Common English Language Idioms (With Examples)

- A blessing in disguise – a situation which at first seems bad, but which turns out to be a good thing.
 “That red light was a blessing in disguise! If I hadn’t stopped when I did, I would have been hit by another car.”

- A dime a dozen – used when referring to something that is very common.
 “The watch I have is really a dime in a dozen. I really want one that is unique!”

- Beat around the bush – to avoid talking about the main topic (usually one which is uncomfortable).
 “Stop beating around the bush and just go tell her you like her.”

- Bite the bullet – to face a problem or situation immediately rather than avoiding it.
 “I want to ask for two weeks off from work but I am afraid to ask my boss. I guess I should just bite the bullet and ask her.”

- Break a leg – said as a replacement for telling someone good luck.
 “You’ll do great at your performance. Break a leg!”

- Call it a day – to stop working for the day.
 “I’ve made a lot of progress and I’m tired. I’m going to call it a day.” 
 
- Can't make heads or tails of something – to not be able to understand something.
“I’ve read the example in the textbook three times and I still can’t make heads or tails of it.” 

- Couch potato – a lazy person. 
“You should stop being such a couch potato and go outside sometime.”

- Cut somebody some slack – to allow someone to do something without judgment or hindrance.
 “Cut him some slack! He worked all week and needs some time to relax.”

- Cutting corners – to only do a job partially or to skip steps in the process. 
“If you want to make good grades, you need to do the work thoroughly and not cut corners.” 

- Don't count your chickens until (before) they hatch (they've hatched) – to consider a payment or positive outcome as being yours before in possession.
“Don’t buy something that expensive just because you think you’ll be paid next month. You shouldn’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched!” 

- Drag one's feet – to delay doing something unpleasant. 
“You should really go to the dentist for that toothache as soon as possible. Don’t drag your feet!” 

- Egghead – someone who is very intelligent.
“He makes straight As in all of his classes without even studying! What an egghead.” 

- Elbow grease – hard work or a high degree of effort (usually manual labor).
 “Most household fixes don’t need special tools; just a screwdriver and a little elbow grease will do it.”

- Easy does it – a caution to be gentle or careful while performing a task.
 “Set it down slowly. I don’t want the piano damaged from moving it. Easy does it.”

- Feeling blue – to be sad.
 “Why are you sitting in the corner?”
 “I’m just feeling a little blue today.”

- Fit as a fiddle – to be healthy.
 “I was sick for a couple of weeks, but now I’m as fit as a fiddle!”

- Get something out of your system – to do something so that you will not want or have to do it later.
 “I really was feeling sad, so I cried for a while to get it out of my system.”

- Get your act together – to recognize that the previous action was not good enough and try to do better.
 “I’ve been skipping my reading every night and starting a bad habit. I need to get my act together starting today!”

- Give someone the benefit of the doubt – to trust someone without having a reason to do so.
 “He wanted to borrow my truck, but I’ve never seen him drive. Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt and let him have it anyway.”

- Go back to the drawing board – to have a failed first attempt and try to start over.
 “Well, we tried and did not succeed. Time to go back to the drawing board.”

- Hang in there – to persevere in a difficult or painful situation.
 “Your job has been really hard lately, but you’ve done well to hang in there!”

- Hit the sack – to go to bed (usually early).
 “I worked so hard today and am exhausted. I think I’ll go ahead and hit the sack.”

- In over one’s head – to be in a situation that is too difficult to handle. 
“I’m in a calculus class and don’t understand anything. I think I’m in over my head.” 

- It takes two to tango – to state that it is more than one person’s responsibility or fault (usually said in a negative way).
 “She and I always fight about our relationship, but it’s not all her fault. It takes two to tango.”

- It's not rocket science – said about a relatively easy or simple task.
 “You just have to water the flowers occasionally. It’s not rocket science.”

- Jump the gun – to rush or do something too early.
 “I just couldn’t wait! I jumped the gun and asked her to marry me last night.”

- Jump to a conclusion – to make a judgment without hearing all of the evidence.
 “She thinks I’m rich because she saw me wearing a suit and driving a nice rental car. If she saw what I normally drive, she wouldn’t have jumped to that conclusion.”

- Just kidding – something said to indicate that the previous statement was not true and was meant as a joke.
 “She told me that she broke my phone, but then pulled it out and said ‘just kidding!’”

- Kill two birds with one stone – to take care of two or more problems with one solution.
 “We need to get a new phone and clothes, so let’s just go to the mall later and kill two birds with one stone.”

- Let someone off the hook – to no longer hold someone to doing something they had agreed to.
 “My flight got cancelled, so you are off the hook for taking me to the airport.”

- Make a long story short – to shorten or skip telling a story to reach the main point.
 “To make a long story short, we had a really good time in our trip to London.”

- No pain, no gain – said to indicate that doing something can be hard or even painful, but that it indicates progress.
 “Running is so hard, but I have to do it. No pain, no gain.”

- On the ball – to be ready or aware of what is happening.
“He always has the reading done ahead of the time. He’s really on the ball.”

- Pull someone's leg – used to indicate joking.
“I was pulling Susan’s leg when I said I won the lottery.”

- Pull yourself together – said to someone who is visibly emotional in an embarrassing way.
“You look like an emotional wreck! Pull yourself together.”

- Quick study – used to describe someone who learns quickly.
“Everything comes so easily to Jim. He is such a quick study.”

- Rain or shine – used to indicate that an event will happen no matter what happens. This does not necessarily apply to weather.
“We are going to watch that new movie on Friday, rain or shine!”

- Rub the wrong way – used to indicate that an action or person is irritating.
“He never seems like he is telling the truth and it really rubs me the wrong way.”

- So far, so good – the work done up until this point has been done well.
“I’m halfway done with building my house and so far, so good.”

- Speak of the devil – said when talking about a person and they show up. Can be positive or negative.
“Jim is such a nice guy!” (Jim then walks in) “Speak of the devil.”

- That's the last straw – used to indicate that one too many bad things have happened.
“My boyfriend spilled coffee on me and constantly says mean things. The last straw, though, was when he broke my phone! I’m going to break up with him.”

- The best of both worlds – to have the benefits of two situations that usually don’t co-exist.
“She lives far enough away from the city that she can see the stars, but close enough to have a short commute. She really has the best of both worlds.”

- Time flies when you're having fun – said when time seems to be going faster than normal while enjoying oneself.
“Our day at the theme park went by too quickly! Time flies when you’re having fun.”

- To make matters worse – usually used last in a list of bad experiences.
“I had a bad day. I stepped on a nail, ran out of gas, and to make matters worse, I still have to work tonight.”

- Under the weather – used to say that someone is sick.
“I can’t come to the party tonight; I’m under the weather. “

- Vice versa – used to indicate a reversal of two things in the previous statement.
“You earn money and then you can spend it, not vice versa.”

- We'll cross that bridge when we come to it – putting off an issue for later.
“We somehow got the car to start this time, but we will have to fix it at some point. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.”

- Wrap your head around something – to try to understand.
“Hey Jim, can you come and look at this?”
“Not right now, I’m trying to wrap my head around something.”

- You can say that again – a statement used to indicate agreement to someone else’s statement.
“I can’t wait for payday.”
 “You can say that again!”

- Your guess is as good as mine – used to indicate a lack of knowledge.
“Hey, do you know which way it is to Peter’s house?”
“Your guess is as good as mine!”

- Zip your lip – said to tell someone to be quiet.
“Hey! Zip your lip, the professor is talking.”