Use idioms to speak English like a Native Speaker

So now you are learning the English language. You are familiarising yourself with the learning materials
and you are enjoying the journey. The only issue is you don’t know how to ‘Speak’ like a native.

MY ABC CLASS only employs a high level of teacher who are well versed not only in traditional learning methods but also the use of informal and fun teaching methods. Idioms is a really interesting and fun part of our courses and you will be able to test your conversational language in a live face to face class to help give better understanding and parody of a fun and interesting area of the English language.So join us today and become the ‘bee’s knees’ of idioms!

Use Idioms
When conversing with Native Speakers you will sometimes be slightly confused with certain phrases which may not make sense or sound funny. These are called idioms and form a major part of the makeup of English informal conversations. An idiom is defined as: - ‘A figure of speech that means something different than a literal translation of the words would lead one to believe’. For example, "it's raining cats and dogs" is a common idiom in English, but it's not meant to be taken literally: Household pets are not falling from the sky!
Take a look at this comprehensive list of day to day idioms included below:-

Idiom	Definition/Translation
a bitter pill to swallow	A situation or information that is unpleasant but must be accepted
a dime a dozen	(US) Anything that is common, inexpensive, and easy to get or available anywhere.
a hot potato	A controversial issue or situation that is awkward or unpleasant to deal with
a sandwich short of a picnic	Lacking intelligence
ace in the hole	A hidden or secret strength; an unrevealed advantage
Achilles' heel	A small but fatal weakness in spite of overall strength.
all ears	Listening intently; fully focused or awaiting an explanation.
all thumbs	Clumsy, awkward.
an arm and a leg	Very expensive or costly; a large amount of money
apple of discord	Anything causing trouble, discord, or jealousy.
at the drop of a hat	Without any hesitation; instantly
back to the drawing board	Revising something (such as a plan) from the beginning, typically after it has failed.
ball is in his/her/your court	It is up to him/her/you to make the next decision or step.
balls to the wall	Full throttle; at maximum speed.
barking up the wrong tree	Looking in the wrong place.
basket case	One made powerless or ineffective, as by nerves, panic, or stress.
beat around the bush	To treat a topic but omit its main points, often intentionally or to delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant.
beating a dead horse	To uselessly dwell on a subject far beyond its point of resolution.
bed of roses	A situation or activity that is comfortable or easy.
bird brain	A person who is not too smart; a person who acts stupid.
bite off more than one can chew	To take on more responsibility than one can manage.
bite the bullet	To endure a painful or unpleasant situation that is unavoidable.
bite the dust	A euphemism for dying or death.
bought the farm	A euphemism for dying or death.
break a leg	A saying from the theatre that means "good luck".
burn the midnight oil	To work late into the night.
bust one's chops	To exert oneself.
by the length and breadth of something or somewhere	you are emphasizing that it happens everywhere in that place.
by the seat of one's pants	To achieve through instinct or to do something without advance preparation.
by the skin of one's teeth	Narrowly; barely. Usually used in regard to a narrow escape from a disaster.
call a spade a spade	To speak the truth, even to the point of being blunt and rude.
call it a day	To declare the end of a task.
calm your horses	Calm down
champ at the bit or chomp at the bit	To show impatience or frustration when delayed.
cheap as chips	Inexpensive; a good bargain.
chew the fat	To chat idly or generally waste time talking.
chink in one's armor	An area of vulnerability.
clam up	To become silent; to stop talking.
cold shoulder	To display aloofness and disdain.
couch potato	A lazy person.
crocodile tears	Fake tears or drama tears; fake crying.
cut a rug	To dance.
cut off your nose to spite your face	To pursue revenge in a way that would damage oneself more than the object of one's anger.
cut the cheese (US)	To fart.
cut the mustard	To perform well; to meet expectations.
dig one's heels in	On genuine objection to some process or action or motion, actually to stop or oppose it strongly.
don't count chickens before they hatch	Don't make plans for something that may not happen; alternatively, don't make an assumption about something that does not have a definitively predetermined outcome.
don't have a cow	Don't overreact.
drop a dime (US)	To make a telephone call; to be an informant.
elephant in the room	An obvious, pressing issue left unaddressed due to its sensitive nature.
fit as a fiddle	In good physical health.
fly in the ointment	A minor drawback or imperfection, especially one that was not at first apparent, that detracts from something positive, spoils something valuable, or is a source of annoyance.
for a song	Almost free; very cheap.
from A to Z	Covering a complete range; comprehensively.
from scratch / make from scratch	To make from original ingredients; to start from the beginning with no prior preparation.
get bent out of shape	To take offense; to get worked up, aggravated, or annoyed.
get one's ducks in a row	to become well prepared for a desired outcome.
get your goat	To irritate someone.
gone south	having an unforeseen or chaotic result
grasp the nettle	To tackle a problem in a bold manner, despite the difficulty or complexity of doing so; to solve a problem despite short-term adverse consequences.
have a blast	To have a good time; to enjoy oneself.
have eyes bigger than one's stomach	To have asked for or taken more of something (especially food) than one is actually capable of handling (or eating).
