Essential Idioms

 

IDIOM	MEANING/SENTENCE
ish	About. I'll meet you at 4ish.
a basket case	A wreck. He was a basket case after he was thrown off the basketball team.
a breath of fresh air	Refreshing/fun. She's a breath of fresh air.
a change of heart	Change my mind. I've had a change of heart.
a blessing in disguise	Something bad that turns out good. Losing his job turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
a dead end	That's a dead end job- time to find a new one.
a gut feeling	Fell in my stomach. I have a gut feeling that everything is going to turn out all right.
a matter of opinion	It's a matter of opinion whether eating fried tarantulas is a gourmet treat.
a piece of cake	That test was a snap- it was a piece of cake.
a rip off	You spent $500 for a watermelon! What a rip off!
a pain in the neck	A pest. His little brother is a real pain in the neck.
be in hot water	Be in trouble. If you tell you boss off, you'll really be in hot water.
in the same boat	We're in the same situation. We're all in the same boat- so be cool.
on the same wave length	We have the same ideas and opinions. We're on the same wave length.
be on the ball	Very sharp. Very smart. He's really on the ball.
it's only a matter of time	Very soon. It's only a matter of time until his boss realizes that he is the one stealing money from the till.
be that as it may	As things stand. Be that as it may, I think you should re-consider your decision to move to Antarctica.
up in arms	Really angry. His father was up in arms when he learned that he had crashed his new car.
up in the air	Not sure. Plans are up in the air- we haven't decided what to do yet.
bend over backwards	Go out of your way. She really bent over backwards to make my stay enjoyable.
Big deal!	Sarcastic. Losing an old sock is not a big deal.
cost an arm and a leg	Very expensive. His new Ferrari cost an arm and a leg.
cross your fingers	For good luck. Cross your fingers that I pass the English exam with flying colors.
draw a blank	Can't remember. I drew a blank when I tried to remember his brother's name.
Easier said than done.	More difficult than it seems.
Am fed up with	Sick and tired of something. I'm fed up with whining friends who have everything!
from scratch	Make from basic ingredients. Her carrot cake was made from scratch.
for the time  being	For now. Let's take a break from studying for the time being.
get cold feet	Chicken out. John wanted to ask Maria out but he got cold feet and chickened out.
get out of the wrong side of the bed	In a bad mood. He must have gotten up out of the wrong side of the bed today.
get the picture	Understand. Do you get the picture?
get your act together	Get organized/stop wasting time. You better get your act together or you're going to fail all your classes.
give it a shot	Try. Why not try bungee jumping. Give it a shot.
give him a piece of your mind	Get angry and tell someone off. If I were you I would give him a piece of your mind.
give him the cold shoulder	Ignore someone. Brett walked right post me without saying a word. He gave me the cold shoulder.
go all out	Do your utmost for someone or something. His parents went all out for his graduation party.
go downhill	Get worse. After he got divorced, everything went downhill.
go up in smoke	Evaporate/disappear. His dreams of being a professional athlete went up in smoke when he broke his leg.
have a chip on your shoulder	Think you are great. He has such a chip on his shoulder that he hardly ever relates to anyone.
had it up to here	Can't take any more. I've had it up to here with noise students!
mixed feelings	Positive and negative feelings together. I have very mixed feelings about her marrying a fisherman.
second thoughts	Thinking again about a decision. I'm having second thoughts about trekking in Greenland this summer.
throw a fit	Get really angry. His mother threw a fit when she heard that he lost her i-Phone.
I’m all ears.	To listen intently. Tell me about your wedding plans- I'm all ears.
in the bag	Certain. His new job is in the bag. He signed the contract.
in the middle of nowhere	Way out in the country. Their ski chalet is in the middle of nowhere.
Just my luck!	Bad luck. Just my luck to lose the winning lottery ticket.
keep an eye on	Watch carefully. Will you keep an eye on my nephew while I walk the dog?
bear in mind	Keep it in mind. Bear in mind, learning a new language isn't as easy as it seems.
learn by heart	Memorize. You have to learn irregular verbs by heart.
let the cat out of the bag	Spill the beans. Tell a secret. Don't let the cat out of the bag. Keep his surprise birthday party a secret.
make my day	Make my day great. The guy I have a crush on finally called me. He made my day.
miss the point	Don't understand the basic meaning. You are missing the point entirely- we aren't being negative about your best friend.
no way	Impossible. You got all A's on your exams and you never studied. No way!
don't have a clue	Have no idea. I don't have ea clue what the professor was talking about.
don't have the faintest idea	Don't understand. I don't have the faintest idea what that article was talking about.
off the top of my head	Without thinking. Off the top of my head, I think it's worth $6 million.
on the dot	On time. He arrived at 6 o'clock on the dot.
out of sight, out of mind	You forget someone you don't see.
out of the blue	Suddenly. Guess who called me out of the blue?
play it by ear	Make no plans- do things spontaneously. Let's just play it by ear tonight and see what comes u[.
pull someone's leg	Kid someone. Stop pulling my leg. I know you are kidding!
red tape	Bureaucracy. It's almost impossible to set up a business in Greece because there is so much red tape.
read between the lines	Understand what is not stated. If you red between the lines, you'll realize that he is trying to dump you.
safe and sound	Fine. The Boy Scouts returned safe and sound from their camping adventure in Yellowstone National Park.
see eye to eye	Agree. He doesn't see eye to eye with his parents at all.
sour grapes	Pretend to not want something that you are desperate for. It's just sour grapes that he is criticizing George's villa in Italy.
slipped my mind	Forgot. I meant to call you lat night, but it slipped my mind.
small talk	Chitchat. It's important to be able to make small talk when yu meet new people for the first time.
