Familiar English Idioms And Proverbs

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These English idioms and proverbs are familiar and easily understood by native English speakers, but they are not usually used in everyday conversation. If you haven't mastered the more frequent idioms yet, they are a better place to start, but if you're already familiar with those expressions, the idioms below will further spice up your English.

Idiom	Meaning	Usage
A little learning is a dangerous thing	People who don't understand something fully are dangerous	by itself
A snowball effect	Events have momentum and build upon each other	as part of a sentence
A snowball's chance in hell	No chance at all	as part of a sentence
A stitch in time saves nine	Fix the problem now because it will get worse later	by itself
A storm in a teacup	A big fuss about a small problem	as part of a sentence
An apple a day keeps the doctor away	Apples are good for you	by itself
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure	You can prevent a problem with little effort. Fixing it later is harder.	by itself
As right as rain	Perfect	as part of a sentence
Bolt from the blue	Something that happened without warning	as part of a sentence
Burn bridges	Destroy relationships	as part of a sentence
Calm before the storm	Something bad is coming, but right now it's calm	as part of a sentence
Come rain or shine	No matter what	as part of a sentence
Curiosity killed the cat	Stop asking questions	by itself
Cut the mustard	Do a good job	as part of a sentence
Don't beat a dead horse	Move on, this subject is over	by itself
Every dog has his day	Everyone gets a chance at least once	by itself
Familiarity breeds contempt	The better you know someone the less you like him	by itself
Fit as a fiddle	In good health	as part of a sentence
Fortune favours the bold	Take risks	by itself
Get a second wind	Have more energy after having been tired	as part of a sentence
Get wind of something	Hear news of something secret	as part of a sentence
Go down in flames	Fail spectacularly	as part of a sentence
Haste makes waste	You'll make mistakes if you rush through something	by itself
Have your head in the clouds	Not be concentrating	as part of a sentence
He who laughs last laughs loudest	I'll get you back for what you did	by itself
Hear something straight from the horse's mouth	Hear something from the person involved	as part of a sentence
He's not playing with a full deck	He's dumb	by itself
He's off his rocker	He's crazy	by itself
He's sitting on the fence	He can't make up his mind	by itself
It is a poor workman who blames his tools	If you can't do the job, don't blame it on others	by itself
It is always darkest before the dawn	Things are going to get better	by itself
It takes two to tango	One person alone isn't responsible. Both people are involved.	by itself
Jump on the bandwagon	Follow a trend, do what everyone else is doing	as part of a sentence
Know which way the wind is blowing	Understand the situation (usually negative)	as part of a sentence
Leave no stone unturned	Look everywhere	as part of a sentence
Let sleeping dogs lie	Stop discussing an issue	as part of a sentence
Like riding a bicycle	Something you never forget how to do	as part of a sentence
Like two peas in a pod	They're always together	as part of a sentence
Make hay while the sun shines	Take advantage of a good situation	as part of a sentence
On cloud nine	Very happy	as part of a sentence
Once bitten, twice shy	You're more cautious when you've been hurt before	by itself
Out of the frying pan and into the fire	Things are going from bad to worse	by itself
Run like the wind	Run fast	as part of a sentence
Shape up or ship out	Work better or leave	by itself
Snowed under	Busy	as part of a sentence
That ship has sailed	It's too late	by itself
The pot calling the kettle black	Someone criticizing someone else he is just as bad	as part of a sentence
There are clouds on the horizon	Trouble is coming	by itself
Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones	People who are morally questionable shouldn't criticize others	by itself
Through thick and thin	In good times and in bad times	as part of a sentence
Time is money	Work quickly	by itself
Waste not, want not	Don't waste things and you'll always have enough	by itself
We see eye to eye	We agree	by itself
Weather the storm	Go through something difficult	as part of a sentence
Well begun is half done	Getting a good start is important	by itself
When it rains it pours	Everything is going wrong at once	by itself
You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar	You'll get what you want by being nice	by itself
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink	You can't force someone to make the right decision	by itself
You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs	There's always a cost to doing something	by itself

 

Source: https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-idioms/