An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below).[1] [2] By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.[3] For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context.
To evoke the desired effect in the listener, idioms require a precise replication of the phrase: not even articles can be used interchangeably (e.g. "kick a bucket" only retains the literal meaning of the phrase but not the idiomatic meaning).
Idioms should not be confused with other figures of speech such as metaphors, which evoke an image by use of implicit comparisons (e.g., "the man of steel"); similes, which evoke an image by use of explicit comparisons (e.g., "faster than a speeding bullet"); or hyperbole, which exaggerates an image beyond truthfulness (e.g., "more powerful than a locomotive"). Idioms are also not to be confused with proverbs, which are simple sayings that express a truth based on common sense or practical experience.
| Idiom | Definition/Translation | Notes | Source(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A situation or information that is unpleasant but must be accepted | [4] | |||
| (US) Anything that is common, inexpensive, and easy to get or available anywhere | [5] | |||
| A controversial issue or situation that is awkward or unpleasant to deal with | [6] | |||
| a sandwich short of a picnic | Lacking intelligence | |||
| A hidden or secret strength; an unrevealed advantage | [7] | |||
| Achilles' heel | A small but fatal weakness in spite of overall strength | [8] | ||
| Listening intently; fully focused or awaiting an explanation | [9] | |||
| Clumsy, awkward | [10] | |||
| an arm and a leg | Very expensive or costly; a large amount of money | [11] | ||
| Anything causing trouble, discord, or jealousy | [12] | |||
| When something is done all day and all night without stopping | [13] | |||
| as queer as a [strange object] (UK) | Something particularly strange or unusual | [14] [15] | ||
| Without any hesitation; instantly | ||||
| back to the drawing board | Revising something (such as a plan) from the beginning, typically after it has failed | [16] | ||
| To return to a hard and/or tedious task | [17] | |||
| ball is in his/her/your court | It is up to him/her/you to make the next decision or step. | |||
| Full throttle; at maximum speed | ||||
| Looking in the wrong place | [18] | |||
| One made powerless or ineffective, as by nerves, panic, or stress | ||||
| To uselessly dwell on a subject far beyond its point of resolution | ||||
| To treat a topic but omit its main points, often intentionally or to delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant | ||||
| A situation or activity that is comfortable or easy | ||||
| Something or someone outstandingly good, excellent, or wonderful | ||||
| A combination of two seemingly contradictory benefits | ||||
| A person who is not too smart; a person who acts stupid | [19] | |||
| To take on more responsibility than one can manage | ||||
| To endure a painful or unpleasant situation that is unavoidable | ||||
| A euphemism for dying or death | ||||
| bought the farm | A euphemism for dying or death, especially in an aviation context | |||
| A wish of good luck to theatre performers before going on stage, due to the belief amongst those in theatre that being wished "good luck" is a curse | [20] | |||
| To work late into the night | [21] | |||
| To exert oneself | [22] | |||
| To achieve through instinct or to do something without advance preparation | [23] | |||
| Narrowly; barely. Usually used in regard to a narrow escape from a disaster. | [24] | |||
| To speak the truth, even to the point of being blunt and rude | ||||
| To declare the end of a task | [25] | |||
| To show impatience or frustration when delayed | [26] | |||
| cheap as chips | Inexpensive; a good bargain | |||
| To meditate or ponder before answering; to be deep in thought; to ruminate | ||||
| To chat idly or generally waste time talking | ||||
| An area of vulnerability | [27] | |||
| To become silent; to stop talking | ||||
| clutch one's pearls | To be disproportionately shocked or affronted by something one perceives to be vulgar, in bad taste, or morally wrong | |||
| Not going through with an action, particularly one which requires long term commitment, due to fear, uncertainty and doubt | ||||
| To display aloofness and disdain | [28] | |||
| A lazy person | [29] | |||
| cool your jets | Calm down. | [30] | ||
| Fake tears or drama tears; fake crying. | ||||
| cut off your nose to spite your face | To pursue revenge in a way that would damage oneself more than the object of one's anger | |||
| cut the cheese (US) | ||||
| To perform well; to meet expectations | ||||
| Messing about, not making any progress | ||||
| On genuine objection to some process or action or motion, actually to stop or oppose it strongly | ||||
