English@HighSchool would never be complete without idioms, proverbs, and expressions which are an important part of everyday English. They come up all the time in both written and spoken English.

Because idioms and proverbs don’t always make sense literally, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the meaning and usage of each idiom. That may seem like a lot of work, but learning idioms is fun, especially when you compare English idioms to the idioms in other languages.

An idiom is a common expression understood figuratively, as the literal definition makes no sense.

Read the sentence and match its definition on the right

Common Idioms	Definitions
1. I hate my job so much I can’t bare going to work, but if I quit I don’t think I can get another job. I’m really stuck / caught between a rock and a hard place.	Believing that every bad situation has a positive side / eventually leads to something good
2. I have to bite my tongue so I don’t say what I really think of him!	Leave out all the unnecessary details and just get to the point
3. Come on, cut to the chase. We haven’t got all day!	Having two very bad choices
4. Are you putting all of your savings into that company? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.	To become comfortable in what you are doing
5. Try not to worry about it. Every cloud has a silver lining.	Wanting to say something but stopping yourself.
6. It was difficult when I moved to another country but I eventually found my feet.	Putting all of one’s resources into one possibility
7. My parents are very fixed in their ways. They won’t start using the internet.	Doing much more than is required when doing something
8. I think he got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. He is in a terrible mood.	To refer to someone who is having a bad day
9. My mother will always go the extra mile to help people.	Doing or starting something too early
10. You are taking your IELTS test next week? Aren’t you jumping the gun. You’ve only just started studying.	Not wanting to change from the normal ways of doing things

Are you getting the hang of it? I hope so. The answers are here below for you.

Common Idioms	Definitions
1. I hate my job so much I can’t bear going to work, but if I quit I don’t think I can get another job. I’m really stuck / caught between a rock and a hard place.	Having two very bad choices.
2. I have to bite my tongue so I don’t say what I really think of him!	Wanting to say something but stopping yourself.
3. Come on, cut to the chase. We haven’t got all day!	Leave out all the unnecessary details and just get to the point
4. Are you putting all of your savings into that company? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.	Putting all of one’s resources into one possibility
5. Try not to worry about it. Every cloud has a silver lining.	Believing that every bad situation has a positive side / eventually leads to something good
6. It was difficult when I moved to another country but I eventually found my feet.	To become comfortable in what you are doing
7. My parents are very fixed in their ways. They won’t start using the internet.	Not wanting to change from the normal ways of doing things
8. I think he got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. He is in a terrible mood.	To refer to someone who is having a bad day
9. My mother will always go the extra mile to help people.	Doing much more than is required when doing something
10. You are taking your IELTS test next week? Aren’t you jumping the gun. You’ve only just started studying.	Doing or starting something too early

Here is another selection of idioms to wet your appetite:

• When something has no rhyme or reason, there is no understandable meaning and little beauty behind it.
• To make, build, or do something from scratch means to start at the beginning of a process.
• Mumbo-jumbo is language that is meaningless or difficult to understand.
• To wrap one’s head around something is to fully understand and knowledgeably consider something.

 

• Bells and whistles are premium options or features of new technology.
• To catch someone red-handed is to catch them committing a wrongful act.
• To draw a line in the sand is to make a rule or set a position and to fight passionately to maintain it.
• As the crow flies means to get to the point or to travel in a straight direction.
• Sour grapes is when one criticizes or otherwise disparages something that he or she cannot have.
• The eleventh hour means the last possible time for something to occur.
• To follow suit is to do what another has done.
• When the deck is stacked against someone that person is competing against others who have unfair advantages.

Good luck in all your endeavours.

As of old: Be EMPOWERED and EXCEL.