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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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