Learn 27 English Idioms for Fluent English Conversation!

Hello everyone! Welcome back to my  channel! I’m Kate and today I’m going  

to share with you 27 useful idioms you  must know. These idioms can really help  

you to understand native speakers while  watching an English movie or TV series. 

An idiom is a group of words with a  special meaning that's different from  

the meanings of each word on its own. 1 For example, "it's raining cats and  

dogs" is an idiom that means it's raining very  heavily, but it doesn't literally mean that  

cats and dogs are falling from the sky. Now I’m going to explain common English  

idioms and give you examples, so  please go on watching this video 

The first idiom we’re going to learn  is ‘Take it with a grain of salt’ 

Take it with the grain of salt? What does it mean?  This idiom means - Don’t take it too seriously. If  

you read online that eating only carrots will  make you super smart, it's best to take that  

information with a grain of salt. You should  not completely believe that information. Maybe  

it’s not true. I take everything he says with a  grain of salt. I don’t believe him completely. 

Have you ever heard about the  phrase to Beat around the bush? 

This is a bush. But what does  it mean to beat around it? 

"Beat around the bush" means not talking directly  about something. When someone beats around the  

bush, they talk about other things because they  might be nervous about the main thing they want  

to say. Beating around the bush means - You are  not saying what you really want to say right away. 

For example, When I asked him about the  missing cake, he started beating around  

the bush. Instead of answering my question,  he started talking about something else. 

A very common idiom that I hear all  the time in movies and TV series is 

4 Call it a day "Call it a day" is an  

idiom that means to stop working, usually because  you have done enough work or you are tired. It's  

like saying, "I've done enough for today,  and now I'm going to stop and have a rest." 

Here's an example: After studying for three  hours, Sarah decided to call it a day and relax.

Number 5 An interesting  

phrase is to Keep someone’s nose to the grindstone 

What is a grindstone? A grindstone is  a tool used for grinding or sharpening. 

Keep someone's nose to the grindstone is an  idiom that means to make someone work hard and  

continuously, without breaks or a chance to relax. For example, I have a big presentation next week,  

so I need to keep my nose to  the grindstone this weekend

Another great phrase is 6  Kill two birds with one stone 

I’m sure some of you know this phrase. Kill  two birds with one stone means to achieve  

two things by doing just one action. It's like saying you can complete two  

tasks at the same time with only  one effort. Here's an example:  

Lisa killed two birds with one stone by listening  to her Spanish lessons while cooking dinner.

Here’s another fun idiom - 7  Give someone the cold shoulder 

This means: to ignore someone or  treat someone in an unfriendly way: 

For example: After the conversation,  Mike gave his friend the cold  

shoulder and didn't talk to him all day. The next phrase is 8 Full of the joys of spring 

If you are Full of the joys of spring that  means you are very happy and cheerful,  

just like how people often feel in the  spring season when everything is fresh  

and new. This idiom means someone is in  a really good mood and feeling great. 

For example. After his team won the match,  Alex was full of the joys of spring,  

high-fiving everyone he met. Number 9 is: 

The next phrase is 9 Add insult to injury Add insult to injury? This means: to do or say  

something that makes a bad situation even worse For example: When Sarah missed the bus,  

and it started raining heavily,  it just added insult to injury.

Number 10 The next interesting phrase is To be in hot water 

Does it mean to wash yourself in hot water? No.  "To be in hot water" means to be in trouble or  

a difficult situation. When someone has done  something wrong or made a mistake and now they  

are facing problems or difficulties. For example: "Jake forgot to do his  

homework and is now in hot  water with his teacher."

Number 11 Another idiom is Getting a taste  

of your own medicine This means: Being treated  the same unpleasant way you have treated others. 

The phrase 'a taste of your own medicine' means  someone should have the same unpleasant experience  

that they themselves have given to someone For example: If you don't like being interrupted,  

but you often interrupt others, when someone  interrupts you, you're getting a taste of your  

own medicine. Number 12 

The next idiom is ‘The elephant in the room’ This means: an obvious problem that no one  

wants to discuss, a big issue that everyone  knows about, but no one wants to talk about it 

For example: Everyone knew the company  was losing money, but during the meeting,  

that issue was the elephant in  the room, as no one wanted to  

talk about it. Number 13 

Another idiom is to be on  the ball. To be? on the ball? 

to be on the ball means someone is very  smart and quickly reacts to things. They  

know what to do and do it well. For example: "Mia is always on  

the ball in class. She answers questions  fast and understands everything easily."

