I hope these Idioms will be useful for all members of Art_En.
A little bird told me
If someone doesn't want to say where they got some information from, they can say that a little bird told them.
All bark and no bite
When someone talks tough but really isn't, they are all bark and no bite.
All bark and no bite
Someone who talks a lot, but does nothing to back up their words-- like a dog that barks at strangers, but won't actually bite.
Angry as a bear
If someone is as angry as a bear, they are very angry.('Angry as a bear with a sore foot' is also used.)
Angry as a bull
If someone is as angry as a bull, they are very angry.
Ants in your pants
If someone has ants in their pants, they are agitated or excited about something and can't keep still.
As the crow flies
This idiom is used to describe the shortest possible distance between two places.
At a snail's pace
If something moves at a snail's pace, it moves very slowly.
Back the wrong horse
If you back the wrong horse, you give your support to the losing side in something.
Bad egg
A person who cannot be trusted is a bad egg. Good egg is the opposite.
Bald as a coot
A person who is completely bald is as bald as a coot.
Bar fly
A bar fly is a person who spends a lot of time drinking in different bars and pubs.
Barking up the wrong tree
If you are barking up the wrong tree, it means that you have completely misunderstood something or are totally wrong.
Be on the pig's back
If you're on the pig's back, you're happy / content / in fine form.
Beating a dead horse
(USA) If someone is trying to convince people to do or feel something without any hope of succeeding, they're beating a dead horse. This is used when someone is trying to raise interest in an issue that no-one supports anymore; beating a dead horse will not make it do any more work.
Bee's Knees
If something is the bee's knees, it's outstanding or the best in its class.
Between you and me and the cat's whiskers
This idiom is used when telling someone something that you want them to keep secret.
Big fish
An important person in a company or an organisation is a big fish.
Big fish in a small pond
A big fish in a small pond is an important person in a small place or organisation.
Bigger fish to fry
If you aren't interested in something because it isn't important to you and there are more important things for you to do, you have bigger fish to fry.
Bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' is a proverb meaning that it is better to have something that is certain than take a risk to get more, where you might lose everything.
Bird's eye view
If you have a bird's eye view of something, you can see it perfectly clearly.
Bird-brain
Someone who has a bird-brain, or is bird-brained, is stupid.
Birds and the bees
If a child is taught about the birds and the bees, they are taught about sex.
Birds of a feather flock together
This idiom means that people with similar interests will stick together.
Black sheep
Someone who is the black sheep doesn't fit into a group or family because their behaviour or character is not good enough.
Blind as a bat
If you are in total darkness and can't see anything at all, you are as blind as a bat.
Brass monkey
If it's brass monkey weather, or cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey, it is extremely cold.
Bull in a China shop
If someone behaves like a bull in a China shop, they are clumsy when they should be careful.
Bull market
A bull market is a period when investors are optimistic and there are expectations that good financial results will continue.
Bull-headed
If you're a bull-headed, you're stubborn or inflexible.
Busy as a bee
If you are as busy as a bee, you are very busy indeed.
Busy as a beaver
If you're as busy as a beaver, you're very busy indeed.
Calf lick
A calf lick is the weird parting in your fringe where your hair grows in a different direction, usually to one side.
Can of worms
If an action can create serious problems, it is opening a can of worms.
Carrot and stick
If someone offers a carrot and stick, they offer an incentive to do something combined with the threat of punishment.
Cat among the pigeons
If something or someone puts, or sets or lets, the cat among the pigeons, they create a disturbance and cause trouble.
Cat and dog life
If people lead a cat and dog life, they are always arguing.
Cat burglar
A cat burglar is a skillful thief who breaks into places without disturbing people or setting off alarms.
Cat fur and kitty britches
(USA) When I used to ask my grandma what was for dinner, she would say 'cat fur and kitty britches'. This was her Ozark way of telling me that I would get what she cooked. (Ozark is a region in the center of the United States)
Cat got your tongue?
If someone asks if the cat has got your tongue, they want to know why you are not speaking when they think you should.
