LEARN 100 COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS | English Vocabulary Lesson

In this video, you're going to learn 100  idioms that you can add to your vocabulary  

and use every single day. All of these idioms  are very commonly used by native speakers and  

learning them will help you understand native  speakers and sound more natural yourself.

Welcome back to JForrest English Training. Of  course, I'm Jennifer. And this is your place to  

become a fluent, confident English speaker.  And make sure you watch right until the end  

because you're going to get a free PDF download  that summarizes all 100 idioms with example  

sentences and their meaning as well. So you can  download that right at the end of this lesson.

Now let's get started.

To play something by ear. This is when you make  a decision in the moment rather than planning in

advance. So let's say you're talking about your  weekend and your husband or your friend says,

What do you want to do this weekend? And you  might say, let's play it by ear. Let's decide

as the weekend happens, not in advance. Let's  play it by ear. To be all ears. We use this to

say that you're ready to listen and you're paying  full attention. So let's say you tell your boss

you want to discuss something important about the  project and your boss replies, I'm all ears. I'm

all ears. To wake up on the wrong side of the  bed. This is a great one. We've all done this.

It's when you wake up in a bad mood. You wake up  grumpy. So let's say you wake up, you go in the

kitchen, and your wife your husband says, Oh hi  honey, how are you? Would you like some coffee?

What do you want for breakfast? And you're  grumpy. Ah, I don't care. Where's my phone?

And you're being grumpy. Well, then your wife  or husband can say, Well, someone woke up on

the wrong side of the bed. And that's just to let  you know you're being grumpy. To wing something.

When you wing something, you perform a speech  or presentation without planning in advance.

So you definitely don't want to wing your IELTS  exam, right? To make a mountain out of a molehill.

A molehill is really small. A mountain is really  big. So it's when you take a minor problem or

issue and you make it seem really serious or  severe. So let's say you got one question wrong

on a test and you're acting like it's extremely  serious. Someone could say, don't make a mountain

out of a molehill. They're letting you know,  it's really not that bad. To be at a crossroads.

This is when you have to make a really  important decision that could impact your life.

Let's say you've been a graphic designer for 10  years, but you're considering going back to school

and changing careers and becoming a lawyer  or a teacher. So you might say, I'm not sure

if I want to be a graphic designer anymore.  I'm at a crossroads. Because that decision

will impact your life. To rain cats and dogs. This  is when it rains heavily. So let's say your friend

in a different city asks you, Oh, did it rain last  night? And it did. It rains heavily. You can say,

yeah, it rained cats and dogs! To be on top of the  world. This is when you're really really happy. So

let's say you got a new promotion. You can say,  I'm on top of the world! To give someone the cold

shoulder. This is when you ignore someone, and  you ignore someone on purpose, usually because

you're mad at them or annoyed with them. They  did something wrong or something to irritate you.

So let's say your husband or your wife is ignoring  you. You might say, why are you giving me the cold

shoulder? It's another way of asking, why are  you mad at me? What did I do wrong? Why are

you giving me the cold shoulder? To sit on the  fence. This is when you delay making a decision,

usually because that decision is difficult.  And you don't want to make it. For example,

I asked my boss for a promotion, but he's sitting  on the fence. So he won't answer me. He won't say

yes, he won't say no. He keeps just saying, oh  I need to think about it. I'll get back to you.

He's sitting on the fence. To hit the  nail on the head. This is when you

accurately explain a problem or a situation.  For example, you hit the nail on the head

when you said we needed to reduce our costs.  So you explain the situation accurately. To

be as fit as a fiddle. This simply means you feel  great, you have good health, you're in good shape.

So maybe you can say, since I changed my diet  and I'm eating more fruits and vegetables,

I feel as fit as a fiddle. This is a great  one, to get something out of your system.

This is when you do something or you try something  simply so you can move on. For example, let's say

you've been talking about going skydiving for  years. And years. You research it. You look at

different website. You talk to people about it.  But you've never actually done it. Someone might

say, just go skydiving so you can get it out  of your system. So once you do it, you can stop

researching it. Stop looking it up. And just move  on already. I like this one. Speak of the devil.

Speak of the devil. This sounds negative,  because of devil, but it's not at all. This

is used when you're talking about someone and  they appear exactly as you're talking about them.

This has happened right? Let's say you're  talking to a friend about your mutual friend,

Bob. And you're talking about Bob. Oh, is Bob  going to come to the party? Oh, I'm not sure,

I haven't talked to Bob. And then your phone rings  and guess what, it's Bob! And then you can say,

speak of the devil. To give someone the benefit  of the doubt. This is when you trust someone

when they tell you something. So if a coworker is  late and they call you and they say, I'm stuck in

traffic. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt.  Let's trust that he's actually stuck in traffic.

