Some Idioms

Related to colors:

A white lie:	something that is not true but that causes no harm
Red tape:	complicated official procedures and forms
Out of the blue:	surprise, suddenly
In black and white:	very clear and easy to understand
Green with envy:	jealous of someone else’s fortune
The green light:	the okay to start something
To fell blue:	upset, sad
The black market:	not controlled by the government
In the red :	no money, in the debt
In the black :	enough money

Related to interest:

Kill two birds with one stone:	do two things at the same time
In the bag:	a sure thing, a sure win
Going over big :	a success, receiving a lot of attention
Turns me on:	excites me; stimulates my interest
Calling the shorts :	directing everything; in charge
Made quite a name for herself	got a good reputation
Came out ahead	won; ended in a position of advantage
Get a load of	look at (that)
Got it made	noting to worry about because you are in a secure position
Snowballed:	has increased greatly

Related to food:

The apple of one’s eye:	a well-loved person
Baloney::	worth nothing, nonsense
To cream someone :	to totally beat someone in a game
Fishy :	suspicious, not right, and not honest
In a pickle :	in trouble
A lemon:	something that does not work(Electrical or mechanical item)
Nuts:	very crazy, very upset
A peach:	a very nice person
Peanuts:	a very small amount of money
A piece of cake:	something that is very easy to do

Related to failure:

Was a flop :	was a total failure
Missed the boat :	missed our chance
Bit off more than he can chew :	accepted more than he could manage
Caught red-handed :	caught in the act
Go out of hand :	become uncontrollable and disorderly
On the blink :	out of order; broken down
Haven't got a leg to stand on :	haven't got valid argument
Went to pieces :	broke down; became crazy
Drew a blank :	didn't get the desired results; didn't have any success
On the rocks :	wrecked; in difficulty

Related to the weather:

To break the ice:	to begin a conversation with a stranger
A breeze:	something easy for a person to do
Come rain or shine:	no matter how hard it’s to do
A fair-weather friend :	a person who doesn’t help when a friend is in trouble
Full of hot hair :	talking a lot but never doing what one says
To have one’s head in the clouds:	not to know or understand what is going on
To rain cats and dogs:	to rain very hard
To save something for a rainy day :	to prepare for trouble usually by saving money
Snowed under :	having a lot of work to do ( Swamped )
Under the weather ;	sick
To weather the storm :	to wait and be patient until things get better

Related to confusion:

Slipped my mind :	escaped my memory; I forgot (it)
I haven't got a clue :	I have absolutely no idea; I have no answer
Can't make heads or tails of :	I can't understand them
On the tip of my tongue :	Something I can almost remember
Don't know which end is up :	I'm totally confused
Beats me :	I'm uncertain; I don't understand
I've lost my train of thought :	I forgot the idea I was talking about
Racking my brains :	I've been thinking hard
Couldn't get a word in edgewise:	didn't have a chance to say anything
Are over my head:	are too difficult for me

Related to numbers:

At first sight :	after a quick look, before really thinking about one’s feeling about something
On second thought :	changing one’s mind after thinking more about something
Forty winks :	a short sleep, a nap
In seventh heaven:	extremely happy
Of two minds:	having trouble making a decision about something
To put two and two together :	to finally understand something, to come to a conclusion
Second nature:	easy and natural to someone
Second to none :	the very best
Six of one, half a dozen of the other :	no difference, either choice is okay
Sixth sense:	a special feeling for something, a special understanding of things

Related to the body:

A big mouth :	Tell everything. Does not keep secrets
By heart :	By memory
To cost an arm and a leg:	Very expensive
To have a sweet tooth:	Like sweet food very much
Head over heels in love:	very much in love
A long face :	Sad, dissatisfied expression
Nosey:	curious
A pain in the neck :	Something or Somebody that annoys or bothers a person
To pull someone’s leg :	to joke
To see eye to eye :	to agree completely
To shake a leg :	to hurry up, move faster

Related to people:

To go Dutch:	to share the cost, to pay one’s own bill
Man/woman of means:	a rich person
A jack of all trades:	a person who can do many things
Keep up with the Joneses:	influenced, to want the same nice things that other people have
A man / a girl Friday:	someone who does a large variety of tasks on the job
To run in the family:	maybe it’s genetic. To be characterized by something common to many members of a family
Smart aleck:	somebody who acts as he/she knows everything and he often rude about it
Like Tom, Dick or Harry:	nobody special, just any person
The real McCoy:	the genuine. The true example of something

Related to Animals:

As quiet as a mouse:	making almost no noise, being shy and not talking much
To work like a dog:	to work very hard
Bookworm:	somebody who reads a lot
As blind as a bat:	not able to see well because of very bad eyesight
To eat like a horse:	to eat a lot
Early birds:	the first person to be somewhere, a person who gets out of bed early. Before everyone else
Pigheaded:	not taking advice, stubborn
A copycat:	somebody who wants to do the same thing like others
Chicken:	afraid, scared
To smell a rat:	to think there may be something wrong
To talk turkey:	to talk openly and directly