Cat nap
If you have a short sleep during the day, you are cat napping.
Cat's lick
(Scot) A cat's lick is a very quick wash.
Cat's pajamas
(USA) Something that is the cat's pajamas is excellent.
Cat's whiskers
Something excellent is the cat's whiskers.
Chase your tail
If you are chasing your tail, you are very busy but not being very productive.
Chickenfeed
If something is small or unimportant, especially money, it is chickenfeed.
Curiosity killed the cat
As cats are naturally curious animals, we use this expression to suggest to people that excessive curiosity is not necessarily a good thing, especially where it is not their business.
Take the bull by its horns
Taking a bull by its horns would be the most direct but also the most dangerous way to try to compete with such an animal. When we use the phrase in everyday talk, we mean that the person we are talking about tackles their problems directly and is not worried about any risks involved.
Fat cat
A fat cat is a person who makes a lot of money and enjoys a privileged position in society.
Grin like a Cheshire cat
If someone has a very wide smile, they have a grin like a Cheshire cat.
Let the cat out of the bag
If you accidentally reveal a secret, you let the cat out of the bag.
Like a cat on hot bricks
If someone is like a cat on hot bricks, they are very nervous or excited.
Like a cat that got the cream
If someone looks very pleased with themselves and happy, they look like a cat that got the cream.
Like a duck to water
If someone has a natural talent for something and enjoys it, they take to it like a duck to water.
Like a fish needs a bicycle
If someone needs something like a Fish Needs a Bicycle, they do not need it at all, originally a feminist slogan: A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.
Like a fish out of water
If someone feels like a fish out of water, they are very uncomfortable in the situation they are in.
Like a hawk
If you watch something or someone like a hawk, you observe very closely and carefully.
Like a headless chicken
If someone rushes about like a headless chicken, they move very fast all over the place, usually without thinking.
Like a moth to a flame
Something that is like a moth to a flame is attracted to something that is deadly or dangerous.
Like a rat deserting a sinking ship
If people leave a company because they know that it's about to have serious problems, or turn their back on a person about to be in a similar situation, they are said to be like rats deserting a sinking ship.
Like giving a donkey strawberries
(UK) If something is like giving a donkey strawberries, people fail to appreciate its value.
Like lambs to the slaughter
If somebody does something unpleasant without any resistance, they go like lambs to the slaughter.
Lion's share
The lion's share of something is the biggest or best part.
Live high off the hog
If you are living high off the hog, you are living lavishly.
Loan shark
A loan shark lends money at very high rates of interest.
Lock horns
When people lock horns, they argue or fight about something.
Lock the stable door after the horse has bolted
If someone takes action too late, they do this; there is no reason to lock an empty stable.
Look what the cat dragged in
This idiom is used when someone arrives somewhere looking a mess or flustered and bothered.
Lord love a duck
An exclamation used when nothing else will fit. Often fitting when one is stunned or dismayed.
Lower than a snake's belly
Someone or something that is lower than a snake's belly is of a very low moral standing.
Mad as a badger
If someone is as mad as a badger, they are crazy.
Mad as a cut snake
(USA) One who is mad as a cut snake has lost all sense of reason, is crazy, out of control.
Mad as a hornet
(USA) If someone is as mad as a hornet, they are very angry indeed.
Mad as a March hare
Someone who is excitable and unpredictable is as mad as a March hare.
Make a monkey of someone
If you make a monkey of someone, you make them look foolish.
Make a mountain out of a molehill
If somebody makes a mountain out of a molehill, they exaggerate the importance or seriousness of a problem.
Make hay
If you make hay, or may hay while the sun shines, you take advantage of an opportunity as soon as it arises and do not waste time.
Man's best friend
This is an idiomatic term for dogs.
Memory like an elephant
'An elephant never forgets' is a saying, so if a person has a memory like an elephant, he or she has a very good memory indeed.
Mess with a bull, you get the horns
If you do something stupid or dangerous, you can get hurt.
