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Common English Idioms
49
Flashcards
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Hit the nail on the head
To describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem
Bite the bullet
To endure a painful or otherwise unpleasant situation that is seen as unavoidable
Piece of cake
Something that is very easy to do
Hit the books
To begin studying
Spill the beans
To disclose a secret
Break the ice
To initiate a social conversation or interaction
Break a leg
A way to wish someone good luck, especially before a performance
Costs an arm and a leg
Very expensive or costly
Burn the midnight oil
To work late into the night, especially studying
Add insult to injury
To make a bad situation even worse
Cry over spilt milk
To be upset about things that have already been done
Bark up the wrong tree
To accuse the wrong person or pursue the wrong course
Under the weather
Feeling ill or sick
Back to the drawing board
Starting over again on a new design or plan after the failure of an earlier attempt
Jump on the bandwagon
To join a popular trend or activity
A penny for your thoughts
A way of asking what someone is thinking about
Fish out of water
Someone being in a situation that they are unfamiliar or unsuited to
Once in a blue moon
An event that happens infrequently
Curiosity killed the cat
Being inquisitive can lead you into trouble
When pigs fly
Something that will never happen
The ball is in your court
It is up to you to make the next decision or step
Bite off more than you can chew
To take on a task that is way too big
Through thick and thin
In all situations, no matter how difficult
Out of the blue
Something happening unexpectedly
Let the cat out of the bag
To reveal a secret or disclose something that was supposed to be kept confidential
Miss the boat
To miss an opportunity
Finding your feet
To become comfortable in what you are doing
Cut to the chase
To get to the point without wasting time
Hit the hay
To go to bed
Go down in flames
To fail in a spectacular manner
No pain, no gain
You have to work hard for something you want
Hit the road
To leave a place or begin a journey
It takes two to tango
Actions or communications need more than one person
It's raining cats and dogs
It is raining very heavily
Kick the bucket
To die
Last straw
The final source of irritation that makes a person lose patience
The best of both worlds
A situation wherein someone can enjoy the advantages of two different opportunities
Sell like hotcakes
To sell quickly and in large quantities
On the ball
Being alert and efficient or understanding of a situation
Hear it on the grapevine
To learn about something indirectly, through gossip or rumors
Speak of the devil
The person we were just talking about shows up at that moment
Let sleeping dogs lie
To avoid restarting a conflict
Make a long story short
Tell something briefly
Pull someone's leg
To joke or tease someone
Get your act together
To start to organize yourself so that you do things in an effective way
Put all your eggs in one basket
To risk everything on a single opportunity
Run out of steam
To lose momentum or energy
Steal someone's thunder
To take the credit for something someone else has done
The early bird catches the worm
The person who takes the earliest opportunity to do something will gain the advantage over others
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