IDIOMS-3
IDIOMS-3
1) Cheap Shot
Meaning: An unfair attack on someone’s weakness
Use: I don't use cheap shot on anyone.
2) Cherry-Pick
Meaning: To pick only the best people or things from a group
Use: It was a cherry-pick by the company.
3) Chickens Come Home To Roost
Meaning: The negative outcome of previous actions reveal themselves
Use: Because of you chickens came home to roost.
4) Child’s Play
Meaning: A very easy task Use: It is not a child's
5) Chill Out
Meaning: To calm down or go easy
Use: You need to chill out in this situation.
6) Chin Music
Meaning: Idle or meaningless talk
Use: I don't like chin music.
7) Chip off the Old Block
Meaning: Someone who is very similar in character to their father or mother
Use: He is a chip off the old block.
8) Chomp at the Bit
Meaning: To be eager and not willing to wait to do something
Use: Have some patience, don't chomp at the bit.
9) Chop Chop
Meaning: Without delay; quickly
Use: Come here, chop chop!
10) Chop Shop
Meaning: A place where stolen automobiles are stripped of saleable parts
Use: I never visited any chop shop.
11) Dance to Someone’s Tune
Meaning: To do what someone else wants Use: Don't dance to his
12) Dance with the Devil
Meaning: Deliberately do something immoral
Use: I never dance with the devil.
13) Dark Horse
Meaning: A person who keeps their skill, interests or ideas secret
Use: He is a real dark horse for the team.
14) Darken Someone’s Door
Meaning: Make an unwanted visit to someone’s home where he/she is not welcome anymore
Use: I don't like to dark anyone's door.
15) Dead as the Dodo
Meaning: To not be important or popular any longer
Use: It is dead as the dodo.
16) Dead Eye
Meaning: An unerring marksman
Use: I did not see a dead eye.
17) Dead Heat
Meaning: An exact tie in a competition
Use: The fight ended in a dead heat.
18) Dead of Winter
Meaning: The middle of winter, when it is very cold
Use: I don't like to go out in the evening of dead of winter.
19) Dead Run
Meaning: Running as fast as possible
Use: It is a dead run for both of you.
20) Dead Shot
Meaning: A good shooter
Use: He is a very dangerous dead shot.
21) Deep Pockets
Meaning: A person or an organization having sizable financial wealth
Use: She has deep pockets for her future.
22) Deliver the Goods
Meaning: Provide what is anticipated
Use: He always delivers the goods.
23) Devil’s Advocate
Meaning: Someone who argues against an idea or plan that a lot of people support, in order to make people discuss and consider it Use: Don't try to be a devil's advocate.
24) Dirty Look
Meaning: To look at someone in a disapproving way
Use: He gave a dirty look to me.
25) Dodge a Bullet
Meaning: To closely escape disaster
Use: I just dodged a bullet.
26) Dog Days of the Summer
Meaning: The hottest day of summer
Use: I don't like to go out in dog days of the summer.
27) Dog-Eat-Dog
Meaning: Intensely competitive
Use: We are living in dog-eat-dog world.
28) Don’t Judge a Book by It's Cover
Meaning: Don’t make your opinion by looks Use: You should not judge a book by it's
Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Meaning: Don’t think about small things Use: He should not cry over spilled
30) Double-Edged Sword
Meaning: Something which can be helpful or harmful
Use: He is a double-edged sword in our team.
31) Down in the Dumps
Meaning: Deeply sad
Use: He is feeling down in the dumps.
32) Down the Road
Meaning: In the future
Use: We have so many projects down the road.
33) Drag Your Feet
Meaning: Delay doing something
Use: Don't drag your feet now.
34) Draw a Blank
Meaning: Unable to remember or recall something
Use: He always draw a blank in crucial times.
35) Draw a Line in the Sand
Meaning: Issue an final condition
Use: He should draw a line in the sand right now.
36) Draw a Long Bow
Meaning: Exaggerate
Use: Don't draw a long bow here.
37) Draw the Line
Meaning: To set a limit to what one will accept or to do something
Use: You must draw the line somewhere.
38) Dressed Up to the Nines
Meaning: wearing very smart or attractive clothes
Use: She dressed up to the nines.
39) Drive a Hard Bargain
Meaning: To negotiate effectively for benefits
Use: He will successfully drive a hard bargain.
40) Drive Someone Up the Wall
Meaning: Enormously irritate someone Use: He drives her up the
41) Drop a Line
Meaning: To write a letter
Use: I will drop a line to him today.
42) Drop the Ball
Meaning: Make a mistake
Use: He already dropped the ball.
43) Eager beaver
Meaning: A person who is hardworking and enthusiastic
Use: He is an eager beaver in my friend circle.
44) Eagle-Eyed
Meaning: Having sharp or keen vision
Use: My brother is an eagle-eyed person.
45) Early Bird
Meaning: A person who gets up or arrives early
Use: We want some early birds in our team.
46) Eat Crow
Meaning: To take blame and accept humiliation
Use: He will be eating crow tonight.
47) Eat Humble Pie
Meaning: To admit defeat and accept humiliation
Use: He has to eat humble pie again.
48) Eat Someone’s Lunch
Meaning: Conquer someone thoroughly
Use: He eats her lunch.
49) Elephant in the Room
Meaning: An obvious problem that no one wants to discuss
Use: Nobody talks about the elephant in the room.
50) Eleventh Hour
Meaning: The last minute
Use: He came in the eleventh hour.
51) Every Dog Has Its Day
Meaning: Everyone is successful or happy at some time in their life
Use: No need to worry, every dog has its day.
