English Vocabulary Idioms

set the ball roling

start an activity which other people will join later

turn over a new leaf

make a new start

hit the ground running

to start something with great energy and focus

knock sth on the head

to stop an activity or to show sth is not correct

nip sth in the bud

to stop sth before it becomes a problem

call it a day

to stop doing what you have been doing

in business

you can start doing something because you have everything ready for it

start from scratch

to start from nothing

grind to a halt

slowly stop/come to an end

cut your losses

to stop doing sth that you can see is going to be unsuccessful before the situation gets worse

call it quits

give up, stop

get sth up and running

to start a business

enough is enough

something you say when you want something to stop

be head and shoulders above

to be much better than

sm heart is not into it

not fully convinced of sth

feel it in the bones

to have strong intuition

at the back of sm mind

to be aware of sth but not fully concentrated on it

face up to reality

accept, deal with reality

two heads are better than one

two people can find a solution better than one person can alone

a feather in your cap

an achievement to be proud of

let the cat out the bag

reveal a secret

get the sack

to be discharged or fired

on the ropes

having serious problems and likely to fail

foot in mouth

to say sth that accidentally embarrasses or offends another person

get off my back

sm is telling you what to do all the time and you get tired of it

cold shoulder

to ignore someone

a sight for sore eyes

someone or something that you are very pleased to see

off the top of my head

saying sth without really thinking about it

all ears

when you're fully listening

cold feet

nervous before a big event

cost an arm and a leg

be very expensive

cry your heart out

to cry very hard

face the music

stand up to unpleasant conseqences

get something of one's chest

to tell someone your problems

have one's head in the clouds

be unaware or unrealistic about something

(my) flesh and blood

realtive

head over heels

deeply in love

head start

an earlier start

in over one's head

taking on a task that you can't handle

keep an eye on

to take care of

keep one's chin up

try to be cheerful

let one's hair down

realx, have fun

(my) lips are sealed

promise to keep a secret

makes my blood boil

makes me very angry

neck of the woods

nearby location or region

(an) old hand

an experienced person

over my dead body

something that will never be permitted

pat on the back

recognition or a thank-you

play sth by ear

Do sth without a plan

rule of thumb

basic rule

see eye to eye

to agree

an eye for an eye

Punishment should be similar to the crime committed

by the skin of one's teeth

just barely, by a narrow margin

stick your neck out

help someone a lot, with possible bad consequences for oneself

sweet tooth

a love of sugar or sweet things

wash one's hand of sth

stop dealing with an issue or a problem

be glad to see the back of someone

be happy when someone has left

bring to knees

to destroy or defeat someone or something

easy on the eye

attractive or nice to look at

hands are tied

unable to help or intervene

pull somebody's leg

to tease or fool someone

poke one's nose in

to interfere in other people's business

in the blink of an eye

very quickly

shiver down one's spine

feeling fear, nervousness

not bat an eyelid

not to show any visible signs of surprise

make a clean breast of

to tell the truth, confess

cannot stomach sm or sth

can't tolerate sm

keep one's eyes peeled/skinned

to be on the alert

yoke around sm neck

a burden

get in someone's hair

annoy someone

my gut tells me

someone's gut reaction to something