100 Idioms Every English Learner Should Know

No.	Term	Definition
1.	A blessing in disguise	A good thing that seemed bad.
2.	A dime a dozen	Very common and cheap.
3.	A piece of cake	Very easy to do.
4.	Add fuel to the fire	Make a bad situation worse.
5.	Back to square one	Return to the beginning.
6.	Bark up the wrong tree	Blame the wrong person.
7.	Beat around the bush	Avoid saying it directly.
8.	Bite off more than you can chew	Take on too much.
9.	Call it a day	Stop working for now.
10.	Catch someone red-handed	Catch someone in the act.
11.	Cost an arm and a leg	Be very expensive.
12.	Cut corners	Do something cheaply or badly.
13.	Devil is in the details	Small parts can cause problems.
14.	Don’t count your chickens	Don’t assume success too early.
15.	Drive someone up the wall	Annoy someone greatly.
16.	Drop the ball	Make a mistake; fail.
17.	Eager beaver	A very enthusiastic worker.
18.	Easy does it	Go carefully; don’t rush.
19.	Elephant in the room	Obvious issue everyone ignores.
20.	Every cloud has a silver lining	Good can come from bad.
21.	Face the music	Accept consequences of actions.
22.	Feel under the weather	Feel slightly ill.
23.	Fish out of water	Uncomfortable in a new place.
24.	Fit as a fiddle	Very healthy and strong.
25.	Get a taste of your own medicine	Be treated as you treated others.
26.	Get cold feet	Become too scared to act.
27.	Get the hang of it	Learn how to do it.
28.	Go the extra mile	Do more than expected.
29.	Hit the nail on the head	Say exactly the right thing.
30.	Hit the sack	Go to bed.
31.	Hold your horses	Wait; slow down.
32.	Hush-hush	Kept secret; not public.
33.	In a nutshell	In a few words.
34.	In hot water	In trouble.
35.	It takes two to tango	Both sides share responsibility.
36.	Ivory tower	Life away from real problems.
37.	Jump on the bandwagon	Join something popular.
38.	Jump the gun	Start too early.
39.	Jury is still out	No decision yet.
40.	Just the tip of the iceberg	Only a small visible part.
41.	Keep an eye on	Watch carefully.
42.	Keep your chin up	Stay positive and hopeful.
43.	Kick the bucket	Die.
44.	Kill two birds with one stone	Achieve two goals at once.
45.	Let the cat out of the bag	Reveal a secret accidentally.
46.	Like two peas in a pod	Very similar to each other.
47.	Long story short	Briefly; skipping details.
48.	Lose your touch	Stop being good at something.
49.	Make a long story short	Tell it briefly.
50.	Make ends meet	Have enough money to live.
51.	Miss the boat	Miss a chance or opportunity.
52.	Mum’s the word	Keep it secret.
53.	Nip it in the bud	Stop it before it grows.
54.	No pain, no gain	Effort is needed for success.
55.	Not my cup of tea	Not something I like.
56.	Not playing with a full deck	Not very smart or sane.
57.	On the ball	Alert and quick to act.
58.	Once in a blue moon	Very rarely.
59.	Out of the blue	Suddenly; unexpectedly.
60.	Over the moon	Extremely happy.
61.	Piece of the pie	A share of something.
62.	Pull someone’s leg	Joke; tease someone.
63.	Put all eggs in one basket	Risk everything on one plan.
64.	Put your foot in your mouth	Say something embarrassing.
65.	Quick on the draw	Fast to react.
66.	Quiet as a mouse	Very quiet.
67.	Quirks of fate	Strange, unexpected events.
68.	Quit cold turkey	Stop suddenly, without easing.
69.	Rain on someone’s parade	Spoil someone’s joy.
70.	Read between the lines	Find the hidden meaning.
71.	Right as rain	Healthy again; fine.
72.	Rome wasn’t built in a day	Big things take time.
73.	Speak of the devil	The person appears when mentioned.
74.	Spill the beans	Reveal a secret.
75.	Steal someone’s thunder	Take credit for another’s idea.
76.	Stick to your guns	Don’t change your position.
77.	Take it with a grain of salt	Don’t fully believe it.
78.	The ball is in your court	It’s your turn to act.
79.	The best of both worlds	Two good things together.
80.	Throw in the towel	Give up; stop trying.
81.	Under the weather	Feeling ill.
82.	Up in the air	Not decided yet.
83.	Upset the apple cart	Cause trouble; ruin plans.
84.	Use your noodle	Think carefully.
85.	Vanish into thin air	Disappear completely.
86.	Variety is the spice of life	Differences make life interesting.
87.	Vent your spleen	Express anger openly.
88.	Voice of reason	Someone giving sensible advice.
89.	Water under the bridge	Past events no longer important.
90.	Wear your heart on sleeve	Show feelings openly.
91.	When pigs fly	Never; impossible.
92.	Wild goose chase	Useless search for something.
93.	X marks the spot	The exact place to find something.
94.	X-ray vision	Ability to see through things.
95.	Xenial as can be	Extremely welcoming to guests.
96.	Xylophone in the attic	Odd, useless thing kept.
97.	Yank someone’s chain	Tease or trick someone.
98.	Year in, year out	Every year; repeatedly.
99.	Yellow-bellied	Cowardly; lacking courage.
100.	You can say that again	I strongly agree.