The most popular idioms or proverbs

[bmo]

What would you say are the five most popular idioms or proverbs in use today? Would "Raining cats and dogs " be one of them?

Thanks.

BMO

[RonBee]

I am not at all sure what the most popular idiom is, but I am sure it is not raining cats and dogs, perhaps because it doesn't rain that hard that often.

:)

[RonBee]

How about:

• It takes two to tango.

Or:

• Kill two birds with one stone.

[Tdol]

'Raining cats and dogs' is a strange idiom- every student in the world knows it, yet I never hear any native speaker use it here in the UK.

[Susie Smith]

'Raining cats and dogs' is a strange idiom- every student in the world knows it, yet I never hear any native speaker use it here in the UK.

What do you say when it's pouring?

[Tdol]

It's pouring, chucking it down, or p*ss*ng it down.

[P. Fogg]

It's pouring, chucking it down, or p*ss*ng it down.

What about:

It´s bucketing down.

P. Fogg

[Tdol]

We do say that and just 'coming down'.

[Susie Smith]

We do say that and just 'coming down'.

I say it's coming down hard or pouring, but I've heard a lot of native Americans say it's raining cats and dogs, mostly the "older" generation, I guess. Brazilians say "it's raining pocketknives", which makes more sense than cats and dogs, at least to me. It's interesting how an idiom varies from country to country, isn't it? I myself love idioms. They make languages so much more colorful, especially when you hear one that is not so common.

[Beeuurkes]

"When the pigs will begin to fly". Is it a common idiom in English ?
Or is it just the same as "It's raining cats and dogs" : well-known abroad but never used ?
In French, the equivalent idiom is very often used (at least in Belgium) and sounds like this :
"When the hens will have teeth". :wink: