| a piece of cake | very easy | The exam was a piece of cake. |
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| actions speak louder than words | what you do matters more than what you say | He promised to help, but actions speak louder than words. |
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| beat around the bush | avoid saying something directly | Stop beating around the bush and tell me what happened. |
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| better late than never | it is better to do something late than not at all | He finally replied to my email. Better late than never! |
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| break the ice | make people feel relaxed when they first meet | He told a funny story to break the ice. |
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| call it a day | stop working for the day | It's six o'clock. Let's call it a day. |
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| cost an arm and a leg | be very expensive | That new phone costs an arm and a leg. |
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| don't judge a book by its cover | don't judge by appearance | The café looks old, but don't judge a book by its cover; the food is great. |
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| easier said than done | simple to say, hard to do | "Just stop worrying." "That's easier said than done." |
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| get the hang of something | learn how to do something | Driving is hard at first, but you'll get the hang of it. |
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| give someone a hand | help someone | Can you give me a hand with these boxes? |
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| hang in there | don't give up | Hang in there; the exams are almost over. |
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| in the same boat | in the same difficult situation | Don't worry about being new; we're all in the same boat. |
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| keep an eye on | watch carefully | Can you keep an eye on my bag for a minute? |
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| keep in touch | continue to contact someone | Let's keep in touch after the course ends. |
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| kill two birds with one stone | achieve two things with one action | I walk to work, so I kill two birds with one stone: exercise and no traffic. |
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| make a long story short | tell something briefly | To make a long story short, we missed the plane. |
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| no pain, no gain | you must work hard to achieve something | Training every morning is hard, but no pain, no gain. |
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| once in a blue moon | very rarely | We only eat out once in a blue moon. |
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| out of the blue | suddenly and unexpectedly | He called me out of the blue after ten years. |
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| pull someone's leg | joke with someone, tease them | Relax, I'm just pulling your leg. |
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| speak of the devil | said when the person you are talking about appears | Speak of the devil! We were just talking about you. |
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| take it easy | relax, don't worry or work too hard | You've worked all week; take it easy this weekend. |
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| time flies | time passes very quickly | Time flies when you're having fun. |
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| time is money | wasting time is wasting money | Let's start the meeting; time is money. |
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| under pressure | feeling stressed because of demands | She works well under pressure. |
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| under the weather | feeling slightly ill | I'm feeling a bit under the weather today. |
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| you can say that again | I completely agree | "It's freezing today." "You can say that again!" |
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| a blessing in disguise | something that seems bad but turns out well | Losing that job was a blessing in disguise. |
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| a drop in the ocean | a very small amount compared to what is needed | Our donation is a drop in the ocean, but it helps. |
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| all ears | listening carefully and eagerly | Tell me everything; I'm all ears. |
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| back to square one | back to the beginning | The deal fell through, so we're back to square one. |
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| best of both worlds | the advantages of two different things | Working from home two days a week gives me the best of both worlds. |
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| bite off more than you can chew | try to do more than you are able to | With three jobs, she has bitten off more than she can chew. |
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| bite the bullet | do something unpleasant that you have been avoiding | I hate the dentist, but I bit the bullet and booked an appointment. |
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| break a leg | good luck (said to performers) | Break a leg tonight! You'll be great. |
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| cry over spilt milk | be upset about something that cannot be changed | The money is gone; there's no use crying over spilt milk. |
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| cut corners | do something cheaply or badly to save time or money | The builders cut corners, and now the roof leaks. |
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| cut to the chase | get to the point | Let's cut to the chase: how much does it cost? |
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| every cloud has a silver lining | something good comes from every bad situation | I missed my flight but met an old friend at the airport. Every cloud has a silver lining. |
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| face the music | accept the consequences of your actions | He broke the window, and now he has to face the music. |
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| feel like a fish out of water | feel uncomfortable in a new situation | At my first business dinner, I felt like a fish out of water. |
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| get cold feet | become nervous and want to cancel a plan | He got cold feet the day before the wedding. |
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| get out of hand | become impossible to control | The party got out of hand and the neighbours called the police. |
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| get something off your chest | talk about something that has been worrying you | Thanks for listening; I needed to get that off my chest. |
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| go the extra mile | make more effort than expected | The hotel staff always go the extra mile for their guests. |
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| have a lot on your plate | have many things to deal with | I can't help this week; I have a lot on my plate. |
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| have second thoughts | start to doubt a decision | I'm having second thoughts about moving to London. |
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| hit the books | study hard | I can't come out tonight; I need to hit the books. |
