English Expressions and Idioms
Learn some of the most common English expressions and idioms to become fluent and understand real English in every kind of situation.
Click on the idioms below to find out what they mean…
TO HIT THE BOOKS
Literally, hit the books means to physically hit, punch or slap your books. However, this is a common English expression among students, especially American college students who have a lot of studying to do. It simply means “to study,” and is a way of telling your friends that you’re going to study. It could be for a final exam, a mid-term test or even an English exam. “Sorry but I can’t have dinner with you tonight, I have to hit the books. I have a huge exam next week!”
TO BE UP IN THE AIR
When we literally think about something up in the air, we have the idea that something’s floating or flying in the sky, perhaps an airplane or a balloon. But really if someone tells you that things are up in the air it means that these things are uncertain or unsure; definite plans have not been made yet.
“Jen have you set a date for the wedding yet?”
“Not exactly, things are still up in the air and we’re not sure if our families can make it on the day we wanted. Hopefully we’ll know soon and we’ll let you know as soon as possible.”
TO SIT TIGHT
To sit tight is a strange English idiom and it literally means that you sit down squeezing your body in a tight way, which if you did it would be very uncomfortable, not to mention you’ll look really strange.
But if a person tells you to sit tight they want you to wait patiently and take no action until you hear otherwise.
“Mrs. Carter, do you have any idea when the exam results are going to come out?”
“Who knows Johnny, sometimes they come out quickly but it could take some time. You’re just going to have to sit tight and wait.”
IDIOMS with “HORSE”
a dark horse: a person who wins a race or competition although no one expected them to
Example: 19-year-old David Patrick could be a dark horse for a medal (= she could win) in the Olympics.
a Trojan horse: someone or something that attacks the group or organization it belongs to
Example: Traditional Republican supporters have accused the new leadership of being a Trojan horse trying to destroy the party from within.
to back the wrong horse: to support someone or something that cannot win or succeed
Example: Fred backed the wrong horse and lost his bet.
to beat (or to flog) a dead horse: to waste time doing something that has already been attempted
Example: Do you think it’s worth sending my manuscript to other publishers or I am just beating a dead horse?
to put the cart before the horse: to switch around the proper order of things, to not do things in the right order
Example: Don’t put the cart before the horse, you need to finish your studies before you get married.
to get something straight from the horse’s mouth: to get information from a reliable source, from someone who knows for sure
Example: If you don’t believe me you can go get it straight from the horse’s mouth and Jake, he’s the one who saw it happen.
to get off your high horse: to stop acting as if you are better or more intelligent than other people, to be more humble
Example: Who do you think you are?! Get off your high horse and listen to what other people have to say, you might learn something.
to hold one’s horses: to slow down, to be patient
Example: Hold your horses, if you hurry too much you’ll make a mistake.
TO HIT THE SACK
Just like the first idiom, the literal meaning of this would be physically hitting or beating a sack (a large bag usually used for carrying things in bulk such as flour, rice or even soil). But actually to hit the sack means to go to bed, and you’d use this to tell your friends or family that you’re really tired, so you’re going to sleep. Instead of saying hit the sack you can also say hit the hay.
“It’s time for me to hit the sack, I’m so tired.”
TO STAB SOMEONE IN THE BACK
If we take this idiom literally we could find ourselves in a whole lot of trouble with the police, as it would mean taking a knife or another sharp object and putting into a person’s back.
However, as an idiom to stab someone in the back means to hurt someone who was close to us and trusted us by betraying them secretly and breaking their trust. We call the person who does this a back stabber.
“Did you hear that Sarah stabbed Kate in the back last week?”
“No! I thought they were best friends, what did she do?”
“She told their boss that Kate wasn’t interested in a promotion at work and Sarah got it instead.”
“Wow, that’s the ultimate betrayal! No wonder they’re not friends anymore.”
THE SOONER THE BETTER
“The more the merrier” or “the sooner the better” or “the bigger they are the harder they fall” can you see a similarity between all of these idioms?
We use the + comparative/the + comparative to show one thing depends on something else: In the case of “The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” how hard the person falls depends on how big they are. The idea here is that if someone has a lot of money, fame, power, strength, etc. it will more difficult for them to lose those things (fall).
TO TWIST SOMEONE’S ARM
To twist someone’s arm literally means to take a person’s arm and turn it around, which could be really painful if you take it exactly word for word. If your arm has been twisted it means that someone has done a great job of convincing you to do something you might not have wanted to to do.
And if you manage to twist someone else’s arm it means that you’re great at convincing them, and they’ve finally agreed to do something after you’ve been begging them.
Tom: Jake you should really come to the party tonight!
Jake: You know I can’t, I have to hit the books (study).
Tom: C’mon, you have to come! It’s going to be so much fun and there are going to be lots of girls there. Please come?
Jake: Pretty girls? Oh all right, you’ve twisted my arm, I’ll come!
TO LOSE YOUR TOUCH
Literally this means to no longer have the ability to touch or feel with your fingers or hands. But to lose your touch actually means that you lose your ability or talent you once had when dealing with things, people or situations.
We use this when you’re usually good at a certain skill or talent, but then things start to go wrong.
“I don’t understand why none of the girls here want to speak to me.”
“It looks like you’ve lost your touch with the ladies.”
“Oh no, they used to love me, what happened?”
TO PITCH IN
This English idiom actually makes no sense if you try to take it literally. However, figuratively speaking it means to contribute (give) to something or someone or to join in.
So if your dad tells the family that he wants everyone to pitch in this weekend and help clear the backyard, it means he wants everyone to join in on the efforts to clear the yard and get things done quicker.
“What are you going to buy Sally for her birthday?”
“I don’t know I don’t have much money.”
“Maybe we can all pitch in and buy her something great.”
The above conversation suggests that every one of Sally’s friends should contribute a little bit of money so they can afford to buy her a bigger and better present together.
What are idioms?
Definitions:
1. An expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, as kick the bucket or hang one’s head, or from the general grammatical rules of a language, as the table round for the round table, and that is not a constituent of a larger expression of like characteristics.
Idioms are words, phrases or expressions which are commonly used in everyday conversation by native speakers of English. They are often metaphorical and make the language more colorful. People use them to express something more vividly and often more briefly.
They serve as an image or mental picture.
An idiom is a phrase or a fixed expression that has a figurative, or sometimes literal, meaning. An idiom’s figurative meaning is different from the literal meaning. There are thousands of idioms, and they occur frequently in all languages. It is estimated that there are at least twenty-five thousand idiomatic expressions in the English language.
English idioms are a group of words which have a meaning which isn’t obvious from looking at the individual words.
They have developed over time and so they might seem random to you. English idioms often rely on analogies and metaphors.
Because they’re used so often in everyday English, if you don’t know them, it’s almost impossible to understand the context.
Why Learn English Expressions and Idioms?
Does this sound familiar?
You took boring traditional classes.
You learned the tedious grammar, the endless rules, and hundreds of confusing exceptions.
You have a vocabulary that could rival an American student’s.
You even have a couple of certificates hanging proudly on your wall stating you are indeed proficient in English….
…so why is it you just can’t get it sometimes?
Well, what you learn from textbooks and what you learn from the real world are two totally different things when it comes to language learning.
What you really need is a stronger mastery of English idioms and expressions.
Learning common everyday English idioms will help you fit in with most situations whether it’s at a basketball game, over a beer, studying or going out on a hot date.
The key to understanding English idioms is never to look at them or read them in a literal sense – once you unlock the secrets of idiomatic English language then you’ll have cracked the code!