have eyes in the back of one's head	To be able to perceive things and events that are outside of one's field of vision.
head over heels	Be smitten, infatuated.
heard it through the grapevine	To have learned something through gossip, hearsay, or a rumor.
hit the ceiling	To become enraged, possibly in an overreaction
hit the nail on the head	1. To describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem; 2. To do or say exactly the right thing or to find the exact answer; 3. To do something in the most effective and efficient way; 4. To be accurate or correct about something.
hit the road	To leave; start a journey
hit the sack/sheets/hay	To go to bed; to go to sleep.
hit the spot	To be particularly pleasing or appropriate; to be just right.
hold all the cards	To control a situation; to be the one making the decisions.
hook, line and sinker	To be completely fooled by a deception.
jump ship	To leave a job, organization, or activity suddenly.
kick the bucket	A euphemism for dying or death.
kick the habit	To stop engaging in a habitual practice
kill two birds with one stone	To accomplish two different tasks at the same time and/or with a single action
let the cat out of the bag	To reveal a secret
like pulling hens' teeth	having difficulty in getting a person or item to act in a desired fashion; reference to an impossible task
look a gift horse in the mouth	To find fault with something that has been received as a gift or favor
method to (one's) madness	Despite one's seemingly random approach, there is actually orderly structure or logic to it
My two cents	(US) one's opinion on the subject
nip (something) in the bud	To stop something at an early stage, before it can develop into something of more significance (especially an obstacle or frustration).
no horse in this race or no dog in this fight	No vested interest in the outcome of a particular contest or debate.
off one's trolley or off one's rocker	Crazy, demented, out of one's mind, in a confused or befuddled state of mind, senile.
off the hook	To escape a situation of responsibility or obligation, or, less frequently, danger.
once in a blue moon	Occurring very rarely.
own goal	To do something accidentally negative against yourself or your own team.
part and parcel	The attribute of being an integral or essential component of another object.
piece of cake	A job, task or other activity that is pleasant – or, by extension, easy or simple.
pop one's clogs	(UK) A euphemism for dying or death.
preaching to the choir	To present a side of a discussion or argument to someone who already agrees with it; essentially, wasting your time.
pull somebody's leg	To tease or joke by telling a lie.
push the envelope	To approach, extend, or go beyond the limits of what is possible; to pioneer.
pushing up daisies	A euphemism for dying or death.
put the cat among the pigeons	To create a disturbance and cause trouble.
raining cats and dogs	Raining very hard or strongly.
right as rain	Needed, appropriate, essential, or hoped-for; also has come to mean perfect, well, or absolutely right.
rock the boat	To do or say something that will upset people or cause problems.
screw the pooch	To screw up; to fail in dramatic and ignominious fashion.
shoot the breeze	To chat idly or casually, without any serious topic of conversation.
shooting fish in a barrel	Frivolously performing a simple task.
sleep with the fishes	A euphemism for dying or death.
spill the beans	To reveal someone's secret.
spin one's wheels	To expel much effort for little or no gain.
step up to the plate	To deliver beyond expectations.
straw that broke the camel's back	The last in a line of unacceptable occurrences; the final tipping point in a sensitive situation.
take (or grab) the bull by the horns	To deal bravely and decisively with a difficult, dangerous, or unpleasant situation; to deal with a matter in a direct manner, especially to confront a difficulty rather than avoid it.
take the biscuit	(UK) To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious.
take the cake	(US) To be especially good or outstanding. Alternatively (US) To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious.
take with a grain of salt	To not take what someone says too seriously; to treat someone's words with a degree of scepticism.
the bee's knees	Something or someone outstandingly good, excellent, or wonderful.
the pot calling the kettle black	Used when someone making an accusation is equally as guilty as those being accused.
the whole nine yards	Everything; all the way.
through thick and thin	In both good and bad times.
throw stones in glass houses	One who is vulnerable to criticism regarding a certain issue should not criticize others about the same issue.
throw the baby out with the bathwater	To discard, especially inadvertently, something valuable while in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted.
throw under the bus	To betray or sacrifice someone for selfish reasons.
thumb one's nose	To express scorn or disregard.
tie one on	To get drunk.
to steal someone's thunder	To take credit for something someone else did.
trip the light fantastic	To dance.
two a penny	Cheap or common.
under my thumb	Under my control.
under the weather	Feeling sick or poorly.
wild goose chase	A frustrating or lengthy undertaking that accomplishes little.
you can say that again	That is very true; an expression of wholehearted agreement.

MY ABC CLASS only employs a high level of teacher who are well versed not only in traditional learning methods but also the use of informal and fun teaching methods. Idioms is a really interesting and fun part of our courses and you will be able to test your conversational language in a live face to face class to help give better understanding and parody of a fun and interesting area of the English language.
So join us today and become the ‘bee’s knees’ of idioms!

Use idioms to speak English like a Native Speaker

Use idioms to speak English like a Native Speaker

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