talk shop	Talk about work. What a boring evening! Everyone talked shop- and they're all dog walkers!
the icing on the cake	Something that makes a good thing great. And the icing on the cake was that the movie for which he earned $12 million, also won the Oscar for best picture.
the last straw	The thing that ruins everything. When my boss asked me to cancel my wedding to complete a project- I said that's the last straw and I quit!
time flies	Time goes fast. Time flies when you are having fun.
you can say that again	You agree emphatically. Kanye West is a great singer. You can say that again!
you name it	Everything you can think of. This camp has every activity you can think it- like swimming, canoeing, basketball and you name it.
wouldn't be caught dead	Not even dead would I do something. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that dress to the ball.
she's a doll	Someone really great. Thanks for helping me out. You're a doll.
full of beans	Lively- usually for a child. Little children are usually full of beans.
full of baloney	Not true. She's full of baloney- she doesn't know what she is talking about.
like 2 peas in a pod	Very similar. His 2 brothers are like peas in a pod.
a piece of cake	Very easy. My math test was so easy- a real piece of cake.
sounds fishy	Suspicious. Doubling your money in an hour sounds fishy to me.
a frog in my throat	Can't speak clearly. Ahem! Sorry I had a frog in my throat.
smell a rat	Something is suspicious. The policeman didn't believe the witness- in fact, he smelled a rat.
go to the dogs	Do downhill. Everything is going to the dogs in our town, since the new mayor took office.
cat got your tongue	Silent for no reason. What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?
for the birds	Awful. How was the new Batman movie? Oh, it was for the birds.
pay through the nose	Pay lots of money. They paid through the nose to hold their wedding at Buckingham Palace.
tongue in cheek	Being ironic. I meant that tongue in cheek. I was kidding.
all thumbs	Clumsy. He could put that simple table together- he's just all thumbs.
get off my back	Leave me alone. Bug off! Get off my back!
drive me up a wall	Drive me crazy. Noisy people drive me up a wall.
spill the beans	Tell a secret. Hey, don't spill the beans. It's a secret.
hit the ceiling	Blow up. His dad hit the ceiling when he saw his dreadful report card.
go fly a kite	Get lost! Oh leave me alone! Go fly a kite!
dressed to kill	Dressed in fancy clothes. Cinderella was dressed to kill when she arrived at the ball.
in stitches	Laughing a lot. We were all in stitches when we heard the latest joke.
feel like a million dollars	Feel great. I just slept for 15 hours- I feel like a million dollars.
at the end of my rope	Can't stand it any more. The mother of 4 little children is at the end of her rope.
my head is killing me.	Something hurts. My head is killing me- I should take an aspirin.
that's out of the question	Impossible. Me? Stand up and sing and dance in front of the whole school- out of the question!
I’m beat	Very tired.
It'll knock your socks off!	Thrill you. You'll love this summer's action movie. It'll knock your socks off.
beats me	Don't know. What's the capital of Outer Mongolia? Beats me!
hands down	No comparison. Hands down Mykonos is the world's most beautiful island.
goody-goody	Behaves perfectly. I can't stand Matilda- she's such a goody-goody and no fun at all.
pain in the neck	A big problem. Washing dishes is a pain in the neck.
like pulling teeth	Very difficult. Trying to get 2 year olds to cooperate is like pulling teeth.
for crying out loud	Oh no! For crying out loud- let me finish this mystery- will you?
I’m at my wit's end	I'm desperate. I'm at my wit's end trying to deal with 2 impossible bosses.
like beating a dead horse	A waste of time. Trying to get my father to ever change his mind is like beating a dead horse.
out of this world	Fantastic! My vacation to Hawaii was out of this world!
cost an arm and a leg	Very expensive. A Rolls Royce costs an arm and a leg.
go figure	Try to guess why. Our English teacher gives us 5 tests a week and this week- no tests at all. Go figure.
in the nick of time	Just in time. The hero arrived in the nick of time to save the desperate damsel.
I’m up to my eyeballs in	Very busy. I'm up to my eyeballs in work this week.
I had a blast/a ball	A great time. I had a blast/ball at Sandy’s slumber party.
win-win situation	Both sides win. Selling their old stock of i-Phones 4s was a  win-win situation- they got rid of -to them- useless phones- and we bought –phones very cheaply.
I’m swamped	Very busy. Let’s get together next week- this week I'm swamped.
It's a steal	Fantastic bargain. Getting a new computer for $300 dollars is a steal.
the sticks	Way out in the country. Who would want to live in the sticks- what would you do for excitement?
break the ice	Start a conversation. Talking about the weather is a good way to break the ice when you meet someone new.
give me a break	Leave me alone! Come on! Give me a break! I've been working all day long- and I just want to play a little bit of Angry Birds..
like talking to the wall	A waste of time. Dealing with many teenagers is like talking to a wall- they won't even respond to your questions.
see eye to eye	Agree. I hardly ever see eye to eye with my parents.
It's about time	It's time. It's about time you started your homework- it's midnight!
pays peanuts	Pay hardly anything. I bought that tablet computer for peanuts.
sleep like a log	Sleep soundly. Last night I slept like a lob and didn’t hear the thunderstorm at all.
ace	Do great. I aced the math test. I got 100%.
easy as pie	Super easy. The English test was easy as pie.
blabbermouth	Someone who tells secrets. Don’t tell Sophie your secrets or the whole town will know them.
don't bug me	Don’t bother me. Don’t bug me- I’m busy.
by the skin of my teeth	Barely manage something. I passed the geography test by the skin of my teeth.
can't make head nor tail of	Can’t understand. I can’t make head nor tail of this math chapter.
cool as a cucumber	Very calm. The policeman was cool as a cucumber when he persuaded the man not to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.