Learn 50 Useful Idioms Native Speakers Actually Use | Advanced English

Today you're going to learn 50 useful idioms  that native speakers use. And make sure you  

watch right to the end because I'm going to share  a PDF that summarizes all of these idioms with  

the meaning and example sentences as well. Of  course, I'm Jennifer. Welcome back to JForrest  

English Training, your place to become a fluent,  confident English speaker. 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.  And finally, to be under the weather. This is when  

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

Now you have 50 useful idioms that native speakers  use. Of course you need to practice, practice,  

practice these idioms to feel comfortable adding  them to your speech. So you can go to my website,  

and you can download the PDF version that shares  the idiom, the definition and the example. So you  

can go to the link to get that PDF. 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.