No pain, no gain. This is a classic one.  This is used to say that if you want results,

real results, you have to be willing to work  hard and get uncomfortable. So I might say,

if you want to improve your public speaking  skills, no pain, no gain. You have to be

willing to get uncomfortable. Hang in there.  This is a great one. It simply means, don't

give up. I know learning a language is hard,  but hang in there! A penny for your thoughts.

This is used to ask someone what they're thinking.  So let's say your friend is just staring out the

window and you probably are wondering what are  they thinking about. You can turn to your friend

and say, a penny for your thoughts. It's not  rocket science. Rocket science is complicated,

right? But if we say it's not rocket science,  this means it's not complicated. So I could say,

becoming a confident English speaker is not rocket  science. It's not complicated. You just have to

practice speaking! To let someone off the hook.  This is a great one because it means that you

don't punish someone for a mistake or  a wrong doing. So your boss could say,

I know you came in late today, but I'm going to  let you off the hook. I'm not going to punish you.

To make a long story short. This is when you  take a long and usually complicated story.

And you make it very simple by sharing it  briefly. So you can say long story short,

we missed our flight. So there's a long  story about why you missed your flight.

But you don't want to explain those details. You  just say, long story short, we missed our flight.

Easy does it. Easy does it. This is a way  of saying, slow down. So if your friend

is at the gym and they're trying to do  too many exercises with too much weight,

you might say, easy does it. Slow down. To go  back to the drawing board. This is when you need

to start over and create a new plan or strategy  because the first one failed. So let's say you

were trying to solve a computer problem. You came  up with a strategy. It didn't work. And then you

can say to your team. Well, let's go back to the  drawing board and try again. Once in a blue moon.

This is an event that happens infrequently. For  example, I only see Cara once in a blue moon,

not very often. At the drop of a hat. This is a  great one because it means without hesitation or

instantly. For example, call me if you need  anything and I'll be there at the drop of a hat.

It means I'll come instantly if you need anything.  So it's a really nice, reassuring thing to say to

someone. To add insult to injury. This is when you  take a bad situation and it becomes even worse. So

let's say you're going out on a first date and  your date showed up late. That's already a bad

situation. But then to add insult to injury,  your date forgot his wallet and you had to pay

for both of you. To hit the sack. This means to go  to bed. For example, I'm really tired. I'm going

to hit the sack. The balls in your court. This  is used when you need to make the next decision

or the next step. So I might say, we offered her  a great promotion. So now the balls in her court.

So it's up to her to decide if she's going to  accept the promotion or look for another job,

or do something else. To be/go barking up  the wrong tree. This is when you look in the

wrong place or you accuse the wrong person.  For example, if you think I lost your ring,

you're barking up the wrong tree. You're  accusing the wrong person. To get/have

your ducks in a row. This is when you're well  prepared or well organized for something specific.

So you might say, the conference was supposed  to start 10 minutes ago. They should have gotten

their ducks in a row. They should have been  organized or prepared. To get/have the best of

both worlds. This is when you enjoy the advantages  of two very different things at the same time.

She works in the city, but she lives in the  country. She gets the best of both worlds. The

lion's share. This is the largest part or most  of something. So you might complain, I did the

lion's share of work on this project. To be on the  ball. This is when you're performing really well.

Wow, you completed all those reports already.  You're on the ball! To pull someone's leg.

This is when you're joking with someone. So we  usually use this to reassure someone you're only

joking. Don't get upset, I'm just pulling your  leg. To pull yourself together. This is when you

need to calm down, you regain your composure  after being really upset or agitated, angry,

annoyed. And then you calm down. So I might  say, pull yourself together, it was a false

alarm. So the alarm made you really agitated and  I'm telling you to calm down. So far so good.

This is how you reply when you want to let someone  know that everything is okay until now. How's the

project going? So far so good. To be the last  straw. This is when you have no patience left

for someone's errors or mistakes. So I might say,  this is her fifth time being late this month.

That's the last straw! No more patience for her  mistakes. Time flies when you're having fun.

This is used to say that you don't notice how long  something takes because it's enjoyable. So you

might look at your watch and say, oh wow, it's 1  am already. And then someone could reply and say,

yeah, time flies when you're having fun! To  be bent out of shape. This is used to say

you're upset you're angry. For example, Janice  is bent out of shape because she has to work

late tonight. To make matters worse. Matters in  this sense means problems. To make problems worse.