| Don't make plans for something that may not happen; alternatively, don't make an assumption about something that does not have a definitively predetermined outcome. | ||||
| Don't become upset over something that has already happened and you cannot change | ||||
| Don't overreact | [31] | |||
| drop a dime (US) | To make a telephone call; to be an informant; (basketball) an assist | |||
| An obvious, pressing issue left unaddressed due to its sensitive nature | ||||
| eleventh hour | At the last minute; the latest possible time before it is too late | [32] | ||
| fall off the turnip truck | To be naïve, inexperienced, or unsophisticated. Sometimes used in a rural sense. | [33] | ||
| refers to a person who is in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable surroundings | ||||
| In good physical health | [34] | |||
| Almost free; very cheap | ||||
| A minor drawback or imperfection, especially one that was not at first apparent, that detracts from something positive, spoils something valuable, or is a source of annoyance | [35] | |||
| To join an otherwise private interaction, unnoticed to watch and/or listen to something | [36] | |||
| Covering a complete range; comprehensively | ||||
| To make from original ingredients; to start from the beginning with no prior preparation | ||||
| To take offense; to get worked up, aggravated, or annoyed | ||||
| To move quickly or hurry | [37] | |||
| get one's ducks in a row | to become well prepared for a desired outcome | |||
| (UK) To become overwrought or unnecessarily upset over a trivial matter | ||||
| get your goat | To irritate someone | |||
| gone south | having an unforeseen or chaotic result | |||
| To tackle a problem in a bold manner, despite the difficulty or complexity of doing so; to solve a problem despite short-term adverse consequences. | [38] [39] | |||
| have a blast | To have a good time; to enjoy oneself. | [40] | ||
| have all your Christmases come at once | To have extreme good fortune. | |||
| To have asked for or taken more of something (especially food) than one is actually capable of handling (or eating) | ||||
| To be able to perceive things and events that are outside of one's field of vision | ||||
| Be smitten, infatuated | ||||
| To have learned something through gossip, hearsay, or a rumor | ||||
| hit the ceiling/roof | To become enraged, possibly in an overreaction | |||
| 1. To describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem; 2. To do or say exactly the right thing or to find the exact answer; 3. To do something in the most effective and efficient way; 4. To be accurate or correct about something. | ||||
| To leave; start a journey | [41] | |||
| hit the sack/sheets/hay | To go to bed; to go to sleep. | [42] | ||
| To be particularly pleasing or appropriate; to be just right. | ||||
| hold all the cards | To control a situation; to be the one making the decisions. | |||
| Wait. Slow down. | ||||
| To be completely fooled by a deception | [43] | |||
| Overwhelmed or exasperated, usually by excessive responsibilities | ||||
| This challenging circumstance is simply a fact, to be accepted or dealt with. | [44] [45] | |||
| To leave a job, organization, or activity suddenly | [46] | |||
| jump the gun | To start something before it is prudent or permitted; to act too hastily. | |||
| A creative work, an idea or entity reaching a point in which it has exhausted its core intent and is introducing new ideas that are discordant with its original purpose | [47] | |||
| A euphemism for dying or death | [48] | |||
| kick the habit | To stop engaging in a habitual practice | |||
| To accomplish two different tasks at the same time and/or with a single action | ||||
| A large sum of money | [49] | |||
| To reveal a secret | ||||
| like pulling teeth | Having difficulty in getting a person or item to act in a desired fashion; reference to a difficult task. | |||
| like turkeys voting for Christmas | used as a metaphor for a parody in which a choice made is clearly against one's self-interest, facing adverse consequences of their those policies and still adhere to them. | |||
| lit up like a Christmas tree | Clothes that are too bright or colourful for the occasion. | |||
| To find fault with something that has been received as a gift or favor | ||||
| A person who is uncontrollable and unpredictable but likely to cause damage to the group of which they are a member | [50] | |||
| Despite one's seemingly random approach, there is actually orderly structure or logic to it. | ||||
| (Canada and US) One's opinion on the subject | [51] | |||
| never put an apple in your rabbit | Don't do something you know you shouldn't be doing | [52] | ||
| To stop something at an early stage, before it can develop into something of more significance (especially an obstacle or frustration) | ||||
