Your Idiom Examples list

IDIOMS

A

Idiom examples list A-D

all and sundry
all, everyone, each one

all at once
Unexpectedly, all of a sudden

all bark and no bite
full of talk but no action or substance

all came out in the wash
to be revealed, usually publicly

all eyes and ears
to be attentive

all hell broke loose
total chaos came about, extreme disorder

all in a day's work
to understate an important achievement

all over the shop
to be in a chaotic state, or out of control

all that jazz
all that which could be related to a subject

B

Idiom examples list B

ball breaker
someone who is unreasonable and excessively difficult to have dealingswith

balls-up
a vulagar term for mess,failure or disaster

barrel of laughs
someone or something who or which is very entertaining be glad to see the back of
to be happy that someone has gone away

bite off more than one can chew
to be overly ambitious, to take on more than is possible to deal with

blow it
to make a mess of something, to fail, to ruin one's chances

bowl over
to totally surprise or overwhelm

C

Idiom examples list C

cheat on
be unfaitful to

cheese off
to really annoy

city slicker
someone who is "at home" in the city and not comfortable in the country

cold shoulder
to be rude, to ignore blatently and disrespectfully

cop on
to stop being silly, to act like an adult, grow up, behave properly

crack up
to laugh almost uncontrollably

crocodile tears
to cry (with tears) that are not sincere

cruising for a bruising
to behave in a manner that is likely to bring about bodily harm in theform of injury inflicted by others

cut one's coat according to one's cloth
live within your capabilities

cut the mustard
to be adequate, to be sufficiently effective

D

dash off
to hurry away

diamond in the rough
a person who appears to be unpleasant or rude but who in fact has goodpositive qualities

deadweight
someone or something of little use but which gets in the way

don't get me started
an invitation to refrain from starting a conversation about which theperson has a lot of negative things to say

double dutch
totally impossible language (or concept) to understand
ie. twice as difficult to understand as Dutch

do a bunk
to disappear without explanation, to escape

drink from a firehose
to access an enormous quantity in order to take (or find) a very small amount ie. the source is so vast that it is difficult to find what you search for

E

Idiom examples list E-H

every nook and cranny
everywhere, in every spot

everything but the kitchen sink
practically everything including that which is not necessary

eye of the beholder
beauty is subjective and depends on the perception of the individualwho sees

eye up
to look in an exagerated fashion, either (usually) as flirt or to express disapproval

F

fair play
to behave correctly, also used to congratulate or express approval

fall by the wayside
to be abandoned, work undone due to lack of commitment or interest

fall for
to fall in love
or
to be tricked or fooled

feel one's oats
to be full of energy, fuelled up

G

get up on the wrong side of the bed
to be grumpy, to be irritable or in a bad mood

gift of the gab
the natural skill to chat to anyone about anything in a convincingmanner

give over
to stop behaving in an annoying fashion

give somebody a hand
to offer help to someone

give someone a hard time
make a situation difficult for someone

give someone the cold shoulder
to dismiss someone's presence, rudely, disrespectfully

give somebody the slip
to manage to get away from someone

goose is cooked
this is the end, there is no hope of succeeding

greatest thing since sliced bread
some sort of new gadget, or invention that will have a significantly positive impact on someone's life.
Also to sarcastically describe a person with a very big ego who believes to be superior and in demand

H

hair of the dog
a taste of the alcoholic drink that caused the hangover taken in the morning to relieve symtoms

handle with kid gloves
to be extremely delicate and careful with someone

hard pressed
finding it difficult or impossible to complete a task

hatchet job
to be critical of someone or something with the sole intent to distroy or cause grave harm to a reputation

heebie-jeebies
feeling of anxiety, fear discomfort
or
emotional excitement in a positive delightful sense

hit someone for six
to be devastated by unexpected news

hit the big time
to achieve huge success

hot on somebody's heels
to follow closely

I

Idiom examples list I-L

if the shoe fits
if all indicators imply something then it is likely to be so

ignorance is bliss
sometimes it is better to not have knowledge of something

in a jiffy
very quickly

inside track
an advantaged position

iron out to
solve a problem, resolve an issue

it's no skin off my back
it's not a problem for me, it doesn't bother me

itchy trigger finger
someone who often does things hastily

ivory tower
an unrealistic perspective based on unrealistic reasoning demonstrating lack of connection to reality

J

jack of all trades
someone capable of doing varied tasks but not any one in a spectacularly effective manner

join the club meaning
"I understand your problem and sympathise"

Watch this space! We will be completing the full idiom examples list very soon! Really, we are working on this website as you read :)

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