So I might say, I have to work tonight. And  to make matters worse, to make that situation

even worse, I have an early appointment tomorrow.  Don't judge a book by its cover. You've probably

heard this one. It means that you shouldn't judge  someone or something on appearance. For example,

let's say I'm hiring people and I say, I'm not  going to hire him. Look at his hair! And then

my colleague could say, well don't judge a book  by its cover. Look at his resume! To fall between

two stools. This is when something fails to  achieve two separate objectives. So let's say

you plan to watch a romantic comedy movie. That  movie is supposed to be romantic and funny at the

same time. A romantic comedy, two objective. So  you could say, that movie fell between two stools.

It wasn't romantic and it wasn't funny. To cost  an arm and a leg. This is when something is

exceptionally expensive. Now airline tickets are  usually expensive, but exceptionally expensive,

even more expensive than usual. I might say, my  flight cost an arm and a leg! To cross a bridge

when you come to it. This is used to remind  someone that you only need to deal with the

situation when it happens. So your friend might  be concerned. What if I forget all my words

during my IELTS speaking exam! And then you tell  that friend, cross that bridge when you come to

it. Worry about that problem when it happens. To  cry over spilt milk. This is used when someone

complains about a problem or a loss from the  past. So let's say I had a party weeks ago,

and now I'm complaining, I can't believe John  didn't come to my party. Well, my friend can say,

don't cry over spilt milk. It was three weeks  ago! Why are you still talking about it?

Curiosity killed the cat. This is used to say that  being inquisitive or asking a lot of questions

can lead to an unpleasant situation. So let's say  your husband or wife is planning you a surprise

birthday party, and you try to ask a lot of  questions. What are we doing? Where are we going?

Who is coming? Then your husband or wife can say,  curiosity killed the cat! Just to remind you,

don't ask so many questions. To miss the boat.  This is when you lose an opportunity because you

were too slow to take action. For example, the  application deadline was last week. I missed the

boat. To be on fire. This is to perform really  well. Wow, your presentation was amazing. You

were on fire. To spill the beans. This is when you  reveal a secret when you shouldn't have revealed a

secret. So let's say you're planning a surprise  party for someone, and then you tell everyone,

don't spill the beans! Don't reveal the  secret. To be under the weather. This is when

you feel unwell, when you feel sick. Oh,  I'm a little under the weather today.

A blessing in disguise. This is when something  a situation seems bad or unlucky at first,  

but it results in something positive. At a  later date. So let's say you get fired from  

your job. Obviously that seems bad, maybe even  unlucky. But later on, you get a job that's 10  

times better. It pays better. You have a better  boss that or coworkers the location is better.  

Everything about this job is better. You can say  getting fired was a blessing in disguise. My new  

job is so much better. A dime a dozen. This is  used to describe something that is common and not  

special. So you can say tech startups in Silicon  Valley are a dime a dozen. They're very common.  

They're everywhere and they're not very special.  Everyone's a tech startup in Silicon Valley. A  

dime a dozen. To beat around the bush. This is  when you avoid saying what you mean because it's  

uncomfortable or awkward. So let's say you want to  end your romantic relationship with your partner.  

Your friend could tell you, don't beat around the  bush. Be direct and tell that person you want to  

break up. Better late than never. So let's say  you've been working with a company for 10 years.  

And you finally got your first promotion after  10 years. And you're telling your friend this.  

And you're a little annoyed because you've been  there for 10 years, but your friend could say,  

better late than never to remind you that yes,  it took 10 years but it's better than not having  

a promotion. Better late than never. To bite the  bullet. I love this idiom. This is when you force  

yourself to do something difficult or unpleasant  because it's necessary or inevitable. Inevitable  

means eventually you have to do it so why not bite  the bullet and do it now. For example, just bite  

the bullet and ask your boss for a promotion.  Break a leg. This is a very common idiom that  

we use to say good luck. Good luck. Break a leg.  But we especially use this before someone gives  

a performance, most commonly a theatrical  performance. But when you're going for a job  

interview, you are in essence performing. Or when  you're doing your speaking exam for your IELTS,  

you are performing. So before your speaking exam  your friend your partner could say, break a leg,  

which means good block. To call it a day. When  you call it a day, it means you stop working for  

that day, usually because time is up or because  you've done enough work for that day and you're  

going to stop. For example, it's getting late.  Let's call it a day. Let's call it a day. So  

that means you can go home. To cut somebody some  slack. So let's say there's this co worker who has  

been showing up late to work every day and not  doing a very good job at work. They seem very  

distracted. They're not working very hard. They're  not contributing. But that person's dad just died.  

