| 100 popular Idioms in English Language |
| Believe it or not: You might not believe this but… |
| Bites more than he/she can chew: Takes more responsibility than he/she can handle |
| Break a leg!: Good luck! |
| Business as usual: Things are the same as usual |
| Costs arm and a leg: Costs a lot |
| Dawn till dusk: From morning till the evening |
| Dozen a dime/dime a dozen: So easy to find, not so valuable |
| Nitty gritty: The most essential part of |
| Nuts and bolts: Details |
| On the flip side: On the other hand |
| Party animal: A person who likes partying |
| Sounds like a broken record: Repeating the same things over and over |
| Speaking of which: I like apple, speaking of which I will grab some apple juice for my self |
| Strike a balance: Have a good balance of |
| Testing the waters: Experimenting, assessing the reaction |
| The bottom line is: Simply put…It all comes down to |
| Think outside the box: Think differently |
| You gotta be kidding me: you must be joking |
| 1 o’clock “sharp”: “Exactly” at 1 o’clock |
| Back to the grind: Back to the usual |
| Chicken: Coward/ afraid or nervous about doing things |
| Don’t joke with me: Are you serious?? Don’t mess with me |
| Down to earth: Realistic |
| Get a life: Try to be like a normal person, pay attention to things that are important |
| Get to the point: Don’t beat around the bush |
| Give somebody a hard time: Bothering someone |
| Give someone a hand: Help someone |
| Go Dutch: Splitting the bill, paying 50/50 |
| Good for nothing: Not good |
| Hold on a second: Just wait a moment |
| I beg to differ: I’d rather take a different stance on this topic |
| I blew it: I wasted my chance |
| I’m hosed: I am in a bad situation |
| I’m on my way to…: I am heading towards to… |
| In terms of X: When X is evaluated. |
| It’s a long story: What you are asking me is a complicated matter |
| It’s a piece of cake: So easy |
| Keep me in the loop: Keep me posted, keep me updated |
| Keep your cool: Just stay calm |
| Know something inside out: Know every detail, know by heart |
| Make up one’s mind: Making a decision |
| Now and then: Sometimes, once in a while |
| Pie in the sky: Ridiculous |
| Play it by ear: Decide about something when it happens instead of making a decision in advance |
| Rings a bell: Sounds familiar |
| Rise and shine: parents tell this to their children to wake them up |
| Sleep on it: Think about it little more |
| Sort of: Kind of, |
| Take a hike: Just get away, get out of here |
| Throw in the towel: Give up, quit |
| Under the radar: Without attracting notice |
| When it comes to X: If we talk about X… |
| You Bet: I agree with you |
| You’re telling me!: Yes! I totally agree with you |
| a red flag: a sign that makes someone/something unreliable |
| I don’t get it: I don’t understand |
| Round the clock: 24 hours a day |
| … You name it: Anything related that you can imagine |
| ….You never know: Don’t leave your door open, you never know what might happen |
| …and what not.: ..And so on, anything you can imagine |
| Beats me: I don’t know how it happened but it makes me feel bad |
| Behave yourself: Act politely, properly |
| Big deal: Important thing |
| Broke: Have no money |
| By and large: Generally |
| Call it a day: Finish working |
| Couch potato: Someone sits in front of TV all the time |
| Don’t be a stranger: We are friends, please stop by whenever you can |
| Don’t sweat it: Don’t worry about it, don’t make a big deal out of it |
| Easier said than done: It is always easier to say/claim something, but hard to do/execute |
| Even Steven: Equal, fair |
| Fair enough: What you recommend is OK |
| Feel blue: Feel sad or depressed |
| Fender bender: Very small, trivial damage |
| First come first served: People will be served in the order of arrival |
| Get a foot in the door: Start something, enter the organization |
| Get on one’s nerves: You are getting on my nerves: you are annoying me |
| Get out of here!: Are you serious?? |
| Getting goosebumps: Getting excited |
| Give It to me straight: Please tell me straightforward |
| Go for it: Yes, you should try it |
| Go with the flow: Doing things like everyone else, trying not to stand out |
| going nuts: Going crazy/ insane |
| Got It: Got it: I understood what you said |
| Grab a bite: Eat, have a meal |
| The grass is greener on the other side: Things we don’t own always look more attractive |
| Hang in there: Just keep what you are doing, don’t give up |
| Have the guts: Have courage |
| He lost it: He lost his temper |
