Members Get More
Sign up for free and gain access to many more idioms and slang expressions. Register now.
- A rising tide lifts all boats
- This idiom, coined by John F Kennedy, describes the idea that when an economy is performing well, all people will benefit from it.
- Across the pond
- (UK) This idiom means on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, used to refer to the US or the UK depending on the speaker's location.
- As cold as stone
- If something is as cold as stone, it is very cold. If a person is as cold as stone, they are unemotional.
- At sea
- If things are at sea, or all at sea, they are disorganized and chaotic.
- Beat the daylights out of someone
- If someone beats the daylights out of another person, they hit them repeatedly.
('Knock' can also be used and it can be made even stronger by saying 'the living daylights'.)
- Between a rock and a hard place
- If you are caught between a rock and a hard place, you are in a position where you have to choose between unpleasant alternatives, and your choice might cause you problems; you will not be able to satisfy everyone.
- Break the ice
- When you break the ice, you get over any initial embarrassment or shyness when you meet someone for the first time and start conversing.
- Clear as mud
- If something is as clear as mud, then it is very confusing and unclear.
- Cliffhanger
- If something like a sports match or an election is a cliffhanger, then the result is so close that it cannot be predicted and will only be known at the very end.
- Cuts no ice
- If something cuts no ice, it doesn't have any effect or influence.
- Dead air
- When there is a period of total silence, there is dead air.
- Down-to-earth
- Someone who's down-to-earth is practical and realistic. It can also be used for things like ideas.
- Drop in the ocean
- A drop in the ocean implies that something will have little effect because it is small and mostly insignificant.
- Four corners of the earth
- If something goes to, or comes from, the four corners of the earth, it goes or comes absolutely everywhere.
- Full of hot air
- Someone who is full of hot air talks a lot of rubbish.
- Grass may be greener on the other side but it's just as hard to mow
-
'The grass may be greener on the other side but it's just as hard to mow' is an expression used to mean a person's desire to have that which another person has in the belief it will make their life easieris false as all situations come with their own set of problems.
- Head for the hills
- If people head for the hills, they run away from trouble.
- Hung the moon
- If you refer to someone as having hung the moon, you think they are extremely wonderful, or amazing, or good.
- In broad daylight
- If a crime or problem happens in broad daylight, it happens during the day and should have been seen and stopped.
- It's an ill wind that blows no good
- This is said when things have gone wrong; the idea being that when bad things happen, there can also be some positive results.
- Make a mountain out of a molehill
- If somebody makes a mountain out of a molehill, they exaggerate the importance or seriousness of a problem.
- Make waves
- If someone makes waves, they cause a lot of trouble.
- Many moons ago
- A very long time ago.
- Moral high ground
- If people have/take/claim/seize, etc, the moral high ground, they claim that their arguments, beliefs, etc, are morally superior to those being put forward by other people.
- Mountain to climb
- If you have a mountain to climb, you have to work hard or make a lot of progress to achieve something.
- Move mountains
- If you would move mountains to do something, you would make any effort to achieve your aim. When people say that faith can move mountains, they mean that it can achieve a lot.
- Mud in the fire
- The things that cannot be changed in the past that we usually forget about are mud in the fire.
- Nature abhors a vacuum
- This idiom is used to express the idea that empty or unfilled spaces are unnatural as they go against the laws of nature and physics.
- No smoke without fire
- This idiom means that when people suspect something, there is normally a good reason for the suspicion, even if there is no concrete evidence. ('Where's there's smoke, there's fire' is also used.)
- Not the only pebble on the beach
- If something is not the only pebble on the beach, there are other possibilities or alternatives.
- Old flames die hard
- It's very difficult to forget old things, especially the first love.
- On ice
- If plans are put on ice, they are delayed and no action will be taken for the foreseeable future.
- Place in the sun
- If you have your place in the sun, you find wealth, happiness or whatever you are looking for in life.
- Pull out of the fire
- (USA) If you pull something out of the fire, you save or rescue it.
- Ride with the tide
- If you ride with the tide, you accept the majority decision.
- Run into the sand
- If something runs into the sand, it fails to achieve a result.
- Scare the daylights out of someone
- If you scare the daylights out of someone, you terrify them.
(This can be made even stronger by saying 'the living daylights'.)
- Scattered to the four winds
- If something's scattered to the four winds, it goes out in all directions.
- Sell down the river
- If you sell someone down the river, you betray their trust.
- Shed light
- If you shed light on something, you make it clearer and easier to understand.
- Shifting sands
- If the sands are shifting, circumstances are changing.
- Skate on thin ice
- If someone is skating on thin ice, they are taking a big risk.
- Sky is the limit
- When people say that the sky is the limit, they think that there are no limits to the possibilities something could have.
- Slippery slope
- A slippery slope is where a measure would lead to further worse measures.
- Stick-in-the-mud
- A stick-in-the-mud is a person who is old-fashioned, does not want to change the way they do things or innovate.
- Still waters run deep
- People use this idiom to imply that people who are quiet and don't try to attract attention are often more interesting than people who do try to get attention.
- Swim against the tide
- If you swim against the tide, you try to do something that is very difficult because there is a lot of opposition to you.
('Go against the tide' is an alternative form.)
- Swim with the tide
- If you swim with the tide, you do the same as people around you and accept the general consensus.
('Go with the tide' is an alternative form.)
- The sun might rise in the west
- When people say this, they mean that they don't expect something to happen.
- Tip of the iceberg
- The tip of the iceberg is the part of a problem that can be seen, with far more serious problems lying underneath.
- Uncharted waters
- If you're in uncharted waters, you are in a situation that is unfamiliar to you, that you have no experience of and don't know what might happen.
('Unchartered waters' is an incorrect form that is a common mistake.)
- Up a river without a paddle
- If you up a river without a paddle, you are in an unfortunate situation, unprepared and with none of the resources to remedy the matter.
- Up the wooden hill
- When you go up the wooden hill, you go up the stairs to bed.
- Walking on air
- If you are walking on air, you are so happy that you feel as if you could float.
- Where there's smoke, there's fire
- When there is an indication or sign of something bad, usually the indication is correct.
- Worse things happen at sea
- This idiomatic expression is used as a way of telling someone not to worry so much about their problems.
Suggest an Idiom
Idioms By Country
|
 |
|