A big draw — Huge attraction
A bull in a china shop — An extremely awkward, clumsy person
A cold fish — Someone who seems unfriendly and who does not share feelings
A cut above something — Superior to
A damp squib — A disappointment result
A dog’s breakfast — A total mess
A fine state of affairs — An unpleasant situation
A gentleman at large — A man without a job
A hot potato - a controversial situation
A house of cards — An insecure scheme
A kick in the teeth — A grave setback
A lean patch — A period of poor performance
A little bird told me — Used to indicate that that the speaker knows something but chooses to keep the identity of their informant Secret
A man of straw — A man of no substance/ A weak person
A moot point — Disputed
A nig – nog — A fool
A Penelope’s web — Endless
A penny for your thoughts — A way of asking what someone is
thinking
A rainy day — Time of difficulty
A shot in the arm — An encouraging stimulus
A stiff – necked person — An obstinate person
A stuffed shirt — a conservative / Pompous person
A vexed question — Controversial
Adam’s ale — Water
Aid and abet — To help someone to commit a crime
Alive and kicking — In good health
All agog — Amazed
All and sundry — All included
All hat and no cattle — One who is full of big talk but lacks
substance and action
Alphabet soup — A metaphor for an abundance of acronyms
An arm chair critic — Someone who gives advice based on theory
not practice
An arrow in the quiver — Strategies that can be followed
Argus eyed — Observant
As bald as a cue ball — Completely bald
As daft as a brush — Extremely silly
As high as a kite — Intoxicated with alcohol
As the crow flies — The shortest route
As thick as two short planks — Extremely stupid
Asleep at the wheels — Not attentive to one’s duties
Assume airs — Pretend superiority
At a loss — Unable to decide
At beck & call - At his disposal/ to be dominated by someone
At daggers drawn — Enemies/hostile
At each other’s throats — Arguing angrily
At large — A criminal escaped or not yet captured
At loose ends — In an uncertain situation
At sixes and sevens — In disorder or confusion
At the drop of a hat — Without any hesitation/ instantly
At the top of your lungs — Extremely loud
Babe in the woods — A young defenceless person
Back in saddle — Resume duty
Back to the drawing board — plan it all over again
Banana oil — Nonsensical talk
Bang for the buck — More value of money
Batten down the hatches - Prepare for a difficult situation
Be a dab hand at something — Skilled in a particular area
Be a dead meat — To be in serious trouble
Be all one to — Make no difference
Be down with — Suffering from
Be glad to see the back of — Be happy when a person leaves
Be going places — Talented and successful
Be in the red — To be in loss or debt
Be left stranded — To be the last person on whom blame falls
Be off — To go away
Be on the air — Broadcast over the radio or on tv
Bear down — To move quickly towards someone in a determined
& threatening way
Bear fruit — Produce positive results
Bear the brunt of — Suffer the worst of something
Bear the palm — To win
Beat one’s brains out — To put forth one’s maximum effort
Been nipped in the bud — Dropped at an early stage
Beside the mark — Irrelevant
Best thing since sliced bread - Most useful innovation in long time
Beyond the pale — Unreasonable or unacceptable
Big bucks — A lot of money
Bite someone’s head off — Speak angrily without any reason
Bite the bullet — To force yourself to do something unpleasant
Black ox - misfortune
Blow a fuse — To react very angrily
Blow his top — Be very angry
Blue – blooded — Of noble birth
Boils down — sums up to
Break new ground — Do or discover something new
Breathing down his neck — Watching all his actions closely
Bring home the bacon — To be successful
Bring the house down — Made audience applaud enthusiastically
Broke a lance with — To argue against
Broke Priscian’s head — To use bad grammar
Broken reed — Support that failed
Brought up — Introduced for discussion
Brown study — A mood of deep absorption or thoughtfulness
Bugs me — Irritates me
Burn your boats — Do something that makes impossible to return
to the previous situation
Butt in — Interrupt
By a whisker — By a small margin
By courtesy of — Given or allowed by