Related to geography:

Once in a blue moon:	not often, almost never, very seldom
To go downhill:	to go down in number or in quality, to get worse
To make a mountain out of a molehill:	exaggerate, to make a big problem out of a small problem
Up the creek:	in trouble
Down-to-earth:	simple and practical person, honest and direct
Dirt-cheap:	very inexpensive
Out of the woods:	get over, out of the trouble or difficulty
Out of this world:	exceptional, very good, excellent
Over the hill:	getting too old
The tip of the iceberg:	small part of the large problem
To win by a landslide:	to win by majority, to get almost all of the votes

Related to recreation:

On the ball:	Very active. Smart. Very good at doing things, effective and efficient
No dice:	No.
Right off the bat:	Immediately, without delay
To go fly a kite:	go away or stop annoying someone, (Informal, usually said in anger)
Good sport:	No anger. Somebody. Who doesn’t complain if he/she loses, or who doesn’t boast if he/she wins
In the same boat:	same problem. In the same situation.
To keep the ball rolling:	to make something continue to happen
Off base:	Not correct. Not good answer. Inappropriate
To put one’s cards on the table:	Black & white. Talk turkey. Not to hide anything, to explain the situation honestly
Sink or swim:	This or that, fail or succeed, no matter what.
To get a kick out of something :	To make somebody. Laugh. To enjoy something a lot.

With the word AND:

Wear and tear:	damage that happens as something gets old and used (Has or get a lot of wear and tear)
Spick-and-Spam:	very clean
A song and dance:	a long explanation, along excuse that is often not true
Safe and sound:	with no damage and injury
Right and left:	in large numbers, from every side
Odds and ends:	a variety of small items, the pieces left over
Ins and outs:	all details
Fair and square:	honestly, without cheating
A cock-and-bull story:	exaggerate and not true, untrue story
By and large:	mostly, most often.
Back and forth:	From one place to another and back to the first place.

Related to plants:

To bark up the wrong tree:	to make the wrong choice
To beat around the bush:	to waste time by not giving a direct answer
A bed of roses:	a comfortable, easy situation
Bushed:	very tired, exhausted
To hit the hay:	to go to the bed and sleep
In a nutshell:	in a few words
The last straw:	the final thing after a series of bad things, the things that other people have
To nip something in the bud:	to stop something when it’s just beginning
Through the grapevine:	from what on person said to another, by rumor
To turn over a new leaf:	to start over again, to start a new and better life
Up a tree:	in a difficult situation from which you cannot find a way out:

Related to clothes:

To be in someone else’s shoes:	to be in someone else’s place
Dressed to kill:	in one’s best clothes and looking good
A feather in one’s cap:	something to be proud of and to feel good about
To handle someone with kid gloves:	to be careful not to anger someone
Hot under the collar:	angry
To keep one’s shirt on:	not to get angry, to be patient
To keep something under one’s hat:	to keep something secret
To loose one’s shirt:	to loose a lot of money
On a shoestring:	with very little money
A stuffed shirt:	someone who lives by the rules and is very formal
Tied to someone’s apron strings:	always following a stronger person

Related to the word as:

As busy as a bee:	very busy
As fit as a fiddle:	very healthy
As good as gold:	very good, well-behaved
As happy as a lark:	very happy
As hard as nails:	very hard and cold, not forgiving
As hungry as a bear:	very hungry
As plain as a day:	very easy to see or understand
As regular as clockwork:	always at the same time
As sick as a dog:	very unwell
As stubborn as a mule:	not willing to change one’s mind, very set in one’s ideas
As weak as a kitten:	not very strong

Related to knowledge or agreement:

On the same wave-length :	having the same sort of ideas
Knows the ropes :	know all aspects of the job; has a lot of knowledge or experience of the subject
Put your finger on it :	given exactly the right answer
Straight from the horse's mouth :	from the authoritative source
Put two and two together :	made a deduction from the evidence
Rings a bell :	sounds familiar
See eye to eye :	agree
Heard it trough the grapevine :	got it unofficial sources; heard a rumour
Took the words right out of my mouth :	said exactly what I was going to say
Knows it like the back of his hand :	knows it extremely well

Related to the health:

Blood is thicker than water:	relatives are the most important people
A bitter pill to swallow:	something difficult and unpleasant to experience
To cough up:	to pay money
To feel it in one’s bones:	to know something, often before seeing it or before it happens
A fly in the ointment:	a problem
To get burned:	to have a bad experience, to be cheated
To give someone a taste of his/her own medicine:	to do something bad to someone after the other person has done the same bad thing
To have a lot of nerve:	to act so badly and impolitely that it actually takes courage to do so
To hold one’s breath:	to pause, to stop and think
Sick and tired:	very annoyed, very tired of doing something
To take pains:	to take a lot of trouble to do something

Related to tools:

As sharp as a tack:	clever, intelligent
To bury the hatchet:	to agree to no longer be enemies
A flash in the pan:	something the stars out well but that may not continue
To have a screw loose:	to be crazy
:On pins and needles:	very nervous an anxious
To pan out:	to succeed, to have a good result
Potluck:	a meal in which everybody brings a food to eat
Soap opera:	a drama on TV or radio that continues over time and in which the characters have many problems
To sponge off:	to take money or hospitality and never pay anything back
Throw in the towel:	to accept defeat or loss
A wet blanket:	a person who doesn’t enjoy things and keeps other from enjoying them

Related to the house:

To bring down the house:	to make an audience clap and laugh enthusiastically
Down the drain:	wasted, lost
To drive someone up the wall:	to make someone angry or crazy
To get one’s foot in the door:	to take the first steps to start something, to get an opening
To hit home:	to make someone really realize something
To hit the ceiling:	to suddenly become very angry
On the fence:	undecided
On the house:	free, for nothing
On the shelf:	too old, no longer of use
To take steps:	to do something
Under the table:	secretly, usually doing something against the law

Related to excess and limits:

I’ve had it with :	I have come to the end of my patience
That takes the cake :	that’s the limit
We’re splitting hairs :	Arguing about small, unimportant differences
The tail wagging the dog :	the normal situation is reversed
To add insult to injury:	to make things worse
Laying it on thick :	(exaggeration) carrying something to extreme or excess.
Pretty farfetched :	rather exaggerated, out of touch with reality
Got carried away :	lost my judgement because of excitement

Related to two words:

To dillydally:	to hesitate, to waste time by moving slowly
Fuddy-duddy:	someone who doesn’t like change
Hotshot:	someone who is very good at something but who often isn’t very modest
Humdrum:	routine, repeated activities
Hush-hush:	secret
Mumbo jumbo:	language that cannot easily be understood, jargon
Pitter-patter:	sound of quick, light taps, like the sound of rain or children’s feet
Tip-top:	best
Topsy-turvy:	not organized, messy
Wishy-washy:	undecided, weak, not definite and clear
A wheeler-dealer:	a person who is always making business deals and trying to get the best deal

Related to time:

Right of the bat	without delay; immediately
Every now and then :	from time to time; sometimes
It's high time :	it's long overdue (that)
High time:	almost too late to do something
Once in a blue moon :	rarely
Just in the nick of time :	at the last possible second
In the long run :	in the end; in the final result
On the double :	fast; quickly
For the time being :	temporarily; for a short time
Out of the blue :	suddenly without warning; unexpectedly
The big time :	a high level of success
To call it a day :	to stop doing something
For the time being :	temporarily, just for the present moment
In no time :	quickly
In the nick of time :	just before it is too late
To kill time :	to waste time waiting for something else to happen
To make time :	to do something although you did not plan it and you are already busy
On the spur of the moment :	immediately, without planning
To take one’s time :	not to hurry
The time is right :	it’s a good time to do something

Related to money:

In the red :	in an unprofitable way, at a loss
Sell like hot cakes :	sell quickly
Foot the bill :	Pay the bill
What a rip-off:	It’s a robbery
Flat broke :	without any money
Penny pincher :	miserly person
Can’t make ends meet :	can’t earn what it costs to live
Cost you an arm and leg :	cost you a fortune, more than it is worth
Corner the market :	monopolize (establish a monopoly)
Cut corners :	build in the cheapest way

Related to a negotiations and compromises:

Find a just medium:	find a compromise
Make allowances for:	take into consideration, judge the situation by the circumstances.
Give someone a break:	time to relax, offer him another chance.
To meet somebody halfway:	give part of what you want to reach agreement.
Take what someone says with a grain of salt:	not believe all he says. He’s not very serious.
To bend over backwards:	to do extra help, make a great effort
To sit on the fence:	to not want to choose or decide
Let sleeping dogs lie:	avoid making more trouble on the same issue.
Sleep on it:	think about it for awhile.
Heads or tails:	use something to toss up (tossing a coin)

Others:

Above all:	most important (reason)
After all:	different from what you expected
Before long:	eventually, after some time
Every other:	this one but not the next, then the next but not the one after that, and so on
More or less:	not completely but almost
Never mind:	don’t worry, don’t give it a thought
No wonder:	not surprising
The other day:	recently, a short time ago
Quite a few:	many
Sooner or later:	eventually, after some time
Take it easy:	calm down, relax, don’t worry

All of a sudden:	suddenly
As a matter of fact:	in truth, really (often used to restate something more exactly)
Even so:	although there is a reason why not
For a change:	in order to do something different
For a start:	beginning with the first of many reasons
In fact:	in truth, really (often used to restate something more exactly)
Might as well:	because there is nothing better
Once in a while:	not often
On purpose:	not by accident, by plan
On the whole:	mostly but not always
To take turns:	first you do it, and then someone else does it, then you, then the other person, and so on.

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