So you might say, let's cut him some slack. His  dad just died. So you're not going to punish him  

as severely as you normally would. To be glad to  see the back of. This means that you're happy that  

somebody has left because you don't like them. So  let's say it's Jane's last day at work, she quit,  

she has a new job, but you didn't like Jane,  you can say, I'm glad to see the back of Jane.  

To be the best thing since sliced bread. This  is a compliment used to say that something,  

usually technology or an invention, is extremely  useful, excellent, or high quality. So you could  

give me a compliment and say this YouTube channel  is the best thing since sliced bread. If you think  

that's true, then put it in the comments. There  are plenty of fish in the sea. So let's say your  

friend went on a date. And she says, Pierre hasn't  called me back and it's been three weeks. You  

can encourage your friend by saying don't worry  there are plenty of fish in the sea. Come rain or  

shine. This is used to say that an event will take  place despite external circumstances. So let's say  

tomorrow is a vacation day for you but there was a  big project deadline tomorrow. But you might say,  

I'm taking the day off tomorrow come rain  or shine. To cut corners. This is when you  

do something in the cheapest, easiest or fastest  way but by omitting something or by not following  

rules. So you might say we felt pressured to cut  corners because of the tight deadline. To get your  

act together. So your parents might say to you or  your sibling or someone you know, you're 30 and  

you still live at home and you don't have a job.  You need to get your act together. You need to  

organize yourself so you can live in an effective  and efficient way. Get your act together. To break  

the ice. This is such an important one because  this is used to help people who don't know each  

other to feel more comfortable around each other,  especially when you're meeting for the first time.  

Let's break the ice by introducing ourselves and  sharing something interesting about ourselves.  

Clear as mud. This is used to say that something  is very difficult to understand. So if somebody  

gave you instructions, but their instructions  didn't make any sense at all, and they asked you,  

so is everything okay? Do you understand? You  can say, clear as mud, which tells the person  

you do not understand at all. Crystal clear.  Something is very clear and easy to understand.  

His instructions were crystal clear. To rock  the boat. This is when you do or see something  

that could upset people or cause problems. Don't  rock the boat until the negotiations are done.  

So don't say anything that could upset someone or  that could cause problems until we sign the deal.  

And then you can cause problems if you want to. To  get out of hand. This is another way of saying to  

get out of control, which means you no longer have  control over a situation. You could say the party  

got out of hand, which means you were no longer  able to control it. The party got out of hand and  

some valuables were broken. A bad apple. This is  used to describe a bad or corrupt person within a  

group. You can say there are a few bad apples in  the company. To cut to the chase. This is where  

you only talk about the most important point of a  subject or topic. So if you're running out of time  

in a meeting, you might say, we're running out of  time so I'll cut to the chase. I'll only say the  

most important points. To come in handy. This is  used when something is very useful for a specific  

purpose. So if it's pouring rain outside, you  might say, an umbrella would come in handy. And  

umbrella would be very useful in this particular  situation. To reinvent the wheel. This is when  

you waste time trying to recreate something that  somebody else has already created. So let's say  

you ask your boss, should I create a presentation  for the conference? And your boss suggests using  

last year's presentation, it's already created.  And your boss can add, don't reinvent the wheel.  

So we often use this idiom in the negative. To  go with the flow. When you go with the flow,  

it means that you do what other people are  doing, or you agree with the opinion of others,  

the majority. So let's say you're having a company  dinner, and you originally wanted to have burgers,  

but the majority of people say they want pizza.  So you can go with the flow and have pizza instead  

of burgers, because that's what the majority  wants. To be skating on thin ice. This is when  

you do something that is dangerous or involves  risk. He's skating on thin ice by lying to his  

wife. It involves risk. It's dangerous. Don't do  it. A silver lining. This is something positive  

that comes from something negative. So the  pandemic is negative, right? But is there anything  

positive, a silver lining? Maybe we could say, one  silver lining of the pandemic is that it made us  

realize how important our relationships are with  friends and family. To have a sweet tooth. This is  

somebody who likes eating sweet foods, especially  chocolate. So if people offer me dessert,  

generally I'll say no because I don't like sweet  food. So I can say, no thank you. I don't have  

a sweet tooth, which means I don't really like  sweet foods. To go Dutch. This is when you agree  

to share the cost of something, especially a meal.  So let's say you're having dinner with a friend,  

family member, even a romantic partner and they  say, I'll pay for the meal. You can say no, no,  

no, let's go Dutch, which means you're going  to divide the cost 50/50. To make ends meet.  

