Essential english idioms (part 1 – A to G)
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A complete list of the most common English idioms and expressions:
| ENGLISH IDIOMS (A to G) | MEANINGS |
| A bird’s eye view | An unobstructed view from above |
| A drop in the ocean | Something very unimportant, insignificant. |
| A hot potato | Talk about an issue (from the News) that many people talk about and that is usually contested. |
| A penny for your thoughts | Tell me what you’re thinking. |
| A perfect storm | the worst possible situation |
| A picture is worth 1000 words | Better to show than tell |
| A piece of cake | Something very easy to do |
| A snowball effect | A snowball effect |
| A storm in a teacup | A big commotion about a small problem |
| A taste of your own medicine | Ill-treatment rightly received for abusing others. |
| Actions speak louder than words | Actions speak louder than words |
| Add fuel to the fire | Put some oil on the fire |
| Add insult to injury | To aggravate an unfavourable situation |
| I’m all ears | Listen with great attention. |
| An apple a day keeps the doctor away | Apples are good for you! |
| An early bird | Person who is used to getting up early. |
| As right as rain | Perfect |
| At the bottom of the ladder | At the bottom of the scale, at the lowest level |
| At the drop of a hat | As soon as possible…, without hesitation |
| back in the day | at that time |
| Ball is in your court | It is now up to you to talk, to act, to prove yourself… |
| Barking up the wrong tree | Accusing the wrong person |
| Be a good catch | Be someone worth being married or having |
| Be at each other’s throat | two people arguing in anger |
| Beat around the bush | To treat a topic, but omit its main points, often intentionally. |
| Best of both worlds | have all the advantages |
| Better late than never | It is better to do an action late than not to do it. |
| Bite off more than you can chew | Taking on a task that is too big |
| Bite the bullet | Get something over with because it’s inevitable. |
| Bite your tongue | Stop saying something because it would be better not to say it. |
| Blessing in disguise | Something good that is not recognized as such at first. |
| Blow somebody away | Impressing someone |
| Blow someone’s mind | Impressing someone |
| Bored to death | I’m so bored I could die |
| Bread and butter | The basic things you need to survive, such as food and shelter. Also used to describe the job or activity that provides you with the money you need to live. – ‘Fishing is my bread and butter.’ |
| Break a leg | Good luck! |
| Break the ice | Untie a tense atmosphere by initiating a group discussion or animation. |
| Broke | Means that you have no more money |
| Burn bridges | Destroy relationships |
| Butterflies in my stomach | Being nervous |
| By the skin of your teeth | Barely, just barely |
| Call it a day | That’s it for today. (at work) |
| Calm before the storm | a lull, a respite before something bad |
| Can’t judge a book by its cover | This proverb means that you cannot know a man by his appearance. |
| Cat got your tongue? | to be silent, to be speechless |
| Caught between two stools | Caught between two alternatives |
| Comparing apples to oranges | Compare two things that cannot be compared |
| Costs an arm and a leg | The cost is very expensive, even too expensive. |
| Couch potato | refers to a person who spends a lot of time sitting on his couch |
| I couldn’t care less | I don’t give a damn about that. |
| To cry wolf | By giving false alarms, the real alarm is no longer heard. |
| Curiosity killed the cat | Put yourself in an unpleasant situation by being curious |
| Cut corners | When something is done wrong to save money. |
| Cut someone some slack | Don’t judge someone severely |
| Cut to the chase | Get to the point |
| Devil’s Advocate | to defend an opinion that the majority thinks is wrong. |
| Dig in your heels / Stick to your guns | Refuse to compromise or change your mind |
| Do something at the drop of a hat | Do something without planning ahead |
| Don’t beat a dead horse | Stop talking about a subject that is already finished. |
| Don’t count your chickens before they hatch | Don’t count on anything good until it happens. |
| Don’t cry over spilt milk | Complaining about a loss of the past |
| Don’t give up the day job | You’re not very good at anything. You certainly couldn’t do it professionally. |
| Don’t put all your eggs in one basket | you have to be careful and not risk everything on a unique opportunity or project. |
| Don’t sweat it | Don’t worry about it. |
| Don’t be so quick to judgment. | Don’t judge so quickly. |
| Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. | Behave yourself, don’t do anything stupid |
| Don’t play dumb with me. | to pretend to not know or not understand something |
| Don’t push me. | Don’t make me angry. |
| Down to Earth | Realistic |
| Down to the wire | To denote a situation whose outcome is not decided until the very last minute. |
| Drastic times call for drastic measures | When you are extremely desperate, you must take drastic measures. |
| Draw the line | Setting limits |
| Drive someone up the wall | irritate or annoy a lot |
| Easier said than done | Used to describe a relatively difficult action. |
| Elephant in the room | a problem that everyone knows very well but that no one talks about because it is taboo, embarrassing, etc. |
| Every cloud has a silver lining | Sometimes misfortune gives us advantages that we would not have had without it. |
| Everybody Was Freaking Out. | feel extremely surprised, upset, angry, or confused. |
| Fair Enough | All right, certainly, okay. |
| Far cry from (something) | Being far from (e. g. reality) |
| Feel blue | Be depressed or sad |
| Finding a needle in a haystack | Looking for something that we’re very unlikely to find |
| Fish out of water | be out of place |
| Fit as a fiddle | to be very healthy and strong |
| Fortune favours the bold | You have to take risks to succeed. |
| Get back to me. | Come back and see me again. |
| Get on one’s nerves | annoy, exasperate |
| Get out of hand | get out of control |
| Get Out of Here | Go away! |
| Get out of your comfort zone. | doing things that you don’t feel comfortable with doing. |
| Get over yourself. | Reprends-toi en main. |
| Get real. | Sois réaliste. |
| Get something off your chest | Parler de quelque chose qui vous tracasse depuis longtemps |
| Get to the Point | Speak frankly, get to the heart of the matter directly |
| Get wind of something | be informed of something |
| Get your act together | Get control of one’s thoughts and emotions and stop behaving in a foolish or uncontrolled way |
| Get your head around it | Make yourself comfortable. |
| Get your head in the game. | To focus on the task at hand. |
| Give it to me straight | Give it to me directly |
| Give me a break. | Stop bothering me. |
| Give me five | Means slapping palms above each other’s heads as a a greeting, celebration gesture |
| Give somebody a hard time | Cause difficulty, trouble, embarrassment to someone |
| Give someone a hand | Give a momentary help. |
| Give someone the benefit of the doubt | In the absence of clear evidence, refrain from considering someone guilty. |
| Give someone the cold shoulder | Receive a cold welcome |
| Go ahead | Go For It! Do it! |
| Go For It | Go ahead! Do it! |
| Go bananas | Going crazy, hysterical |
| Go down in flames | Sudden and dramatic failure |
| Go back to the drawing board | Start over |
| Go on a wild goose chase | A completely unsuccessful search and a waste of time because the person or thing sought does not exist or is elsewhere |
| Go the extra mile | Make an extra effort |
| Go with the flow | Be relaxed and accept a situation, rather than trying to alter or control it. |
| Good for Nothing | Lazy person |
| Good For You | Can be used in seriousness or sarcastically |
| Good Luck | Hope you will be lucky! |
| Good Point | you’re right |
| Good things come to those who wait | Good things happen to those who know how to wait, who know the value of patience, who know how to be patient |
| Good Thinking | Good point, you’re right |
| Good to know. | It’s a good thing to know |
| Goose bumps | When you are scared the hairs rise up |
| Got It | Understood! |
| Grab a bite | Eat something, a snack for example |
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