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English Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions

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Let the grass grow round your feet: If you let the grass grow round your feet, you delay doing things instead of taking action.
Let your guard down: If you let your guard down, you relax and stop looking out for danger.
Let your hair down: If someone lets their hair down, they relax and stop feeling inhibited or shy.
Let's call it a day: This is used as a way of suggesting that it is time to stop working on something.
Letter of the law: If people interpret laws and regulations strictly, ignoring the ideas behind them, they follow the letter of the law.
Level best: If you do your level best, you make every possible efforrt to do something as well as you can.
Level playing field: If there's a level playing field everybody is treated equally.
License to print money: A license to print money is something that generates a large income without much effort.
Lick someone's boots: If you lick someone's boots, you behave in a very servile manner and try to please someone.
Lie like a rug: If someone lies like a rug, they lie to the point where it becomes obvious that they're lying.
Lie low: If someone lies low, they try not to be found or caught.
Lie through your teeth: Someone who is always lying, regardless of what people know, lies through their teeth.
Life and limb: When people risk life and limb, they could be killed or suffer serious injuries.
Life is just a bowl of cherries: This idiom means that life is simple and pleasant.
Light a fire under: If you light a fire under somebody, you strongly motivate them to work faster.
Light at the end of the tunnel: If you can see light at the end of the tunnel, then you can see some signs of hope in the future, though things are difficult at the moment.
Light bulb moment: A light bulb moment is when you have a sudden realisation about something, like the light bulbs used to indicate an idea in cartoons.
Light on your feet: If someone is light on their feet, they can move quickly and are agile.
Light years ahead: If you are light years ahead of others, you are a long way in front of them in terms of development, success, etc.
Lightning fast: Something that is lightning fast is very fast indeed.
Lightning rod: Someone or something that attracts a lot of negative comment, often diverting attention from other problems, is a lightning rod.
Like a bat out of hell: This expression means extremely quickly.
Like a beached whale: Once a whale is on a beach, it cannot get back into the easily, so if you are completely stuck somewhere and can't get away, you are stranded like a beached whale.
Like a bear with a sore head: (UK) If someone's like a bear with a sore head, they complain a lot and are unhappy about something.
Like a bull at a gate: If you tackle a job very quickly, without any real thought about what you are doing, you are going at it like a bull at a gate.
Like a cat on hot bricks: If someone is like a cat on hot bricks, they are very nervous or excited.
Like a cat that got the cream: If someone looks very pleased with themselves and happy, they look like a cat that got the cream.
Like a duck to water: If someone has a natural talent for something and enjoys it, they take to it like a duck to water.
Like a fish needs a bicycle: If someone needs something like a Fish Needs a Bicycle, they do not need it at all, originally a feminist slogan: A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.
Like a fish out of water: If someone feels like a fish out of water, they are very uncomfortable in the situation they are in.
Like a hawk: If you watch something or someone like a hawk, you observe very closely and carefully.
Like a headless chicken: If someone rushes about like a headless chicken, they move very fast all over the place, usually without thinking.
Like a kid in a candy store: If someone is like a kid in a candy store, they are very excited about something.
Like a moth to a flame: Something that is like a moth to a flame is attracted to something that is deadly or dangerous.
Like a rat deserting a sinking ship: If people leave a company because they know that it's about to have serious problems, or turn their back on a person about to be in a similar situation, they are said to be like rats deserting a sinking ship.
Like Chinese arithmetic: If something is complicated and hard to understand, it's like Chinese arithmetic.
Like clockwork: If something happens like clockwork, it happens at very regular times or intervals.
Like collecting frogs in a bucket: Something like colecting frogs in a bucket describes a task that is difficult to control or coordinate
Like father, like son: This idiom is used when different generations of a family behave in the same way or have the same talents of defects.
Like giving a donkey strawberries: (UK) If something is like giving a donkey strawberries, people fail to appreciate its value.
Like green corn through the new maid: (USA) If something is very fast, it is like green corn through the new maid.
Like it or lump it: When people say this, they mean that the person will have to accept the situation because it isn't going to change.
Like lambs to the slaughter: If somebody does something unpleasant without any resistance, they go like lambs to the slaughter.
Like nailing jello to the wall: (USA) Describes a task that is very difficult because the parameters keep changing or because someone is being evasive.
Like no one's business: If I say my children are growing like no one's business, it means they're growing very quickly. See also 'Like the clappers' and 'Like there's no tomorrow'.
Like peas in a pod: If people or things are like peas in a pod, they look identical.
Like pulling teeth: If something if like pulling teeth, it is very difficult, especially if trying to extract information or to get a straight answer from someone.
Like taking candy from a baby: (USA) If something is like taking candy from a baby, it is very easy to do.
Like the back of your hand: If you know something like the back of your hand, you know it very well indeed.
Like the clappers: If something is going like the clappers, it is going very fast.

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English Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions

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