Idioms

Idiom - An expression that is peculiar to itself grammatically, or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.

IE: If someone has “ants in their pants”, they’re excited… they don’t literally have ants crawling in their pants.

Regional speech or dialect.
A specialized vocabulary used by a group of people. (ie: American English speakers)
Also referred to as idiomatic expressions.

These types of expressions are especially difficult for non-native speakers to understand, but make perfect sense to native speakers.

String Someone Along
Tongue-in-Cheek
Bend Over Backwards
Jump Down Someone's Throat
Cough Up the Dough
Smell a Rat
You Scratch My Back, and I’ll Scratch Yours
Shoot Off One's Mouth
Turn Someone Off
Fishy
Get in Someone's Hair
Get Under Someone’s Skin
Kick the Bucket
Pull Someone's Leg
Get Off Someone's Back
Cat Got Your Tongue
Leave Someone High and Dry
All Thumbs
On the Line
Not Have a Leg to Stand On
Horse Around
Wet Blanket
Feel Like a Million Bucks
Up One's Sleeve
Straight From the Horse's Mouth
Knock Someone's Socks Off
Lose One's Shirt
For the Birds
Out of the Woods
Make Ends Meet
Spill the Beans
Let the cat out of the Bag
Lemon (a car)
Money Talks
The Early Bird Catches the Worm
Take the Bull by the Horns
Pay Through the Nose
Stick Out One's Neck
Drive Someone Up a Wall
Play It by Ear
Jump the Gun
Bite the Dust
More Examples
A Bird in the Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush
A Blessing in Disguise
A Chip on Your Shoulder
A Dime A Dozen
A Drop in the Bucket
A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned
A Shot In The Dark
A Slap On The Wrist
A Slip of the Tongue
A Taste of Your Own Medicine
A Toss-Up
A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder
Add Fuel To The Fire
Working Against The Clock
Against The Grain
All Bark And No Bite
It's All Greek to Me
We're All In The Same Boat
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
An Axe To Grind
Arm In Arm
Been Around The Block
As Blind As A Bat
As Light As A Feather
At The Drop Of A Hat
At Wit's End
Back To The Drawing Board
Barking Up The Wrong Tree
Beat A Dead Horse
Bend Over Backwards
Between A Rock And A Hard Place
Birds Of A Feather Flock Together
Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
Bite Your Tongue
Blood Is Thicker Than Water
Break The Tie
Burn Your Bridges
Burning The Candle At Both Ends
Can't Cut The Mustard
Cold Turkey
Cross Your Fingers
Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk
Cry Wolf
Dead Heat
Dog-Eat-Dog World
Don't Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth
Don't Put All Your Eggs In One Basket
Down To The Wire
Having a Dry Spell
Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining
Everything But The Kitchen Sink
Flash In The Pan
From Rags To Riches
Get Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed
Give Him The Slip
Go For Broke
He Lost His Head
Head Over Heels
Icing On The Cake
Idle Hands Are The Devil's Tools
In Over Your Head
In The Doghouse
It Takes Two To Tango
It's A Small World
Keep An Eye On Him
Labor Of Love
Lend Me Your Ear
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
Let The Cat Out Of The Bag
Mad As A Hatter
Method To My Madness
Neck And Neck

Never Bite The Hand That Feeds You
Off On The Wrong Foot
Off The Hook
On Pins And Needles
On The Fence
On The Same Page
On Top Of The World
On Your Last Nerve
Out Of The Blue
Out Of The Frying Pan and Into The Fire
Out Of The Woods
Out On A Limb
Out On The Town
On Par For The Course
People Who Live In Glass Houses Should Not Throw Stones
Preaching To The Choir
Pulling Your Leg
Put Your Foot In Your Mouth
Raise Cain
Rock The Boat
Roll Out The Red Carpet
Rome Was Not Built In One Day
Rub Salt In An Old Wound
Second Nature
Shake A Leg
Sick As A Dog
Sink Or Swim
Skeletons In The Closet
Start From Scratch
The Apple Of Your Eye
The Ball Is In Your Court
The Best Of Both Worlds
The Bigger They Are The Harder They Fall
The Early Bird Catches The Worm
The Ends Justify The Means
The Jury Is Out
The Pot Calling The Kettle Black
The Sky Is The Limit
The Straw That Broke The Camel's Back
The Writing On The Wall
Third Wheel
Tie The Knot
Tooth And Nail
Turn Over A New Leaf
Under The Gun
Under The Weather
Variety Is The Spice Of Life
Water Under The Bridge
Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve
When In Rome, Do As The Romans Do
When It Rains, It Pours
When Pigs Fly
Wine and Dine Them
With Your Back Up Against The Wall
Word Of Mouth
You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover
antsy
as easy as pie
that will be a piece of cake
I’m all ears.
beat around the bush
Beats me.
blow one's top
Break a leg!
break someone's heart
burn the midnight oil
by the skin of one's teeth
call it a day
catch one's eye
catch some Zs
costs an arm and a leg
couch potato
Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
do a bang-up job
down in the dumps
drag one's feet
an eager beaver
elbow grease
feel blue
get a kick out of something
grab a bite
have one's hands full
to have something down pat
hit the books
hit the hay
if I had my druthers
in over one's head
jump all over someone
jump the gun
jump to conclusion
junk mail
keep an eye on
keep an eye out
keep one's chin up
keep one's fingers crossed
lend someone a hand
leave well enough alone
Let sleeping dogs lie.
live from hand to mouth
Live and let live.
a low blow
make a mountain out of a mole hill
can't make heads or tails of
make up one's mind
Not on your life!
on the cutting edge
on the dot
over one's head
pay the piper
pull someone's leg
rain cats and dogs
read someone's mind
rub someone the wrong way
sleep on it
shoot the breeze
a snap
Someone's made his/her bed; now let her/him lie in it.
tight-fisted
two-faced
under the weather
until you're blue in the face
wear out one's welcome
wet behind the ears
with bells on
a yes-man
zip your lip!