100 Common English Idioms Phrases and their Meaning

Idioms and Phrases with Meanings:

A:

Idiom	Meaning
Above board	Honest and open
At arms length	To keep at a distance
At the eleventh hour	At the last moment
At sixes and sevens	In a disordered manner
An apple of discord	A cause of quarrel
At home	Comfortable
Alpha and omega	The beginning and the end
At sea	Confused and lost
At one’s beck and call	At one’s service
An acid test	A critical test
Add fuel to the fire	To aggravate the situation
At a snail’s pace	Very slowly
A bone of contention	A source of quarrel
A bolt from the blue	Something unexpected
A burning question	An important topic
A big gun	An important person
A bosom friend	A very close friend
A brown study	Dreaming
A close shave	Narrow escape
A wee bit	A little
At one’s wits end	In a state where one does not know what to do
An axe to grind	A personal interest in the matter
A thorn in the flesh	A constant source of annoyance
A man of straw	A man of no substance
At one’s beck and call	Under his control
At daggers drawn	Bitterly hostile

Related: List of Professional and Strong Verbs

B:

Idiom	Meaning
By leaps and bounds	Rapidly
By hook or by crook	By fair or foul means
Bring to light	Disclose
Burn one’s fingers	Get into trouble by interfering in other’s affairs
By fits and starts	In short periods, not regularly
Between the devil and the deep sea	Between two dangers
Burn the midnight oil	Work or study hard
Bury the hatchet	End the quarrel and make peace
Bark up the wrong tree	Accuse or denounce the wrong person
Be in a tight corner	In a very difficult situation

C:

Idiom	Meaning
Chew the cud	Ponder over something
Call a spade a spade	Speak frankly and directly
Come off with flying colours	Be highly successful
Cat and dog life	Life full of quarrels
Cockand bull story	Made up story that one should not believe
Cry for the moon	Ask for the impossible
Cross one’s t’s and dot one’s i’s	Be precise, careful and exact

D:

Idiom	Meaning
Die in harness	Die while in service

F:

Idiom	Meaning
Feather one’s own nest	Make money unfairly

Related: Number series questions

G:

Idiom	Meaning
Gain ground	Become popular

H:

Idiom	Meaning
Hard and fast rules	Strict rules
Hoping against hope	Without hope
Hit the nail on the head	Do or say the exact thing
Harp on the same string	Dwell on the same subject
Have a card up one’s sleeve	Have a secret plan in reserve

I:

Idiom	Meaning
In hot water	In trouble
In the long run	Eventually; ultimately
In the nick of time	Just at the last moment
In cold blood	Deliberately; without emotion
In high spirits	Very happy
Let the cat out of the bag	Reveal a secret

K:

Idiom	Meaning
Kill two birds with one stone	To achieve two results with one effort
Keep one at bay	Keep one at a distance
Keep one’s fingers crossed	The anxiety in which you hope that nothing will upset your plans

Related: Important days in August

L:

Idiom	Meaning
Laugh one’s head off	Laugh heartily
Leave no stone unturned	Use all available means
Like a fish out of water	In a strange situation
Leave one in the lurch	Desert one in difficulties; leave one in a helpless condition
Like a cat on hot bricks	Very nervous

M:

Idiom	Meaning
Make up one’s mind	Decide
Make a clean breast of it	Confess – especially when a person has done a wrong thing

N:

Idiom	Meaning
Nip in the bud	Destroy in the early stage
No avail	Without any result

O:

Idiom	Meaning
On tenterhooks	In a state of suspense and anxiety
Out of the wood	Free from difficulties and dangers
Out of the way	Strange
Out of the question	Impossible

Related: Learn English Animals Vocabulary

P:

Idiom	Meaning
Pay off old scores	Take revenge
Put a spoke in one’s wheel	To upset one’s plans
Play second fiddle	Take an unimportant part
Put the cart before the horse	Put or do things in the wrong order

R:

Idiom	Meaning
Rank and file	Ordinary persons
Read between the lines	Understand the hidden meaning
Rain cats and dogs	Rain heavily

Related: Time and Work problems

S:

Idiom	Meaning
Sitting on the fence	Hesitate between two decisions
Spread like wild fire	Spread quickly
Show a clean pair of heals	Run away
Smell a rat	Suspect something foul
Stick to one’s guns	Remain faithful to the cause

T:

Idiom	Meaning
To all names	To abuse
To get rid of	Dispose of
To cut a sorry figure	To make a poor show
Take one to task	Rebuke
Turn a deaf ear	Disregard / ignore what one says
To beat about the bush	Talk irrelevantly
To burn one’s boats	Go back on a decision
To burn candle at both ends	To waste lavishly
To build castles in the air	Make imaginary schemes
To bell the cat	To face the risk
To blow one’s own trumpet	To praise one’s own achievement
Turn over a new leaf	Change for the better
Through thick and thin	Under all conditions
The gift of the gab	Talent for speaking
Throw out of gear	Disturb the work
Tooth and nail	With all one’s power
Take to one’s heels	Run away
Take a leaf out of one’s book	Imitate one
To eat humble pie	To apologize humbly; to yield under humiliating circumstances
To eat your words	To take back what you have said
To make both ends meet	To live within one’s income
To play ducks and drakes	To act foolishly or inconsistently
To take the bull by the horns	To tackle a problem in a bold and direct fashion
To move heaven and earth	To make a supreme effort
The pros and cons	The various aspects of a matter in detail

Related: Percentage questions

U:

Idiom	Meaning
Under his thumb	Under his control

W:

Idiom	Meaning
Wash one’s dirty linen in public	Discuss unpleasant private matters before strangers
With a high hand	Oppressively