English idioms, proverbs, and expressions 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.
Here’s a list of “Idioms beginning with H” in English:
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Hail Mary (n. or adj.)
Meaning: A desperate, last-ditch attempt
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Hair of the Dog (That Bit You)
Meaning: A small amount of the alcoholic beverage that caused your hangover
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Hands are Tied
Meaning: You are prevented from doing something. It is not within your power
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Hands Down
Meaning: Undoubtedly
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Hang It Up
Meaning: To retire, to end an activity one has pursued for a long time
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Hang Tough
Meaning: Maintain one’s resolve
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Hanging by a Thread
Meaning: In great danger of elimination or failure
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Happy-Go-Lucky
Meaning: If you are a happy-go-lucky person, you are cheerful and carefree all the time.
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Hard Nut to Crack
Meaning: A difficult problem or a difficult person
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Has the Cat Got Your Tongue?
Meaning: Why are you not saying anything?
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Hat Trick
Meaning: Scoring three goals in hockey or soccer (football), or accomplishing three of anything.
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Hatchet Job
Meaning: A strong attack on someone’s reputation; intentionally destructive criticism; calumny
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Haul Over the Coals
Meaning: To scold someone severely
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Have (one’s) head in the clouds
Meaning: Not know what is happening around you or out of touch with reality
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Have A Ball
Meaning: To have a very enjoyable time
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Have a Bone to Pick (with Someone)
Meaning: To want to discuss something someone has done that has angered or annoyed you.
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Have a Bone to Pick (with Someone)
Meaning: To want to discuss something someone has done that has angered or annoyed you.
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Have a Chip on One’s Shoulder
Meaning: To harbor resentment; to have an angry attitude
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Have a Dog in the Hunt (Fight, Race)
Meaning: To support a certain person in a competition
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Have a Lead Foot
Meaning: A tendency to drive very fast
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Have a Lot on One’s Plate
Meaning: Be busy, be in the middle of many ongoing tasks
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Have a Lot Riding On (Something)
Meaning: Be depending on the successful outcome or development of something
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Have a Nose for (Something)
Meaning: To have natural ability at something, a talent for finding something
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Have a Screw Loose
Meaning: Be slightly unbalanced or crazy
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Have a Tough Row to Hoe
Meaning: Be faced with a task that is difficult because of unfavorable conditions
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Have A Whale of A Time
Meaning: To enjoy yourself very much
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Have an Ace Up One’s Sleeve
Meaning: To have a hidden advantage
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Have Bigger Fish to Fry
Meaning: Have more important things to do
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Have Egg on Your Face
Meaning: They are made to look foolish or embarrassed
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Have Foot-in-Mouth Disease
Meaning: To embarrass oneself through a silly mistake
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Have Hand of Aces/Hold All the Aces
Meaning: To be in a very strong position in a competition
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Have It Out with Someone
Meaning: To have an argument with someone in order to settle a dispute
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Have One Foot in The Grave
Meaning: To be near death (usually because of old age or illness)
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Have One Over the Eight
Meaning: A person is slightly drunk.
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Have One Too Many
Meaning: Drink too much alcohol
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Have One’s Cake and Eat It, Too
Meaning: To want two incompatible things (usually used in the negative)
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Have Skin in the Game
Meaning: Be risking something in an undertaking
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Have Something in the Bag
Meaning: Be certain to win
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Have the Hots for (Somebody)
Meaning: To be (sexually) attracted to somebody
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Have the Hots for Somebody
Meaning: Finding somebody extremely attractive
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Have The Time of Your Life
Meaning: If you have the time of our life, you enjoy yourself very much.
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Have the Time of Your Life
Meaning: To have a very fun, exciting, or enjoyable time
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Have Your Nose in the Air
Meaning: Have a snobbish or disdainful attitude
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Have Your Say
Meaning: Express your opinion on something
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Have Your Thumb Up Your Ass
Meaning: Have nothing to do
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He Who Laughs Last Laughs Best
Meaning: Being victorious is often a matter of simply surviving a conflict
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He Would Put Legs Under A Chicken
Meaning: He will talk your head off; he is very talkative
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Head (Go) South
Meaning: Decline, get worse
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Head and Shoulders Above
Meaning: Far superior to
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Head and Shoulders
Meaning: Above Far superior to
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Head Start
Meaning: An advantage over everyone else
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Heads Up (excl.)
Meaning: Get ready! Be prepared
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Heads Up!
Meaning: Be careful!
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Heads Will Roll (Are Going to Roll)
Meaning: People will be fired
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Heads Will Roll (Are Going to Roll)
Meaning: People will be fired
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Hear (Something) Through the Grapevine
Meaning: To learn something via gossip
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Heart and Soul
Meaning: With all one’s energy or affection
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Heavens Open
Meaning: Start to rain heavily
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Heavy Hitter
Meaning: A powerful, influential person
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Helicopter Parenting
Meaning: Overattentive child-raising
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Hell for Leather
Meaning: Very fast, as fast as possible
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High as a Kite
Meaning: Strongly under the influence of drugs or intoxcants
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High as a Kite
Meaning: Strongly under the influence of drugs or intoxcants
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High as a Kite
Meaning: Strongly under the influence of drugs or intoxcants
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Hightail It (Out of There)
Meaning: Flee
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Highways and Byways
Meaning: You take large and small roads to visit every part of the country.
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Hit a Wall
Meaning: suddenly stop making forward progress
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Hit It Out of the Park
Meaning: Succeed brilliantly
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Hit the Books
Meaning: To study (generally said of students
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Hit the Ground Running
Meaning: To begin a job or project with no learning or training period needed
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Hit the Hay
Meaning: To go to bed
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Hit the Jackpot
Meaning: Do something that brings great success
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Hit the Nail on the Head
Meaning: To be absolutely correct (said of an utterance)
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Hit the Road
Meaning: To leave
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Hit the Roof
Meaning: Explode in rage; become extremely angry
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Hit the Roof
Meaning: To become very angry
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Hit the Sack
Meaning: To go to bed
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Hit the Spot
Meaning: Be very satisfying (said of something eaten)
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Hive Mind
Meaning: The knowledge of humans as a group
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Hobson’s Choice
Meaning: A choice among bad options
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Hold One’s Liquor
Meaning: Be able to drink a large amount without being affected
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Hold One’s Peace
Meaning: Be silent
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Hold the Phone
Meaning: Wait a moment (whether you’re on the phone or not)
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Hold the Phone
Meaning: Wait a moment (whether you’re on the phone or not)
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Hold Your Horses (generally excl.)
Meaning: Stop; restrain yourself; don’t be so excited
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Home Away from Home
Meaning: A habitual hangout; a place one frequents often and where one feels welcome
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Home Truths
Meaning: Honest, often painful criticism
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Honor System
Meaning: A system of payments that relies on the honesty of those paying
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Hot Mess
Meaning: Something or someone in a state of extreme disorder
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Hot on the Heels (of)
Meaning: In close pursuit
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Hot on the Heels (of)
Meaning: In close pursuit
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Hot Potato
Meaning: A controversial subject or difficult project that is best avoided