Interesting Idioms for Describing People - Describe People in English

Hello students.

Welcome back.

Today’s lesson is about idioms for describing people.

What are idioms?

Idioms are groups of words that have gained their meaning from people using the idioms.

Idioms get their meaning because people use them.

For example, “it’s raining cats and dogs” might seem like nonsense, without knowing

the meaning.

So today I will teach you some idioms for describing people in English.

The first common idiom for describing people in English is, yes man.

A yes man is a person who agrees with everything that someone says.

Maybe you have seen this kind of person at work or at school.

A person described as a yes man is usually considered weak because they never disagree

or have their own opinion.

Here’s an example, “Bob always does everything his boss asks

him to do.

Bob is a real yes man.”

The next idiom for describing people is Jack-of-all-trades.

This idiom comes from a figure of speech, “a Jack-of-all-trades, master of none.”

This refers to someone who knows a little about a lot of skills, but not a master, or

expert of one skill.

Jack was a named used to refer to the average man and a trade is a kind of skill area.

Jack-of-all-trades was originally used as a compliment.

Nowadays, the idiom Jack-of-all-trades can be positive or negative depending on what

you want to communicate.

Here’s an example, “My father is a Jack-of-all-trades, he can

fix cars, is a good cook, and can fix computers.”

The next idiom for describing people is, dark horse.

The term dark horse was originally used in horse racing to describe a horse that wasn’t

expected to do well in the race but ends up doing well in the race.

Dark horse when describing a person refers to a person who keeps their interests, ideas,

and skills secret, especially someone who has a surprising skill or ability.

This could be a person you don’t expect to be good at something, but they are.

Here's an example, “Sarah is such a dark horse - I had no idea

she wrote a book.”

The next idiom for describing people is, gold digger.

Originally the term gold-digger was someone who dug in the ground looking for gold.

Now, the idiom gold-digger refers to a person who forms relationships with others with the

purpose of getting money from them.

Usually, the person or people they form relationships with are rich.

Here’s an example, “John only dates rich women because he wants

them to buy him expensive things.”

The next idiom for describing people is, sharp cookie.

A sharp cookie is someone who isn’t easily deceived or fooled.

Cookie used to be used to refer to people.

For example, a smart cookie, a tough cookie, and sharp cookie are terms to describe people.

So, A sharp cookie is someone who isn’t easily deceived or fooled.

A smart cookie is a smart person who makes good decisions and has good ideas.

A tough cookie is a person who is physically and emotionally strong.

Here are some examples, “I can never trick my brother because he

is a sharp cookie.”

“My mother is a smart cookie; she has the best ideas.”

“I get my strength from my father, he’s one tough cookie.”

Now you know more idioms for describing people.

I’ll see you in the next video.