Having a good grasp on vocabulary and grammar is a must for becoming fluent in English. And courses and apps are great for this. However, what they often don’t include are the everyday conversations in English with expressions that just literally don’t make sense.
These are called English idioms.
And they are very common, particularly in spoken English. Therefore understanding them is essential to being able to speak in a way that sounds natural.
Why Idioms Are Tricky for Language Learners
The meaning of idioms are figurative rather than literal and they rarely translate directly. So much so that if translated word for word, they often just sound like nonsense. The use of them also varies between English speaking countries and even regions.
For most idioms in English, it is therefore just a case of having to learn them in context one by one. Luckily most of them are however quite amusing, so learning them is usually very entertaining.
Here are the most widely used ones, grouped together by theme - let’s see how many you know?
English Idioms Describing Ease, Difficulty or Effort
Piece of cake
Meaning = Something that’s really easy to do.
Example = That test was a piece of cake!
Go the extra mile
Meaning = To make an effort beyond what is expected.
Example = She usually goes the extra mile to help out.
Bite off more than you can chew
Meaning = To take on more than you can manage.
Example = He bit off more than he could chew with that.
By the skin of your teeth
Meaning = To succeed or escape something by a very small margin.
Example = We made the train by the skin of our teeth.
Get the hang of it
Meaning = To begin to understand something.
Example = After a few tries, you’ll get the hang of it.
English Idioms That Describe Communication
Break the ice
Meaning = To start a conversation and make people feel more comfortable.
Example = They began with a simple game to break the ice.
Spill the beans
Meaning = To give someone the gossip
Example = Come on then, spill the beans, what happened?
Let the cat out of the bag
Meaning = To reveal a secret.
Example = Someone let the cat out of the bag, now everyone knows.
Cut to the chase
Meaning = To get straight to the point.
Example = Just cut to the chase and tell me the problem.
Beating around the bush
Meaning = Avoiding talking directly about something.
Example = Stop beating around the bush and tell me.
Keep you posted
Meaning = To give updates about something.
Example = I’ll keep you posted if the timings change.
Pulling your leg
Meaning = Joking with someone or teasing them.
Example = Relax, I’m just pulling your leg.
English Idioms Describing Emotional or Physical States
Under the weather
Meaning = Feeling a bit unwell.
Example = I’m feeling a bit under the weather today.
Crack me up
Meaning = To make someone laugh a lot.
Example: His jokes crack me up.
Hit the sack
Meaning = To go to bed/sleep.
Example = It’s time for me to hit the sack - i’m exhausted!
English Idioms About Circumstances, Decisions or Outcomes
Last resort
Meaning = The final option when all else has failed.
Example = Calling his boss was our last resort.
Snowed under
Meaning = Extremely busy with work/responsibilities.
Example = I’m snowed under with deadlines this week.
Went south/goes south
Meaning = When a situation suddenly goes wrong.
Example = The day went south after we got lost.
On the fence
Meaning = Undecided between two options.
Example = I’m still on the fence about which day to go.
The ball is in your court
Meaning = The next action/decision is yours
Example = It’s your turn, the ball’s in your court.
Against the clock
Meaning = Working with very little time remaining.
Example = I’m really up against the clock with this deadline.
Back at square one
Meaning = To be back at the start after a plan fails.
Example = It wasn’t good enough, so he’s back at square one.
Idioms Showing Agreement, Advice or Encouragement
Call it a day
Meaning = To stop doing something.
Example: Let’s call it a day and go home.
See eye to eye
Meaning = To agree with someone.
Example = They don’t always see eye to eye.
You can say that again
Meaning = A strong expression of agreement.
Example = “That film was so rubbish.” “You can say that again.”
Take it with a pinch of salt
Meaning = To treat information with scepticism.
Example = Take what she says with a pinch of salt.
Come rain or shine
Meaning = Something that happens regardless of circumstances.
Example = She walks the dog every morning, come rain or shine.
Break a leg
Meaning = Wishing someone good luck, especially before a performance.
Example = Break a leg at the match tomorrow!
Learning Idioms Through Real Conversation
One of the best ways to learn the most commonly used English expressions is through immersion. In particular, staying with a host family or qualified teacher in a country where English is spoken. This allows you to hear and understand English idioms in their proper context and then practice them in real life scenarios.
With Lingoo, you can choose English immersion experiences completely tailored to your interests and build confidence to use idioms in English just like a native speaker would.