By the same token — In the same way
Call down — To scold
Call it a day — Decide or agree to stop doing something
Call off — Cancel something
Calls the shots — To be in control
Came out of his shell — Became more sociable
Can’t cut the mustard — To be unable to do a job
Cap in hand — In a respectful manner
Carry the ball — Be in charge
Carry the can — To take the responsibility of some misdemeanour
Carry weight — Be important
Carve out a niche — Developed a specific position for himself
Cast a slur upon — Damaged
Casting pearls before swine — Offering good things to
undeserving people
Catch 22 — A particular situation in which one cannot do any thing
Catch a tartar — To deal with a person who is more than one’s
match
Catch time by the forelock — Seize opportunity
Cat’s whiskers — To be highly impressive
Cheek by jowl — Very close together
Chew something over — Discuss or consider something at length
Chicken feed — Very little money
Chicken out — To decide not to do something because you are too
frightened
Chinks in the armour - A weakness that can be taken advantage of
Cloak and dagger — An activity that involves mystery and secrecy
Cloven hoof — The evil intention
Cold comfort — Slight satisfaction
Come hell or high water — No matter what/In spite of obstacles
Come off — Be separated
Come to blows — Get into fight physically
Come to grief — Have an accident/meet with disaster
Come to terms with something — To gradually accept a sad
situation
Cook the books — To falsify financial records
Cool about working — Ready to work
Cool your heels — To be kept waiting
Cordoned off — Isolated
Cross out - Eliminate
Cry down - To Depreciate
Cut and dried – Already Decided
Cut in/Cut one short - Interrupt someone while he is speaking
Cut the mustard - To perform well
Damp squib - complete failure
Died in harness - To die while in service
Down and Out - Without Money
Dressing Down – Give a scolding
Drive Home - To emphasize an important point
Egg on - to Encourage
Eye wash - a deception
Face the music - to bear the consequences
Fall back on - to seek support out of necessity
Falling head over heels - Falling deeply in love with someone
Feeding frenzy - an episode of frantic competition
Finding their feet – to begin to understand the work, feel confident
Flea market - a market selling second hand goods
Floor – Puzzled
Fly off at a tangent – to start discussing something irrelevant
Flying off the handle – Suddenly becoming enraged
For Good – Permanently
Fuddy Duddy - a very old fashioned person
Full of hot air - Full of nonsense
Gall and wormwood - hateful
Give vent to something - to express a negative emotion in a
forceful and often unfair way
Get cracking - to start doing something
Get down to brass tacks - to start discussing the important facts
Get into a soup - to make things difficult
Get someone’s goat - to irritate someone
Get the hang of - learn how to use
Get the sack - to be dismissed
Getting in someone’s hair - to annoy someone
Give in - to accept defeat/yield
Give up ghost - to die
Give way - to collapse
Go belly up - to go bankrupt
Go dutch - divide the cost
Go for a song - to be sold cheaply
Go for the jugular - attack all out
Go haywire - to become out of control
God’s ape - a born fool
God’s acre - A cemetery besides church
Grin from ear to ear - to smile a lot
Hang up your boots - to take retirement
Haul over the coals - to scold
Head in the clouds – to daydream
Helter-skelter - in disorderly haste
High and dry – neglected
High and low – everywhere
High on the hog - to live in a luxurious way
Hold out - to endure a difficult situation
Horse around - to behave in a silly and noisy way
In a flutter - in a nervous state
In a jiffy - something that is done very quickly
In cahoots with - in a partnership with
In deep water - in great difficulty
In the blues - cheerless and depressed
In the offing - appear so on
In the running – contesting the seat
In the soup - to be in trouble
In the swim - well informed & up to date
In the teeth of - in direct opposition to
Ivory towers - detachment and seclusion
Jump the gun - to act hastily
Jumping down the throat – to scold angrily
Keep abreast of – keep oneself updated
Keep your wig on - to calm down
