Today

No.	Item	Definition
1.	A bird in the hand	A sure thing is better.
2.	A cash cow	Reliable source of profit.
3.	A hard row to hoe	A difficult task or situation.
4.	A leopard can’t change its spots	People don’t change easily.
5.	A little bird told me	I heard it indirectly.
6.	A red herring	A misleading clue.
7.	A snake in the grass	A hidden betrayer.
8.	A wild goose chase	A pointless search.
9.	A wolf in sheep’s clothing	Dangerous person pretending harmless.
10.	As the crow flies	In a straight line.
11.	Barking up the wrong tree	Blaming the wrong thing.
12.	Big fish in a small pond	Important in a small group.
13.	Birds of a feather	Similar people stick together.
14.	Bite off more than you can chew	Take on too much.
15.	Bread and butter	Main source of income.
16.	Bring home the bacon	Earn money for family.
17.	Busy as a bee	Very busy.
18.	Butter someone up	Flatter to gain favor.
19.	Cast pearls before swine	Offer value to the unworthy.
20.	Chew the fat	Chat casually.
21.	Chicken out	Lose courage; back down.
22.	Compare apples and oranges	Compare unlike things.
23.	Cool as a cucumber	Very calm.
24.	Couch potato	Inactive person.
25.	Cry wolf	Raise false alarms.
26.	Curiosity killed the cat	Being nosy can be risky.
27.	Dig your heels in	Refuse to change.
28.	Dog-eat-dog	Ruthlessly competitive.
29.	Don’t count your chickens	Don’t assume success too early.
30.	Don’t throw the baby out	Don’t discard the good with bad.
31.	Every dog has its day	Everyone gets a chance.
32.	Fish or cut bait	Decide and act.
33.	Fly on the wall	Invisible observer.
34.	Full of beans	Energetic and lively.
35.	Get off your high horse	Stop acting superior.
36.	Go whole hog	Do something completely.
37.	Have your cake and eat it	Want two incompatible benefits.
38.	Hold your horses	Wait; slow down.
39.	Hook, line, and sinker	Completely fooled.
40.	Hot potato	Controversial issue.
41.	In a pickle	In trouble.
42.	In the same boat	In the same situation.
43.	Keep the wolf from the door	Avoid hunger or poverty.
44.	Keep your head above water	Manage to survive financially.
45.	Keep your nose to the grindstone	Work hard and steadily.
46.	Kill two birds with one stone	Achieve two goals at once.
47.	Know which side is buttered	Know where advantage lies.
48.	Let sleeping dogs lie	Don’t stir up trouble.
49.	Let the cat out of the bag	Reveal a secret accidentally.
50.	Like a bull in a china shop	Clumsy and careless.
51.	Like a fish out of water	Uncomfortable in new situation.
52.	Like a pig in mud	Very pleased.
53.	Like herding cats	Hard to organize people.
54.	Like moths to a flame	Drawn to something risky.
55.	Like rats leaving a sinking ship	Abandoning a failing cause.
56.	Living high on the hog	Living very comfortably.
57.	Lock the stable door	Act too late to help.
58.	Make a beeline	Go straight toward something.
59.	Make a clean sweep	Eliminate everything at once.
60.	Make hay while the sun shines	Take advantage of good conditions.
61.	Mend fences	Repair relationships.
62.	Milk it	Exploit for advantage.
63.	Miss the boat	Lose an opportunity.
64.	Neither fish nor fowl	Hard to classify.
65.	No spring chicken	Not young anymore.
66.	Not my cup of tea	Not to my taste.
67.	Not worth a hill of beans	Not valuable at all.
68.	Off the beaten track	Away from usual places.
69.	On the right track	Proceeding correctly.
70.	Open a can of worms	Create more problems.
71.	Out of the woods	Out of danger.
72.	Pig out	Eat too much.
73.	Plenty of fish in the sea	Many other options exist.
74.	Put all eggs in one basket	Risk everything on one plan.
75.	Put the fox in charge	Give power to untrustworthy person.
76.	Rat race	Fierce, endless competition.
77.	Rock the boat	Cause trouble or instability.
78.	Rule the roost	Be in charge.
79.	Sacred cow	Untouchable belief or institution.
80.	Separate wheat from chaff	Sort valuable from worthless.
81.	Sly as a fox	Very cunning.
82.	Small potatoes	Something unimportant.
83.	Smell a rat	Suspect something is wrong.
84.	Spill the beans	Reveal a secret.
85.	Stir up a hornet’s nest	Cause trouble by interfering.
86.	Straight from the horse’s mouth	From the original source.
87.	Take the bull by the horns	Face a problem directly.
88.	The cat’s out of the bag	A secret is revealed.
89.	The early bird gets the worm	Early action brings advantage.
90.	The grass is greener	Others seem better off.
91.	The worm turns	The oppressed fight back.
92.	There’s more than one way	Multiple solutions exist.
93.	Throw someone to the wolves	Sacrifice someone to save yourself.
94.	Till the cows come home	For a very long time.
95.	Water under the bridge	Past events no longer important.
96.	When life gives you lemons	Make the best of trouble.
97.	When pigs fly	Never; impossible.
98.	Worth one’s salt	Competent and deserving respect.
99.	Wouldn’t hurt a fly	Very gentle.
100.	You reap what you sow	Actions bring matching results.