Idioms and Phrases | PacketPrep

This article is for all those trying to improve their communication skills . Freshers and students attending on-campus and off-campus interviews for IT jobs will also benefit from this collection of Idioms and Phrases.

INTRODUCTION

Idioms and phrases are composed of a few words with deep meanings.

They are widely used to convey intentions and more information in everyday conversation. Compared to the original word, idioms and phrases can be quite effective in explaining the meaning. With a poetic touch to the prose, they make the reader understand. the meaning in depth.

For example, an apple of my eye. This term does not have a precise definition, but it communicates our feelings for someone important to us.

Idioms and Phraes are influenced by culture and learning idioms and phrases can be a fascinating and eye-opening experience

Best ways to learn idioms and phrases

Try using those phrases and idioms in a story, blog post, or article
To better understand and recall those terms, relate them to a real-life situation
Experiment with new words and phrases when communicating
practice using them in sentences and paraphrases
Make a schedule for yourself. Learn one idiom or phrase a day and try to use it in your conversation
Finally, we recommend reading this page till the end for a comprehensive collection of examples of idioms and phrases used in everyday situations.

Most Commonly Used Idioms

S.No	Idioms & Phrases	Meanings
1	Actions speak louder than words	people's intentions can be judged better by what they do than what they say
2	A leopard cannot change its spots	some people are unable to change their personalities since it runs in their blood
3	A rose by any other name would smell as sweet	people and things are not what they appear to be.
4	A perfect storm	the worst possible situation
5	A snowball's chance in hell	no chance at all
6	A hot potato	speak about a topic (usually current) that is being discussed by many people and is frequently disputed
7	Adding Insult to Injury	to aggravate a terrible situation
8	A penny for your thoughts	a way of asking what someone is thinking
9	At the drop of a hat	Instantly, do something as soon as you are asked
10	A fool and his money are soon parted	with carelessness or deception, someone acting foolishly can quickly lose his or her money
11	A piece ofcCake	a task that is simple to complete; similar to the common phrase “as easy as pie”
12	A hard nut to crack	An issue that is difficult to solve
13	All Greek to me	when something is incomprehensible due to complexity
14	A diamond in the rough	someone who is essentially good-hearted yet lacks social graces and legal respect
15	A bad egg	someone or something that disappoints expectations
16	Acid Test	proves the effectiveness of something
17	At sixes and sevens	in a state of total confusion
18	As busy as a bee	to be extremely busy
19	A mare’s nest	a false invention
20	A chip on your shoulder	being irritated over something that occurred in the past
21	Bite off more than you can chew	to take on a task that is far too large for one person to handle
22	Bits and Pieces	small things of different types
23	Back to Square One	to return to the beginning; a popular idiom implying that one must start afresh
24	Barking Up The Wrong Tree	to make a wrong assumption about something.
25	Break The Ice	breaking down a social stiffness or awkwardness
26	Beat Around the Bush	Avoid talking about what is important
27	Beating a Dead Horse	move on; the subject is over
28	By the skin of your teeth	by a narrow margin
29	Bite the bullet	to get rid of an unpleasant circumstance or chore as soon as possible because it will have to be completed at some point
30	Best of both worlds	at the same time, having advantages of two opposing things
31	Biting off more than you can chew	not being able to take on new work or tasks because it is simply too demanding
32	Blessing in disguise	an apparent misfortune that eventually has good results
33	Beggars cannot be choosers	when there is no choice left, someone must be satisfied with what is available
34	Back to the drawing board	when an attempt fails, it is time to try again
35	Back to basics	a return to previously held values of decency
36	Between The Devil and Deep Blue Sea	between two dangerous alternatives during a problematic situation
37	Ball is in your court	it is entirely up to you to make the next decision
38	Best thing since sliced bread	a good invention or innovation / a good idea or plan
39	Bite off more than you can chew	taking on a task that is far too big
40	Behind the eight ball	in a challenging situation
41	Burn the midnight oil	to work till the wee hours of the morning
42	Call a spade a spade	straight talks
43	Clouds on the horizon	difficulties are on their way
44	Costs an arm and a leg	Something that is excessively pricey or overpriced
45	Cutting corners	skipping out on work or duty in order to save time or money
46	Cry over spilt milk	when you express dissatisfaction about a previous loss
47	Cannot judge a book by its cover	cannot judge something primarily on appearance
48	Cry wolf	someone who requests assistance when it is not required
49	Curiosity killed the cat	probing and prodding might be dangerous.
