These English idioms are used quite regularly in all over the world. You may not hear them every day, but they will be very familiar to any native English speaker. You can be confident using any of them when the context is appropriate.
| Idiom | Meaning | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush | What you have is worth more than what you might have later | by itself |
| A penny for your thoughts | Tell me what you’re thinking | by itself |
| A penny saved is a penny earned | Money you save today you can spend later | by itself |
| A perfect storm | the worst possible situation | as part of a sentence |
| A picture is worth 1000 words | Better to show than tell | by itself |
| Actions speak louder than words | Believe what people do and not what they say | by itself |
| Add insult to injury | To make a bad situation worse | as part of a sentence |
| Barking up the wrong tree | To be mistaken, to be looking for solutions in the wrong place | as part of a sentence |
| Birds of a feather flock together | People who are alike are often friends (usually used negatively) | by itself |
| Bite off more than you can chew | Take on a project that you cannot finish | as part of a sentence |
| Break the ice | Make people feel more comfortable | as part of a sentence |
| By the skin of your teeth | Just barely | as part of a sentence |
| Comparing apples to oranges | Comparing two things that cannot be compared | as part of a sentence |
| Costs an arm and a leg | Very expensive | as part of a sentence |
| Do something at the drop of a hat | Do something without having planned beforehand | as part of a sentence |
| Do unto others as you would have them do unto you | Treat people fairly. Also known as “The Golden Rule” | by itself |
| Don’t count your chickens before they hatch | Don’t count on something good happening until it’s happened. | by itself |
| Don’t cry over spilt milk | There’s no reason to complain about something that can’t be fixed | by itself |
| Don’t give up your day job | You’re not very good at this | by itself |
| Don’t put all your eggs in one basket | What you’re doing is too risky | by itself |
| Every cloud has a silver lining | Good things come after bad things | by itself |
| Get a taste of your own medicine | Get treated the way you’ve been treating others (negative) | as part of a sentence |
| Give someone the cold shoulder | Ignore someone | as part of a sentence |
| Go on a wild goose chase | To do something pointless | as part of a sentence |
| Good things come to those who wait | Be patient | by itself |
| He has bigger fish to fry | He has bigger things to take care of than what we are talking about now | by itself |
| He’s a chip off the old block | The son is like the father | by itself |
| Hit the nail on the head | Get something exactly right | by itself |
| Ignorance is bliss | You’re better off not knowing | by itself |
| It ain’t over till the fat lady sings | This isn’t over yet | by itself |
| It takes one to know one | You’re just as bad as I am | by itself |
| It’s a piece of cake | It’s easy | by itself |
| It’s raining cats and dogs | It’s raining hard | by itself |
| Kill two birds with one stone | Get two things done with a single action | by itself |
| Let the cat out of the bag | Give away a secret | as part of a sentence |
| Live and learn | I made a mistake | by itself |
| Look before you leap | Take only calculated risks | by itself |
| On thin ice | On probation. If you make another mistake, there will be trouble. | as part of a sentence |
| Once in a blue moon | Rarely | as part of a sentence |
| Play devil’s advocate | To argue the opposite, just for the sake of argument | as part of a sentence |
| Put something on ice | Put a projet on hold | as part of a sentence |
| Rain on someone’s parade | To spoil something | as part of a sentence |
| Saving for a rainy day | Saving money for later | as part of a sentence |
| Slow and steady wins the race | Reliability is more important than speed | by itself |
| Spill the beans | Give away a secret | as part of a sentence |
| Take a rain check | Postpone a plan | as part of a sentence |
| Take it with a grain of salt | Don’t take it too seriously | as part of a sentence |
| The ball is in your court | It’s your decision | by itself |
| The best thing since sliced bread | A really good invention | as part of a sentence |
| The devil is in the details | It looks good from a distance, but when you look closer, there are problems | by itself |
| The early bird gets the worm | The first people who arrive will get the best stuff | by itself |
| The elephant in the room | The big issue, the problem people are avoiding | as part of a sentence |
| The whole nine yards | Everything, all the way. | as part of a sentence |
| There are other fish in the sea | It’s ok to miss this opportunity. Others will arise. | by itself |
| There’s a method to his madness | He seems crazy but actually he’s clever | by itself |
| There’s no such thing as a free lunch | Nothing is entirely free | by itself |
| Throw caution to the wind | Take a risk | as part of a sentence |
| You can’t have your cake and eat it too | You can’t have everything | by itself |
| You can’t judge a book by its cover | This person or thing may look bad, but it’s good inside | by itself |
Lovely! As an English Language Educator myself, I do love to use them whenever I can.
Great Information….
Love it.
Thanks.
Great! Thank you.
I am glad you found it useful.