On cloud nine.
Meaning: feeling very happy.
Clouds are labelled 1-9 by meteorologists. Cloud 9 is cumulonimbus - the biggest. Also the most dangerous
Bite the bullet.
Meaning: to decide to do something that is difficult or unpleasant, but necessary.
From, I believe, pre-anaesthetic surgery. When you were about to do something painful but necessary, you gave the patient something firm but yielding to bite down on - a leather strap, or perhaps a lead bullet.
Speak of the devil.
Meaning: when the person you are talking about appears unexpectedly.
Left out in the cold.
Meaning: to be ignored.
Can be abbreviated to "in the cold" and still understood. QV John le Carre's novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.
Snug as a bug in a rug.
Meaning: cozy and warm.
Shoot from the hip.
Meaning: to speak bluntly or rashly without thinking carefully.
Born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth.
Meaning: someone who was born in a wealthy and successful family.
It takes two to tango.
Meaning: only one person is not enough to make something happen.
That "Meaning" is worded strange, and wrong. "What does the proverb it takes two to tango mean? idiom saying. said when you want to emphasize that both people involved in a difficult situation must accept the blame, or that an activity needs two people who are willing to take part for it to happen: She may want to argue, but it takes two to tango and I won't stoop to her level."
To hit the books.
Meaning: study hard.
Or, to hit someone WITH books. Meaning, very literally, to hit someone with a book. Hardcover works best.
The elephant in the room.
Meaning: an obvious problem that people do not want to talk about.
Smell a rat.
Meaning: to suspect someone is a traitor or behaving illegally.
This appears to be confused with the notion of a "rat" as a tattle-tale or police informant. To smell a rat simply means to suspect foul play.
Boil the ocean.
Meaning: taking up an almost impossible or overly ambitious project.
Hit the road.
Meaning: to leave somewhere or start a journey.
So far so good.
Meaning: things are going well.
Steal someone's thunder.
Meaning: to take attention or praise away from someone else’s accomplishments by outdoing them with your own.
Supposedly from the man who invented the tin sheet as a thunderclap sound in the theatre; apparently he complained that people who adopted the technique had almost literally "stolen [his] thunder".
To have bigger fish to fry.
Meaning: to have more important things to do.
At the eleventh hour.
Meaning: complete something at the very last minute before it’s too late.
When the Nazis chase you in an Airplane and your elderly Father is at the Machine Gun.
Add insult to injury.
Meaning: to make a bad situation worse.
It’s the best thing since sliced bread.
Meaning: it’s really, really good.
Take it with a pinch of salt.
Meaning: don’t take it too seriously.
Don’t cry over spilt milk.
Meaning: do not cry over the situation which can not be fixed.
Comments are so wrong. This is a very old saying, but is still relevant today. If you've ever milked a cow or goat by hand, which is time consuming and difficult, and then had the animal step in the bucket, kick the bucket over, or you just drop it, you'd be very angry and upset. But there's no fixing it, no replacing it, and no getting it back. If it's your breakfast you may go hungry for the day. Even if it's not, you still wouldn't think anything about the incident was unimportant. My mom would say, "Damn it. Well...quit your whining and...go clean the barn!"
To get your wires crossed.
Meaning: to misunderstand another person particularly because you thought that they were talking about one thing when they were actually talking about another thing.
Cut someone some slack.
Meaning: to avoid being critical or judgmental of someone.
Wish they would say the history of how these idioms came to be, rather than just sloppily explaining their meaning.
By the skin of your teeth.
Meaning: to just barely get by or make it.
Irish version: By a gee hair. Can't explain further cos BP keep banning me
Crying wolf.
Meaning: to ask for help when you don’t actually need it.
From the parable of a shepherd boy who, lacking for entertainment, cried "Wolf!" to get the townspeople around him. Eventually a wolf really did come, but by that time the townsfolk no longer believed the boy when he called for help. For a modern real-life example, imagine a car alarm going off.
To be left in the dark.
Meaning: when someone doesn’t receive all the appropriate information that tells the whole story.
A blessing in disguise.
Meaning: a good thing that seemed bad at first.
Something you thought was good and you didn't take it, then it ended up being bad after all...
Looking to your laurels.
Meaning: not being lost in your achievements and losing the sight of what is supposed to happen.
Compare "to rest on one's laurels" - to complacently rely on former achievements. A crown of laurels was given to champion athletes in Roman times.
Hit the sack.
Meaning: go to sleep.
Beat around the bush.
Meaning: to avoid talking about what’s important.
Couch potato.
Meaning: a person who doesn’t do much exercise and spends a lot of time on the sofa watching television.
Full of beans.
Meaning: someone who is energetic or enthusiastic.
Not one's cup of tea.
Meaning: something you don’t like or are not interested in.
Bell the cat.
Meaning: to undertake a risky or dangerous task.
