Idioms

Everyday English idioms

110 common idioms with plain meanings and examples. Study them with the AI coach in ChatGPT, paste the JSON report back, and each idiom gets its own memory curve and a coach note for next time.

Idioms

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Idiom	Meaning	Example	State	Coach
A blessing in disguise	A good thing that seemed bad at first.	Losing that job turned out to be a blessing in disguise.	new	Study with AI
A picture is worth a thousand words	Images can explain things better than words.	Just show me the diagram — a picture is worth a thousand words.	new	Study with AI
A piece of cake	Very easy.	The test was a piece of cake.	new	Study with AI
Actions speak louder than words	What people do matters more than what they say.	He apologised, but actions speak louder than words.	new	Study with AI
Add insult to injury	Make a bad situation worse.	I missed the flight and, to add insult to injury, lost my luggage.	new	Study with AI
As cheap as chips	Very cheap.	Those shoes were as cheap as chips.	new	Study with AI
Barking up the wrong tree	Looking in the wrong place or blaming the wrong thing.	You think it was my fault? You're barking up the wrong tree.	new	Study with AI
Beat around the bush	Avoid saying something directly.	Stop beating around the bush and tell me the truth.	new	Study with AI
Better late than never	Late is better than not at all.	He finally apologised — better late than never.	new	Study with AI
Bite off more than you can chew	Try to do too much.	I've taken five courses — I bit off more than I can chew.	new	Study with AI
Bite the bullet	Force yourself to do something unpleasant.	I hate calls, but I'll bite the bullet and phone her.	new	Study with AI
Break a leg	Good luck (especially for performances).	You'll be great tonight — break a leg!	new	Study with AI
Break the ice	Make people feel more comfortable.	The joke helped break the ice.	new	Study with AI
Call it a day	Stop working.	We've done enough — let's call it a day.	new	Study with AI
Cost an arm and a leg	Be very expensive.	That laptop cost an arm and a leg.	new	Study with AI
Cut corners	Do something cheaply or carelessly.	They cut corners, and the quality suffered.	new	Study with AI
Cut someone some slack	Be less strict with someone.	She's new — cut her some slack.	new	Study with AI
Don't give up the day job	You're not very good at something.	Nice singing... but don't give up the day job.	new	Study with AI
Put all your eggs in one basket	Rely on only one option.	Don't invest everything in one stock.	new	Study with AI
Easy does it	Go slowly and carefully.	Easy does it — don't spill it.	new	Study with AI
Every cloud has a silver lining	There's something good in every bad situation.	I lost the job, but every cloud has a silver lining.	new	Study with AI
Get a taste of your own medicine	Be treated the way you treated others.	He was rude for years — now he got a taste of his own medicine.	new	Study with AI
Get out of hand	Become uncontrollable.	The argument got out of hand.	new	Study with AI
Get something out of your system	Do something so you can stop thinking about it.	I bought the jacket just to get it out of my system.	new	Study with AI
Get your act together	Become organised and serious.	You need to get your act together.	new	Study with AI
Give someone the benefit of the doubt	Choose to believe someone.	I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.	new	Study with AI
Give someone the cold shoulder	Ignore someone.	She's been giving me the cold shoulder.	new	Study with AI
Go back to the drawing board	Start again with a new plan.	That didn't work — back to the drawing board.	new	Study with AI
Good things come to those who wait	Patience brings rewards.	Relax — good things come to those who wait.	new	Study with AI
Hang in there	Don't give up.	It's tough now, but hang in there.	new	Study with AI
Hit the nail on the head	Be exactly right.	You hit the nail on the head.	new	Study with AI
Hit the sack	Go to bed.	I'm exhausted — I'm hitting the sack.	new	Study with AI
Ignorance is bliss	It's sometimes better not to know.	I didn't read the news — ignorance is bliss.	new	Study with AI
