Idioms and Phrases

Section A
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
A big cheese	An important or powerful person.
A bird’s eye view	An overview, or a view from a high vantage point.
A blessing in disguise	A misfortune that eventually yields good results.
A damp squib	A complete failure or disappointing result.
A dime a dozen	Very common and easy to get.
A hard nut to crack	A difficult problem to solve.
A house of cards	An insecure scheme or poor plan.
A live wire	A lively and active person.
A man of letters	A scholar or literary person.
A piece of cake	Something very easy.
A red-letter day	An important day.
A storm in a teacup	A great fuss over a small matter.
A wild-goose chase	A pointless or useless search.
ABC of something	The essential facts.
Add fuel to the fire	To make a bad situation worse.
All at sea	Puzzled, lost, or confused.
All ears	Listening carefully.
An arm and a leg	A large sum of money; very expensive.
An axe to grind	A private interest to serve, or a grievance.
Apple of one’s eye	Someone loved very much, or a favourite person.
At one’s wit’s end	Perplexed, confused, or unsure what to do next.
At sixes and sevens	In a state of confusion or disorder.
At the drop of a hat	Without hesitation or delay.

Section B
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Back to square one	Starting over after a failure.
Bad blood	Feelings of anger or hatred between families or parties.
Bandy words	To argue or wrangle.
Barking up the wrong tree	Following a wrong course of action.
Beat around the bush (or beat about the bush)	Avoiding the main topic or issue.
Bee in one’s bonnet	Being fussy or obsessed about something.
Bite off more than you can chew	Taking on a task too big to handle.
Bite the bullet	Facing a difficult situation bravely.
Bite your tongue	Refraining from speaking.
Black sheep	A disgraceful or troublesome family member.
Blow one’s own trumpet (or blow one’s own horn)	Praising one’s own abilities or achievements.
Break a leg	Good luck.
Break the ice	Making people comfortable; starting a conversation.
Burn the midnight oil	Studying or working late into the night.
Bury the hatchet	Making peace.
By fits and starts	Irregularly.
By hook or by crook	By any means possible.

Section C
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Call a spade a spade	Speaking straight or talking frankly.
Call it a day	Stopping work on something.
Carrot and stick	A policy of reward and punishment.
Caught red-handed	Caught in the act of doing something wrong.
Cock and bull story	An absurd and unlikely story.
Cold comfort	Slight or minor satisfaction.
Cost an arm and a leg	Extremely expensive.
Couch potato	A lazy person who spends time watching television.
Cry over spilt milk	Complaining about or regretting a past loss.
Cut corners	Doing something quickly or cheaply to save money.
Cut to the chase	Getting straight to the main point.

Section D
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Dancing on someone’s grave	Celebrating someone’s demise or defeat.
Davey Jones’ locker	The bottom of the sea.
Days are numbered	Expected to die or leave a position soon.
Dead duck	A plan or event that has failed or is certain to fail.
Decked up	Dressed up in special clothes to look attractive.
Devil’s advocate	Opposing an argument for the sake of argument.
Dog days of summer	The hottest days of the summer season.
Dog eat dog	Ruthlessly competitive.
Dog in the manger	A selfish person who prevents others from enjoying what is useless to themselves.
Donkey’s year	A very long time.
Down the tubes	Failing completely.
Drive a wedge between	Breaking a relationship between two people.
Drop in the bucket (or drop in the ocean)	A very tiny or insignificant amount compared to what is needed.

Section E
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Early bird	Someone who gets up or arrives early.
Eat humble pie	To apologise humbly or yield under humiliation.
Eat like a horse	To eat a large quantity of food.
Egg on	To urge or encourage someone.
Elephant in the room	An obvious problem that everyone avoids talking about.
Eleventh hour	At the last possible moment.
End in smoke	Yielding no practical results.
Enough rope	Sufficient freedom of action.
Ever and anon	Occasionally; now and then.
Every cloud has a silver lining	Hope or optimism in every difficult situation.
Every dog has his day	Good fortune comes sooner or later.

