+300 English Idioms, Definitions and Examples

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Idioms about TIME in English

Time to hit the road	Time to depart
Around the clock	At all times
A devil of a time	A difficult or frustrating time
For the time being	At the present moment; for now
Bad time	An inconvenient moment or an unfortunate experience
Kill time	To do something while waiting
As time goes by	As time passes or moves
Lose track of time	To be unaware of what time it is
Caught in a time wrap	Unchanged in an antiquated or obsolete way
Have a time of it	To experience particular trouble or difficulty

Idioms about FRUITS in English

As red as a cherry	Very red
To go bananas	To go crazy
The apple of someone’s eye	At the present moment; for now
Second banana	A person in a subservient position
The cherry on the cake	The final thing that makes something perfect
A bite at the cherry	An opportunity to achieve something
A plum job	An easy, pleasant job that also pays well
Go pear-shaped	To fail; to go wrong
Cool as a cucumber	Calm even in difficult or frustrating situations

(For other idioms about fruits)

Idioms about ANIMALS in English

Cat nap	A short sleep
Flew the coop	Escape, left
Get someone’s goat	To irritate someone deeply
Fat cat	A highly placed, well-paid executive
Like a fish out ot water	To be uncomfortable in a particular situation
Hold your horses	Wait and be patient
Cash cow	A good way to make money
Get the lion’s share	Get the greatest percentage
Loaded for bear	Prepared for problems, well prepared for a challenge

People Idioms and Meanings in English

Daredevil: someone who takes unnecessary risks

Cheapskate: someone who hates to spend money

Joined at the hip: to be exceptionally close to someone

Elbow grease: hard physical effort

Oddball: a weirdo or a strange person

Down-To-Earth: sensible and realistic

Go-Getter: a person who is active, energetic, and has the initiative to pursue the things they want.

Break a leg: good luck

Cutting corners: Doing something poorly in order to save time or money

Hang in there: Don’t give up

Pull yourself together: Calm down

So far so good: Things are going well so far

A busybody: always wants to know about other people’s private lives

Oddball: a weirdo or a strange person

Down-To-Earth: sensible and realistic

Forty winks: a short nap

Barrel of laugh: someone who is very funny

Old as the hills: some who is very old

Idioms About Colors

Some of the idioms about colors and examples;

Pink tickling; means that very pleased with the situation.

Example: My uncle was tickled pink that you called on her birthday!

White lie; is a small lie that is said politely or avoiding hurting one’s feelings.

Example: I knew it would be sad, so I couldn’t say I didn’t like your clothes, and I lied a white lie.

Example: He had forgotten his mother’s birthday, but he lied a white lie not to upset him.

With flying colors: with great or total success.
Out of the blue; means that randomly, without warning, immediately.

Example: Out of the blue my cousin came to visit and he came with bad news. I was caught unprepared.

Green with envy; means that to be very jealous, envious.

Example: She really envies me because I can get shopping as much as her want.

Gray area; is an unclear, undefined something.

Example: Allowing mobile phones at work is now a gray area, available and not available.

Caught red-handed; means that to catch someone in the act of doing something.
Green thumb; means that to be skilled at gardening.

Example: Gardener grows all kinds of flowers, he has a green thumb.

Example: Gardener collecting dead plants, he has a green thumb.

Black sheep; means that to be the outcast, odd one out, unlike the others.
Blue once a month; means that it is very rarely seen.
Take the red eye; means that a late night flight that arrives early in the morning.

Red tape; Official or bureaucratic tasks

To be yellow; To be cowardly

To see red; To be very angry

Black out; Faint

Black and blue; Describe something that is badly bruised

Golden opportunity; The perfect chance

Have the blues; Be sad or depressed

Black sheep; A person who is a disgrace to a family or group

Idioms About Human Body

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Family relationships take precedence over others.

Example: No matter how much I’ve fought with my brother, but blood is thicker than water.

Brain Drain

Departure of talented, well-educated individuals from a place.

Example: Venezuela is experiencing a brain drain right now, with many professionals leaving for other countries because of bad conditions at home.

No-Brainer

Something that not requires thought.

Example: If the salary offered to me is more than my current salary, the decision is a no-brainer.

On the Blink

Not working, intermittently not working.

Example: We have work piling up, the computer’s on the blink.

Bend over Backwards

You make every effort to achieve something, especially you should to be fair or helpful.

Example: I’ve bent over backwards to please you. But it never seems to be good enough.

A Hair’s Breadth

A very small distance or space.

Example: He was going to set a more successful a hair’s breadth than his predecessors, unfortunately he got tired in the last kilometer of the race.

Be a Bundle of Nerves

Someone who is extremely nervous.

Example: Since the robbery, I’ve been a bundle of nerves.

Example: I was a bundle of nerves before my exam, but I calmed down once we got the questions and started to work.

Idioms About Weather

A storm of protest; means that a situation in which people suddenly protest about or criticize something, showing very strong feelings.

The government plan to raise the taxes provoked a storm of protest.

To be under a cloud (of suspicion); means that to be suspected of doing something illegal or wrong.

I left the office under a cloud of suspicion.
The only cloud on the horizon was the final exam in July.

A sunny smile; means that a happy and friendly smile.

The air hostess greeted the passengers with a sunny smile.

A storm in a teacup; means that a lot of fuss about something unimportant.

That’s a storm in a teacup, stop fussing about it, you can do it.

To flood the market; means that to produce and a sell a large number of one type of thing, so that its price goes down.

They have the intention to flood the market with their new mobile phones.

To be flooded with something; means that to receive so many letters or inquiries that you cannot deal with all of them.

We’ve been flooded with letters, but we will try to answer them all.

Idioms About Health

Clean bill of health: Report showing that a person is healthy.

If someone has a clean bill of health, they apply to many profession

Fit as a fiddle: Excellent state of health.

My grandmother’s old, but she’s as fit as a fiddle.

If you a few days of rest and medication, you’ll be as fit as a fiddle.

In the pink of health: In very good health.

There is no guarantee that he will always spend his life that way even if someone is in the pink of health.

Under the weather: means that slowly unwell or in low spirits.

I’m sorry I can’t make it. I’m feeling a bit under the weather today.

Look or feel like death warmed up: To look or feel very ill and tired.

If someone looks or feels like ill or tired, they look death warmed up.

Oh dear! You look like death warmed up, I think doctor will prescribe you a lot of medicine.

You shouldn’t be working all night when you’re so ill, you looks like death warmed up.

Frog in one’s throat: Difficulty in speaking because of a cough or sore throat.

If someone has a frog in his throat, they will have difficulty speaking because of a sore throat and may feel like a cough, make it difficult to talk to, and should see a doctor.