A piece of cake : Very easy (This project was a piece of cake!)
See eye to eye : Agree (They don’t see eye to eye on the new policy.)
Once in a blue moon : Very rarely (I only see her once in a blue moon.)
Cost an arm and a leg : Very expensive (That car cost an arm and a leg!)
Under the weather : Not feeling well (I’ve been under the weather all week.)
Bite the bullet : Do something difficult (It’s time to bite the bullet and tell him the truth.)
Burn the midnight oil : Stay up late working (I had to burn the midnight oil to finish the report.)
Let the cat out of the bag : Reveal a secret (She accidentally let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party.)
A chip on one’s shoulder : Easily offended (He seems to have a chip on his shoulder about everything.)
Add fuel to the fire : Make a situation worse (His criticism only added fuel to the fire.)
Barking up the wrong tree : Looking in the wrong place (You’re barking up the wrong tree if you think I know where she is.)
Bend over backwards : Make a great effort (She’s bending over backwards to help us.)
Best foot forward : Make a good first impression (Put your best foot forward at the interview.)
Bite off more than you can chew : Take on more than you can handle (He bit off more than he could chew by taking on both projects.)
Blindsided : Taken by surprise (I was completely blindsided by his sudden resignation.)
Break a leg : Good luck (Break a leg at your presentation!)
Call it a day : End something (It’s getting late, let’s call it a day.)
Change of heart : Decide differently (She had a change of heart and decided to stay.)
Clear the air : Resolve a misunderstanding (We need to clear the air about what happened.)
Come clean : Confess (He finally came clean about what he did.)
Cost a pretty penny : Be expensive (This vacation cost a pretty penny.)
Cut corners : Do something in a way that saves time or money but may not be the best way (They cut corners by using cheap materials.)
Dead in the water : Have no chance of succeeding (Their plan is dead in the water.)
Easy come, easy go : Money or possessions that are easily acquired are easily lost (He won the lottery, but easy come, easy go, he lost it all quickly.)
End of the road : The final stage (This is the end of the road for our relationship.)
Every cloud has a silver lining : Even in bad situations, there is something good (She lost her job, but every cloud has a silver lining, she found a better one soon after.)
Face the music : Accept the consequences of your actions (It’s time to face the music for your mistakes.)
Fall on deaf ears : Be ignored (My pleas fell on deaf ears.)
Find your feet : Get used to a new situation (It takes time to find your feet in a new job.)
Get cold feet : Lose your nerve (He got cold feet and decided not to propose.)
Get off scot-free : Escape punishment (He got off scot-free for breaking the rules.)
Get the ball rolling : Start something (Let’s get the ball rolling on this project.)
Give someone the cold shoulder : Ignore someone (She’s been giving me the cold shoulder all week.)
Go the extra mile : Do more than what is expected (She always goes the extra mile for her customers.)
Have a change of heart : Decide differently (She had a change of heart and decided to stay.)
Have a bone to pick : Have a complaint (I have a bone to pick with you about your behavior.)
Have egg on your face : Be embarrassed (He had egg on his face after his prediction turned out to be wrong.)
Hit the nail on the head : Be exactly right (You hit the nail on the head with your explanation.)
Hold your horses : Be patient (Hold your horses, I’m almost finished.)
In a nutshell : In summary (In a nutshell, the project was a success.)
Jump the gun : Do something too soon (He jumped the gun and started the meeting before everyone arrived.)
Keep your chin up : Stay positive (Keep your chin up, things will get better.)
Let the chips fall where they may : Accept whatever happens (I did my best, so I’ll let the chips fall where they may.)
Lose face : Be embarrassed or humiliated (He lost face when his plan failed.)
Make a long story short : To summarise (To make a long story short, we decided to cancel the trip.)
Miss the boat : Miss an opportunity (He missed the boat on investing in that company.)
No brainer : An easy decision (Hiring her was a no-brainer.)
Off the cuff : Without preparation (He gave an off-the-cuff speech that impressed everyone.)
On thin ice : In a precarious situation (He’s on thin ice with his boss after missing deadlines.)
Once in a blue moon : Very rarely (They only visit us once in a blue moon.)
On cloud nine : Feeling very happy (She was on cloud nine after winning the competition.)
On the fence : Undecided (I’m still on the fence about buying that car.)
Pay an arm and a leg : Be very expensive (That concert ticket cost me an arm and a leg!)
Play it by ear : Decide what to do as you go along (We’ll just play it by ear and see what happens.)
Pull the wool over someone’s eyes : Deceive someone (He tried to pull the wool over my eyes, but I saw through his lies.)
Raining cats and dogs : Raining heavily (It’s been raining cats and dogs all day.)
Roll up your sleeves : Get to work (It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get this project finished.)
See eye to eye : Agree (They don’t see eye to eye on the new policy.)
Spill the beans : Reveal a secret (She accidentally spilled the beans about the surprise party.)
Square one : Back to the beginning (We’re back to square one after the project failed.)
Steal someone’s thunder : Take credit for someone else’s work (He stole my thunder by presenting my ideas as his own.)
Take a backseat : Allow someone else to take the lead (It’s time for me to take a backseat and let the younger generation take over.)
Take it with a grain of salt : Not believe something completely (Take his words with a grain of salt, he’s known to exaggerate.)
Talk the talk : Say they can do something but not actually do it (He talks the talk, but he doesn’t walk the walk.)
The early bird gets the worm : The first person to do something will be rewarded (The early bird gets the worm, so get up early to apply for the job.)
Think outside the box : Come up with new and creative ideas (We need to think outside the box to solve this problem.)
Through thick and thin : Together through good times and bad (They’ve been friends through thick and thin.)
Time flies when you’re having fun : Time seems to pass quickly when you are enjoying yourself (Time flies when you’re having fun, the party was over before we knew it.)
Two cents worth : Someone’s opinion, often unsolicited (Here’s my two cents worth, I think you should go for it.)
Under the weather : Not feeling well (I’ve been under the weather all week.)
Up in the air : Undecided (Our travel plans are still up in the air.)
When pigs fly : An impossible event (When pigs fly, I’ll believe it.)
Whole nine yards : Everything; the entire process (They went the whole nine yards to make the party a success.)
Win win situation : A situation where everyone benefits
A penny saved is a penny earned : Saving money is just as good as earning it (He believes in the saying, “a penny saved is a penny earned.”)
Actions speak louder than words : What you do is more important than what you say (He may say he cares, but his actions speak louder than words.)
All bark and no bite : Threaten but not act (He’s all bark and no bite, he won’t actually do anything.)
All roads lead to Rome : There are many ways to achieve the same goal (There are many different approaches to solving this problem, all roads lead to Rome.)
At the end of the day : In the final analysis (At the end of the day, all that matters is that we’re happy.)
Beat around the bush : Avoid saying something directly (Stop beating around the bush and just tell me what you’re thinking.)
Bend over backwards : Make a great effort (I’ll bend over backwards to help you succeed.)
Bite the bullet : Do something difficult (It’s time to bite the bullet and tell her the truth.)
Blind leading the blind : A situation where someone who is uninformed is leading others who are also uninformed (It was a disaster, the blind leading the blind.)
Break the ice : Make conversation easier (A joke can help break the ice in an awkward situation.)
Burn the midnight oil : Stay up late working (He had to burn the midnight oil to finish the project on time.)
Cast a shadow : Make someone feel doubtful or uncertain (Her negative attitude cast a shadow over the whole team.)
Change of pace : A break from routine (Going for a walk was a nice change of pace after a long day at work.)
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