50	Come clean	to tell the truth
51	Come out of the woodwork	to appear unexpectedly
52	Call it a day	to stop working on something
53	Chip on his shoulder	Carry a grudge
54	Cut the ground from under feet	to make someone or someone's ideas seem less good, especially by doing something before them or better than them
55	Cannot cut the mustard	someone who is not capable of competing or participating
56	Dog days of summer	the hottest day of the summer season
57	Dead in the water	unable to produce movement
58	Dab hand	an expert or skilled person
59	Devil’s advocate	to take the opposing side of a debate or to present a different point of view
60	Do not count your chickens before they hatch	do not count on something happening until it has already happened
61	Dime a dozen	something that is quite common and does not stand out
62	Drain the swamp	rooting out the practice of corruption
63	Daylight robbery	blatant and unfair overcharging
64	Dog eat dog	people act viciously in order to succeed in this circumstance
65	Dead as a doornail	becoming obsolete
66	Do not put all your eggs in one basket	one should not concentrate all efforts and resources in one area as one could lose everything
67	Drop by	an informal visit
68	Eat crow	being proven wrong after taking a strong stand
69	Eat one’s words	admit that they were wrong about something they said in the past
70	Eat humble pie	make a humble apology and accept humiliation
71	Elephant in the room	a major problem or controversial issue which is present but is avoided as a subject for discussion
72	Earmark something	marking something to indicate ownership
73	Familiarity breeds contempt	The better you know someone, the less you like him/her
74	Fair play	a set of rules for a game that ensures that all players have an equal chance of winning. Fairness and justice are also applied more frequently in areas other than gaming
75	Fall from Grace	to fall from a position of high esteem
76	Fly on the wall	someone who observes something without the observer being aware of it
77	From top to bottom	completely, thoroughly, totally
78	Feeling under the weather	not feeling well or sick
79	Fit as a fiddle	Fit as a Fiddle being in good health
80	Fly off the handle	to lose one's cool and become enraged for no apparent cause
81	Fight like cat and dog	argue violently all the time
82	Feel blue	feel sad or depressed
83	Giving the benefit of the doubt	believing someone's story without proof, especially if it seems impossible
84	Giving someone the cold shoulder	ignoring someone
85	Go out on a limb	do or say something different from most other people
86	Going on a wild goose chase	doing something for no reason
87	Get your act together	get organized and do things effectively
88	Get a life	to quit wasting time on pointless, boring, or minor tasks
89	Get the sack (boot, axe)	to be dismissed from the job
90	Heard it on the grapevine	hearing rumors about someone or something has a specific meaning
91	Hitting the nail on the head	accurately completing a task
92	Have an axe to grind	to have something to complain about
93	Have many irons in the fire	to be working on a lot of ideas or possibilities
94	Hold all the aces	to be in a favorable position
95	Happy go lucky	cheerful Source
96	It takes two to tango	more than one person is required for specific actions or communications.
97	In the heat of the moment	say or do it without thinking
98	In one fell swoop	all at once
99	In at the deep end	to start a new job or activity without being prepared for it
100	It is an I'll wind (that blows nobody any goods)	no crisis is so severe that it does not benefit someone.
101	In full swing	currently happening at full speed
102	In the long run	eventually
103	In mint condition	something used that looks new
104	In broad daylight	during the daytime
105	In the bad books	out of favor
106	Keep something at bay	keep something away
107	Keep a straight face	to avoid laughing at someone directly, usually out of fear of appearing disrespectful
108	Kick the bucket	to die
109	Kill two birds with one stone	to be able to do two things at the same time
110	Keep promise	be faithful to your word
111	King of the hill	be the undisputed champion
112	Kick the habit	to overcome an addiction, especially of addiction like drugs
113	Lightning fast	extremely quick
114	Leaps and bounds	progress very quickly
115	Leg up	to help someone attain a goal, you can either provide or receive help
116	Lower the bar	to lower standards or expectations
117	Let sleeping dogs lie	do not disturb a situation; let it be as it is - since it would result in trouble or complications
118	Let the cat out of the bag	to share information that was previously concealed
119	Late in the day	something that occurred at a late stage
120	Letting Someone Off the Hook	not blaming someone for something
121	Letting the Cat Out of the Bag	to allow a secret to be known
122	Lend me your ear	to properly request someone's undivided attention
123	Music to ears	something soothing to your ears
124	Make light of	to treat something as if it is not important
125	More than meets the eye	not as simple as it looks
126	Mind your own business	to look into your matter
