100 Expressions Every Adult Should Know

No.	Item	Definition
1.	A blessing in disguise	Something beneficial that first seemed bad.
2.	A dime a dozen	Very common and easily found.
3.	A piece of cake	Something extremely easy.
4.	A tough pill to swallow	A difficult truth to accept.
5.	Actions speak louder than words	Deeds matter more than promises.
6.	Add fuel to the fire	Make a bad situation worse.
7.	At the drop of a hat	Immediately and without planning.
8.	At your wit’s end	Unable to think of another solution.
9.	Back to square one	Return to the starting point.
10.	Barking up the wrong tree	Following a mistaken course.
11.	Beat around the bush	Avoid discussing the main issue.
12.	Bend over backward	Try extremely hard to help.
13.	Better late than never	Delayed action is better than none.
14.	Bite the bullet	Face something difficult bravely.
15.	Break the ice	Make people feel more comfortable.
16.	Burn the midnight oil	Work late into the night.
17.	Call it a day	Stop working for now.
18.	Clear the air	Resolve tension through honest discussion.
19.	Cost an arm and a leg	Be extremely expensive.
20.	Cry over spilled milk	Regret something that cannot be changed.
21.	Cut corners	Save effort by ignoring proper standards.
22.	Cut to the chase	Get directly to the main point.
23.	Don’t judge a book by its cover	Appearances can be misleading.
24.	Don’t put words in my mouth	Do not misrepresent what I said.
25.	Down to earth	Practical, realistic, and approachable.
26.	Draw the line	Set a firm limit.
27.	Easier said than done	More difficult to do than describe.
28.	Face the music	Accept unpleasant consequences.
29.	Get cold feet	Become too nervous to proceed.
30.	Get the ball rolling	Start a process or activity.
31.	Get your act together	Become organized and behave responsibly.
32.	Give someone the cold shoulder	Deliberately ignore or reject someone.
33.	Give the benefit of the doubt	Choose to believe someone despite uncertainty.
34.	Go the extra mile	Make more effort than expected.
35.	Go with the flow	Accept events without resisting.
36.	Hang in there	Keep going despite difficulty.
37.	Have a change of heart	Change your opinion or feelings.
38.	Have bigger fish to fry	Have more important matters.
39.	Have your hands full	Be extremely busy.
40.	Hit the nail on the head	Identify something exactly right.
41.	In hot water	In trouble or facing criticism.
42.	In over your head	Facing something beyond your abilities.
43.	In the long run	Over an extended period.
44.	It takes two to tango	Both parties share responsibility.
45.	Jump on the bandwagon	Join something becoming popular.
46.	Keep a low profile	Avoid attracting attention.
47.	Keep an eye on	Watch or monitor carefully.
48.	Keep something at bay	Prevent something from approaching or worsening.
49.	Keep your options open	Avoid committing too early.
50.	Kill two birds with one stone	Achieve two goals with one action.
51.	Know the ropes	Understand how something works.
52.	Leave no stone unturned	Search or investigate everywhere.
53.	Leave someone high and dry	Abandon someone without help.
54.	Leave well enough alone	Avoid changing something already satisfactory.
55.	Let sleeping dogs lie	Avoid restarting an old conflict.
56.	Let the cat out of the bag	Accidentally reveal a secret.
57.	Make a mountain of a molehill	Exaggerate a minor problem.
58.	Make ends meet	Have enough money for necessities.
59.	Miss the boat	Lose an opportunity by waiting.
60.	No pain, no gain	Progress requires effort or discomfort.
61.	No strings attached	Without conditions or obligations.
62.	Not my cup of tea	Not something I enjoy.
63.	Off the hook	Free from responsibility or trouble.
64.	Off the top of my head	Without careful thought or preparation.
65.	On the same page	Sharing the same understanding.
66.	On thin ice	In a risky situation.
67.	Once in a blue moon	Very rarely.
68.	Out of the blue	Completely unexpectedly.
69.	Play it by ear	Respond without a fixed plan.
70.	Practice what you preach	Follow your own advice.
71.	Pull someone’s leg	Playfully deceive or tease someone.
72.	Pull yourself together	Regain control of your emotions.
73.	Put all your eggs in one basket	Risk everything on one plan.
74.	Put your foot in your mouth	Say something embarrassing or offensive.
75.	Rain on someone’s parade	Spoil someone’s pleasure or plans.
76.	Read between the lines	Find the hidden meaning.
77.	Rome wasn’t built in a day	Important work requires time.
78.	Save for a rainy day	Reserve money for future difficulties.
79.	Scratch the surface	Examine only the obvious aspects.
80.	See eye to eye	Agree completely.
81.	Sit on the fence	Avoid choosing between alternatives.
82.	Speak of the devil	The person discussed has appeared.
83.	Steal someone’s thunder	Take attention or credit from someone.
84.	Take a rain check	Postpone an invitation until later.
85.	Take it with a grain of salt	Treat it with some skepticism.
86.	Take the bull by the horns	Confront a difficulty directly.
87.	The ball is in your court	You must make the next decision.
88.	The best of both worlds	Benefits from two different situations.
89.	The tip of the iceberg	A small visible part of something larger.
90.	Throw in the towel	Admit defeat and stop trying.
91.	Turn a blind eye	Deliberately ignore something wrong.
92.	Under the weather	Feeling slightly ill.
93.	Up in the air	Still uncertain or undecided.
94.	Up to speed	Fully informed or performing adequately.
95.	Wear your heart on your sleeve	Show your emotions openly.
96.	What goes around comes around	Actions eventually bring similar consequences.
97.	When pigs fly	Something will never happen.
98.	You can say that again	I strongly agree.
99.	You can’t have it both ways	Two desired choices are incompatible.
100.	Your guess is as good as mine	I do not know either.