Mickey Mouse
If something is Mickey Mouse, it is intellectually trivial or not of a very high standard.
Mind your own beeswax
(USA) This idiom means that people should mind their own business and not interfere in other people's affairs.
Monkey business
If children get up to monkey business, they are behaving naughtily or mischievously.
This is the same as 'monkeying around'
More than one way to skin a cat
When people say that there is more than one way to skin a cat, they mean that there are different ways of achieving the same thing.
Mutton dressed as lamb
Mutton dressed as lamb is term for middle-aged or elderly people trying to look younger.
My dogs are barking
(USA) When someone says this, they mean that their feet are hurting.
Neither fish nor fowl
Something or someone that is neither fish nor fowl doesn't really fit into any one group.
Nest egg
If you have some money saved for the future, it is a nest egg.
Night owl
A night owl is someone who goes to bed very late.
No spring chicken
If someone is no spring chicken, they are not young.
No use to man or beast
If something or someone is no use to man or beast, they it or they are utterly useless.
Not cricket
(UK) If something is not cricket, it is unfair.
Not enough room to swing a cat
If a room is very small, you can say that there isn't enough room to swing a cat in it.
Not give a monkey's
(UK) If you couldn't give a monkey's about something, you don't care at all about it.
Nothing to crow about
If something's nothing to crow about, it's not particularly good or special.
On a fishing expedition
If someone is on a fishing expedition, they are trying to get information, often using incorrect or improper ways to find things out.
On the hoof
If you decide something on the hoof, you do it without planning, responding to events as they happen.
On the trot
(UK) This idiom means 'consecutively'; I'd saw them three days on the trot, which means that I saw them on three consecutive days.
On the wallaby track
(AU) In Australian English, if you're on the wallaby track, you are unemployed.
On your high horse
When someone is on their high horse, they are being inflexible, arrogant and will not make any compromises.
One swallow does not make a summer
This means that one good or positive event does not mean that everything is all right.
One-trick pony
A one-trick pony is someone who does one thing well, but has limited skills in other areas.
Opening a can of worms
If you open a can of worms, you do something that will cause a lot of problems and is, on balance, probably going to cause more trouble than it's worth.
Over-egg the pudding
(UK) If you over-egg the pudding, you spoil something by trying to improve it excessively. It is also used nowadays with the meaning of making something look bigger or more important than it really is. ('Over-egg' alone is often used in this sense.)
Packed like sardines
If a place is extremely crowded, people are packed like sardines, or packed in like sardines.
Paper tiger
A paper tiger is a person, country, institution, etc, that looks powerful, but is actually weak.
Parrot fashion
If you learn something parrot fashion, you learn it word for word. A parrot is a bird from South America that can talk.
Pet peeve
A pet peeve is something that irritates an individual greatly.
Pig in a poke
If someone buys a pig in a poke, they buy something without checking the condition it was in, usually finding out later that it was defective.
Pigs might fly
If you think something will never happen or succeed, you can say that 'pigs might fly' (or 'pigs can fly' and 'pigs will fly'- the idiom is used in many forms)
Pork barrel
Pork barrel politics involves investing money in an area to get political support rather than using the money for the common good.
Proud as a peacock
Someone who is as proud as a peacock is excessively proud.
Pull a rabbit out of your hat
If you pull a rabbit out of a hat, you do something that no one was expecting.
Put a bug in your ear
If you put a bug in someone's ear, you give him or her a reminder or suggestion relating to a future event.
Put lipstick on a pig
If people put lipstick on a pig, they make superficial or cosmetic changes, hoping that it will make the product more attractive.
Put the carriage before the horse
If you put the carriage before the horse, you try to do things in the wrong order.
Putting the cart before the horse
When you put the cart before the horse, you are doing something the wrong way round.
Queen bee
The queen bee is a woman who holds the most important position in a place.
Queer fish
(UK) A strange person is a queer fish.
Quiet as a mouse
If someone's as quiet as a mouse, they make absolutely no noise.
