As sharp as a tack: show off your English skills with these idioms.

Idioms and idiomatic language should be part of your vocabulary to show off your language skills, but exam makers can use idioms to increase the difficulty of their tests as is the case for the final exams in English in the Netherlands. So, here’s a list of some of the most common English idioms.

Break a leg: an awkward way to say good luck.

When you want to wish someone good luck, you could use the boring way and say: “Good luck! I hope all goes well.”, but you could also go the extra mile and tell them to break a leg. Let’s just hope they don’t actually break a leg during whatever they’re about to do.

It’s raining cats and dogs.

This classic idiom has appeared in every English textbook ever, so you probably know that this one is used when it’s raining heavily. I’ve never heard a native speaker use it, but I’ve noticed it twice on television.

Piece of cake: easy peasy.

When something is straightforward and easy to do, it’s a piece of cake. It’s that simple.

Kick the bucket: probably not kicking anything anytime soon.

When someone has kicked the bucket, they’ve died. They won’t be kicking anything else anytime soon because, well, they’re dead.

Hit the nail on the head.

When you hit the nail on the head, you’re exactly right, and you’ve said something that’s true or the truth.

Barking up the wrong tree

When someone is doing something incorrectly or pursuing the wrong course, you could tell them they’re wrong. But that’s boring, and you’ll be barking up the wrong tree. Use this idiom to say that someone is pursuing the wrong course or accusing the wrong person of doing something.

Spill the beans: serving the tea while it’s hot.

If you want to know some secrets because you’re toxic and interested in other people’s business, you could ask someone to spill the beans. Sometimes, when you also want to know the details of something secret right after the person you’re speaking to has heard them, you could also ask them to serve the tea while it’s still hot. #toxic

A dime a dozen: not very special.

Use a dime a dozen to indicate that something is widespread and easy to find.

Caught red-handed: gotcha, punk!

When someone is caught red-handed, they’re caught in the middle of doing something wrong. They’ll probably have a red face of shame when you catch them, but you caught them red-handed. Good work, Holmes.

Don’t cry over spilt milk.

Sometimes, when life gives you lemons, you just have to make lemonade (see what I did there?). You don’t want to cry over spilt milk because then you’re worrying about something that can’t be undone.

Go the extra mile: #burnout.

If you go the extra mile, you do more than is expected or required. Just beware of potential burnout.

To kill two birds with one stone: PETA disagrees.

Fortunately for PETA, we’re not actually killing birds here. When you kill two birds with one stone, you achieve two things with a single action. This could be reading my articles and improving your English skills, improving your stamina while losing weight by running, or something else in which you do two things in one go.

It takes two to tango.

When you’ve been caught red-handed with someone else, and they start backing out, claiming that they didn’t do it, you could use the idiom it takes two to tango to indicate that they’re equally responsible for what you’ve done.

On the ball: not like Harry Maguire

When someone is on the ball, they’re very attentive and alert. This is the opposite of a very popular but poor football player from Manchester United (I’m not a fan of him, obviously).

The ball is in your court.

When the ball is in your court, it’s your turn to decide or take action. It’s like preparing for your final exam: after all the classes, the ball is in your court, and you must do all the work.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

This common idiom is used to indicate that you should follow the customs and traditions of the place you are visiting. Otherwise, you might get into very awkward situations.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket: DIVERSIFY!!!!

Rule 1 in trading and investing is DIVERSITY!!!!, which means that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. This means that you shouldn’t depend on a single thing or option. It’s like bringing a pen to your final exam: don’t bring one; bring 10.000. What if one starts leaking?

See eye to eye.

When you see eye to eye with someone, you agree on something.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Sometimes, a picture can convey a complex idea better than words because a picture is worth a thousand words. To prove this, I’ve asked Bing to generate an AI image of this idiom:

A Microsoft Bing image creation to describe a picture is worth a thousand words.

Here are 20 more common English idioms:

• Bite the bullet — To endure a difficult or painful situation with courage.
• The apple of my eye — Someone or something that is very precious or valuable to you.
• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush — It’s better to have something that is certain than to risk losing it by trying to get something better.
• Beat around the bush — To avoid getting to the point or being direct in conversation.
• Cat got your tongue? — A rhetorical question asking someone why they are not speaking or why they are quiet.
• Couch potato — Someone who spends a lot of time sitting and watching television.
• Devil’s advocate — Someone who takes a position or argues a point just for the sake of argument, without believing in it.
• Every cloud has a silver lining — Every difficult or negative situation has some positive aspect.
• Face the music — To accept the consequences of one’s actions, usually negative.
• Give someone the benefit of the doubt — To believe someone’s explanation or excuse for something, even if it seems unlikely.
• Jump the gun — To start doing something too soon, before it’s appropriate or before all the facts are known.
• Keep your chin up — To stay positive and optimistic in the face of difficulty.
• Let sleeping dogs lie — To avoid bringing up an old or sensitive issue that could cause trouble.
• Make a mountain out of a molehill — To exaggerate a small problem and make it seem much bigger than it really is.
• No pain, no gain — One must suffer or work hard to achieve their goals.
• Out of the woods — To be out of a difficult or dangerous situation.
• Play it by ear — To make decisions or take action based on the situation as it unfolds, rather than following a plan.
• Save for a rainy day — To save money for future emergencies or unexpected expenses.
• The early bird catches the worm — To be successful, you must start early and take action before others do.
• Two wrongs don’t make a right — It’s not justified to do something bad just because someone else did something bad first.

Hopefully, you aren’t too bushed (= exhausted) from all these idioms. Let me know in the comments: what’s your favourite idiom?