List of English Idioms

A list of common English idioms, sortable by starting letter

Showing 141-160 of 189

Photo of a dog giving the side eye

Out of the corner of my eye

This idiom is a way of saying you see someone in your peripheral vision. It means you did not get a good look at something because you were not looking directly at it, but you still saw it.

I saw the kids taking cookies, out of the corner of my eye.

Generated photo of a frying pan on a campfire

Out of the frying pan

The idiom out of the frying pan, into the fire means to escape from one bad situation and go straight into another one. This one is drawn from the idea of you being in a hot frying pan, and you escape but you find yourself in the fire.

She left her abusive husband but her new boyfriend is just as bad, out of the frying pan into the fire.

Photo of a jigsaw puzzle

Piece of the Puzzle

The idiom piece of the puzzle means one part of a larger situation. You might use this idiom if you have just solved an important part of a larger problem. The origin is from jigsaw puzzles.

This clue was an important piece of the puzzle.

Generated image of a flying pig

Pigs might fly

The idiom pigs might fly is a way of describing something that is absurd or so unlikely it is almost impossible.

Getting my husband to help with the housework? Yeah, when pigs fly

Photo of a man playing the piano

Play It by Ear

The phrase play it by ear means to decide what to do as things happen; there is no fixed plan ahead of time. This idiom comes from some people's ability to play a song on a musical instrument from what they have heard, without the sheet music or practising.

Let’s play it by ear and see how the day goes.

Generated image of a sooty pot and kettle

Pot calling the kettle black

The idiom the pot calling the kettle black means that someone is criticizing someone for something that both of them do, without realising it. It is a way of pointing out hypocrisy.
A pot and a kettle on the stove are both blackened equally from use.

You can't complain that I'm late when you are always late yourself. That's like the pot calling the kettle black.

Generated image of a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow

Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

The phrase pot of gold at the end of the rainbow comes from Irish folklore, where leprechauns hid their treasure where a rainbow touches the ground. It is used to mean a desire that is elusive and is always out of reach.
Rainbows do not have a real end, if you try and get the end of a rainbow it keeps moving away from you.

A work from home job where I can sit on a beach all day, that's the pot of gold at the end of my rainbow!

Photo of a child touching a mushroom

Put your finger on it

To put your finger on it means to know the exact cause or meaning of something. This idiom is more used in the negative, I can't put my finger on it which means that you know that something is wrong but you can't work out what it is, the same way you might not be able to put your finger right onto something.

Something just doesn't work with the decor of this room, but I can't put my finger on it.

Quiet as a mouse

Quiet as a Mouse

The phrase quiet as a mouse means very quiet. Mice are naturally small, quiet and good at hiding from predators, so a person who is unusually quiet might get described as quiet as a mouse.

She was quiet as a mouse

Photo of a hen

Rare as hen's teeth

Something is as rare as hen's teeth if it is so uncommon that you need an idiom to exaggerate how uncommon it is! Hens have no teeth, so hen's teeth are so rare they do not exist at all.

You found one of those at the thrift store? Well done, they are as rare as hen's teeth!