IDIOMS AND PHRASES

IDIOMS
1. Act like an ape
MEANING: behave badly, wildly, foolishly
EXAMPLE:He has been acting like an ape ever since his girlfriend left him.

2. bark up the wrong tree

MEANING: choose the wrong course of action
EXAMPLE:He is barking up the wrong tree. He accuses me of causing the computer
problem but I was away at the time.

3.Her bark is worse than her bite

MEANING: someone’s words are worse than their action
EXAMPLE:You shouldn’t worry about her. Her bark is worse than her bite and she is
really a very nice person.

4.Bull in a china shop

MEANING: a person with no tact who upsets others or upsets plans
EXAMPLE:He is like a bull in a china shop so you should be careful if you invite him to
your house for the weekend.

5.cash cow
MEANING: a good way to make money
EXAMPLE:The new business is a great cash cow. We are making a lot of money now.

6. cat get one’s tongue

MEANING: can’t speak because of shyness
EXAMPLE:The cat must have got her tongue. She did not saying anything at all.

7. cat nap
MEANING: a short sleep taken during the day
EXAMPLE:I had a cat nap during the afternoon so I would feel refreshed in the evening.
8. change horses in midstream
MEANING:make new plans or choose a new leader in the middle of an important activity
EXAMPLE:They have decided to change lawyers but I told them that they shouldn’t
change horses in midstream.

9.copycat
MEANING: someone who copies another person’s work etc.
EXAMPLE:He is a copycat according to the other students in the class.

10. cry wolf

MEANING: give a false alarm; warn of a danger that is not there.
EXAMPLE:He is crying wolf. There is no real danger or worry about the electrical
system causing a fire.

11. curiosity killed the cat

MEANING: being too nosy may lead a person into trouble
EXAMPLE:You shouldn’t worry about what he is doing. Remember curiosity killed the
cat.

12. dark horse

MEANING: a candidate little known to the general public
EXAMPLE:He was a dark horse in the race to be President until he gave some good
speeches on TV.

13. dog-eat-dog
MEANING: ready or willing to fight and hurt others to get what one wants
EXAMPLE:It is a dog-eat-dog world outside the father said to his young son.

14. donkey's years

MEANING: a very long time
EXAMPLE:I talked to my friend for a long time because I hadn't seen her in donkey's
years.

15. dumb bunny

MEANING: stupid or gullible person
EXAMPLE:He really is a dumb bunny. I can’t believe that he can do such stupid things.

16.eager beaver
MEANING: a person who is always eager to work or do something extra
EXAMPLE:She is a real eager beaver and I am sure she will do very well in this company.

17. eat like a horse

MEANING: eat a lot
EXAMPLE:Her brother who is 18 years old eats like a horse.

18. every dog has his day

MEANING: everyone will have his chance or turn; everyone will get what he deserves
EXAMPLE:Don’t worry about him. Every dog has his day and he will eventually suffer
for all the bad things that he is doing.
19.fraidy-cat
MEANING: someone who is easily frightened (used by children)
EXAMPLE:The little boy called his friend a fraidy-cat because he wouldn’t climb the tree

20. get on one’s high horse

MEANING: behave with arrogance
EXAMPLE:She is always getting on her high horse and telling people what to do.

21.get off one’s high horse

MEANING: begin to be humble and agreeable
EXAMPLE:I wish that she would get off her high horse and begin to think about how
other people feel about things

22.go ape
MEANING: become highly excited or angry
EXAMPLE:He will go ape if he sees that you have not finished the work that was due
today.

23. go whole hog

MEANING: do something completely or thoroughly

EXAMPLE:They went whole hog in their effort to make sure that the convention was a
success.

24. hit the bulls-eye

MEANING: reach the main point
EXAMPLE:I think that he really hit the bulls-eye when he talked about the problems with
the regular staff.

25.hold one’s horses

MEANING: wait, be patient
EXAMPLE:Hold your horses for a moment while I make a phone call.

26. holy cow

MEANING: used to express strong feelings like astonishment, pleasure or anger
EXAMPLE:Holy cow he said as he saw the car that had hit the street lamp.

27. horse around

MEANING: rough or noisy play
EXAMPLE:The teacher told the children to stop horsing around and get ready for class.

28. horse of a different colour

MEANING: something totally separate and different
EXAMPLE:Moving to a new location is a horse of a different colour. It was never
mentioned in any of our meetings.

29. horse trade

MEANING: hard and skilful bargaining
EXAMPLE:We had to do a little horse trading but finally we reached a deal to buy the
new house

30. in the doghouse

MEANING: in disgrace or disfavour
EXAMPLE:He is in the doghouse with his wife because he went out drinking three times
last week.