Raining cats and dogs
When it is raining cats and dogs, it is raining very heavily.
Rat race
The rat race is the ruthless, competitive struggle for success in work, etc
Red rag to a bull
If something is a red rag to a bull, it is something that will inevitably make somebody angry or cross.
Root hog or die poor
(USA) It's a expression used in the Southern USA that means that you must look out for yourself as no one's going to do it for you. (It can be shortened to 'root hog'. A hog is a pig.)
Ruffle a few feathers
If you ruffle a few feathers, you annoy some people when making changes or improvements.
Sacred cow
Something that is a sacred cow is held in such respect that it cannot be criticised or attacked.
Salty dog
A salty dog is an experienced sailor.
Save someone's bacon
If something saves your bacon, it saves your life or rescues you from a desperate situation. People can also save your bacon.
Shaggy dog story
A shaggy dog story is a joke which is a long story with a silly end.
Shanks's pony
(UK) If you go somewhere by Shanks's pony, you walk there.
Shooting fish in a barrel
If something is like shooting fish in a barrel, it is so easy that success is guaranteed.
Sick as a dog
If somebody's as sick as a dog, they throw up (=vomit) violently.
Sick as a parrot
If someone's sick as a parrot about something, they are unhappy, disappointed or depressed about it.
Sitting duck
A sitting duck is something or someone that is easy to criticise or target.
Slowly, slowly catchy monkey
This means that eventually you will achieve your goal.
Sly as a fox
Someone who is as sly as a fox is cunning and experienced and can get what they want, often in an underhand way.
Small dog, tall weeds
This idiom is used to describe someone the speaker does not believe has the ability or resources to handle a task or job.
Snake in the grass
Someone who is a snake in the grass betrays you even though you have trusted them.
Snake oil
Advice or medicine which is of no use.
Snake oil salesperson
A person who promotes something that doesn't work, is selling snake oil.
Snug as a bug in a rug
If you're as snug as a bug in a rug, you are feeling very comfortable indeed.
Sprat to catch a mackerel
If you use a sprat to catch a mackerel, you make a small expenditure or take a small risk in the hope of a much greater gain.
Square peg in a round hole
If somebody's in a situation, organisation, etc, where they don't fit in and feel out of place, they are a square peg in a round hole.
Stalking horse
A stalking horse is a strategy or something used to conceal your intentions. It is often used where someone put themselves forwards as a candidate to divide opponents or to hide the real candidate.
Stool pigeon
(USA) A stool pigeon is a police informer.
Straw that broke the camel's back
The straw that broke the camel's back is the problem that made you lose your temper or the problem that finally brought about the collapse of something.
Strong as an ox
Someone who's exceedingly strong physically is said to be as strong as an ox.
Stubborn as a mule
Someone who will not listen to other people's advice and won't change their way of doing things is as stubborn as a mule.
Sure as eggs is eggs
These means absolutely certain, and we do say 'is' even though it is grammatically wrong.
Swim with the fishes
If someone is swimming with the fishes, they are dead, especially if they have been murdered. 'Sleep with the fishes' is an alternative form.
Take someone down a peg
If someone is taken down a peg (or taken down a peg or two), they lose status in the eyes of others because of something they have done wrong or badly.
Take the bull by its horns
Taking a bull by its horns would be the most direct but also the most dangerous way to try to compete with such an animal. When we use the phrase in everyday talk, we mean that the person we are talking about tackles their problems directly and is not worried about any risks involved.
Talk the hind legs off a donkey
A person who is excessively or extremely talkative can talk the hind legs off a donkey.
Tally ho!
(UK) This is an exclamation used for encouragement before doing something difficult or dangerous.
Teach your grandmother to suck eggs
When people say 'don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs', they mean that people shouldn't try to teach someone who has experience or is an expert in that area.
Teacher's pet
The teacher's favorite pupil is the teacher's pet, especially if disliked by the other pupils.
Tell them where the dog died
(USA) If you tell them where the dog died, you strongly and sharply correct someone.