Section F
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Face the music	Accept punishment or bear the consequences.
Fair-weather friend	A friend who supports you only when times are easy or convenient.
Fall on your sword	Resigning or accepting responsibility for a mistake.
Feather in one’s cap	An additional distinction or achievement.
Feather one’s nest	Making oneself richer through improper means.
Feel blue	Feeling depressed or in trouble.
Fall foul of	Getting into trouble with someone.
Field day	An enjoyable day or opportunity.
Fight tooth and nail	Fighting in a determined and fierce manner.
Fit as a fiddle	Very healthy and fit.
Fly off the handle	Losing one’s temper suddenly.
For good	Permanently.
French leave	Leaving without permission.

Section G
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Get cold feet	Becoming nervous or fearful.
Get the sack	Being dismissed from a job.
Gift of the gab	Talent for speaking fluently and persuasively.
Give a wide berth to	Avoiding or staying away from someone or something.
Go the extra mile	Making extra effort beyond what is required.
Go to the dogs	To be ruined.
Good Samaritan	A helpful, charitable person.
Green with envy (or green-eyed monster)	Extremely jealous (or jealousy).

Section H
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Hang in there	Staying strong during difficult times.
Hard of hearing	Deaf or having impaired hearing.
Head over heels	Deeply in love.
Hit the nail on the head	Being exactly correct.
Hobson’s choice	Having no real choice at all.
Hold your horses	Being patient or waiting.

Section I
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Ill at ease	Uncomfortable or anxious.
In a nutshell	Concisely and briefly.
In a pickle	In an embarrassing or awkward situation.
In apple pie order	In perfect order.
In black and white	In written form.
In dire straits	In a desperate or critical situation.
In the nick of time	Just in time.
Iron fist (or iron hand)	Strict and severe control.

Section K
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Kick the bucket	To die.
Know the ropes	Understanding the details and procedures.

Section L
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Latin and Greek	Incomprehensible; unable to understand.
Leaps and bounds	At a rapid pace.
Leave no stone unturned	Trying every possible way.
Let sleeping dogs lie	Leaving an old issue undisturbed.
Let the cat out of the bag	Revealing a secret carelessly.
Like clockwork	Occurring regularly without fail.
Look down upon	To regard someone as inferior; to despise.

Section M
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Make a beeline	Rushing straight towards something.
Midas touch	Ability to turn any venture into profit.
Miss the boat (or miss the bus)	Missing an opportunity.
Move heaven and earth	Trying one’s absolute best.

Section N
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Nip in the bud	Stopping something at its beginning.
Null and void	Invalid.

Section O
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Once in a blue moon	Very rarely.
Open book	Someone or something with no secrets.
Out of the blue	Completely unexpectedly.
Out of sorts	Ill, sick, or upset.

Section P
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Play fast and loose	Acting in an unreliable or irresponsible manner.
Pull a fast one	Playing a trick or deceiving someone.
Put your foot down	Asserting authority or refusing to yield.

Section Q
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Queer fish	A strange or peculiar person.

Section R
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Rags to riches	Rising from poverty to great wealth.
Raining cats and dogs	Pouring heavily.
Read between the lines	Understanding hidden meanings.

Section S
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Selling like hot cakes	Selling very quickly and in large quantities.
Set the record straight	Giving an accurate account of facts.
Sit tight	Waiting patiently.
Spill the beans	Revealing a secret.
Sweeping statement	A thoughtless or overgeneralised statement.

Section T
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Through thick and thin	In spite of all obstacles and difficulties.
Turn over a new leaf	Beginning afresh or changing behaviour for the better.

Section U
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Under a cloud	Under suspicion.

Section V
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Vexed question	A controversial or much-debated issue.

Section W
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Weal and woe	Good times and bad times; ups and downs.
Wet behind the ears	Young and inexperienced.

Section Z
Idiom or Phrase	Meaning
Zero hour	The precise time when an important event or operation begins.
Zero tolerance	A policy that allows no exceptions, even for trivial offences.