English Idioms: Meanings and Examples

Posted on Jan 10, 2025 in English

Common English Idioms and Phrases

A

  • At a loose end: With nothing particular to do.
  • At point-blank range: With the gun held very close to the person who is shot (a bocajarro).
  • Be at the end of your tether: To feel very upset because you are no longer able to deal with a difficult situation (no poder más).
  • Be tickled pink: Amused and pleased (estar encantado).
  • A blessing in disguise: Something which appears bad at first but then turns out well.
  • A blackout: A short period when the electricity supply to a building or district is stopped (apagón).
  • A bolt from the blue: It was a sudden and unexpected problem or situation (un acontecimiento imprevisto).
  • A bottleneck: A place where a road is narrow or blocked, causing traffic to move very slowly (atasco).
  • A brainwave: A sudden very good idea (idea brillante).
  • Breakdown: Mental collapse (venirse abajo, ataque de nervios). To cease to function (avería).

C

  • Chicken feed: A trifling amount of money (calderilla).
  • Chin up: Used for telling someone to be brave and happy even in a difficult situation (ánimo, mantén la cabeza alta).
  • Cry your eyes out: To cry in an uncontrolled way (llorar mucho).
  • Cutbacks: To economize (reducir gastos).

D

  • Dead-end job: A job that provides you with no chance of getting a better job.

E

  • Eat your heart out: Used for saying that you are doing something much better than a famous person does it.
  • Elbow grease: Hard physical effort (palizón).
  • An eye-opener: A situation that shows you something surprising that you didn’t know before (sorpresa, revelación).
  • An eyesore: Something that is ugly or unpleasant to look at, especially a building (monstruosidad).

F

  • Fall on deaf ears: To be completely ignored by the person who hears it (ignorado).

G

  • The gift of the gab: You are able to speak fluently, confidently, and persuasively (pico de oro).

H

  • Have words: To have an argument with someone (to talk, to argue).
  • Hen party: An all-female party for a woman about to be married (despedida de soltera).
  • Hold up: An armed bank robbery (atraco), something causing delay, a delay, stoppage (retención).
  • Hush money: Money that you pay to keep people silenced (soborno).
  • Hustle and bustle: Noisy activity (bullicio).

L

  • Lie through your teeth: To lie without worries (mentir descaradamente).
  • A loophole: Something that is out of the law (un vacío legal).

M

  • Make someone’s flesh creep: To make someone feel afraid or disgusted (ponerse los pelos de punta).

N

  • Not lift a finger: To not help someone at all (no mover un dedo).
  • Nook and cranny: Every part of a place (todos los recovecos).

P

  • A perk: An extra payment or benefit that you get in your job (beneficio, ventaja).
  • To put your foot down: To refuse firmly to do or accept something (imponerse).
  • To put your shoulders to the wheel: To start doing something with all your energy and determination (ponerse manos a la obra).

R

  • Red tape: Official rules which do not seem necessary and which make things happen very slowly (papeleo).
  • Run off your feet: To be very busy (estar ocupadísimo).

S

  • To save your skin: They manage to avoid getting into serious trouble (salvarse el pellejo).
  • Scapegoat: A person who is blamed for something that someone else has done (cabeza de turco).
  • See eye to eye: To agree with someone, or to have the same opinion as them (compartir el mismo punto de vista).
  • Setback: To hinder (impedir, obstaculizar).
  • Shortlist: List of chosen finalists (lista de seleccionados).
  • Skin and bone: To be extremely thin (estar en los huesos).
  • Slip your mind: If something slips your mind/memory, you forget to do it (olvidar, tener un lapsus).
  • A snag: A problem that you were not expecting (imprevisto).
  • A storm in a teacup: A lot of fuss and excitement about something that is not really important (una tormenta en un vaso de agua).
  • Straight from the horse’s mouth: To talk about himself.

T

  • Tailback: Long traffic jam (embotellamiento, atasco).
  • The only fly in the ointment: A small problem or minor incident that spoils something that is otherwise perfect (la única pega).
  • The words out of your mouth: To say something that another person was just about to say or was thinking.
  • Toe the line: To accept rules, to obey people in authority (acatar las normas).
  • Tongue in cheek: Intended to be humorous and not meant seriously (irónico).
  • Traffic jam: Vehicle congestion (atasco) = tailback, hold up.
  • The trick of the trade: The best way and clever methods of being successful (gajes del oficio).
  • Turn a deaf ear: To refuse to listen to a warning, a request, or an attempt to change your attitude (hacer oídos sordos).

W

  • A weight off your mind: An occasion when a problem that has been worrying you stops or is dealt with (quitarse un peso de encima).
  • A white elephant: Something that has cost a lot of money but has no useful purpose (trasto).
  • A white lie: An unimportant lie usually told so as not to hurt someone’s feelings (mentira piadosa).
  • A windfall: A piece of unexpected good fortune, especially financial gain (dinero caído del cielo).
  • Write-up: A published account of something, such as a review in a newspaper or magazine (crítica, reseña).