| No vested interest in the outcome of a particular conflict, contest or debate | ||||
| off one's trolley or off one's rocker | Crazy, demented, out of one's mind, in a confused or befuddled state of mind, senile | [53] | ||
| To escape a situation of responsibility or obligation, or, less frequently, danger | [54] | |||
| Occurring very rarely | ||||
| To do something accidentally negative against yourself or your own team | ||||
| The attribute of being an integral or essential component of another object | ||||
| (UK) A euphemism for dying or death | ||||
| Used when someone making an accusation is equally as guilty as those being accused | [55] | |||
| A job, task or other activity that is pleasant – or, by extension, easy or simple | ||||
| not one’s cup of tea | Not the type of thing the person likes. | |||
| To present a side of a discussion or argument to someone who already agrees with it; essentially, wasting your time. | [56] | |||
| pull oneself together | to recover control of one's emotions. | |||
| To tease or joke by telling a lie | ||||
| To approach, extend, or go beyond the limits of what is possible; to pioneer. | ||||
| A euphemism for dying or death | ||||
| put a spoke in one's wheel | To disrupt, foil, or cause problems to one's plan, activity, or project. | [57] | ||
| put on airs | An English language idiom and a colloquial phrase meant to describe a person who acts superior, or one who behaves as if they are more important than others. | [58] | ||
| To create a disturbance and cause trouble | [59] | |||
| Raining very hard or strongly | [60] | |||
| right as rain | Needed, appropriate, essential, or hoped-for; also has come to mean perfect, well, or absolutely right. | [61] | ||
| rock the boat | To do or say something that will upset people or cause problems | |||
| To chat idly or casually, without any serious topic of conversation | [62] | |||
| Frivolously performing a simple task | ||||
| To screw up; to fail in dramatic and ignominious fashion. | ||||
| To be murdered and thrown into a body of water | ||||
| speak of the devil (and he shall appear) | Used when an object of discussion unexpectedly becomes present during the conversation | |||
| To reveal someone's secret | ||||
| spin one's wheels | To expel much effort for little or no gain | |||
| stay in one's lane | To avoid interfering with, passing judgement on, or giving unsolicited advice about issues beyond one's purview or expertise; to mind one's own business. | [63] | ||
| To deliver beyond expectations | ||||
| Something that is clearly out of place | [64] | |||
| The last in a line of unacceptable occurrences; the final tipping point in a sensitive situation. | ||||
| To develop a liking or fondness for someone or something | [65] | |||
| (UK) To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious | ||||
| To deal bravely and decisively with a difficult, dangerous, or unpleasant situation; to deal with a matter in a direct manner, especially to confront a difficulty rather than avoid it. | ||||
| (US) To be especially good or outstanding. Alternatively (US) To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious. | ||||
| (UK) To tease, ridicule, or mock someone | ||||
| To not take what someone says too seriously; to treat someone's words with a degree of skepticism. | ||||
| through all obstacles in a path; in good times and bad times | ||||
| One who is vulnerable to criticism regarding a certain issue should not criticize others about the same issue. | ||||
| To discard, especially inadvertently, something valuable while in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted | ||||
| To betray or sacrifice someone for selfish reasons | ||||
| Unrecognizable dangeror hidden enemy | ||||
| To express scorn or disregard | ||||
| To get drunk | ||||
| To move from one place to another; going back and forth; here and there. | [66] [67] | |||
| To preempt someone and rob them of gravitas or attention. To take credit for something someone else did. | ||||
| To dance | [68] | |||
| Cheap or common | ||||
| under my thumb | Under my control | |||
| Feeling sick or poorly | [69] | |||
| Everything; all the way | ||||
| watching paint dry | To describe something tedious or boring | |||
| water under the bridge | Something that already happened in the past and should not be the primary focus of attention because it cannot be changed | [70] | ||
| A frustrating or lengthy undertaking that accomplishes little | ||||
| To leave a job, organization, or activity suddenly | ||||
| An activity, situation, decision or event that happens in a disorganized manner; or it is done haphazardly, chaotically and randomly, without any sort of planning or direction. | [71] [72] | |||
| wolf something down | devour (food) greedily. | |||
| That is very true; an expression of wholehearted agreement. |