1. a change of heart – a change in the way one feels about something.
Ex: Lori had a change of heart and cancelled her date with Rodrigo.
2. a close call – an accident or incident that almost happens but does not happen.
Ex: Samantha had a close call when the child ran into the street before her car.
3. a hot potato – a difficult and troubling issue.
Ex: The whaling issue is a hot potato between Japan and its neighbors.
4. a piece of cake – something that is easy to accomplish or do.
Ex: It was a piece of cake for Martin to score an A on his chemistry exam.
5. a slap on the wrist – a mild punishment
Ex: The banker only got a slap on the wrist for embezzling a million dollars.
6. actions speak louder than words – It is better to do something than just talk about it.
Ex: Roberto promises to help with the car wash on Saturday, but actions speak louder than words.
7. to add insult to injury – to make a situation worse.
Ex: Not only did the banker get a slap on the wrist, add insult to injury, he is going to sue the bank for defamation!
8. best of both worlds – receive benefits of two different things at the same time.
Ex: Jared has the best of both worlds – a mom to cook his meals and a sister to iron his clothes!
9. to bite off more than you can chew – to try to do more than you can do.
Ex: Lola bit off more than she could chew when she got a second job to pay expenses.
10. blue moon – a rare occurrence.
Ex: Is there a blue moon? Sara is actually cleaning up the house!
11. break a leg – good luck
Ex: Josh told Kayla to break a leg before she left for the job interview.
12. to burn your bridges – to act or communicate unpleasantly or nastily ensuring you will never be welcome again.
Ex: Biff burned his bridges at work by insulting his boss and coworkers before he quit.
13. to call someone’s bluff – to challenge someone to prove what they say is truthful
Ex: The police called the bluff of the bank robbers and stormed the building, but found no hostages.
14. cash cow– a company’s most profitable product.
Ex: The 2-liter bottle of grape soda is the cash cow for K and B Beverages.
15. clear the air – to resolve a dispute or argument.
Ex: Alberto cleared the air with his boss and kept his job.
16. cold shoulder – a nasty attitude of rejection.
Ex: Jessica gave her boyfriend the cold shoulder after she saw him kiss another girl.
17. to cost an arm and leg – to pay cost a lot of money.
Ex: Lars had bought a new sail boat, but it cost him an arm and a leg.
18. to be dead to the world – to be sleeping deeply.
Ex: Kayla was dead to the world after the long flight from London.
19. to drive someone up the wall – to irritate or annoy someone greatly.
Ex: Hannah’s smoking drives her mother up the wall.
20. eager beaver – a person who is anxious to work hard and do extra work.
Ex: Lorenzo is an eager beaver. She arrives early at the office and goes home late.
21. to feel under the weather – to be sick.
Ex: Rosa did not go to work today. She feels under the weather.
22. to get something off your chest – to express exactly what you are thinking.
Ex: Raul got the F on the test off his chest by screaming down his dormitory hallway.
23. to get the ball rolling – to initiate action
Ex: Alan got the ball rolling on his project by meeting with key players after work.
24. to get to the bottom of – to discover the cause of something.
Ex: The state prosecutor vowed to get to the bottom of the illegal drug trade in Belville.
25. to go ape – to get very excited or emotional.
Ex: Joana went ape after her numbers matched the lottery drawing!
26. to go behind someone’s back– to betray, to do something that is kept a secret from someone affected by it.
Ex: Marsha went behind Larry’s back and told his girlfriend that he kissed another girl.
27. goof off – to waste time, to not work, to do nothing productive.
Ex: Eddie goofs off by playing video games after classes.
28. to hear it on the grapevine – to discover information through rumors, gossip, etc.
Ex: Hannah heard through the grapevine that Professor Davis lost her job.
29. to hit the books – to study, usually in an intense manner.
Ex: Lolly and Dolly hit the books one night before their English final exam.
30. to hit the nail on the head – to be exactly right about something or what is causing something
Ex: Jess hit the head on the head when she said Roberta did not study enough and thus failed her test.
31. to keep your cool – to remain calm despite a difficult situation.
Ex: Lorna has kept her cool during the debate despite sharp words from the other side.
32. to kill two birds with one stone – to solve two problems with one action.
Ex: Max was able to kill two birds with one stone during his trip to Madrid: practice his Spanish and see his friend, Marisela.
33. to leave someone out in the cold – to exclude.
Ex: Marty felt left out in the cold at work after his ugly fight in the cafeteria.
34. to let the cat out of the bag – to tell a secret.
Ex: Ivan let the cat out of the bag so Melissa knew she won a promotion to vice president before the boss’ announcement.
35. like clockwork– precisely.
Ex: Seth always show up to work like clockwork at 7 a.m.
36. mumbo jumbo – nonsense or meaningless speech.
Ex: Burt dismissed the salesman from the office because of his non-stop mumbo jumbo.
37. my two cents – my opinion.
Ex: You should go to Australia and have a good time. Well, that’s my two cents.
38. nest egg – money saved for the future
Ex: Yali created a large nest egg after working 25 years for Hamilton State Bank.
39. to scrape the bottom of the barrel – to choose the worse of something, least attractive option.
Ex: Maria scraped the bottom of the barrel when she chose Chet to take her to the party.
40. to scratch someone’s back – to do a favor for someone who does a favor for you.
Ex: It’s all politics who wins the contest: you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours!
41. to see eye to eye –when people agree with each other.
Ex: Bert and Shelly just cannot seem to see eye to eye on how to discipline their bratty child.
42. to sit on the fence – to be unable to make a decision.
Ex: The mayor is sitting on the fence on whether to build a park by the river.
43. squeaky clean – perfectly clean.
Ex: The new police chief is squeaky clean according to his mother.
44. to take what someone says with a grain of salt – to barely believe what a person tells you.
Ex: Betty took with a grain of salt what Gina said about studying for her French exam.
45. the last straw – the final irritation or disappointment which exhausts your patience.
Ex: For Felipe, his fight with the boss was the last straw: he is quitting his job!
46. to turn a blind eye – to refuse to acknowledge something that is real or legitimate.
Ex: The judge turned a blind eye to the suspect’s violent past and released him from prison.
47. to turn back the clock – to try to return to the past.
Ex: The president vowed to stop the proposal to turn back the clock on women’s rights.
48. up the creek without a paddle – in a dire situation without any hope of escaping it.
Ex: When Lars got a flat in his car’s left tire, he realized he did not have a spare tire so he was up the creek without a paddle.
49. when pigs fly – something that will never occur.
Ex: Jenna says she wants to win the lottery. When pigs fly!
50. You can’t judge a book by its cover. – decisions should not be made by appearance.
Ex: Serena rejected a date with Eddie. As they say, you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Idiom Exercise
Directions: Choose the correct word to make the right combination to correctly complete the sentence.
1. Marcos has a last straw/squeaky clean record with no arrests or convictions.
2. The governor turns back the clock/scratches the back of political donors after election day.
3. Bobby goofed off/went ape after he learned his girlfriend kissed another guy.
4. Jeffrey talks eager beaver/mumbo jumbo when the professor asks him a question.
5. Seiko has a nest egg/last straw for retirement after her 30-year career at the Burger Shack.
6. Tasha had a change of heart/piece of cake about traveling to Paris after she lost her job.
7. Cutting educational funding for children is a close call/hot potato for politicians during an election year.
8. Luis cost an arm and a leg/burned bridges when he punched his supervisor before quitting his job at the factory.
9. Smart phones are a cold shoulder/cash cows for many technology firms at the moment.
10. It must be a blue moon/my two cents because Teddy never studies Spanish before an exam.