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116 English idioms and idiomatic expressions, with more being added every week

Idioms beginning with 'A'

a bad egg

above board

a day's grace

a good sport

an April Fool

as bright as a button

as cunning as a fox

as different as chalk and cheese

as fresh as a daisy

a show of hands

as prickly as a hedgehog

as proud as a peacock

as the crow flies

as tough as old boots

as warm as toast

as weak as a kitten

Idioms beginning with 'B'

bats in the belfry

bear garden

bed of roses

big fish in a small pond

bigwig

blue-collar worker

bread and butter

breadwinner

broken English

burn the candle at both ends

busman's holiday

busy as a bee

butterflies in one's stomach

Idioms beginning with 'C'

can't say boo to a goose

cauliflower ear

Christmas stocking

clean up

cling like a limpet

closed book

cowboy outfit

crystal clear

Idioms beginning with 'D'

dead wood

Idioms beginning with 'E'

eat humble pie

Idioms beginning with 'F'

flutter the dovecotes

full of beans

Idioms beginning with 'G'

give a clean bill of health

ghost town

go bananas

go to seed

grin like a Cheshire cat

Idioms beginning with 'H'

harebrained

haul over the coals

have one's work cut out

heart of gold

hit the hay

hold the purse strings

home from home

hopping mad

Idioms beginning with 'I'

I'll eat my hat

in a jam

in clover

in the money

in the twinkling of an eye

Idioms beginning with 'K'

kitchen talk

Idioms beginning with 'L'

land a plum job

led by the nose

Idioms beginning with 'M'

make light work of

man of straw

meet a deadline

mud in your eye

Idioms beginning with 'N'

nest egg

night owl

nineteen to the dozen

nosy parker

not a sausage

not one's cup of tea

not worth a fig

Idioms beginning with 'O'

once in a blue moon

on tap

on the breadline

out to grass

Idioms beginning with 'P'

play possum

play with fire

pull the chestnuts out of the fire

pull the rabbit out of the hat

put a sock in it

put business someone's way

put in a nutshell

Idioms beginning with 'R'

raining cats and dogs

raise the roof

rose-coloured spectacles / glasses

roses, roses all the way

Idioms beginning with 'S'

sail through

sandwich course

send to Coventry

skeleton in the cupboard

smell a rat

snake in the grass

soap opera

spend a penny

spring-clean

square meal

suitcase economy

sweet tooth

Idioms beginning with 'T'

talk of the town

the lion's share

thirteen at table

through the grapevine

time is of the essence

tip of the iceberg

top of the ladder

Idioms beginning with 'U'

ugly duckling

up the garden path

up with the lark

Idioms beginning with 'W'

water off a duck's back

well-heeled

whale of a time

white Christmas

white-collar worker

work on a shoe-string

work-to-rule

 

More posts about English idioms

Bats in the belfry, and other slightly mad idioms from around the world.

 

Recommended books

The Penguin Dictionary of English Idioms

Oxford Idioms Dictionary for Learners of English

English Idioms in Use Intermediate

English Idioms in Use Advanced edition with answers

Cambridge Idioms Dictionary (7,000+ Idioms) (ELT)

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