American Idioms

List of American Idioms

108 records

Idiom	Notes	Lang Code	CheckMatch
A blessing in disguise	Something that seems bad or unlucky at first but turns out to be good.	en	n
A dime a dozen	Very common and easy to find.	en	n
a night owl	Someone who likes to stay up late.	en	n
A whole new ballgame	A completely different situation or set of circumstances.	en	n
All ears	Fully listening and paying attention.	en	n
All in the same boat	In the same situation or predicament.	en	n
At the drop of a hat	Immediately or without hesitation.	en	n
At the end of your rope	Completely annoyed, exhausted, or desperate, with no more patience or energy.	en	n
Barking up the wrong tree	Accusing or blaming the wrong person.	en	n
Beat around the bush	Avoiding the main topic or being indirect.	en	n
Between a rock and a hard place	Trapped in a difficult or impossible situation, having to choose between two unfavorable options.	en	n
between the devil and the deep blue sea	stuck in a diificult position; similar to: between a rock and a hard place	en	n
Bite the bullet	To face a difficult or unpleasant situation bravely.	en	n
break the ice	attempt to strike up a conversation with a stranger; to do something to reduce shyness, an awkward tension or unfamiliarity	en	n
Bring home the bacon	To earn a living or provide financial support for one''s family.	en	n
Burn the midnight oil	To work or study late into the night.	en	n
Bury the hatchet	To reconcile or make peace after a conflict.	en	n
By the skin of your teeth	Just barely or narrowly escaping a difficult situation.	en	n
Call it a day	To stop working or to end an activity.	en	n
clear as mud	information or communication is NOT clear at all.	en	n
clothes don't make the man	You cannot judge a man's character based on his clothing and appearance	en	n
Cold feet	Feeling nervous or hesitant about doing something.	en	n
Cost an arm and a leg	To be very expensive.	en	n
Cross that bridge when you come to it	To deal with a problem or worry about something when it actually happens.	en	n
Cry over spilled milk	To worry or complain about something that has already happened and cannot be changed.	en	n
cuaghtwith (one's) hand in the cookie jar	caught in the act or attempt of some wrongdoing, especially theft ot bribery	en	n
Cut corners	To do something quickly or take shortcuts, often sacrificing quality.	en	n
desperate times call for desperate measures	Derived from a proverb: Desperate diseases must have desperate remedies	en	n
Drive someone up the wall	To irritate or annoy someone greatly.	en	n
Drop the ball	To make a mistake or fail to do something properly.	en	n
Elephant in the room	An obvious problem or issue that no one wants to address.	en	n
Eyeball it	To estimate or measure something by using one''s judgment or visual assessment.	en	n
Face the music	To confront the consequences of one''s actions.	en	n
fitslike a glove	suits someone perfectly, such as clothing or a personal trait	en	n
Get a grip	To regain control over one''s emotions or behavior.	en	n
Get a taste of your own medicine	Experience the same negative treatment you have given to others.	en	n
get bent out of shape	Become angry, upset or offended, especially about something which in your opinion doesn''t justify such a reaction.	en	n
Get off on the wrong foot	To start a relationship or situation poorly or with a misunderstanding.	en	n
Get the ball rolling	To start a process or activity.	en	n
get your wires crossed	Have a miscommunication	en	n
Give someone the benefit of the doubt	To believe someone''s statement or excuse without being too suspicious.	en	n
Go down in flames	To fail spectacularly or experience a significant defeat or failure.	en	n
Go the extra mile	To put in extra effort or do more than what is expected.	en	n
Go with the flow	To adapt to a situation or accept things as they come.	en	n
Hang in there	To persevere or keep going despite difficulties or challenges.	en	n
has seen better days	Something is old and in not-so-great condition.	en	n
Hit the nail on the head	To identify or describe something accurately.	en	n
In hot water	In trouble or facing difficulties due to a mistake or wrongdoing.	en	n
In the heat of the moment	In a moment of intense emotion, when we act or speak impulsively without thinking.	en	n
It’s a piece of cake	Something is very easy or simple to do.	en	n
Jump on the bandwagon	To join or support something that is currently popular or successful.	en	n
