1. Too Many Cooks
Spoil the Broth
Too
many cooks spoil the broth is an idiom that says
that having lots of people working on the same thing may actually be bad. In
this case, “many” is not necessarily good.
Example:
We should not ask too
many students to join the experiment. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
2. There is No Such
Thing As a Free Lunch
There
is no such thing as a free lunch is a warning that nothing comes for free. We would need to work
hard or give something in exchange to get what we want.
Example:
There is no such thing
as a free lunch. Students have to study hard to earn a high mark.
3. Take Something With
a Grain of Salt
When we are told to take
something with a grain of salt, we are warned not to so easily believe something someone has
said. That thing may be blown up or simply untrue.
Example:
I have to take her
words with a grain of salt. She is known to exaggerate things to make people
believe her.
4. Spoon-Feed Someone
To spoon-feed
someone means to help someone
in ways that are more than what is needed. Spoon-feeding someone is helping a
person way too much.
Example:
Be careful not to
spoon-feed her. She needs to learn things her way and be street-smart.
5. Spill the Beans
We spill the
beans when we tell other
people a secret that they are not supposed to know.
Example:
She’s spilled the
beans and told the press that she’s indeed dating the movie hunk.
6. Sink One's Teeth
Into Something
To sink one’s
teeth into something is
to be deeply involved in something. In some cases, to sink ones’
teeth into something can
also literally mean to bite a food.
Example:
I’ve been sinking my
teeth into home-based businesses that actually pay.
7. Salt of the Earth
We refer to people who
lead simple and honest lives as salt of the earth.
Example:
He is the salt of the
earth. He is very clean-living.
8. Put All One's Eggs
in One Basket
To put all one’s
eggs in one basket can
mean to place all of one’s resources like money in one place or in one kind of
investment. This idiom can also mean to risk one’s resources by putting them
all together.
Example:
The couple was advised
to diversify their assets and not to put all their eggs in one basket.
9. Piece of Cake
Something is a piece of cake if it is easy, simple, and can be quickly
made.
Example:
Piece of cake! I can
answer that test in less than five minutes.
10. Packed in Like
Sardines
People or things are packed in
like sardines in a place when they
are so tightly placed beside one another. A place that is packed is crowded and
does not have much extra space left.
Example:
Employees are packed
in like sardines in trains during morning rush hours.
11. Out of the Frying
Pan and Into the Fire
If we go out of the
frying pan and into the fire then we are just trading one bad thing for something that is
even worse. We are not making our condition better.
Example:
Quitting your job at
this point is going out of the frying pan and into the fire. There is no job
waiting for you yet.
12. In a Nutshell
In
a nutshell means in a gist or in
summary. It is used to tell about something using only a few words.
Example:
He delivered a long
commencement speech. In a nutshell, he said that sheer persistence pays off.
13. Icing on the Cake
An icing on the
cake is something that
makes an already attractive thing or situation even better. An icing on the
cake is a bonus.
Example:
She landed a
high-paying job and the icing on the cake is that she can work from home.
14. Have One's Cake
and Eat It Too
To have one’s
cake and eat it too means
to have something both ways. We use this expression when we want to use
something and still keep it for ourselves.
Example:
She wanted to have her
cake and eat it too when she asked for more projects but refused to work
overtime.
15. Have a Lot on
One's Plate
To have a lot on
one’s plate is to have many
responsibilities or matters to deal with. A person with a lot on his or her
plate is very busy.
Example:
I’ve a lot on my plate
so I’ve to manage my time wisely.
16. Hard Nut to Crack
Somebody who is a hard nut to
crack is a difficult person.
He or she is tough to deal with.
Example:
My boss is a hard nut
to crack. Many of her people leave her within six months from hiring.
17. Half-Baked
Something is half-baked if it is not done well and completely. Many
things that arehalf-baked are poorly planned and executed.
Example:
His business plan is
half-baked. There are many elements missing in it.
18. Eat One`s Words
To eat one’s
words means to recant, take
back one’s words, and eventually admit that what one has said is false.
Example:
The proud mother cursed
her daughter but later ate her words when she asked her for help.
19. Drop Someone or
Something Like a Hot Potato
To drop someone
or something like a hot potato means to all of a sudden stop being involved with a person or in
a thing.
Example:
The film studio
dropped the movie star like a hot potato after he was accused of assault.
20. Cry Over
Spilled/Spilt Milk
A person who complains
about something that has happened and which cannot be undone is someone who cries over
spilled/spilt milk.
Example:
The mother advised her
daughter not to try cry over spilled milk. She told her to learn from her
mistakes.
21. Cream of the Crop
The cream of the
crop is made up of people
who are considered the best in a certain group. It can also refer to things
that are of very fine quality.
Example:
The company hires only
the cream of the crop from top universities around the world.
22. Couch Potato
If you spend so much
time sitting on a couch, being idle and sedentary, and just watching TV, then
you can be called a couch potato.
Example:
She is a couch potato.
She watches movies at home all day and refuses to even take a walk outside.
23. Compare Apples and
Oranges
To compare
apples and oranges is
to match up one thing or person to something or someone very dissimilar. It
also means to compare two persons or things that should not be compared.
Example:
Comparing me with my
sister is like comparing apples and oranges. We have nothing in common.
24. Can't Stomach
Someone or Something
If you can’t stomach
someone or something then you absolutely do
not like that person or doing that thing.
Example:
I can't stomach her.
She speaks foul of others and thinks that she is the best all the time.
25. Bread and Butter
Bread
and butter refers to a person’s
main source of income. It is usually a job from where a person gets money to
buy his or her basic necessities.
Example:
Her daytime job is her
bread and butter. To guarantee her financial independence, she looked for other
ways to earn money.
26. Bottoms Up!
“Bottoms
up” is an expression used
to mark the end of a drinking toast. It is a signal to start drinking.
Example:
The president said
“Bottoms up” to mark the end of the company party.
27. Born With a Silver
Spoon In One's Mouth
Born
with a silver spoon in one’s mouth is an idiom used to describe people who are privileged enough to
be born into a rich family.
Example:
He was born with a
silver spoon in his mouth but decided to give up his inheritance to become a
priest.
28. Bitter Pill to
Swallow
Something is a bitter pill
to swallow if it is very painful
to accept as true.
Example:
Learning that he did
not land the movie role was a bitter pill to swallow for the aspiring actor.
29. Bite the Hand that
Feeds One
Bite
the hand that feeds one is an idiom that means
to damage or hurt people who have done good things to us.
Example:
The battered housewife
chose to keep quiet about her husband’s abuses because she did not want to bite
the hand that fed her.
30. Not Someone's Cup
of Tea
Something is not someone’s
cup of tea if that person does
not find much pleasure doing it.
Example:
Drinking until the wee
hours of the morning is not my cup of tea. I’d rather hit the sack early.