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| hit the nail on the head | describe exactly what is right | You hit the nail on the head: the problem is the price. |
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| hit the road | leave, start a journey | It's getting late; we should hit the road. |
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| in hot water | in trouble | He's in hot water for missing the meeting. |
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| in the nick of time | just before it is too late | The ambulance arrived in the nick of time. |
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| it's not rocket science | it is not difficult to understand | Just follow the instructions; it's not rocket science. |
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| it's raining cats and dogs | it is raining very heavily | Take an umbrella; it's raining cats and dogs. |
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| keep your chin up | stay positive in a difficult situation | Keep your chin up; things will get better. |
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| learn the ropes | learn how to do a job | It took me a month to learn the ropes at my new job. |
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| let the cat out of the bag | reveal a secret by mistake | We planned a surprise party, but my brother let the cat out of the bag. |
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| make ends meet | have just enough money to live | With prices rising, many families struggle to make ends meet. |
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| miss the boat | lose an opportunity by being too slow | Tickets sold out in an hour; I missed the boat. |
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| on cloud nine | extremely happy | She's been on cloud nine since she got the job. |
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| on the fence | undecided | I'm still on the fence about buying a car. |
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| on the same page | agreeing about something | Let's discuss the plan so we're all on the same page. |
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| on thin ice | in a risky situation | After being late again, he's on thin ice with his boss. |
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| once and for all | finally and completely | Let's solve this problem once and for all. |
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| play it by ear | decide as things happen, without a plan | We don't know the weather yet, so let's play it by ear. |
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| pull yourself together | calm down and control your feelings | Pull yourself together; we need you to focus. |
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| rule of thumb | a practical general rule | As a rule of thumb, save ten percent of what you earn. |
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| save for a rainy day | keep money for a time when you might need it | My grandmother taught me to save for a rainy day. |
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| see eye to eye | agree with someone | My sister and I don't always see eye to eye. |
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| sit on the fence | not choose a side | You can't sit on the fence forever; you have to decide. |
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| sleep on it | wait until the next day to decide | Don't answer now; sleep on it and tell me tomorrow. |
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| spill the beans | tell a secret | Come on, spill the beans! Who is she? |
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| the ball is in your court | it is your turn to decide or act | I've made my offer; now the ball is in your court. |
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| the last straw | the final problem that makes a situation unbearable | The broken heater was the last straw; we moved out. |
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| the tip of the iceberg | a small part of a much bigger problem | These complaints are just the tip of the iceberg. |
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| think outside the box | think creatively | We need to think outside the box to solve this. |
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| throw in the towel | give up | After three failed attempts, he threw in the towel. |
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| up in the air | not yet decided | Our holiday plans are still up in the air. |
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| when pigs fly | never | He'll clean his room when pigs fly. |
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| a penny for your thoughts | what are you thinking about? | You look serious. A penny for your thoughts? |
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| add insult to injury | make a bad situation worse | My flight was cancelled, and to add insult to injury, they lost my bag. |
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| burn the midnight oil | work late into the night | She burned the midnight oil to finish her thesis. |
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| by the skin of your teeth | only just | We caught the train by the skin of our teeth. |
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| give someone the benefit of the doubt | believe someone although you are not sure | His story sounded strange, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. |
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| go back to the drawing board | start planning again because the first plan failed | The design didn't work, so it's back to the drawing board. |
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| go Dutch | share the cost of a meal | On our first date, we decided to go Dutch. |
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| ignorance is bliss | not knowing something can make you happier | I don't want to know how many calories this has. Ignorance is bliss. |
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| jump on the bandwagon | join something because it is popular | Every company jumped on the bandwagon and launched an app. |
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| let sleeping dogs lie | avoid talking about an old problem | They argued years ago; it's better to let sleeping dogs lie. |
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| see the light at the end of the tunnel | see that a difficult time is ending | After months of repairs, we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. |
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| steal the show | be the most noticed person at an event | The youngest dancer stole the show. |
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| take something with a grain of salt | not completely believe something | Take his advice with a grain of salt; he's never done it himself. |
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| the best thing since sliced bread | an excellent new invention or idea | My dad thinks his new coffee machine is the best thing since sliced bread. |
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| the elephant in the room | an obvious problem nobody wants to talk about | Nobody mentioned the budget cuts, the elephant in the room. |
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| twist someone's arm | persuade someone to do something | I didn't want dessert, but she twisted my arm. |
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| under the table | secretly and often illegally | He was paid under the table. |
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| you can't have your cake and eat it | you can't have two good things that exclude each other | You want a big house and no mortgage? You can't have your cake and eat it. |
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