60+ Most Common Idioms And Phrases List In English
Most Common Idioms and Phrases! An idiom is a combination of words or a phrase, which has a proper meaning but this combination does not make a literal meaning (word by word meaning). Common idioms Or we can say if we try to translate an idiom word by word its meaning will be different.
For Example – A white elephant – which means a Useless person or a person having no benefit. But if we try to translate it word by word it would become an elephant of white color.
The most Common Idioms List:
A bone of contention: Reason for Conflict
This land is a bone of contention among the brothers.
Bear out: confirm
He will bear out my honesty.
Break out: Blow up
War broke out between India and China.
| Idioms | Meaning | Phrases |
| A bone of contention | Reason of Conflict | This land is a bone of contention among the brothers. |
| Above Board | Honest and fair | His Honesty is above board. |
| A Birds Eye View | Overview | You can get a birds-ey view of the city from the hills. |
| A curtain lecture | Wife conflict with husband | His wife often gives him a curtain lecture. |
| A far cry | Far away | It is a far cry from here to Karachi |
| A jailbird | convicted criminal | He is a jailbird and does not care for the law. |
| A red-letter day | Good day | Fourteen August (Pakistan Independence Day) is a red-letter day for us. |
| A white elephant | Useless with no benefit | This old car is a wild elephant for me |
| A wild goose chase | No gain | To pass the BA examination without effort is a wild goose chase. |
| All and sundry | Everyone | All and sundry were invited to the party. |
| Idioms | Meaning | Examples |
| All at sea | Worried | He was all at sea and could not answer a single question. |
| All in all | All things considered | A principal is all in all in college. |
| An ax to grind | Private purpose | Asim will help you only when he has an ax to grind. |
| An eyewash | Cheating | Her tears were nothing but an eyewash. |
| Animal spirits | Full of cheers | The actor was full of animal spirits. |
| At daggers drawn | Conflictions | The two friends are at dagger dawn these days. |
| At sixes and seven | Without proper arrangement | His books were lying at six and seven. |
| At a stone through | Near | Our house is a stone through from Salma’s. |
| Back out | U-turn | He promised to help me but now he has backed out. |
| Back up | Care for | We back up the rights of Kashmiris. |
| Idioms | Meaning | Examples |
| Bag and baggage | With everything they have | He left the city bag and baggage. |
| Bear out | Confirm | He will bear out my honesty. |
| Beat about the bush | Rubbish talking | Do not beat about the bush come to the point. |
| Better half | Wife | Salma is my better half. |
| Bird of passage | Vagabond | He does not stop at one place, he is a bird of passage. |
| Birds of features | Same thoughts | Birds of feature flick together. |
| Black sheep | Fake actors | Get rid of black sheep if you want to succeed. |
| Bluestocking | Women fond of studying | She is a bluestocking lady in our family. |
| Bone of contention | Reason of conflict | This land is a bone of contention among them. |
| Bosom Friend | True friend | Aslam is my bosom friend. |
| Idioms | Meaning | Examples |
| Bread and butter | Income | He works hard to earn his bread and butter |
| Break out | Blow up | War broke out between India and China. |
| Bring to book | Take to task | The criminal must be brought to book. |
| Bring to light | Reveal | His crimes were brought to light |
| Burn the midnight oil | Great hard work | He burnt the midnight oil and got success. |
| Burn the candle at both ends | Consume uselessly | He burnt the candle at both ends and soon came to grief. |
| Bury the hatchet | End up fight | Let us bury the hatchet and be friends again. |
| By and by | Slowly slowly | By and by, she will recover. |
| By and large | Totally | By and large, he is going well. |
| Capital punishment | Sentence of death | The terrorist was given capital punishment. |
| Idioms | Meaning | Examples |
| Carry the day | Be successful | Our hockey team carried the day. |
| Cat and dog life | Always in a fight | The husband and wife are leading a cat and dog life. |
| Cat’s paw | Instrument | He is a cat’s paw in the hands of his wife. |
| Cheeks by jowl | Close | The two friends were sitting cheeks by jowl. |
| Cold-blooded murder | Cruel murder | Everybody lamented her cold-blooded murder. |
| Cocks and bull story | Fake story | I could not believe her cocks and bull story. |
| Chicken-hearted fellow | Coward man | He proved a chicken-hearted fellow in the fight. |
| Come of | Have a relation to | He comes from a very noble family. |
| Come off | Happens | Her marriage will come off next month. |
| Crocodile tears | Fake tears | She shed crocodile tears before her husband. |
| Idioms | Meaning | Examples |
| Cut a sorry figure | Apologetic | He cut a sorry figure in the debate. |
| Cut and dried | Clear and well planned | There are no cut-and-dried rules in this office. |
| Cut to quick | Hurt someone feeling | His insulting remarks cut her to the quick. |
| Darkhorse | Hidden gem | He proved a dark horse in the election. |
| Dead letter | Ended law | This law now has become a dead letter. |
| Die in harness | Killed in effort | The poor worker died in harness. |
| Do away with | End something | He did away with his weakness in English. |
| Dog in manger | One who creates a disturbance | Selfish people follow a dog in the manager’s policy. |
| Drawn game | Equal pay | The two teams played a drawn game. |
| Face the music | Will bear | If you fail you have to face the music. |
| Fall foul of | Having a fight | We should not fall foul of someone. |