From the story of the mice who decide that the best way to stop getting attacked by the cat is to hang a bell round its neck. The problem is then finding volunteer to do it.
Get your act together.
Meaning: get organized and do things effectively.
Take a rain check.
Meaning: to postpone a plan.
Some grocery stores that had deeply discounted the price of certain items, if they ran out of the item would give you a paper called a "rain check" allowing you to purchase the item at the reduced price when it was in stock.
Go cold turkey.
Meaning: suddenly quit addictive or dangerous behavior such as smoking or drinking alcohol.
Quitting cold turkey specifically references quitting something like smoking without assistance like a nicotine patch or a replacement behavior
One-trick pony.
Meaning: a person with only one talent or area of expertise.
Bite off more than one can chew.
Meaning: trying to do something which is too difficult for them.
Don't run before you can walk.
Meaning: a warning not to try something difficult before you understand the basics
Ignorance is bliss.
Meaning: sometimes it’s better not to know all the facts about something.
Leave no stone unturned.
Meaning: to do everything you can to achieve something.
Up in arms.
Meaning: being angry about something.
See eye to eye.
Meaning: to agree completely.
Face the music.
Meaning: deal with the reality of the situation and accept all the consequences, whether good or bad.
Read the riot act.
Meaning: to reprimand someone for behaving badly, with the intention of improving that person’s behavior.
No. To absolutely b*llock someone. The original Riot Act stipulated that where an unruly crowd was gathered, the act was to be read to them, and they would then be given a set time to disperse, after which lethal force would be deployed in removing them.
Cost a bomb.
Meaning: something very expensive.
you could also use "cost an arm and a leg" or "cost all my change" too (in Québec French this expression is translated into "ça prend tout mon petit change")
Heard it on the grapevine.
Meaning: to hear news about something from someone else, not directly.
Jump ship.
Meaning: to leave or abandon a difficult situation.
Take a back seat.
Meaning: choosing not to be in a position of responsibility.
Also, to let someone else take point (or drive) it's not necessarily about choosing a lack of responsibility, but allowing others to try having responsibility. (Ie, to drive)
Draw first blood.
Meaning: the first point or advantage gained in a contest.
Or to actually draw first blood in a duel. Which is where the saying comes from. When dueling was common. Often it was the first one to draw the other person's blood that won. This was for duels that weren't to the death.
Eat like a horse.
Meaning: eating too much.
Between a rock and a hard place.
Meaning: to be in a difficult situation where both options are bad.
Back against the wall.
Meaning: stuck in a difficult situation with no escape.
Down for the count.
Meaning: giving up.
Barking up the wrong tree.
Meaning: to be wrong or misguided about the reason for something.
Not really. "Barking up the wrong tree" is about facts, "preaching to the choir" is about opinions.
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Don't give up the day job.
Meaning: a humorous way to tell someone they’re not very good at something.
Pigs might fly.
Meaning: something that will never happen.
Sleep on it.
Meaning: to delay making a decision for a short period of time.
It’s actually good advice. When the brain is tired every stressor is worse, anxiety climbs, and everything is more difficult. Sleeping on it should indicate that it’s an important decision you don’t want to mess up.
Spanner in the works.
Meaning: something that prevents or disrupts an event from happening.
Egg on your face.
Meaning: look stupid and face embarrassment because of something you’ve done.
Ring a bell.
Meaning: it reminds you of something, but you cannot remember exactly what it is.
Good things come to those who wait.
Meaning: to have patience.
No, it means "you should be patient". Also this is not the correct form of the saying, which is "ALL things come to he who waits".
Sat on the fence.
Meaning: to be undecided.
Once in a blue moon.
Meaning: very rarely.
A blue moon is when there are two full moons in one calendar month.
Miss the boat.
Meaning: too late on something.
You can say that again.
Meaning: it's absolutely true about something.
To hit the nail on the head.
Meaning: to do exactly the right thing.
To be as right as rain.
Meaning: to feel healthy or well again.
A penny for your thoughts.
Meaning: say what's on your head.
Incidentally, in English that would be what's IN your head.
In full swing.
Meaning: something that is currently in process and moving efficiently along.
Third time’s a charm.
Meaning: to describe that the first two times did not work, but it will work on your third try.
Not necessarily third time. The saying is correct but often it's said after someone has hand do try a task multiple times.
Steal one’s thunder.
Meaning: to take credit for someone else’s work or achievements.
All ears.
Meaning: waiting to hear about something too hard.
Bob's your uncle.
Meaning: to say that a set of instructions or task is simple.
Supposedly from British Prime Minister Robert Balfour, who was notorious for handing out sinecures (meaningless but well-paid jobs) to his relatives. Incidentally, this saying neatly mirrors the word nepotism, which comes from "nephew"
Cut to the chace.
Meaning: to get directly to the point when speaking.
