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Idioms
English idioms are an important part of everyday English. They come up all the time in both written and spoken English. Because idioms don't always make sense literally, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the meaning and usage of each idiom. That may seem like a lot of work, but learning idioms is fun, especially when you compare English idioms to the idioms in your own language.
Learning to use common idioms and expressions will make your English sound more native, so it's a good idea to master some of these expressions. The table below is organized into three columns. The last column is for your example in the context for which it is used.
Idiom
1 A blessing in disguise
2 A dime a dozen
3 Beat around the bush
4 Better late than never 5 Bite the bullet
6 Break a leg
7 Call it a day
8 Cut somebody some slack
9 Cutting corners
10 Easy does it 11 Get out of hand
12 Get something out of your system
13 Get your act together
14 Give someone the benefit of the doubt
15 Go back to the drawing board
16 Hang in there
17 Hit the sack
18 It's not rocket science
19 Let someone off the hook
20 Make a long story short
21 Miss the boat
22 No pain, no gain
23 On the ball
24 Pull someone's leg
25 Pull yourself together
26 So far so good
27 Speak of the devil
28 That's the last straw
29 The best of both worlds 30 Time flies when you're having fun
31 To get bent out of shape
32 To make matters worse
33 Under the weather
34 We'll cross that bridge when we come to it
35 Wrap your head around something
36 You can say that again
37 Your guess is as good as mine
38 A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
39 A penny for your thoughts
40 A penny saved is a penny earned
41 A perfect storm
42 A picture is worth 1000 words
43 Actions speak louder than words
44 Add insult to injury
45 Barking up the wrong tree
46 Birds of a feather flock together
47 Bite off more than you can chew
48 Break the ice
49 By the skin of your teeth
50 Comparing apples to oranges
51 Costs an arm and a leg
52 Do something at the drop of a hat
53 Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
54 Don't count your chickens before they hatch
55 Don't cry over spilt milk
56 Don't give up your day job
57 Don't put all your eggs in one basket
58 Every cloud has a silver lining
59 Get a taste of your own medicine
60 Give someone the cold shoulder
61 Go on a wild goose chase
62 Good things come to those who wait
63 He has bigger fish to fry
64 He's a chip off the old block
65 Hit the nail on the head
66 Ignorance is bliss
67 It ain't over till the fat lady sings
68 It takes one to know one
69 It's a piece of cake
70 It's raining cats and dogs
71 Kill two birds with one stone
72 Let the cat out of the bag
73 Live and learn
74 Look before you leap
75 On thin ice
76 Once in a blue moon
77 Play devil's advocate 78 Put something on ice
79 Rain on someone's parade
80 Saving for a rainy day
81 Slow and steady wins the race
82 Spill the beans
83 Take a rain check 84 Take it with a grain of salt
85 The ball is in your court
86 The best thing since sliced bread
87 The devil is in the details
88 The early bird gets the worm
89 The elephant in the room
90 The whole nine yards
91 There are other fish in the sea 92 There's a method to his madness
93 There's no such thing as a free lunch
94 Throw caution to the wind
95 You can't have your cake and eat it too
96 You can't judge a book by its cover
Meaning
1a good thing that seemed bad at first
2 Something common
3 Avoid saying what you mean, usually because it is uncomfortable
4 Better to arrive late than not to come at all
5 To get something over with because it is inevitable
6 Good luck
7 Stop working on something
8 Don't be so critical
9 Doing something poorly in order to save time or money
10 Slow down
11 Get out of control
12 Do the thing you've been wanting so you can move on 13 Work better or leave
14 Trust what someone says
15 Start over
16 Don't give up 17 Go to sleep
18 It's not complicated
19 To not hold someone responsible for something
20 Tell something briefly
21 It's too late
22 You have to work for what you want 23 Doing a good job
24 To joke with someone
25 Calm down
26 Things are going well so far
27 The person we were just talking about showed up!
28 My patience has run out
29 An ideal situation
30 You don't notice how long something lasts when it's fun
31 To get upset
32 Make a problem worse
33 Sick 34 Let's not talk about that problem right now
35 Understand something complicated
36 That's true, I agree
37 I have no ide
38 What you have is worth more than what you might have later
39 Tell me what you're thinking
40 Money you save today you can spend later
41 the worst possible situation
42 Better to show than tell
43 Believe what people do not what they say
44 To make a bad situation worse
45 To be mistaken, to be looking for solutions in the wrong place
46 People who are alike are often friends (usually used negatively). 47 Take on a project that you cannot finish
48 Make people feel more comfortable 49 Just barely
50 Comparing two things that cannot be compared
51 Very expensive
52 Do something without having planned beforehand
53 Treat people fairly. Also known as "The Golden Rule"
54 Don't count on something good happening until it's happened.
55 There's no reason to complain about something that can't be fixed
56 You're not very good at this
57 What you're doing is too risky
58 Good things come after bad things
59 Get treated the way you've been treating others (negative)
60 Ignore someone
61 To do something pointless
62 Be patient
63 He has bigger things to take care of than what we are talking about now
64 The son is like the father
65 Get something exactly right
66 You're better off not knowing
67 This isn't over yet 68 You're just as bad as I am
69 It's easy
70 It's raining hard
71 Get two things done with a single action
72 Give away a secret
73 I made a mistake
74 Take only calculated risks
75 On probation. If you make another mistake, there will be trouble. 76 Rarely
77 To argue the opposite, just for the sake of argument
78 Put a project on hold
79 To spoil something
80 Saving money for later
81 Reliability is more important than speed
82 Give away a secret
83 Postpone a plan
84 Don’t take it too seriously
85 It's your decision
86 A really good invention
87 It looks good from a distance, but when you look closer, there are problems
88 The first people who arrive will get the best stuff
89 The big issue, the problem people are avoiding
90 Everything, all the way.
91 It's okay to miss this opportunity. Others will arise.
92 He seems crazy but actually he's clever
93 Nothing is entirely free
94 Take a risk
95 You can't have everything
96 This person or thing may look bad, but it's good inside
Context/Example
1 Although I was late, I met my future wife. It was a blessing in disguise.