The Most Common English Idioms

Although English idioms don’t make sense at first, these unique expressions (together with proverbs) add substance and humor to our conversations. The Oxford Dictionary defines the word “idiom” as a: “group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g. over the moon, see the light).”

This means that English idioms should not be taken literally, because their meaning is metaphorical. You don’t really wish someone would “break a leg,” do you? And it’s not actually “raining cats and dogs,” is it?

English idioms aren’t easy to understand at first, especially if you’re speaking English as a second language. But learning their meanings is crucial if you want to sound more like a native. So let’s get started with our complete list of English expressions and proverbs!

Check out the infographic below to preview some of the most common idioms that made it on our list.

English Idioms About People

To be on cloud nine – To be extremely happy
One-trick pony – A person with only one talent or area of expertise
Wouldn’t hurt a fly – A person that is inoffensive and harmless
Like a fish out of the water – Very uncomfortable
Fit as a fiddle – Very healthy and strong
To have your head in the clouds – To be daydreaming and/or lacking concentration
To be under the weather – To feel sick
To be as right as rain – To feel healthy or well again

English Idioms About Relationships

Like two peas in a pod – Two people who are always together
To give someone the cold shoulder – To intentionally ignore someone
To cut somebody some slack – To stop being so critical of them
To give someone the benefit of the doubt – To justify or excuse someone’s actions, and not assume malice
To let someone off the hook – To not hold someone responsible for something he/she has done wrong
To rain on someone’s parade – To ruin one’s plans or temper one’s excitement

English Idioms About Communication

To break the ice – To get the conversation going
To let the cat out of the bag – To reveal a secret
To spill the beans – To reveal a secret
To beat around the bush – To avoid talking about what is important
To pull someone’s leg – To say something that is not true as a way of joking
To get wind of something – To hear a rumor about something
To wrap your head around something – To understand something complicated
A penny for your thoughts – Tell me what you are thinking
To play the devil’s advocate – To argue against an idea for the sake of debate
To see which way the wind is blowing – To try to discover information about a situation before taking action
To hear something straight from the horse’s mouth – To hear from someone who personally observed a certain event
The elephant in the room – An obvious problem that people do not want to talk about
Comparing apples to oranges – Comparing two things that cannot be compared

English Idioms About Scenarios

A blessing in disguise – A good thing that seemed bad at first
The best of both worlds – Benefiting from two different opportunities at once
A perfect storm – The worst possible situation
To be on thin ice – To be in a risky situation
A snowball effect – A situation that becomes more serious and potentially dangerous over time
When it rains it pours – Everything is going wrong at once
To get out of hand – To loose control in a situation
To get a taste of your own medicine – To be treated the way you’ve treated others
To throw caution to the wind – To do something without worrying about the risk
To bite the bullet – To force yourself to do something unpleasant or difficult
Barking up the wrong tree – To pursue the wrong course of action
To go down in flames – To fail miserably at something

English Idioms About Time

Hold your horses – Wait a moment; slow down
To do something at the drop of a hat – To do something at once, without any delay
Once in a blue moon – Rarely
To take a rain check – To postpone a plan
To have bigger fish to fry – To have more important things to do with your time
To miss the boat – To miss an opportunity
Call it a day – It’s time to stop working on something

Miscellaneous Idioms in English

It’s raining cats and dogs – It’s raining very hard
A dime a dozen – Something is very common, or of no particular value
By the skin of one’s teeth – Narrowly or barely escaping a disaster
Come rain or shine – No matter the circumstances, something will get done
It costs an arm and a leg – It’s very expensive
It went to the dogs – Something is no longer as good as it was in the past
To run like the wind – To run very fast
Go on a wild goose chase – Go on a futile search or pursuit
A cloud on the horizon – Something that threatens to cause problems in the future

Via: https://takelessons.com/blog/english-idioms