Idioms English

Spill the beans

Share a secret or private information

Once in a blue moon

Very rarely

Bite the bullet

To accept sth reluctantly

Hands down

Undoubtedly, inarguably

Break the ice

To remove the tension at a first meeting or social event

Beat around the bush

Take a long time to arrive at the main point of a conversation

Close but no cigar

To be close to achieving something but ultimately fail

Riding shotgun

To ride in the passenger seat of the car

Christmas came early this year

When something good but surprising happens

Good things come in small packages

Don’t judge something by how big it is

To go on a wild goose chase

To complete a hopeless task

Example: “I've looked everywhere for my house keys and I can’t find them! I feel like I’m going ……………….. here.”

The proof is in the pudding

You only know if something is good by trying it

Example: “He told me doing yoga every week would change my life. I’m skeptical but I guess ……………...”

Like turkeys voting for Christmas

To make a decision that is harmful to yourself

Example: "Choosing the most complicated board game with my very competitive friends – feels……..

Be there with bells on

To be excited and enthusiatic

Example: "Karaoke night tonight? Count me in, I'll…………., ready to hit the high notes!"

A Christmas miracle

Something highly unlikely but wonderful

Example: "Wow — the whole family has agreed on a movie to watch together. It’s……….

Under the weather

To fill ill

The ball is in your court

the decision is yours and someone is waiting for your decision

Pull someone’s leg

To play a pratical joke (troll)

Sat on the fence

To be undecided

Through thick and thin

To be loyal no matter what and often used to describe families or BFFs

Be the best thing since sliced bread

To be an excellent person or things

Come rain or shine

Whatever happens

Go down in flames

To fail terribly

see eye to eye with someone

To agree with someone

hit the sack

Go to bed

Cost an arm and a leg

very expensive

Let the cat out of the bag

Reveal a secret accidentally

Piece of cake

something very easy

burn the midnight oil

Work/study late into the night

Cut corners

Do something cheaply/quickly (often poorly quality)

(Be) on the ball

To be aware of and understand what is happening and be able to react quickly

Throw in the towel

give up

A dime a dozen

Very common and easy to find

Get cold feet

become nervous and hesitate

In hot water

in trouble

Jump on the bandwagon

Follow a popular trend

Kick the bucket

Die (informal, humorous)

Miss the boat

Lose an opportunity

zip your lip

Stop talking (informal)

Burn bridges

Damage relationships irreparably(khong the cuu van)

Hit the roof

become very angry

Twist someone’s arm

Persuade someone forcefully

Add fuel to the fire

Make a bad situation worse

Face the music

Accept consequences

The elephant in the room

An obvious problems everyone always see and know how to avoid it or address it

hit the hay

Go to bed (informal)

jump the gun

Act too early

Keep somebody at arm’s length

to avoid having a close relationship with somebody

Make a long story short

Summarize briefly

No pain, no gain

Effort is needed for success

Play it by ear

decide based on situations without planning

Read between the lines

To look for or discover a meaning in something that is not openly started

Under someone’s thumb

Controlled by someone

Vanish into thin air

Disappear completely

You can’t judge a book by its cover

Don’t judge based on appearance

Zero in on something

Focus intensely

A fish out of water

Feel out of place (cảm thấy lạc lõng)

Every clould has a silver lining

Even bad situations have hope

Fit as a fiddle

In excellent health

Go the extra mile

Make extra effort