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 “Familiar English Idioms” in English:
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A little learning is a dangerous thing
Meaning: People who don’t understand something fully are dangerous
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A snowball effect
Meaning: Events have momentum and build upon each other
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A snowball’s chance in hell
Meaning: No chance at all
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A stitch in time saves nine
Meaning: Fix the problem now because it will get worse later
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A storm in a teacup
Meaning: A big fuss about a small problem
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An apple a day keeps the doctor away
Meaning: Apples are good for you
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An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
Meaning: You can prevent a problem with little effort. Fixing it later is harder.
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As right as rain
Meaning: Perfect
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Bolt from the blue
Meaning: Something that happened without warning
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Burn bridges
Meaning: Destroy relationships
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Calm before the storm
Meaning: Something bad is coming, but right now it’s calm
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Come rain or shine
Meaning: No matter what
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Curiosity killed the cat
Meaning: Stop asking questions
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Cut the mustard
Meaning: Do a good job
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Don’t beat a dead horse
Meaning: Move on, this subject is over
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Every dog has his day
Meaning: Everyone gets a chance at least once
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Familiarity breeds contempt
Meaning: The better you know someone the less you like him
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Fit as a fiddle
Meaning: In good health
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Fortune favors the bold
Meaning: Take risks
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Get a second wind
Meaning: Have more energy after having been tired
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Get wind of something
Meaning: Hear news of something secret
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Go down in flames
Meaning: Fail spectacularly
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Haste makes waste
Meaning: You’ll make mistakes if you rush through something
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Have your head in the clouds
Meaning: Not be concentrating
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He who laughs last laughs loudest
Meaning: I’ll get you back for what you did
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Hear something straight from the horse’s mouth
Meaning: Hear something from the person involved
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He’s not playing with a full deck
Meaning: He’s dumb
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He’s off his rocker
Meaning: He’s crazy
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He’s sitting on the fence
Meaning: He can’t make up his mind
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It is a poor workman who blames his tools
Meaning: If you can’t do the job, don’t blame it on others
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It is always darkest before the dawn
Meaning: Things are going to get better
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It takes two to tango
Meaning: One person alone isn’t responsible. Both people are involved.
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Jump on the bandwagon
Meaning: Follow a trend, do what everyone else is doing
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Know which way the wind is blowing
Meaning: Understand the situation (usually negative)
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Leave no stone unturned
Meaning: Look everywhere
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Let sleeping dogs lie
Meaning: Stop discussing an issue
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Like riding a bicycle
Meaning: Something you never forget how to do
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Like two peas in a pod
Meaning: They’re always together
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Make hay while the sun shines
Meaning: Take advantage of a good situation
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On cloud nine
Meaning: Very happy
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Once bitten, twice shy
Meaning: You’re more cautious when you’ve been hurt before
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Out of the frying pan and into the fire
Meaning: Things are going from bad to worse
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Run like the wind
Meaning: Run fast
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Shape up or ship out
Meaning: Work better or leave
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Snowed under
Meaning: Busy
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That ship has sailed
Meaning: It’s too late
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The pot calling the kettle black
Meaning: Someone criticizing someone else he is just as bad
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There are clouds on the horizon
Meaning: Trouble is coming
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Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones
Meaning: People who are morally questionable shouldn’t criticize others
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Through thick and thin
Meaning: In good times and in bad times
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Time is money
Meaning: Work quickly
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Waste not, want not
Meaning: Don’t waste things and you’ll always have enough
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We see eye to eye
Meaning: We agree
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Weather the storm
Meaning: Go through something difficult
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Well begun is half done
Meaning: Getting a good start is important
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When it rains it pours
Meaning: Everything is going wrong at once
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You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar
Meaning: You’ll get what you want by being nice
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You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink
Meaning: You can’t force someone to make the right decision
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You can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs
Meaning: There’s always a cost to doing something