jump the gun	Do something too early, before the appropriate time	en	n
Keep your chin up	To remain positive and optimistic during difficult times.	en	n
Kick the bucket	Die (very informal)	en	n
Kill two birds with one stone	Accomplish two things at the same time with a single action.	en	n
Let the cat out of the bag	To reveal a secret or confidential information.	en	n
Like a fish out of water	Feeling uncomfortable or out of place in a particular situation.	en	n
Lose your touch	To lose the skill or ability that one once had.	en	n
Make a long story short	To give a brief summary or conclusion.	en	n
make a mountain of a molehill	To exaggerate or put too much focus on a minor issue and make it seem like a major one	en	n
Miss the boat	To miss an opportunity or chance.	en	n
Nip something in the bud	To stop or prevent a problem or situation from developing further.	en	n
Not my cup of tea	Something that is not to your liking or preference.	en	n
Not ring a bell	Not sound familiar or trigger a vague memory.	en	n
Off the chain	Refers to something that is exciting, exceptional, or out of control.	en	n
Off The Hook	Freed from an obligation	en	n
On cloud nine	Feeling extremely happy or joyful.	en	n
On the fence	To remain neutral or undecided in a dispute or issue.	en	n
On thin ice	In a dangerous situation.	en	n
Once in a blue moon	Happens very rarely.	en	n
Out of the blue	Unexpectedly or without any warning.	en	n
Over the moon	Delighted or extremely happy.	en	n
Piece of work	Used to describe someone who is difficult, eccentric, or challenging to deal with.	en	n
Pipe down!	Be quiet!	en	n
Play devil’s advocate	Argue an opposing perspective in order to generate critical thinking or debate.	en	n
Play it by ear	To decide or act based on the situation as it develops, rather than having a fixed plan.	en	n
Play your cards right	Use your resources in a way that leads to success.	en	n
Pull someone’s leg	To tease or joke with someone.	en	n
Put someone on the spot	To ask someone a difficult question or request an immediate response, often in a public or challenging situation.	en	n
Put the cart before the horse	Doing things in the wrong order.	en	n
Put your foot in your mouth	To say something embarrassing, inappropriate, or offensive by accident.	en	n
Raining cats and dogs	Raining heavily.	en	n
Rule of thumb	A general principle or guideline.	en	n
Save your breath	To stop wasting your time and effort saying things that won''t have any effect.	en	n
Shoot yourself in the foot	To do something that harms oneself unintentionally.	en	n
Show someone the ropes	teach someone the details of a task or procedure	en	n
Show your true colors	Reveal the true nature of your character	en	n
Silver lining	something positive in a difficult situation.	en	n
Skeletons in the closet	Hidden or embarrassing secrets from the past.	en	n
Spice things up	To add excitement or variety to a situation or relationship.	en	n
spill the beans	reveal something that was meant to be a secret or surprise	en	n
Steal the show	To attract the most attention or praise.	en	n
Swallow something hook, line, and sinker	To believe something completely – usually something that is not true.	en	n
Take a rain check	To postpone or reschedule a plan or invitation.	en	n
Take it with a grain of salt	To receive/consider information with skepticism or doubt.	en	n
The ball is in your court	It''s your turn to take action or make a decision.	en	n
The best of both worlds	Enjoying the benefits of two different things at the same time.	en	n
The last straw	The final event or action that makes a situation unbearable or prompts a strong reaction.	en	n
The whole nine yards	Everything, or the full extent of something.	en	n
Through thick and thin	Supporting or being loyal to someone during good times and bad times.	en	n
Throw caution to the wind	To take a risk or act without considering the potential consequences.	en	n
Throw in the towel	To give up or surrender.	en	n
Throw someone for a loop	Distract, confuse, or surprise someone suddenly.	en	n
Turn a blind eye	To ignore or pretend not to notice something.	en	n
Under the weather	Feeling sick.	en	n
Up in the air	Uncertain or not confirmed.	en	n
When it rains, it pours	Bad things often happen in clusters or all at once.	en	n
Wrap your head around something	To understand or comprehend something complex or difficult.	en	n

Notes

Last updated on April 30, 2024