In a nutshell	In short.	In a nutshell, the project failed.	new	Study with AI
It takes one to know one	You're the same as the person you're criticising.	You call me stubborn? It takes one to know one.	new	Study with AI
It's not rocket science	It's not difficult.	Just follow the steps — it's not rocket science.	new	Study with AI
Jump on the bandwagon	Follow a trend.	Everyone's using it, so I jumped on the bandwagon.	new	Study with AI
Keep your chin up	Stay positive.	Keep your chin up — things will improve.	new	Study with AI
Kill two birds with one stone	Do two things at once.	I'll call her on the drive and kill two birds with one stone.	new	Study with AI
Leave no stone unturned	Try everything possible.	She left no stone unturned.	new	Study with AI
Let sleeping dogs lie	Avoid causing trouble.	Let's not bring it up — let sleeping dogs lie.	new	Study with AI
Let someone off the hook	Avoid punishment.	They let him off the hook.	new	Study with AI
Let the cat out of the bag	Reveal a secret.	Don't let the cat out of the bag.	new	Study with AI
Make a long story short	Summarise.	To make a long story short, we cancelled.	new	Study with AI
Miss the boat	Lose an opportunity.	I waited too long and missed the boat.	new	Study with AI
Neck of the woods	An area or region.	Funny seeing you in this neck of the woods.	new	Study with AI
No pain no gain	Effort is necessary.	Training hurts, but no pain no gain.	new	Study with AI
Not your cup of tea	Something you don't like.	Horror movies aren't my cup of tea.	new	Study with AI
Off the top of your head	From memory.	Off the top of my head, I'm not sure.	new	Study with AI
On the ball	Alert and organised.	She's really on the ball.	new	Study with AI
On thin ice	In danger of trouble.	He's on thin ice at work.	new	Study with AI
Once in a blue moon	Very rarely.	I eat fast food once in a blue moon.	new	Study with AI
Out of your league	Too good for you.	She's way out of my league.	new	Study with AI
Play Devil's Advocate	Argue the opposite side.	Let me play Devil's Advocate.	new	Study with AI
Play it by ear	Decide later.	We'll play it by ear.	new	Study with AI
Pull someone's leg	To joke or tease someone in a friendly way.	My best friend told me I won the lottery, but he was just pulling my leg.	new	Study with AI
Pull yourself together	Calm down.	Pull yourself together.	new	Study with AI
Rain on someone's parade	Spoil something.	I hate to rain on your parade, but...	new	Study with AI
Rock the boat	Cause trouble.	Let's not rock the boat.	new	Study with AI
Save something for a rainy day	Save for the future.	Put some money aside for a rainy day.	new	Study with AI
See eye to eye	Agree.	We don't see eye to eye.	new	Study with AI
Shed light on something	Explain or clarify.	Can you shed some light on this?	new	Study with AI
Sit on the fence	Avoid choosing.	He's sitting on the fence.	new	Study with AI
Sit tight	Wait patiently.	Sit tight — I'll call you.	new	Study with AI
Smell a rat	Suspect something wrong.	Something feels off — I smell a rat.	new	Study with AI
So far so good	Everything is fine until now.	How's work? So far so good.	new	Study with AI
Wouldn't be caught dead	Strongly dislike.	I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that.	new	Study with AI
Someone's heart is in the right place	Good intentions.	He's strict, but his heart is in the right place.	new	Study with AI
Someone's jaw drops	Be very surprised.	My jaw dropped.	new	Study with AI
Someone's pride and joy	Something they love deeply.	That car is his pride and joy.	new	Study with AI
Someone's true colours	Their real personality.	He showed his true colours.	new	Study with AI
Something rings a bell	Sounds familiar.	That name rings a bell.	new	Study with AI
Speak of the devil	Someone appears after being mentioned.	Speak of the devil — here she is.	new	Study with AI
Spill the beans	Reveal a secret.	Come on, spill the beans.	new	Study with AI
Steal someone's thunder	Take attention away.	He stole my thunder.	new	Study with AI
Stick to your guns	Refuse to change your opinion.	She stuck to her guns.	new	Study with AI