Cross that bridge when come to it.
Meaning: to deal with something when it happens rather than worrying about it before.
Wild goose chase.
Meaning: a hopeless pursuit.
The pot calling the kettle black.
Meaning: used to convey that the criticisms a person is aiming at someone else could equally well apply to themselves.
Have your heart in your mouth.
Meaning: feeling extremely nervous.
Not the only fish in the sea.
Meaning: not the only suitable thing or person one can find.
Play your cards right.
Meaning: to behave or work in a way that gives you an advantage or improves your odds of success.
A black sheep.
Meaning: being a disgrace for the family.
Fish out of water.
Meaning: to be out of your comfort zone.
Or not in a familiar setting. Country boy in the big city or a foreigner in a different country. Are both examples.
Cry for the moon.
Meaning: to ask for something that is rather difficult.
A cold day in July.
Meaning: something that will never happen.
Scrape the barrel.
Meaning: making the most of the worst situations because you can’t do anything about it.
No, no, no and no. "Scraping the barrel" is an abbreviation of the full adage, "scrape the bottom of the barrel". It means using the absolute worst quality of something. Imagine selling fruit from a barrel. After a few days the fruit on top might still be OK, but the stuff on the bottom is compressed and rotting.
Burn your boats/bridges.
Meaning: destroy all possible ways of going back to that situation.
Most often in the US it's "They burned all their bridges." It usually means the person has destroyed all good will they had.
Run around in circles.
Meaning: putting efforts into something that is not a worthwhile result.
Throw caution to the wind.
Meaning: to take a risk.
A sandwich short of a picnic.
Meaning: a humorous way of saying someone is stupid or a bit crazy.
Call a spade a spade.
Meaning: to state the truth about something even if it’s unpopular or unpleasant.
How about, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" Meaning: if someone is helping you, appreciate it, don't balk or complain about how they have helped. History: when given a horse in the days when they were used as transport, people would look at the horse's teeth to determine age- sometimes these gift horses would be nearly dead and become a problem for whomever it was given to.
Chinese whispers.
Meaning: information or rumors that have been passed on by many people and are no longer reliable.
The game called Chinese whispers in the UK is, I think, called Telephone in the US.
Straight from the Horse’s mouth.
Meaning: directly from the person involved.
No need for the capital letter on "horse". Unlike, say, German, English does not capitalise concrete nouns.
Has bigger fish to fry.
Meaning: has more important work to do.
Ignorance is bliss.
Meaning: better off not knowing some things.
Really wish my ignorance of this list was bliss, but alas, I've read till the end.
Cut corners.
Meaning: choose to do something in an easier and least expensive manner.
Not quite. It means to do something lazily, cheaply, and in a way that is consequently dangerous or otherwise imprudent.
A snowball effect.
Meaning: a situation in which one action causes many other similar actions.
Like two peas in a pod.
Meaning: two people who are always together.
Taste of one's own medicine.
Meaning: when someone does something unpleasant and the same is wished on him/her.
The best of both words.
Meaning: all the advantages of two different situations and none of the disadvantages.
Play devil’s advocate.
Meaning: to argue, just for the sake of it.
Not quite - to play the devil's advocate is to argue against the prevailing or accepted view to ensure everything is covered. Comes from the process of canonisation of a saint where the devil's advocate argues the case against sainthood.
Break a leg.
Meaning: to wish someone luck.
Nobody is really sure why. There are some pretty stupid explanations involving bowing on stage, but it may simply be ironic in intent - wishing bad luck on someone in the hope that good luck will attend instead.
Fair and square.
Meaning: being direct or fair.
Blow off steam.
Meaning: experiencing strong feelings like anger or stress.
Bear a grudge.
Meaning: to continue to feel angry or unfriendly for someone or something because of a particular past incident.
This is why English is very difficult to speak well. Grammatically it's very simple - very few gendered nouns and only two basic verb tenses. But it's an incredibly idiomatic tongue, and there's no way to learn idioms except on a case-by-case basis.
There are some that are absent. These are bog standard. They are the bees knees or dogs bollocks. I am off to see a man about a dog, My dogs are barking. It's dark over Bill's Mother's. Excuse me whilst I go park my breakfast.
I wish they would explain the history of how these sayings came to be. I'm more interested in that. Oh well, a lot of the commenters came through got that 👍
This is why English is very difficult to speak well. Grammatically it's very simple - very few gendered nouns and only two basic verb tenses. But it's an incredibly idiomatic tongue, and there's no way to learn idioms except on a case-by-case basis.
There are some that are absent. These are bog standard. They are the bees knees or dogs bollocks. I am off to see a man about a dog, My dogs are barking. It's dark over Bill's Mother's. Excuse me whilst I go park my breakfast.
I wish they would explain the history of how these sayings came to be. I'm more interested in that. Oh well, a lot of the commenters came through got that 👍
