What’s an Idiom? (List of 100+ Idioms in English)

January 19, 2023

Idioms are phrases particular to a language, where taken as a whole it means something different from the words in isolation.

Dalia Y

Started Grammarflex(ing) in 2022—been a word nerd and writing enthusiast ever since. (BA, MA in phil).

Contents

What’s an idiom?

An idiom is a phrase that, when taken as a whole, means something different from what the literal words themselves say. Idiom comes from the Greek word, ‘idioma‘ which directly translates to “peculiarity, peculiar phraseology”. This is exactly what idioms are: they are a peculiar phrasing of words that mean something other than what the literal words themselves say.

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To understand an idiom we consider the meaning apart from what the literal words in isolation suggest. For example, ‘to kill two birds with one stone‘ is a common (and perhaps overused) idiom in English that means to accomplish two things with a single action. That said, the actual words in the idiom itself certainly do not carry that same meaning—this is why idioms are figurative aspects of speech that have a non-literal meaning.

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Types of idioms

Broadly speaking, there are four main types of idioms: pure idioms, binomial idioms, partial idioms, and prepositional idioms:

A pure idiom is your classic idiom, the meaning of which cannot be derived by the individual words in the phrase themselves. For example, telling someone to “break a leg!” is a pure idiom which, taken literally, sounds like you’re telling someone to go and break their leg. The actual meaning of the phrase is to say good luck, which is not at all close to what the literal words themselves say or indicate.

Binomial idioms are expressions made up of two words with one of the coordinating conjunctions. Examples of binomial idioms include “rock and roll”, “fair and square”, or “the do’s and don’ts”.

Partial idioms mention only a part of the original idiomatic phrase, but still retain the entire meaning of the phrase. E.g., “we’ll cross that bridge” is only a part of the whole phrase/idiom, “we’ll cross that bridge once we get to it“. However, because it’s a common saying, the phrase is already understood in its shortened form.

Prepositional idioms combine verbs with a preposition to denote a distinct meaning. Examples of prepositional idioms are “agree to” or “at the end/in the end“.

