Language/English/Vocabulary/Funny-English-Idioms

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What are the Funniest English Idioms?

Funny idioms.jpg

TO UNDERSTAND ENGLISH AS IT IS SPOKEN IN REAL LIFE, you have to be familiar with idioms.

They are used so much in everyday English that it is important to be aware of them. So use them as much as you can!

Hold Your Horses

  • Meaning: used to tell someone to stop and consider carefully their decision or opinion about something.
  • Example: Just hold your horses, Bill! Let’s think about this for a moment.

As Cool As a Cucumber

  • Meaning: very calm or very calmly, especially when this is surprising.
  • Example: She walked in as cool as a cucumber, as if nothing had happened.

Kick the Bucket

  • Meaning: a euphemistic, informal, or slang term meaning ‘to die’.
  • Example: Charlie finally kicked the bucket. He had cancer, you know.

Blue in the Face

  • Meaning: weakened or tired after trying many times.
  • Example: You can tell her to clean her room until you are blue in the face, but she won’t do it.

Storm in a Teacup

  • Meaning: a lot of unnecessary anger and worry about a matter that is not important.
  • Example: My brother and sister had a big argument about the television yesterday, but it was just a storm in a teacup.

Bob’s Your Uncle

  • Meaning: used to mean that something will happen very quickly and simply.
  • Example: Just tell them you’re a friend of mine and, Bob’s your uncle, you’ll get the job.

Head In The Clouds

  • Meaning: living in a fantasy. To be separate from reality, to dream.
  • Example: He’s not right for this role, he has his head in the clouds.

Dead As A Doornail

  • Meaning: completely dead.
  • Example: The fox in the road was as dead as a doornail.

A Piece Of Cake

  • Meaning: something very easy to do.
  • Example: The test was a piece of cake.

Heart In Your Mouth

  • Meaning: feeling nervous or scared.
  • Example: My heart’s in my mouth ever time it rings.

Walking On Air

  • Meaning: To feel very good or confident about something
  • Example: After completing the examination she felt like she was walking on air.

Live Hand To Mouth

  • Meaning: Because of economic constraints to be forced to live in a very frugal manner
  • Example: After he lost his job Steve was forced to live hand to mouth.

To Need Something Like You Need A Hole In The Head

  • Meaning: Said when one receives, experiences, and/or desires to acquire something that is utterly unwanted, unnecessary, or otherwise detrimental.
  • Example: Said to a woman who owns 10 cats: "You need another cat like you need a hole in the head."

Have One's Ducks In A Row

  • Meaning: To have things well organized; have things pertaining to a task, an event, etc., in order
  • Example: You had best have your ducks in a row in time for today's presentation to the Board of Trustees!

Be A Stone's Throw Away

  • Meaning: To be in near or very near proximity to a different place.
  • Example: You live in Los Angeles? Why then you're just a stone's throw away from Santa Monica!

A few screws loose

  • Meaning: Crazy/mentally unstable.
  • Example: "That fella has a few screws loose, we ought to throw him into a mental institution"

Half baked

  • Meaning: Poorly planned out/Stupid idea.
  • Example: "What a half-baked plan."

Shake a leg!

  • Meaning: Hurry up!

It's not Rocket Science

  • Meaning: It's easy.
  • Example: "Clean it when you're done using it! It's not rocket science!"

Hit the sack

  • Meaning: Go to sleep.
  • Example: "I'm so tired... time to hit the sack"

Stepping on eggshells

  • Meaning: Be overly cautious so as to not cause trouble.
  • Example: "You're very volatile. I'm constantly stepping on eggshells around you."

[Skating] on thin ice

  • Meaning: To be very close to causing trouble.
  • Example: "Don't try my patience! You're skating on thin ice!"

Have a cow

  • Meaning: Overreact/become enraged/panic.
  • Example: "Don't have a cow! I'm only joking."

Burning daylight

  • Meaning: Wasting time/Running out of time.
  • Example: "Shake a leg! We're burning daylight!"

Thick as a plank

  • Meaning: Simple minded/Stupid.
  • Example: "You're as thick as a plank!"

Head in the sand

  • Meaning: Willfully ignorant of imminent danger.
  • Example: "Those politicians have their heads in the sand!"

Rubbing two brain cells together

  • Meaning: Exerting your tiny brain to think about something simple.
  • Example: "He couldn't rub two brain cells together."

Connect the dots

  • Meaning: Come to a logical conclusion using pieces of evidence.
  • Example: "By connecting the dots, we found who the real murderer was."

Read between the lines

  • Meaning: Become aware of obscure information being implied by other pieces of information.
  • Example: "She said nothing was wrong, but in an moody tone. I read between the lines that she was upset with me."

Pardon my French

  • Meaning: Please pardon my use of crude or foul words.
  • Example: "Pardon my French, but we're %&!@ed"

Don't make mountains out of molehills

  • Meaning: Don't overreact to something minor.
  • Example: "It was just a joke! Don't make mountains out of molehills"

Can of worms

  • Meaning: A burden that you could have easily avoided.
  • Example: "I opened up a can of worms when I said she was fat. She was upset with me for a week!"

Cat's out of the bag

  • Meaning: Hidden information has been revealed.
  • Example: "He knows our little secret.. cat's out of the bag"

The jig is up

  • Meaning: A scheme has been foiled.
  • Example: "POLICE! The jig is up! Everybody Run!"

Don't put all your eggs in one basket

  • Meaning: Don't use all of your assets for one thing because you might accidentally waste/lose it all.
  • Example: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket, save up your money!"

Bite the bullet

  • Meaning: To do something right now because it is inevitable.
  • Example: "Just bite the bullet and rip that band aid off"

Are you pulling my leg?

  • Meaning: are you messing with me at my expense?

Be A Monkey's Uncle

  • Meaning: To be very surprised by something/experience an unexpected phenomenon.
  • Example: "Why I'll be a monkey's uncle! That parrot knows the words to a song by The Beatles!"

Liked to die

  • Meaning: Be surprised by something/someone.
  • Example: "When she showed up at that party I liked to die -- she was the last person I expected to see."

Hell's Bells

  • Meaning: Not likey.
  • Example: "Hell's bells we're letting you stay out past 10:00pm!"

The Rabbit Done Died

  • Meaning: To test positive for pregnancy.
  • Example: "Mary told me she saw the doctor today and learned that the rabbit done died."


Sources

Comments on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/agj9zm/what_are_the_funniest_english_idioms/

Contributors

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