52) Every Man and His Dog
Meaning: Many people or large number of people
Use: Everybody and his dog is going on a vacation this summer.
53) Every Man for Himself
Meaning: A situation where all are trying to do what is best for themselves and no one is trying to help anyone else
Use: In journalism and politics it's every man for himself.
54) Face the Music
Meaning: Accepting the judgment or punishment
Use: He has to face the music.
55) Fall for Something
Meaning: To be deceived by something
Use: I fell for her in a big way.
56) Fall Off the Wagon
Meaning: To start drinking alcohol after quitting
Use: He fell off the wagon at the hostel party.
57) Fall on One’s Sword
Meaning: Accepting the blame; sacrifice oneself
Use: He falls on her sword.
58) Fashion-Forward
Meaning: Always ready to adopt new styles quickly
Use: He is a fashion-forward person.
59) Fat Cat
Meaning: someone who has a lot of money; high paying executive
Use: He is a fat cat businessman.
60) Father Figure
Meaning: A mentor
Use: He is a father figure for us.
61) Feast Your Eyes On
Meaning: To look at someone or something with great pleasure
Use: Come and feast your eyes on this cheese pizza.
62)Feather in One’s Cap
Meaning: A notable achievement
Use: It's a real feather in our cap to play for the team.
63)Feather One’s Nest
Meaning: To take advantage of one’s position
Use: He has decided to feather his nest by blackmail.
64) Fed Up With
Meaning: Refuse to tolerate something any further
Use: I am fed up with her conduct.
65) Feel Like a Million Dollars
Meaning: To feel good and healthy
Use: The food made him feel like a million dollars.
66) Feel On Top of The World
Meaning: Healthy feeling
Use: Today I am feeling on top of the world
67) Fifteen Minutes of Fame
Meaning: Temporary success or renown
Use: I don't need a fifteen minutes of
68) Fifth Wheel
Meaning: A superfluous person or thing
Use: The chair is a fifth wheel, they don't need it.
69) Fight Fire with Fire
Meaning: Fighting against an opponent by using the same methods or weapons used by the opponent
Use: The only way we can deal with crime is to fight fire with fire.
70) Fight Like Cat and Dog
Meaning: Arguing repeatedly with each other
Use: We don't fight like cat and dog.
71) Find your Voice
Meaning: To become confident & willing to talk
Use: Finally we find our voice.
72) Find Your Feet
Meaning: To adjust or become familiar with a new situation
Use: I have finally found my feet in my job.
73) Finger-Pointing
Meaning: Making explicit and often unfair accusations of blame
Use: There's a finger-pointing when we make mistakes.
- Fire in the Belly Meaning: Very strong ambition Use: They have a fire in the
75) First In, Best Dressed
Meaning: The who do something will have an advantage
Use: The first 50 customers today will get a big discount! First in, best dressed!
76) Fish for Compliments
Meaning: Manipulate people to take praise
Use: You don't need to fish for compliments.
77) Fish Out of Water
Meaning: Someone who is uncomfortable in a specific situation
Use: I felt like a fish out of water.
78) Flash in the Pan
Meaning: A one-time phenomenon
Use: His success was just a flash in the pan.
79) Flat Broke
Meaning: Having no money at all
Use: He is now a flat broke.
31
280-288)
80) Flesh and Blood
Meaning: Very close relatives
Use: She is not my flesh and blood.
81) Flew the Coop
Meaning: Escaped
Use: He flew the coop with all the money.
82) Fly High
Meaning: Become successful, especially for the moment
Use: Don't try to fly high with shortcuts.
83) Fly Off The Handle
Meaning: To react in a very angry way to something
Use: She just flew off the handle.
- Follow In Someone’s Footsteps Meaning: To do the same thing as someone else Use: I follow in his footsteps in my
85) Follow Your Heart
Meaning: Depends on one’s deeper feelings when making a decision
Use: We should always follow our heart.
86) Food for Thought
Meaning: Something that makes you think cautiously
Use: There is so much food for thought in this article.
87) For a Song
Meaning: For a very small amount of money
Use: She bought the book for a song.
88) For XYZ Reasons
Meaning: For multiple reasons
Use: You should not stop working hard for xyz reasons.
32
289-297)
89) Foul Play
Meaning: Crime, typically murder
Use: There is a foul play in this case.
90) Fourth Estate
Meaning: The media
Use: The fourth estate of our country is corrupt now.
91) Fox in the Henhouse
Meaning: Someone who causes problems
Use: He is always a fox in the henhouse.
92) Freak Out
Meaning: To become or cause someone to become extremely emotional or psychological
Use: Don't freak out at this moment.
93) French Leave
Meaning: Absence without permission; secret departure
Use: Many of the students took French leave.
94) Freudian Slip
Meaning: A revealing slip of the tongue
Use: That is the Freudian slip of him.
95) From Pillar to Post
Meaning: Forced to keep moving from one place to another
Use: We were driven from pillar to post.
96) From Scratch
Meaning: From the beginning
Use: I am learning programming from scratch.
97) From Soup to Nuts
Meaning: All from beginning to end
Use: He thought everything from soup to nuts.
33
298-306)
98) From the Bottom of One’s Heart
Meaning: Honestly and with deep feeling
Use: I am saying this from the bottom of my heart.
99) Full Fathom Five
Meaning: Lost deep in the sea
Use: There was a boat accident yesterday, many people are lost full fathom five.
- Full of the Joys of Spring Meaning: Very happy and energetic Use: He's still full of the joys of