Popular idioms in English

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Idiom	Meaning
Love breeds love	Love brings about more love, and likewise, kindness produces kindness (i.e., like breeds like).
Old enough to bleed, old enough to breed	An odious way of saying that once a girl starts menstruating she is old enough to bear children.
Like breeds like	We adopt traits and habits from those we associate ourselves with.
Familiarity breeds contempt	Knowing someone too well, or being over-accustomed to can cause hostility or a loss of respect for someone.
Breed like rabbits	To have tons of kids, like rabbits do offspring (I guess?)
Born and bred	When someone or something is born and raised in a particular place.
To bite one’s tongue or hold one’s tongue	To refrain from saying something or speaking one’s mind in a situation.
Your bark is bigger than your bite	Someone that tries to appear threatening though in reality is not.
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you	Don’t treat poorly those that take care of you/those on whom you depend.
To grab a bite	To get something to eat.
Don’t let the bed bugs bite!	To have a good night, or a way of saying to sleep well/not to let the bugs bite while you’re sleeping.
Bite the dust	If someone bites the dust, this means that they are dead.
To bite off more than you can chew ‍	To take on more than you can handle; a way of saying you’re overwhelmed.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.‍	The way to handle a large project or task is by taking it one step at a time, or to focus on one task at a time.
Bite your nose to spite your face	To seek revenge on another in a way that is ultimately more harmful towards oneself.
To teach an old dog new tricks	It’s difficult to get someone settled in their ways to change their habits/behaviours.
Failure teaches success	Experience is the greatest teacher.
To teach one the tricks of the trade	To learn about an industry.
Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.	A derogatory phrase meaning those who are unable to find vocation end up teaching.
Don’t try to teach Grandma how to suck eggs!	Don’t assume that because someone is old that they do not know or understand how things go.
To teach a man to fish	Teach someone to do something rather than doing it for them, and they’ll be able to do it on their own.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee	To be graceful but powerful; this phrase was coined by famous boxer Mohammad Ali!
Take the sting out of something	Make a situation less bad or unpleasant.
Sting like the devil	For something to sting or hurt intensely.
Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water	Don’t throw away the bad with the good.
A stone’s throw away	Said of something that’s nearby.
Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones	A way to say don’t be a hypocrite.
I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them	Said of someone/something you don’t trust.
To be thrown off-balance/thrown a curve ball	To have to deal with something unexpected.
Throw a monkey wrench into the works	To damage or change (something) in a way that ruins it or prevents it from working properly.
Throw cautions to the wind	To stop being careful and just do something.
Throw in the towel/sponge	To give up on something.
Don’t throw good money after bad	Don’t try to improve a bad situation by spending more money on it.
Throw someone in to the deep end	Put someone in a situation where they have no or little experience.
Don’t have a pot to piss in (or a window to throw it out of)	To have no money or resources.
Thrown to the wolves	Leave someone to be roughly treated or criticized without trying to help or defend them.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me	A physical attack may injure me but a verbal attack cannot.
Stick together	To stay in close proximity or nearby others/someone.
To get the short end of the stick	To get an unfavourable outcome/deal.
Stick to your guns	Stay truthful to yourself and your beliefs.
Throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks	To make numerous attempts to see what succeeds.
The carrot and the stick	A way to reward/stimulate activity through motivation.
The sticks	A nickname for the woods/forest.
To write one’s own ticket	Set one’s own course of action.
Written on water	Opposite of written on stone; as in, impermanent or ephemeral.
Nothing to write home about	For something to be unremarkable or not noteworthy so as to have nothing to say about it.
To write a bum check	As in fake or bad check/cheque.
Stick out like a sore thumb	To be obvious or conspicuous.
Stick and stay, make it play	Work hard and stay dedicated to see the results.
A stick in the mud	Someone who is considered boring, or a downer.
Wear thin	Be gradually used up or become less convincing or acceptable.
To wear a long face	Said of someone that looks sad.
To wear your heart on your sleeve	To be open and vulnerable with your feelings.
Worse for wear	In poor condition from being used a lot.
Wear and tear	Said when something is worn out from being used.
Hear tell of something	To be informed of, learn of by word of mouth.
Does Macy’s tell Gimble’s?	Competitors do not share business secrets with one another.
To tell chalk from cheese	Two things that have nothing in common.
Live to tell the tale	Survive a dangerous experience and be able to tell others about it.
Tell it to the Marines!	Said when something is not believed/believable.
Tell-all	Reveal private or salacious details.
Tell the truth and shame the devil	Tell the truth even when it doesn’t benefit us.
You can’t tell (or judge) a book by it’s cover	You can’t know something/someone based on appearance alone.
Tell it like it is	Say something without sugar-coating it.
To rise to the occasion	To live up to what’s expected, or fulfill your responsibility.
To rise through the ranks	To move up in a position in a company or organization quickly.
The cream always rises to the top	The person with the most skill/talent/merit will outperform the rest.
Be up/rise with the lark	To be out of bed at sunrise.
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise	Healthy habits and routines are good for a person.
Rise and shine!	A way of saying good morning.
Rise from the ashes	To appear out of nowhere, as if from the dead.
To make someone’s hackles rise/raise	To seriously annoy someone.
Think the sun rises and sets on (someone/something)	To think that person is the most wonderful, greatest person there ever was.
A rising tide raises all ships/lifts all boats	We all gain/benefit from each other’s success!
To lose your marbles	Lose your mind/out of it.
Lose your patience	To be stressed by someone/something that you don’t have patience for it.
To lose one’s grip on something	Feel one does not have a handle on a situation.
Lose train of thought	Forget what you’re thinking about/saying.
Nothing to lose sleep over	Not something to worry about/worth losing sleep over.
Lose the thread/the drift	Not following the conversation/discussion.
You snooze, you lose	If you wait on an opportunity you might miss out.
Win some, lose some	Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.
A tale never loses in the telling	Stories tend to become exaggerated/embellished with each retelling.
Lose one’s doughnuts	To vomit profusely.
Lend your money and lose your friend	Don’t mix friends and money together.
You can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink	You can provide someone with an opportunity but can’t force them to take advantage of it.
To be a tall drink of water	Said of someone tall and attractive.
To be in the drink	To be in water.
To be meat and drink	To be especially appealing to someone.
To drink like a fish	Said of someone who drinks copious amounts of alcohol.
To drink someone under the table	To be able to drink much more alcohol than someone else.
Drive someone to drink	To cause someone so much stress that they resort to alcohol.
Eat, drink, and be merry	Basically what it says-be happy, and eat/drink.
Be like drinking from a fire hose	For something to be extremely overwhelming.
To drink when the sun is over the yardarm	The time of day when it’s acceptable to drink alcohol.
To be the straw the stirs the drink	To be the most essential part of something.
To drink with the flies	To drink alone, mostly heard in Australia.
Not cut out for	Not suitable or able to do something, normally a difficult task.
Cut off	Often said when driving when someone drives in front of you, or in your lane lane abruptly.
Cut down	To make something smaller or more manageable.
Cut corners	To find a cheap or easier way of doing something, but could compromise the quality or integrity.
Cut up	To chop something up into smaller pieces.
Cut a deal	To make a deal.
Cut the mustard	To work or operate in a way that’s satisfactory.
Cut no ice	Said of something that has little or no impact.
Cut of your jib	Said to someone when you like their overall demeanour or way of being.
Cut to the chase	Get to the point.
A cut above	Something better or finer than other things, presumably of the same type.
To run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off	To run around frantically or be in a frenzy.
Cut your coat according to your cloth	To spend within one’s means.
Spitting at the wind	Said when doing something pointless or futile.
Spit the dummy	To have a tantrum like a toddler so that you’d spit out your pacifier. “Dummy” is an antiquated term for soother or pacifier.
Within spitting-distance of	Something near in proximity so that you could figuratively spit to it.
To eat the meat and spit out the bones	Take what’s good and leave what isn’t.
Mad enough to chew nails and spit rivets	Said of someone that’s irate, or furious to the point of irrationality.
Make like a banana and split	To get out of somewhere quickly.
Finer than a frog’s hair split four ways!	A hilarious way of saying you’re doing great or fine.
In a split-second/lickety-split	Said when something will take a second, figuratively speaking.
Split between two things	When you can’t decide between two or more people or situations.
Don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split you!	A funny but rude way to tell someone to leave.

Check out this list of commonly used idioms in the English language:

Learn about verb conjugations!

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Sources

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Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of idiom.” Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/idiom. Accessed 19 January, 2023.
McGraw-Hill’s Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions. 2006. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 19 Jan. 2023 https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/ride

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