| Hop In: Get in the car, jump in the car |
| I blew it!: I wasted my chance |
| I can eat a horse: I am so hungry |
| I don’t buy it: I don’t believe it |
| I had a second thought about it: I changed my mind |
| I owe you one: You just helped me and I have to help you with something else in the future |
| In a nutshell: In summary, briefly |
| It totally slipped my mind: I totally forgot about it |
| It’s a Deal: Yes, I agree to your offer |
| It’s written all over your face: You are lying, your facial expression gives you away |
| Jump to conclusions: Making conclusions/generalizations too quickly |
| Keep an eye on: Making sure something is safe or OK. Can you keep an eye on my computer while I’m outside? |
| Keep in touch: Keeping in contact |
| Keeping my fingers crossed: I’m keeping my fingers crossed: I hope for the best outcome |
| My two cents: That’s my opinion |
| Nature calls: I have to run to the bathroom |
| No strings attached: There is no trick or future negative consequences |
| Now you’re talking: I agree with you. What you just said is better than the other things you said |
| Oh! Shoot: Oh no! |
| Out of the blue: Unexpectedly |
| Out of this world: So good, great |
| Over my dead body: You have to kill me to do that, I will not let that happen |
| Over my head: Beyond my understanding, difficult for me to understand |
| Pain in the a../neck: Tough to do, something that is difficult. Doing this homework is a pain in the neck |
| Piece of cake: Very easy |
| Pulling my leg: Tricking me, playing a joke |
| Put yourself in my place/shoes: Presume that you are me, what if you were me |
| Rain or shine: Regardless of the weather |
| Read between the lines: Understand what others intend to say without words |
| Sick and tired of something: Feeling bad about Something that has been happening all the time |
| Silver Lining: Every difficult situation has an advantage |
| Sooner or later: Eventually …, one day … |
| Take it easy: Don’t try so hard, enjoy what you are doing |
| Taking something for face value: Accepting something automatically, not thinking deeply about it |
| Thank Goodness: Luckily |
| Under the weather: Not feeling good |
| What a small world: What a coincidence |
| What gives?: What is the matter? What is the reason …? |
| You can say that again: What you just said was great |
| You made it!: You succeeded, you arrived on time |
| You snooze, you lose!: Don’t hesitate to do it |
| You’ve got to be kidding: You must be joking |
| Before you know it: Before you realize what’s happening |
| Close call: Usually said after something just misses the target |
| Crashed at/into: To stay without formal notice |
| Dire Straights: Difficult financial situation |
| Down the road: In the future |
| Drama Queen: Girl/woman who wants to be the center of attention and causes troubles all the time |
| Drop the ball: Making a mistake |
| if you connect the dots: If you look at the big picture |
| in a sense that: From a different perspective |
| It depends…: Depends on a situation |
| Judgment call: The rules are not clear |
| Jury is out: The final decision still hasn’t been made |
| Let me put it this way: Let me try to explain in different words |
| Pay it forward: A favor received should be done to others |
| Perse: Only this/these |
| R.I.P.: Abbreviation for “Rest In Peace”, e.g. R.I.P. Michael Jackson |
| Raising eyebrows: Hard to believe /trust |
| Right around the corner: Soon |
| RSVP: Abbreviation for “Please reply” |
| Self-explanatory: Easy to understand without an explanation |
| So be it: Let it happen |
| So to speak: In other words |
| Stakes are high: Many people/organizations have an interest in this matter |
| Step up the plate: Take a responsibility |
| Technically speaking: In technical terms |
| the bogeyman: ghostly, monstrous creature |
| the bottom line is: the most simple thing that should be taken into account |
| the holy grail: an important object or goal |
| The other day.: Recently, a few days ago, sometime in the near past |
| think outside the box: Try to think about unconventional/unusual solutions |
| this is baloney: This is nonsense, over exaggeration |
| when pigs fly: It’s never going to happen |
| Wishful thinking: Subjectively thinking what we want to happen |
| You know the drill: You know how it is done |
| You nailed it: You completed the task perfectly |
| You scratch my back I’ll scratch yours/tit for tat: If you do me a favor, I’ll also do you a favor |
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