Idioms & Phrases Notes

Last reviewed 30 Sept 2026 · 14 min read

Idioms — meaning

An idiom is a fixed group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the separate words. To kick the bucket has nothing to do with a bucket; it means to die. You cannot work out an idiom word by word; you must learn it as a unit or infer it from the context.

A phrasal verb is a verb + a particle (preposition or adverb) with a special meaning: give up (stop), call off (cancel), look into (investigate).

FormulaAnswering idiom questions

Read the sentence — the context usually shows a positive or negative sense.
Recall the idiom if you know it; otherwise eliminate options that clash with the tone.
Look for image clues (an animal, a body part, a colour) — they often give the flavour (a snake in the grass → hidden danger).
Choose the option that fits the whole sentence, not just one word.

Success, failure and effort

Idiom	Meaning	Example
a piece of cake	very easy	The test was a piece of cake.
to break the ice	to start a conversation, remove awkwardness	He told a joke to break the ice.
to hit the nail on the head	to be exactly right	You hit the nail on the head.
to burn the midnight oil	to work late into the night	She burnt the midnight oil for the exam.
to leave no stone unturned	to try every possible means	The police left no stone unturned.
to come off with flying colours	to succeed brilliantly	He passed with flying colours.
to get cold feet	to lose courage at the last moment	He got cold feet before the interview.
to bite off more than one can chew	to take on too much	She bit off more than she could chew.
to throw in the towel	to give up	After three failures he threw in the towel.
to go the extra mile	to make an additional effort	The team went the extra mile.
back to square one	back to the beginning	The plan failed and we were back to square one.
a blessing in disguise	something good that seemed bad at first	Losing the job was a blessing in disguise.
to fall flat	to fail to have the desired effect	His joke fell flat.
to make hay while the sun shines	to use an opportunity	Make hay while the sun shines.
to strike while the iron is hot	to act at the right moment
to kill two birds with one stone	to achieve two aims with one action
the last straw	the final event that makes a situation unbearable	His rudeness was the last straw.
to turn over a new leaf	to start afresh, change for the better
to rise to the occasion	to deal well with a difficult situation

Difficulty, trouble and ease

Idiom	Meaning
in hot water	in trouble
between the devil and the deep sea	in a difficult situation with two bad choices
a tough nut to crack	a difficult problem or person
an uphill task	a very difficult job
to face the music	to accept the consequences
to be in a fix / in a tight corner	in a difficult position
to be at a loss	not knowing what to do
to be at sixes and sevens	in confusion
a thorn in the flesh	a constant source of trouble
to bear the brunt	to suffer the main force of an attack or problem
a Herculean task	a task needing great strength or effort
a wild goose chase	a useless search
to cut a sorry figure	to look foolish
to sail in the same boat	to be in the same situation
the writing on the wall	a sign of coming trouble

Anger, emotion and behaviour

Idiom	Meaning
to lose one's temper / to fly off the handle	to become suddenly angry
to see red	to become very angry
to be up in arms	to protest strongly
to pour cold water on	to discourage
to cry over spilt milk	to regret what cannot be changed
to be on cloud nine	very happy
to be over the moon	delighted
to be down in the dumps	sad, depressed
to keep a stiff upper lip	to stay calm in difficulty
to eat humble pie	to apologise humbly
to add insult to injury	to make a bad situation worse
to bury the hatchet	to make peace
to have a chip on the shoulder	to feel resentful or aggrieved
to blow one's own trumpet	to boast
to have a heart of gold	to be very kind
to be in seventh heaven	extremely happy
to shed crocodile tears	to show false sorrow
to turn a blind eye	to ignore deliberately
to be on the fence	to be undecided

Money and business

Idiom	Meaning
to make both ends meet	to earn just enough to live
to be in the red	to owe money, in debt
to be in the black	to have money, in profit
to cost an arm and a leg	to be very expensive
a windfall	a sudden gain
to feather one's nest	to enrich oneself
the lion's share	the largest part
to pay through the nose	to pay too much
as poor as a church mouse	extremely poor
to live from hand to mouth	to spend all one earns, barely surviving
a golden handshake	a large payment at retirement or dismissal
a white elephant	a costly but useless possession
to break the bank	to cost too much
to have deep pockets	to be wealthy
to cut corners	to do something cheaply or badly

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Idioms & Phrases