100 Idioms Every Educated Adult Should Know

No.	Term	Definition
1.	A blessing in disguise	A good thing that seemed bad initially.
2.	A dime a dozen	Very common; not unique.
3.	A drop in the bucket	A small amount; barely makes impact.
4.	A far cry from	Very different from.
5.	A feather in one’s cap	An achievement to be proud of.
6.	A fish out of water	Uncomfortable in unfamiliar surroundings.
7.	A leopard can’t change spots	People cannot change inherent traits.
8.	A penny for your thoughts	Tell me what you’re thinking.
9.	A picture’s worth 1,000 words	Images convey meaning better than words.
10.	A piece of cake	Very easy to do.
11.	A stitch in time saves nine	Fix early to avoid bigger problems.
12.	A tough nut to crack	A difficult problem or person.
13.	A wolf in sheep’s clothing	Dangerous person disguised as harmless.
14.	Above board	Honest and legal.
15.	Achilles’ heel	A fatal weakness.
16.	Across the board	Applying to everyone or everything.
17.	Add fuel to the fire	Make a bad situation worse.
18.	Against the clock	Racing to finish before deadline.
19.	All ears	Listening attentively.
20.	All in a day’s work	Normal part of the job.
21.	All talk, no action	Says much, does little.
22.	An arm and a leg	Very expensive.
23.	Apple of one’s eye	Someone dearly loved.
24.	As luck would have it	By chance; fortunately or unfortunately.
25.	At the drop of a hat	Immediately; without hesitation.
26.	Back to the drawing board	Start over after failure.
27.	Bark up the wrong tree	Pursue a mistaken course.
28.	Beat around the bush	Avoid saying something directly.
29.	Beggars can’t be choosers	Don’t be picky when needy.
30.	Behind the eight ball	In a difficult position.
31.	Bite off more than you can chew	Take on too much.
32.	Bite the bullet	Endure pain; face difficulty bravely.
33.	Bite the hand that feeds you	Harm someone who helps you.
34.	Blow off steam	Release pent-up emotion.
35.	Break the ice	Ease tension in a new situation.
36.	Bring home the bacon	Earn a living.
37.	Burn the midnight oil	Work late into the night.
38.	By the skin of your teeth	Barely; by a narrow margin.
39.	Call it a day	Stop working for now.
40.	Call the shots	Be in control; make decisions.
41.	Can’t hold a candle to	Not as good as.
42.	Cast a wide net	Seek broadly for results.
43.	Caught between two stools	Torn between two choices.
44.	Chip on your shoulder	A resentful attitude.
45.	Close but no cigar	Nearly successful but not quite.
46.	Cold feet	Nervousness causing hesitation.
47.	Cost an arm and a leg	Be extremely expensive.
48.	Cry over spilled milk	Regret something that can’t be changed.
49.	Cut corners	Do something cheaply or carelessly.
50.	Cut to the chase	Get to the point.
51.	Devil’s advocate	Argue opposing view to test ideas.
52.	Don’t count your chickens	Don’t assume success before it happens.
53.	Don’t put all eggs in 1 basket	Don’t risk everything on one plan.
54.	Down to the wire	At the last possible moment.
55.	Draw the line	Set a limit or boundary.
56.	Easier said than done	Harder to do than to say.
57.	Eat humble pie	Admit fault and feel embarrassed.
58.	Elephant in the room	Obvious issue being ignored.
59.	Every cloud has a silver lining	Good can come from bad times.
60.	Face the music	Accept consequences.
61.	Far and away	By a great margin.
62.	Feather your nest	Enrich yourself, often selfishly.
63.	Feel under the weather	Feel ill.
64.	Fifth wheel	An unwanted extra person.
65.	Find your feet	Become comfortable in a new role.
66.	Fish for compliments	Seek praise indirectly.
67.	Fit as a fiddle	Very healthy.
68.	Fly by the seat of your pants	Improvise without a plan.
69.	Get a taste of your own medicine	Suffer treatment you gave others.
70.	Get cold feet	Lose nerve at the last moment.
71.	Get out of hand	Become uncontrollable.
72.	Get the ball rolling	Start an activity.
73.	Give the benefit of doubt	Assume good intentions without proof.
74.	Go the extra mile	Make special effort beyond required.
75.	Good Samaritan	One who helps a stranger.
76.	Grasp at straws	Try desperate measures.
77.	Green light	Permission to proceed.
78.	Haste makes waste	Rushing causes mistakes and inefficiency.
79.	Have a bone to pick	Have a complaint to discuss.
80.	Hit the nail on the head	Be exactly right.
81.	In a nutshell	In brief; summarized.
82.	In the same boat	In the same situation.
83.	It takes two to tango	Both parties share responsibility.
84.	Jump on the bandwagon	Join a popular trend.
85.	Jump the gun	Act too soon.
86.	Keep your chin up	Stay positive despite difficulties.
87.	Kill two birds with 1 stone	Achieve two goals with one action.
88.	Know the ropes	Understand how things work.
89.	Last straw	Final annoyance that ends patience.
90.	Let sleeping dogs lie	Avoid restarting old conflicts.
91.	Like a bull in a china shop	Clumsy and tactless.
92.	Make a long story short	Summarize briefly.
93.	Miss the boat	Miss an opportunity.
94.	No pain, no gain	Effort is required for improvement.
95.	Not my cup of tea	Not to my liking.
96.	Off the beaten path	Away from usual routes.
97.	On the same page	In agreement; understanding alike.
98.	Once in a blue moon	Very rarely.
99.	Out of the frying pan	From bad situation to worse.
100.	Play devil’s advocate	Argue contrary position for discussion.