Which idioms are most common in general English?

a bitter pill to swallow [“Having to work late tonight is a bitter pill to swallow.”] Something that is unpleasant but that must be accepted.

a dime a dozen [“Mobile phones are a dime a dozen these days.”] Anything that is cheap, common and readily available.

ace in the hole [“This is my ace in the hole to win the election.”] A hidden advantage.

Achilles’ heel [“In the end, it was his greed that was his Achilles’ heel.”] A small but fatal weakness.

all ears [“Go on then, I’m all ears. Tell me.”] Listening carefully for an explanation.

all thumbs [“I can’t control a drone; I’m all thumbs.”] Clumsy or awkward.

an arm and a leg [“I would give an arm and a leg to own that car.”] Something of great expense.

at the drop of a hat [“James would go with you at the drop of a hat if you asked him.”] Instantly, and without any hesitation.

back to the drawing board [“I suggest that you go back to the drawing board with this invention because it’s clearly no good.”] Start again at the beginning due to failure.

barking up the wrong tree [“The police are barking up the wrong tree on this one. The killer is not from this town.”] When someone is looking in the wrong place for something.

basket case [“I’m a basket case and can’t perform.”] When you are made powerless or ineffective by stress, worry or nerves.

beat around the bush [“Don’t beat around the bush, just tell me.”] To avoid talking about something because it is difficult or unpleasant.

the bee’s knees [“My new laptop is the bee’s knees. I love it.”] When something is outstandingly good or wonderful.

bite off more than one can chew [“I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew with my new job. I’m tired every day.”] To take on more responsibility than a person can handle.

bite the bullet [“It’s time I bite the bullet and tell my wife the truth.”] To experience an unavoidable, unpleasant situation.

break a leg [“Break a leg tonight on stage, won’t you!”] Wishing good luck.

by the skin of one’s teeth [“That car missed you by the skin of your teeth.”] Narrowly escaping from a dangerous situation.

call a spade a spade [Stop talking in riddles and just call a spade a spade.”] To speak truthfully no matter how rude.

call it a day [“I’m exhausted. It’s time to call it a day.”] Declare the end of an event/task.

calm your horses [“Can you calm your horses and stop shouting?”] To calm down.

cheap as chips [“My new bicycle was as cheap as chips.”] A good bargain.

clam up [“I just clammed up and couldn’t sing.”] To stop talking or become silent.

cold shoulder [“Ever since I broke up with her she’s given me the cold shoulder.”] Being aloof and disdainful.

couch potato [“My son is a real couch potato; he needs to get a job.”] Being lazy.

cut off your nose to spite your face [“Don’t cut of your nose to spite your face. Just forgive them.”] To pursue revenge that would cause more damage to oneself than it’s worth.

cut the mustard [“You’ll need to really cut the mustard to get hired by the BBC.”] To perform well; to meet expectations.

dig one’s heels in [“I’m digging my heels in on this one. It’s still a no.”] Strong opposition to something.

elephant in the room [“Can we please talk about the elephant in the room now? Pollution is a huge problem.”] An obvious but sensitive issue which has not yet been addressed.

fit as a fiddle [“He’s all muscle, mate. He’s fit as a fiddle.”] In very good health.

from scratch [“I know how to make that from scratch.”] To start from the beginning with no preparation.

get your goat [“That teacher really gets my goat.”] Something that irritates someone.

have a blast [“You look like you’re having a blast on that game.”] To enjoy oneself.

have eyes bigger than one’s stomach [“My eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach at lunchtime today. I couldn’t finish everything.”] To take more than one can handle.

have eyes in the back of one’s head [“She’ll find out. I’m telling you, she has eyes in the back of her head.”] To know what is happening without seeing it.

head over heels [“She’s head over heels for me, I swear.”] To be infatuated with something or someone.

heard it through the grapevine [“Did you hear that through the grapevine or is it true?”] To learn something through gossip.

hit the nail on the head [“That’s right! You’ve hit the nail on the head.”] To be perfectly accurate or correct about something.

hit the sack [“I’m so tired, I think I’m going to hit the sack.”] Go to sleep.

hit the spot [“Mmm, this soup hits the spot for sure.”] To be pleasing and just what was needed.

hold all the cards [“I can’t convince him on this. He’s holding all the cards.”] To be the one making the decisions.

hook, line and sinker [He tricked me hook, line and sinker.”] To be fooled completely by a trick or a deception.

kick the bucket [“He kicked the bucket late last year. I went to his funeral.”] To die.

kill two birds with one stone [“It would be great if I could save time and kill two birds with one stone.”] Accomplish two different tasks at the same time with a single action.

let the cat out of the bag [You can’t keep a secret, can you? You just had to let the cat out of the bag.”] Reveal something secret.

one’s two cents [“Do you want my two cents or not?”] Someone’s opinion on a subject.

nip (something) in the bud [“This needs nipping in the bud right now.”] Stop something before it can become more significant.

off one’s rocker [“He’s completely off his rocker! He needs mental help.”] Not making any sense; crazy.

off the hook [“My boss let me off the hook on doing the presentation and made Patricia do it.”] To escape responsibility or danger.

once in a blue moon [“We see each other once in a blue moon I guess. Not often enough.”] Happening very occasionally.

pop one’s clogs [“All of sudden he’d popped his clogs. He was fine only last week!”] To die.

piece of cake [You can do it easily. It’s a piece of cake.”] Something that is easy to do.

preaching to the choir [“Stop preaching to the choir. I agree with you.”] To waste your time convincing someone of something they already agree with.

pull somebody’s leg [“That can’t be true. Are you pulling my leg?”] To joke with someone by telling a lie.

raining cats and dogs [“We’re not going anywhere this afternoon. It’s raining cats and dogs.”] Raining very heavily.

right as rain [“Please let me go home, Doctor. I feel right as rain.”] Feeling perfect or well.

rock the boat [“I strongly disagree, and I’m going to have to rock the boat on this one.”] To do something that will cause problems.

step up to the plate [“It’s time to step up to the plate and show them how good you really are.”] Deliver beyond normal expectations.

sleep with the fishes [“I’m sad to say that grandad is sleeping with the fishes.”] Dead.

spill the beans [“Go on, spill the beans. Who did you kiss?”] To reveal a secret.

take the bull by the horns [“You need to take the bull by the horns and sort this mess out.”] To deal with a difficult or dangerous situation bravely and decisively.

take with a grain of salt [“You should take that offer of a promotion with a grain of salt. She never promotes anyone.”] To not trust what someone says or take it too seriously.

throw under the bus [“They threw me under the bus. I got all the blame!”] To betray someone for selfish or protective reasons.

through thick and thin [“We’ve known each other for 15 years and have been through thick and thin.”] Experienced a lot together, both good and bad.

to steal someone’s thunder [“Wow, he really stole your thunder when he announced he had won the lottery, right?”] To take the attention from someone or take credit for something you didn’t do.

under the weather [“You shouldn’t go to school today. You look very under the weather.”] Feeling sick.

wild goose chase [“What a wild goose chase that was! We never even found out who did it.”] A lengthy and potentially frustrating undertaking which does not accomplish its aim.