Keep a stiff upper lip - remained expressionless
Kicking his heels - wasting time
Kith and Kin – relatives
Learn/know the ropes - learn to do particular jobs
Let off steam - to work or play off excess energy
Let your hair down - to take it easy and relax
Like a shag on a rock - completely alone
Lock, stock and barrel - completely
Look out – be careful
Made off - ran away with
Made out of whole cloth - entirely false & fabricated
Make believe that - to pretend
Make off with – run away
Mealy mouthed - afraid of speaking frankly
Nail your colours to their mast – to tell what are you thinking
No dice – no chance of success
No man is an Island - no one is self sufficient
Not mince matters – tell your opinion clearly
Of the first water – of the best quality
Off the cuff - without preparation
Off the hook - out of trouble
On Shank’s mare - on foot
On the cuff - on credit
On the level - honest
Out and Out - totally
Out at the elbows - poor
Out of bounds – Forbidden
Out of the woods - out of danger
Over head and ears - completely
Palm off - to dispose off with the intent to deceive
Pandora’s box - A prolific source of trouble
Parthian shot - an unpleasant remark at the end of a conversation
Peas in a pod - very similar
Pick to pieces - Analyse critically
Pie in the sky - something not possible
Pound the pavement - hunt for a job on street
Pull a fast one – to trick someone
Pull strings – to use personal influence
Pull yourself together - To calm oneself down
Put up with - Tolerate
Run into - Meet accidently
Run Riot - Act without restraint
Reap the whirlwind – Face negative consequences of one’s actions
Rip up old sores – to revive forgotten quarrel
Root and branch - completely
Rose coloured glasses - a positive outlook on life
Salad days – adolescence
Seize the nettle - dealt firmly
Shake off - to get rid of
Shooting fish in a barrel - very easy task
Silver bullet - A simple solution to a complicated problem
Sleep on it - to wait before making a decision
Stand – offish - indifferent
Standstill - Complete halt
Straw in the wind - An indication of what might happen
Swollen headed - Pride
Take exception to – to object strongly
Take heart - to take courage
Take up the hatchet - prepare to go to war
Take after - Similar to
The ayes have it – majority of votes are in favour
The bee’s knees - Extraordinary
The die is cast - the decision has been taken
The Gnomes of Zurich – big international bankers
The nitty gritty - the most important aspect of a subject
The seamy side - the unpleasant aspect
Thin end of wedge – Start of harmful development
The wheels have come off – things starting to go wrong
Threw a spanner - to prevent a plan from succeeding
Thumb one’s nose - to express hatred
Throw up the sponge - to surrender
Til the cows come home – for a long time
To angle - to fish
To be in a quandary – in a confusing situation
To be pushing up daisies - to be dead and buried
To be taken aback - to be surprised
To be under the weather - to feel sick
To beat a retreat - to run away in fear
To beat the rap - to be acquitted of a crime
To break a leg - to wish good luck
To carry the day - to succeed
To clear the decks - to remove obstructions
To cut my teeth on - to gain experience
To cut the crackle - to stop talking and start working
To get wind - come to know
To grid up the loins - to prepare for the hard work
To go down like a lad balloon – a poorly received joke
To hammer out – To arrive at an agreement
To have a blast - To have a good time
To hit the sack - to go to sleep
To jump on the bandwagon – to follow popular trends
To keep in abeyance - in a state of suspension
To keep up - to be in touch
To make a pile - to make a lot of money
To nip in the bud – to stop something at the start
To pay off old scores – to take revenge
To pick holes - to criticise someone
To pick up the threads - to restart from the previous closing point
To pigeon hole - unfairly think of someone (less than his ability)
To play to the gallery - to seek to win approval
To put one out of countenance - to make one feel ashamed
To put up with - Tolerate
To run amok - to run about in a frenzy
To shoot the breeze - to have a casual conversation
To shun - to avoid deliberately
To sleep with the fishes - to be dead
