{"id":12143,"date":"2022-11-29T22:52:07","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T05:52:07","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-02-07T22:47:04","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T05:47:04","slug":"common-english-idioms-and-phrases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/common-english-idioms-and-phrases\/","title":{"rendered":"25 Most common English idioms and phrases"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"words-head\" id=\"words-759686005\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5017566440575750\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5017566440575750\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"3340569236\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every language has its own idioms and expressions and the English language has many phrases that are useful to learn. Idioms are words or phrases that are not taken literally and usually have a cultural meaning behind them. Most of the English idioms you hear are advice, but they also have some underlying principles and values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">List of Most common English idioms and phrases<\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The best of both worlds<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Speak of the devil<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See eye to eye<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Once in a blue moon<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When pigs fly<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To cost an arm and a leg<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A piece of cake<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Let the cat out of the bag<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To feel under the weather<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To kill two birds with one stone<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To cut corners<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To add insult to injury<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You can\u2019t judge a book by its cover<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Break a leg<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To hit the nail on the head<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A blessing in disguise<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Call it a day<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Let someone off the hook<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No pain no gain<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bite the bullet<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Getting a taste of your own medicine<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Giving someone the cold shoulder<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The last straw<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The elephant in the room<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stealing someones thunder<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/idioms-and-phrases-quiz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Idioms and Phrases Quiz<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color\">Most common English <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/idioms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">idioms<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/phrases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">phrases<\/a><\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Here are the most common English idioms and phrases that will enrich your English vocabulary and make you sound like a native speaker. Now even more idioms and phrases have been added!<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">1. <strong>The best of both worlds<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;You can enjoy two different opportunities at the same time.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> By working part-time and looking after her kids two days a week she managed to get the best of both worlds.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">2. <strong>Speak of the devil<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;the person you\u2019re just talking about actually appears at that moment.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> Hi Tom, speak of the devil, I was just telling Sara about your new car.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">3. <strong>See eye to eye<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;agreeing with someone.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> They finally saw eye to eye on the business deal.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">4. <strong>Once in a blue moon<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;an event that happens infrequently.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> I only go to the cinema once in a blue moon.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">5. <strong>When pigs fly<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;something that will never happen.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> When pigs fly she\u2019ll tidy up her room.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">6. <strong>To cost an arm and a leg<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;something is very expensive.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> Fuel these days costs and arm and a leg.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">7. <strong>A piece of cake<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;something is very easy.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> The English test was a piece of cake.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">8. <strong>Let the cat out of the bag<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;to accidentally reveal a secret.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> I let the cat out of the bag about their wedding plans.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">9. <strong>To feel under the weather<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;to not feel well.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> I\u2019m really feeling under the weather today; I have a terrible cold.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">10. <strong>To kill two birds with one stone<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;to solve two problems at once.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> By taking my dad on holiday, I killed two birds with one stone. I got to go away but also spend time with him.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Read:<\/mark><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/idioms-about-knowledge\/\">Idioms About Knowledge<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\"><strong>11. To cut corners<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;to do something badly or cheaply.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> They really cut corners when they built this bathroom; the shower is leaking.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\"><strong>12. To add insult to injury<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;to make a situation worse.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> To add insult to injury the car drove off without stopping after knocking me off my bike.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">13. You can\u2019t judge a book by its cover<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;to not judge someone or something based solely on appearance.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> I thought this no-brand bread would be horrible; turns out you can\u2019t judge a book by its cover.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">14. Break a leg<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;good luck&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> Break a leg Sam, I\u2019m sure your performance will be great.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">15. To hit the nail on the head<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;to describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> He hit the nail on the head when he said this company needs more HR support.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Read:<\/mark><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/idioms-for-ielts\/\">Idioms for IELTS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">16. A blessing in disguise<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;An misfortune that eventually results in something good happening later on.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> Being omitted from the World Cup squad was a blessing in disguise.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">17. Call it a day<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Stop working on something&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> After three marriages, many men would have been more than ready to call it a day.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">18. <strong>Let someone off the hook<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;To allow someone, who have been caught, to not be punished.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> He had told a lie to get off the hook in a debate.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">19. No pain no gain<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;You have to work hard for something you want.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> \u201cNo pain, no gain in rugby,\u201d he said referring to his crooked right arm.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">20. Bite the bullet<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Decide to do something unpleasant that you have avoiding doing.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> Decisions have to be taken and as director, you have got to bite the bullet.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Read:<\/mark><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/idioms-about-friendship\/\">Idioms About Friendship<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">21. Getting a taste of your own medicine<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Being treated the same unpleasant way you have treated others.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> The coup gave the dictatorship a dose of its own medicine, subjecting the dictator and his entourage to torture and confinement in deplorable conditions.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">22. Giving someone the cold shoulder<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;To ignore someone.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> She was sure that at some point she&#8217;d given some one the cold shoulder and hurt them badly without noticing.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">23. The last straw<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The final source of irritation for someone to finally lose patience.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> His affair was the last straw.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">24. The elephant in the room<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;A&nbsp;matter&nbsp;or&nbsp;problem&nbsp;that&nbsp;is&nbsp;obvious&nbsp;of&nbsp;great&nbsp;importance&nbsp;but&nbsp;that&nbsp;is&nbsp;not&nbsp;discussed&nbsp;openly.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> They&#8217;ve steadfastly ignored the elephant in the room: the ever-growing debt burden on graduates<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">25. Stealing someones thunder<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Taking credit for someone else achievements.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong> My brother is the star athlete of our high school, so no matter what I succeed in, he&#8217;s constantly stealing my thunder.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Read:<\/mark><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/idioms-to-use-in-conversation\/\">Idioms to use in conversation!<\/a><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/d3c1yyje0uguxm.cloudfront.net\/2022\/11\/Most-common-English-idioms-and-phrases-wordscoach.com_-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Most common English idioms and phrases - wordscoach.com\" class=\"wp-image-12146\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Most-common-English-idioms-and-phrases-wordscoach.com_-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Most-common-English-idioms-and-phrases-wordscoach.com_-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Most-common-English-idioms-and-phrases-wordscoach.com_-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Most-common-English-idioms-and-phrases-wordscoach.com_-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Most-common-English-idioms-and-phrases-wordscoach.com_-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Most-common-English-idioms-and-phrases-wordscoach.com_.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.users.wordsdaily\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Download the Word of the day<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are the most common English idioms and phrases that will enrich your English vocabulary and make you sound like a native speaker. Now even more idioms and phrases have been added!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,146],"tags":[956,7327,957,6549,950,7147,7331,7149,82,5697,7330,7328,7329,5693,5702,958,820,955,7332],"class_list":["post-12143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-idioms","category-phrases","tag-common-english-idioms","tag-common-english-phrases","tag-common-idioms","tag-common-idioms-in-english","tag-english-idioms","tag-english-idioms-and-phrases","tag-english-phrases","tag-english-phrases-and-idioms","tag-idioms","tag-idioms-and-phrases","tag-idioms-and-phrases-for-ssc-cgl","tag-idioms-and-phrases-in-english","tag-idioms-and-phrases-tricks","tag-idioms-and-phrases-with-meanings","tag-idioms-and-phrases-with-meanings-in-english","tag-idioms-in-english","tag-learn-english","tag-learn-english-idioms","tag-native-english-phrases"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Most-common-English-idioms-and-phrases-wordscoach.com_.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordscoach.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}