Idiom Definition Sample Sentence
1. A short fuse A quick temper. Don’t get the coach
mad; he has a very
short fuse.
2. At the forefront Leading in terms of The university's cutting-
innovation or edge research places it
prominence at the forefront of
scientific
advancements
3. A drop in the ocean A very small I feel that what I am
amount doing is just a drop in
the ocean
4. A hot potato A controversial Money policy is fast
topic or issue becoming a hot potato
5. A rip off Something that is $60 for a coffee is a
very expensive complete rip off
6. A mile a minute Very quickly She is talking a mile a
minute
7. To buy into To accept Her boss did not buy
something something into her reason for
being late
8. Be bummed out To be sad She was bummed out
9. Beat around the To avoid the main Stop beating around
bush topic/not speak the bush and tell me
directly. why you’re here.
10. Be on your toes Be ready/prepared. A fire can happen at
any moment, so
firemen always need to
be on their toes.
11. Breeze though To do something Don’t worry about the
i. something quickly and easily. math homework; I’m
sure you’ll breeze
through it.
12. Butterflies in To feel nervous. Tom always got
your stomach butterflies in his
stomach before giving a
speech.
13. Catch Attract someone's A captivating
someone's eye attention introduction is essentia
to catch the examiner's
eye
14. Costs an arm Is very expensive. That new purse of hers
and a leg costs an arm and a leg.
15. Couch potato Someone who is You need to stop being
lazy. such a couch potato
and start joining me at
the gym.
16. Cut corners To do something The architect cut
badly to save time corners on the bridge’s
or money. construction, which is
why it eventually
collapsed.
17. Cut someone To go easy on I heard Rachel’s dad is
some slack someone. sick, so we should cut
her some slack on this
group project.
18. Feeling blue Feeling sad or Erika’s been feeling
depressed. blue every since her
boyfriend broke up
with her.
19. Finding a Virtually impossible These days, finding a
needle in a haystack to find. job that doesn’t require
experience is like trying
to find a needle in a
haystack.
20. Get some shut Sleep. I have a big exam
eye tomorrow, so I need to
get some shut eye.
21. Go the extra Put in extra effort. Kelsey has the highest
mile grades in our class
since she always goes
the extra mile with
homework
assignments.
22. Hang in there Be patient. I know it’s hard waiting
for the exam results,
but you just need to
hang in there.
23. Hard up Lack money. Ellie knew I was hard
up, so she paid for my
coffee.
24. Have a bone to Have something to I have a bone to pick
pick argue about. with the girl who stole
my boyfriend from me.
25. Jump on the To join something I’ve decided to jump on
bandwagon that’s popular. the bandwagon and
listen to that new band
everyone is talking
about.
26. Let’s get this Let’s get started! We have everything
show on the road! packed for the road
trip, so let’s get this
show on the road!
27. Let the cat out To tell a secret. The surprise party was
of the bag ruined when my little
brother let the cat out
of the bag and told our
mom about it.
28. Lose your To be crazy. (Often Mrs. Thompson wants
marbles said as a joke.) all this homework
finished tomorrow?
She must have lost her
marbles!
29. Make a long To quickly get to To make a long story
story short the point. short, my neighbor
found my lost dog near
the park.
30. Make your Frighten. That new horror movie
blood run cold made my blood run
cold.
31. Once in a blue Something that Only once in a blue
moon happens very moon will Mr. Smith let
rarely. us get out of class early
32. On the fence To not have made a I’m on the fence as to
decision or formed whether this new law is
an opinion yet. a good idea.
33. Piece of cake Something easy to The math homework
do. has only three
questions, so finishing
it will be a piece of
cake.
34. Pulling one’s leg To joke with You didn’t really believe
someone. that, did you? I was just
pulling your leg.
35. Put your foot in Say something you The husband put his
your mouth shouldn’t have. foot in his mouth when
he told his wife her
dress was ugly.
36. Quantum leap A significant and The invention of the
sudden internet marked a
advancement quantum leap in global
communication
37. Raining cats Raining very hard. You absolutely need an
and dogs umbrella; it’s raining
cats and dogs out
there!
38. Read between To detect a Reading between the
the lines meaning that’s lines of this poem you
implied but not wrote her, it seems as
stated outright. though you like
Elizabeth.
39. Run into Meet someone I ran into my old
someone unexpectedly. kindergarten teacher at
the grocery store today.
40. Rise to the Demonstrating Despite the tight
occasion competence in deadline, the students
challenging rose to the occasion
circumstances and delivered
exceptional
presentations
41. Sweating To be very nervous. Alan was sweating
bullets bullets when he asked
the girl he liked to the
dance.
42. Tag along Accompany. I told my little sister she
could tag along when
we go to the beach.
43. Take a rain Postpone a plan. I have the flu, so I’ll
check need to take a rain
check on going to the
club.
44. Take it easy Relax. This summer, all I’m
going to do is take it
easy.
45. Take with a Don’t take too My father doesn’t
grain of salt seriously. know anything about
cars, so take any advice
he gives you about
fixing your engine with
a grain of salt.
46. Test the waters Try something out. If you’re not sure if you
want to join the club,
you can test the waters
by just going to the first
meeting.
47. Way to go! Good job! You got 100% on your
chemistry test? Way to
go!
48. Down the road In the future It can be achieved
down the road
49. Hit the nail on To say something At last he has hit the
head that is correct nail on his head
50. Know the ropes Have the skill and Tom knows the ropes
experience for a better than John
particular job
51. Miss the boat Miss the You will miss the
opportunity boat if you don’t apply
to this job