This is when you have just enough money to pay for  essential items. You might say, with food prices  

increasing, we're barely making ends meet. To ring  a bell. This is when something, usually a person,  

a place or information, is familiar to you.  So let's say you're having a conversation  

with a co worker, and they say oh, have you met  Fred from accounting? And you're thinking Fred,  

Fred from accounting, that doesn't ring  a bell. The tip of the iceberg. This is  

used to describe a small part of a much bigger  problem. These small local protests are just  

the tip of the iceberg. To blow off steam. This  is when you say or do something that helps you  

release strong feelings or strong energy, strong  emotion. After our fight, I went for a walk to  

blow off steam. So when you were on that walk, you  were able to calm down, to release that negative  

energy. A piece of cake. This is something that  was extremely easy. That exam was a piece of cake.  

To be out of the woods. This is when you no longer  have a problem or difficulty. Our profits are  

increasing but we're not out of the woods yet. To  get over something. This is when you recover from  

an illness. It took me two weeks to get over that  cold. To not be one cup of tea. This is used to  

describe a type or category that you don't like.  Thanks for the invite, but camping isn't my cup of  

tea. I don't like that category of activity. To  be loaded. This means to be rich, to have a lot  

of money. I just found out my cousin's loaded.  To nip something in the bud. This is to stop  

something before it has an opportunity to become  established. We need to nip these rumors in the  

bud before the employees start worrying. Out of  the blue. When something happens out of the blue,  

it happens suddenly and you weren't expecting  it. My boss gave me a promotion out of the blue.  

You weren't expecting it. How awesome is that? To  keep one's chin up. This is to remain cheerful in  

a difficult situation. Because in difficult  situations, we tend to put our chin down.  

But when we're happy, we tend to keep our chin  up. For example, I know the economy seems bad,  

but keep your chin up. To race against  the clock. This is when you try to finish  

a task quickly before a specific time. I raced  against the clock to finish the audit and meet  

the deadline. To catch somebody off guard. This is  when you surprise somebody by doing something they  

weren't expecting or weren't prepared for. The  politician was caught off guard when asked about  

the scandal. To be on one' radar. If something is  on your radar, it means you're considering it or  

thinking about it or aware of it. You could  say, leaving the company isn't on my radar.  

It's not even something I'm considering. To stab  someone in the back. This is to betray someone,  

to do something harmful to someone who trusted  you. She told the client she did all the work on  

the project. I can't believe she stabbed me in the  back like that. To make a beeline for something.  

This is when you move quickly and directly towards  something. So let's say you're at a wedding or a  

conference and they're about to serve lunch,  the buffet lunch. Everyone made a beeline for  

the food. They went quickly and directly to the  food. To be in hot water. This is when you're  

in a situation where you might be criticized or  punished. The politician's in hot water after  

his comments on gender equality. To be dressed to  the nines. This is when you're dressed formally,  

smartly or fashionably. We dressed to the nines  for our wedding anniversary. So you usually dress  

to the nines for a special occasion. To be between  a rock and a hard place. This is when you're  

in a difficult situation or you have to make a  difficult decision. If I accept the promotion,  

then I'll have to move abroad and I know Matt, my  partner, won't come with me. So I either accept  

the promotion that I really want. But then I  have to lose Matt. Or I stay with Matt and I  

don't get a promotion. Hmm. I'm between a rock  and a hard place. It's a difficult situation.  

It's a difficult decision. Lo and behold. This  is an expression used to say that something  

surprising happened. I was on vacation in Japan,  and lo and behold, I saw my childhood sweetheart.  

So it's very surprising that I see my childhood  sweetheart across the world in a foreign city.  

Lo and behold. And finally, number 50, to let the  cat out of the bag. This is when you accidentally  

reveal a secret. So let's say you're planning  a surprise party for your wife or husband or  

friend and they know about it. You might say, you  know about the party, don't you? Who let the cat  

out of the bag? Who told you? Who revealed  the secret? Who let the cat out of the bag?

Amazing job. You did it! 100 idioms added to your  vocabulary. Now of course you need to practice,  

practice, practice these idioms so you can  go to this link and download the free PDF  

that summarizes all 100 idioms, the meaning  and example sentences well. So here's the  

link. It's in the comment section below.  So click that and you can get your free PDF  

download right now. And if you found this  video helpful, please hit the like button,  

share it with your friends, and of course  subscribe. And until next time, happy studying.