Their bark is worse than their bite
If someone's bark is worse than their bite, they get angry and shout and make threats, but don't actually do anything.
There are many ways to skin a cat
This is an expression meaning there are many different ways of doing the same thing.
Throw pearls to the pigs
Someone that throws pearls to pigs is giving someone else something they don't deserve or appreciate. ('Throw pearls before pigs' and 'Cast pearls before swine' are also used.)
Throw someone to the wolves
If someone is thrown to the wolves, they are abandoned and have to face trouble without any support.
Till the cows come home
This idioms means 'for a very long time'. ('Until the cows come home' is also used.)
To be dog cheap
If something's dog cheap, it is very cheap indeed.
Top dog
The most important or influential person is the top dog.
Ugly duckling
An ugly duckling is a child who shows little promise, but who develops later into a real talent or beauty.
Up with the lark
If you get up very early, you're up with the lark.
Wag the dog
To 'wag the dog' means to purposely divert attention from what would otherwise be of greater importance, to something else of lesser significance. By doing so, the lesser-significant event is catapulted into the limelight, drowning proper attention to what was originally the more important issue.The expression comes from the saying that 'a dog is smarter than its tail', but if the tail were smarter, then the tail would 'wag the dog'. The expression 'wag the dog' was elaborately used as theme of the movie. 'Wag the Dog', a 1997 film starring Robert de Niro and Dustin Hoffman, produced and directed by Barry Levinson.
Walk on eggshells
If you have to walk on eggshells when with someone, you have to be very careful because they get angry or offended very easily.('Walk on eggs' is also used.)
Were you born in a barn?
If someone asks you this, it means that you forgot to close the door when you came in.
What can you expect from a hog but a grunt?
(USA) This means that you can't expect people to behave in a way that is not in their character- a 'hog' is a 'pig', so an unrefined person can't be expected to behave in a refined way.
When pigs fly
Meaning you will not get something when you want it or someone doesn't want something for you. say you are selling an item and some one doesn't want it. they might say 'I'll buy it when pigs fly'. it just means you will never get someone to say yes to you when you ask for something.
Which came first the chicken or the egg?
This idiomatic expression is used when it is not clear who or what caused something.
While the cat's away, the mouse will play
People whose behaviour is strictly controlled go over the top when the authority is not around, which is why most teenagers have parties when their parents have gone on holiday. The parents are the scary authority figures, but the cat's away and the kids are the mice partying and enjoying their freedom.
White elephant
A white elephant is an expensive burden; something that costs far too much money to run, like the Millennium Dome in the UK.
White feather
If someone shows a white feather, they are cowards.
Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free
This idiom is usually used to refer to men who don't want to get married, when they can get all the benefits of marriage without getting married.
Wild goose chase
A wild goose chase is a waste of time- time spent trying to do something unsuccessfully.
Wolf in sheep's clothing
A wolf in sheep's clothing is something dangerous that looks quite safe and innocent.
Work like a dog
If you work like a dog, you work very hard.
World is your oyster
When the world is your oyster, you are getting everything you want from life.
Worm information
If you worm information out of somebody, you persuade them to tell you something they wanted to keep from you.
Worm's eye view
A worm's eye view of something is the view from below, either physically or socially.
You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
This means that it is easier to persuade people if you use polite arguments and flattery than if you are confrontational.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink
This idiom means you can offer something to someone, like good advice, but you cannot make them take it.
You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs
This idiom means that in order to achieve something or make progress, there are often losers in the process.
You do not get a dog and bark yourself
(UK) If there is someone in a lower position who can or should do a task, then you shouldn't do it.
يمكنك أن تستفيد من الصلاحيات الإضافية للعضو و المشاركة في المنتدى بالتسجيل من هنا , كما يشرفنا أن ينضم إلينا الأساتذة و المعلمون 
تسجيل الدخول
تصفح جوال
الأسئلة المتكررة
بحث
::
::
of course not 
I like such idioms very much 