Number 14 The next phrase is Go  

back to the drawing board Does that mean to draw  something? No! It has nothing to do with drawing! 

This means: to start planning something  again because the first plan failed. 

For example: The boss doesn’t like our idea  so we must go back to the drawing board. 

The next idiom is 15 Spill the beans 

To spill the beans means to  tell people secret information. 

For example: We wouldn't spill the beans about  the wedding until we are ready to announce it. 

Number 16 Another idiom with a  

similar meaning is to Let the cat out of the bag To let the cat out of the bag is another idiom  

that means to reveal a secret. Tom let the cat out of the bag  

when he accidentally mentioned the secret  gift they were getting for their teacher.

Number 17 Another great idiom, and it’s  

very common – to put the genie back in the bottle This means: that once something has started or  

happened you can’t reverse it easily. For example: Let’s say you dropped out of college.  

And your parents found out. It’s a bad situation and I hope  

you never have to go through something  like this. So this is just an example. 

Now that your parents know that you  dropped out of college, it's going to be  

difficult to put the genie back in the bottle It's going to be hard to keep it a secret or  

change the situation. Number 18 

The next phrase is to Throw caution to the wind.  This idiom means: to do something without worrying  

about the risk or negative results For example: 

One day, he decided to throw caution to the  wind, give up his job and just go travelling.

Number 19 Another common  

phrase is a rule of thumb. This is a thumb. But  a rule of thumb means a basic rule or easy way of  

doing something based on experience or practice.  It's not a strict rule, but it usually works. 

For example: "As a rule of thumb, I always check  the oil in my car before a long road trip."

Number 20 Another popular idiom is  

‘out of the question’. It’s out of the question. This means: something impossible or unacceptable 

For example: John hasn't studied  at all for the final exam,  

so passing it is out of the question!  It’s impossible for him to pass the exam.

Number 21 Another amazing  

phrase is ‘the best of both worlds’ This idiom means: a situation where  

you enjoy the benefits of two very  different things at the same time. 

For example: Working part-time and  studying part-time gives me the  

best of both worlds – I can gain work  experience and continue my education.

Number 22 The next one is Cross that bridge when  

you come to it. Have you ever heard this phrase? Cross that bridge when you come to it is an  

idiom that means to deal with a problem  or situation when it happens, instead of  

worrying about it in advance. It suggests  that you should not worry about possible  

future problems but rather focus on the present. For example: "I'm not sure how I'll manage both  

work and classes next month, but I'll  cross that bridge when I come to it."

Number 23 Another great  

phrase is - Your guess is as good as mine This means: I don't know the answer and  

I think you don't know it either. This idiom means to have no idea,  

do not know the answer to a question. Person A: "Why is the internet not working?" 

Person B: "Your guess is as good as mine.  Maybe there's an outage in the area." 

[An "outage" is when a service like electricity  or internet stops working for a while.]

Number 24 And here’s another idiom. To cost an arm and a leg 

This means: Very expensive. It  costs a large amount of money 

For example: The show is excellent, but the  tickets cost an arm and a leg. Very expensive.

Number 25 Another great phrase is ‘Blessing in disguise’ 

This means: Something good that isn't  recognized at first. Something seems  

bad at first. But then you see it's  actually good. That’s not a bad thing! 

For example: The criticism I received from  people turned out to be a blessing in disguise,  

as it led to great improvements  and inspired me to become better.

Number 26 Another idiom is ‘Hit the  

nail on the head’. Does that mean to hit an actual  nail to a head? No no no. That means: Do something  

exactly right or say something completely true. For example: My teacher hit the nail on the  

head when she said that I needed to focus  more on my studies to improve my grades.

Number 27 And the last idiom for  

today’s lesson is ‘Cut the mustard’ This is mustard. But what does  

‘to cut the mustard’ mean? This means: to meet a required  

standard or come up to someone’s expectations. It  is a funny way to say something is good enough. 

For example: I'm not sure this old computer can  cut the mustard for the new software update.

That’s it for today’s lesson. I  hope you enjoyed it. Now your task  

is to make a few sentences using  some of the idioms I’ve told you  

about today. Write a Comment below  this video and I will check it out. 

Please support me with your likes and don’t  forget to subscribe to this channel if you  

haven’t yet. Thank you so much for watching  this video. And I’ll talk to you later!