127	Miles away	unaware of the current situation
128	Nail in the coffin	an action or occurrence that aids in the death, termination, or failure of something or someone
129	Neck and Neck	extremely near one another
130	Next of kin	close relative
131	No Pain, No Gain	to see results, you must put forth much effort
132	On top of the world	everything is going well for you
133	On the cards	something very likely to happen
134	Outside the lines	not sticking to the rules
135	Off The Cuff	Off The Cuff an unprepared action
136	Over the top	exaggerated or excessive
137	Open secret	something that is supposedly a secret but that everyone knows
138	Once in a blue moon	something that happens infrequently
139	Old school	when compared to contemporary trends, old fashioned thoughts or approaches
140	On edge	to feel tense or unable to relax
141	On a tear	very active or suddenly active
142	On the ball	alert to new trends, ideas, and methods
143	Pour oil on troubled waters	attempt to calm, soothe, or appease a tense situation.
144	Pay lip service	to agree by word of mouth only
145	Piece of cake	a simple task or job that can be completed quickly
146	Pulling someone’s leg	having a good time with someone
147	Put cards on the table	be open and honest
148	Pass the buck	passing blame to another person
149	Part and Parcel	to be a part of something, especially a feature that cannot be avoided
150	Play cat and mouse	to play with or tease someone
151	Put your foot in	say something (by mistake) that upsets, humiliates, or embarrasses someone
152	Prevention is better than cure	It is easier to prevent issues than it is to fix them later
153	Pat on the back	to receive or express praise for a job well done
154	Quality time	well spent time
155	Quantum leap	to make a substantial improvement or a significant leap forward
156	Quote, Unquote	to use a phrase that was coined by someone else but said in your own words
157	Queer pitch	spoil somebody's chance of doing something
158	Queensberry rules	standard rules of polite or acceptable behavior
159	Rain or Shine	doing something regularly regardless of the circumstances
160	Red-handed	you have done something wrong, and people are aware of it.
161	Rule of thumb	a rule of thumb is a simple rule that is typically correct but not always
162	Ride on a wave	to enjoy the advantages of something
163	Run across	meet someone by accident
164	Recharge one’s batteries	take a break or go on a vacation to rest and re-energize
165	Red tape	official routine or procedure marked by excessive complexity, which results in delay or inaction
166	Stealing Someone’s Thunder	Taking credit for someone else's accomplishments
167	Straight from the Horse’s Mouth	Getting information from a reliable source via reading or hearing it / to hear it directly from the original’s source
168	Sell like hot cakes	to sell very well and quickly
169	Spill the beans	reveal a secret you already know
170	See eye to eye	when two (or more) persons agree on something
171	Speak of the devil	when the person you have just been talking about arrives, use this term.
172	Silver spoon	having a wealthy or privileged background
173	Stand a chance	to have a chance of succeeding, even if it is a slim one
174	So far, so good	progress has been satisfactory up to now
175	Skeleton in the closet	a secret of an embarrassing, guilty or shameful nature that you do not want to disclose
176	Storm in a teacup	an excessive enthusiasm or rage about a minor matter
177	Sweep under the rug	instead of dealing with a situation, try to conceal it or keep it hidden.
178	Second wind	regaining vigor after a period of exhaustion
179	Sponge off	to get (something) from someone by taking advantage of his or her generosity
180	Shoot the breeze	spend time chatting, useless talking or chit-chat
181	Take the cake	being the best in a competition
182	Take the bull by the horns	to deal decisively with something
183	To the four winds	in all or many different directions
184	The buck stops here	one accepts responsibility and will not try to give it to someone else
185	Too close for comfort	to be near anything hazardous or unwelcoming
186	Take with a grain of salt	to understand that something is likely to be untrue or incorrect
187	The early bird catches the worm	success comes to those who prepare well and put in the effort
188	Take a cue from	to follow through on someone else's advice
189	Time puts everything in its place	time is persistent; as it passes eventually, everything goes back to its original state or place
190	Taste of your own medicine	something happens to the one who has done the same to others in the past
191	Under siege	to be under attack
192	Ups and downs	Good times and bad times
193	Vin and Vigour	full of energy and enthusiasm
194	Vice Versa	a reverse in position
195	Word of mouth	oral communication
196	X factor	an outstanding extraordinary ability
197	Your guess is as good as mine	to be oblivious to something
198	You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink	you can give someone an opportunity, but you cannot force them to take it.
199	Zoom away/Zoom off	to be in a hurry
200	Zero hour	a time when a crucial decision or essential action must be taken

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