Take something with a pinch of salt	Don't take seriously.	Take his advice with a pinch of salt.	new	Study with AI
Take the Mickey	Make fun of someone.	Are you taking the Mickey?	new	Study with AI
The ball is in your court	It's your decision.	I've done my part — the ball's in your court.	new	Study with AI
The best of both worlds	Enjoy two advantages.	Remote work gives the best of both worlds.	new	Study with AI
The best thing since sliced bread	Something amazing.	This app is the best thing since sliced bread.	new	Study with AI
The devil is in the details	Small things matter.	Looks fine, but the devil's in the details.	new	Study with AI
The early bird gets the worm	Early action brings rewards.	Let's go early.	new	Study with AI
The elephant in the room	An obvious problem being ignored.	We need to address the elephant in the room.	new	Study with AI
The last straw	Final breaking point.	That comment was the last straw.	new	Study with AI
There are plenty more fish in the sea	More opportunities exist.	Don't worry — plenty more fish in the sea.	new	Study with AI
There is no such thing as a free lunch	Nothing is truly free.	Be careful — there's no free lunch.	new	Study with AI
Through thick and thin	No matter what.	They stayed together through thick and thin.	new	Study with AI
Throw caution to the wind	Take a risk.	I threw caution to the wind.	new	Study with AI
To make matters worse	Make a bad situation worse.	It rained, and to make matters worse, we forgot the tickets.	new	Study with AI
Twist someone's arm	Strongly persuade.	She twisted my arm.	new	Study with AI
Under the weather	Slightly sick.	I'm feeling under the weather.	new	Study with AI
Up in the air	Uncertain.	The plan is still up in the air.	new	Study with AI
We'll cross that bridge when we come to it	Deal with problems later.	Let's not worry yet.	new	Study with AI
Wrap your head around something	Understand something difficult.	I can't wrap my head around it.	new	Study with AI
You can say that again	Strong agreement.	This week was exhausting — you can say that again.	new	Study with AI
You can't have your cake and eat it too	You can't have everything.	You'll have to choose.	new	Study with AI
You can't judge a book by its cover	Appearances can be misleading.	He looks quiet, but you can't judge a book by its cover.	new	Study with AI
You live and you learn	Mistakes teach lessons.	I failed, but you live and you learn.	new	Study with AI
Curiosity killed the cat	Being too inquisitive can get you into trouble. (Also used as 'curiosity killed')	I wanted to know what was in the box, but curiosity killed the cat.	new	Study with AI
Turn a blind eye	To ignore something intentionally.	The manager turned a blind eye to the late reports.	new	Study with AI
Get cold feet	To hesitate or lose confidence before a big event.	She got cold feet before her wedding.	new	Study with AI
Never look a gift horse in the mouth	Don't be ungrateful for a gift. (Includes 'gift horse')	He complained about the free tickets, but you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.	new	Study with AI
Straight from the horse's mouth	Directly from the original source.	I heard it straight from the horse's mouth.	new	Study with AI
It's not over until the fat lady sings	Don't assume the outcome until the very end. (Includes 'fat lady', 'fat lady sings')	The game isn't over until the fat lady sings.	new	Study with AI
Hit the ground running	To start something energetically and successfully. (Includes 'ground running')	She hit the ground running in her new job.	new	Study with AI
When pigs fly	Something that will never happen. (Includes 'pigs fly')	He'll clean his room when pigs fly.	new	Study with AI
Don't cry over spilled milk	Don't be upset about something that can't be changed. (Includes 'spilled milk', 'spilt milk')	It's just spilt milk, move on.	new	Study with AI
Throw a surprise party	To organize a party that is kept secret from the guest of honor. (Includes 'surprise party')	We threw a surprise party for her birthday.	new	Study with AI
The whole nine yards	Everything possible; the full effort.	He went the whole nine yards to make the event perfect.	new	Study with AI