PHRASES

1. kangaroo court
MEANING: a self-appointed group that decides what to do to someone who is supposed
to have done wrong.
EXAMPLE: It was decided in a kangaroo court that he would have to pay for the damage
that he had caused to the school building.

2.lead a dog’s life

MEANING: work hard and be treated unkindly
EXAMPLE:He is leading a dog’s life since he married the woman who everyone told him
not to.

3. let sleeping dogs lie

MEANING: don’t make trouble if you don’t have to
EXAMPLE:You should let sleeping dogs lie and not ask him any questions about the
argument.

4. let the cat out of the bag

MEANING: tell something that is supposed to be a secret
EXAMPLE:She let the cat out of the bag when she began talking about the plans for the
new department.

5. live high on the hog

MEANING: have the best of everything
EXAMPLE:He has been living high on the hog since he changed jobs and moved to
Texas.

6. lock the barn door after the horse is gone

MEANING: be careful or try to make something certain after it is too late
EXAMPLE:Now he wants to try and fix his house but it is like locking the barn door after
the horse is gone. There was already a flood and the damage is done.

7. look like the cat that swallowed the canary

MEANING: look very self-satisfied, look as if one just had a great success
EXAMPLE:You look like the cat that swallowed the canary. What happened?

8. make a mountain out of a molehill

MEANING: make something that is unimportant seem important
EXAMPLE:You are making a mountain out of a molehill with your going on and on
about his mistake.

9. monkey business
MEANING: unethical or bad activity, mischief
EXAMPLE:He should stop that monkey business and try to do the job the correct way.

10. piggyback
MEANING: sitting or being carried on someone’s back and shoulders
EXAMPLE:The boy was riding piggyback on his father’s shoulders.

11.play cat and mouse with someone

MEANING: tease or fool someone
EXAMPLE:He is playing a cat and mouse game with his company about his plans to quit
or not.

12. put the cart before the horse

MEANING: do things in the wrong order
EXAMPLE:I think that buying a ticket before we make any plans is putting the cart
before the horse.

13.rain cats and dogs

MEANING: rain very hard
EXAMPLE:It has been raining cats and dogs all day.

14. rat out on

MEANING: desert or betray someone
EXAMPLE:He ratted out on his friends and now they won’t talk to him.
15. rat race
MEANING: rushing around, confusing way of living that does not seem to have a purpose
EXAMPLE:He is tired of living in the rat race every day and plans to quit his job soon
and do something else.

16. road hog

MEANING: car driver who takes more than his share of the road
EXAMPLE:The person in front of me on the highway was a road hog but I tried not to get
angry.

17. sacred cow

MEANING: a person or thing that is never criticized or changed even if it should be
EXAMPLE:The school lunch program is a sacred cow which they will never change.

18. scaredy-cat
MEANING: someone who is easily frightened (used by children)
EXAMPLE:The children were calling their friend a scaredy-cat because she wouldn’t go
into the empty house.

19. smell a rat

MEANING: be suspicious, feel that something is wrong
EXAMPLE:I smell a rat. There is something wrong with his relationship to the bankers.

20. straight from the horse’s mouth

MEANING: directly from the person or place where something began
EXAMPLE:I heard straight from the horse’s mouth that she will be leaving the company
next week.

21. straw that breaks the camel’s back

MEANING: a small trouble which follows other troubles and makes one become angry or
do something
EXAMPLE:Her accusing me of not working hard enough was the straw that broke the
camel’s back so I finally asked for a transfer to another section of the company.

22. tail between one’s legs

MEANING: feel beaten, ashamed (after a scolding etc.)
EXAMPLE:He left the meeting with his tail between his legs after he was criticized by
the president.

23. take the bull by the horns

MEANING: take decisive action and not worry about the results
EXAMPLE:My aunt decided to take the bull by the horns and begin preparations for the
family reunion.

24. talk until the cows come home

MEANING: talk for a long time
EXAMPLE:We can talk until the cows come home this weekend at the lake.

25. throw someone to the wolves

MEANING: send someone into danger without protection
EXAMPLE:He decided to throw his co-worker to the wolves when he asked him to go
and see the other company.

26.turn tail
MEANING: run away from trouble or danger
EXAMPLE:We decided to turn tail and leave the pub before there was a fight.

27. wildcat strike

MEANING: a strike spontaneously arranged by a group of workers
EXAMPLE:There was a wildcat strike at the factory and over 100 people walked off the
job.

28.wolf in sheep’s clothing

MEANING: a person who pretends to be good but really is bad
EXAMPLE:
Be careful of that man. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

29. horse trade

MEANING: hard and skilful bargaining
EXAMPLE:We had to do a little horse trading but finally we reached a deal to buy the
new house

30. in the doghouse

MEANING: in disgrace or disfavour
EXAMPLE:He is in the doghouse with his wife because he went out drinking three times
last week.