To sow the dragon’s teeth - to act foolishly
To stave off – postpone
To steal a march - to outshine
To steer clear of - avoid
To take the cake - to degrade
To take someone for a ride - to deceive someone
To take to task – to scold someone
To the letter - in every detail
To throw a fit - express extreme anger
To toe the line - to follow the lead
To turn over a new leaf – to change one’s behaviour for better
Tongue in cheek – in an ironic way
Touch and go – uncertain
Turn turtle - turn upside down
Turn up – appear
Up in the arms – to be angry
Vis-à-vis - face to face
Wag the dog - to divert attention from something important
Water under the bridge – no more important
Weal and woe - good and bad times
Wear the green willow - suffer unrequited love
Weigh anchor - to prepare ship to sail
Wet his whistle - to get drunk
What a small world ! – What a coincidence
When pigs fly – never going to happen
Whistle in the dark - pretend to be unafraid
Whoop it up – enjoy in a noisy way
Will-o-the wisp – impossible to achieve
Wipe the nose – to cheat/rob
With a fine tooth comb - carefully
Yeoman’s service - excellent service
On the breadline - be very poor
To dodge a bullet - to narrowly avoid a situation
Pen and Ink – Smells foul
Crack someone up - to make someone laugh
A plum job - an easy and pleasant job
Made a pig’s ear - made a mess
Second wind - burst of energy
Grist to the mill - provide useful advantage
Loaves and fishes - materialistic wealth
To a T - Exactly
Call the shots - to tell others what to do
In the fast lane - a life filled with excitement
Sly as a fox - smart and clever
Be like chalk & cheese - completely different from each other
As phony as a 3 dollars bill - something that is fake
Have egg on your face - to look foolish
Grasping at straws - desperate attempt to succeed
Run of the mill - average
Scrape the barrel - to use one’s last resource
Bad iron – bad luck
Up the creek – in trouble
On the ball - doing a job quickly/ alert
As dead as a doornail - completely obsolete/out of trend
A pipe dream – an unreal hope
Dance attendance - obey someone’s every wish
Buy a lemon - to buy something worthless
In the groove - starting to perform very well
Dead ringer - similar thing/person
Crossed the rubicon – made an irreversible change
Go bananas – to become excited or angry
Rust bucket - an old vehicle
Hit the hay - to go to bed
A broth of a boy - energetic person
Chew the fat – to gossip or chat casually
Keep someone posted – keep sharing the latest information
Ruffle someone’s feathers - to annoy
I don’t buy it – I am not convinced
Slap on the wrist - a mild punishment
A bull market - market where prices are rising
To meet one’s water loo - to be badly defeated
Slack off - to ease pressure on something
Pig in a poke - bought without proper examination
To twiddle one’s thumbs - to be idle
Neck of the woods - neighbourhood
To lay someone by heels - to confine somebody in poison
Cast someone adrift - To leave someone without support
A brown study - a mood of deep thoughts
Mumbo jumbo - nonsense speech
Fly into a passion - to become angry suddenly
Bob’s your uncle - easily & quickly achievable
Latin and Greek - incomprehensible
Yellow bellies - cowards
An olive branch - gesture of peace
Down the tubes - failing completely
Lose your marbles - go insane
Went pear shaped - went terribly wrong
Aladdin’s cave - a place having many interesting objects
Charley horse - a painful cramp
Beside oneself - out of one’s senses
At the drop of dime - happening fast without hesitation
In Vogue - in fashion
Hornet’s nest - Difficult situation
Mincing walk - small steps
Toffee nosed - a person who thinks himself of high class
Want to curl up & die - to feel sorry
To the nine - to perfection
On the horizon - event that is likely to happen soon
A cog in the machine - small part of big organisation
No spring chicken - no longer young
Sweat of his brow - hard work
When the crunch comes – at the time of decision
Play it by ear – to perform without rehearsals
Memory like sieve – poor memory
Queer Fish - Strange person
Have a bash - to make an attempt
Queer Pitch - Spoil someone’s chance of doing something
Pell mell - Great confusion
Lily Livered - not brave
Drive someone up the wall - make someone extremely angry