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The Idiom Examples section of idiom phrases contains an international mixture mainly of, English, British, and American idioms.

This page is primarily aimed at ESL learners, but is also of use for native English speakers, and contains idioms fro the UK, USA, Australia and other countries. Below is a video collection.

Idiom Examples about Numbers

A baker's dozen  A four letter word  A stitch in time saves nine  A three piece suit  A three piece suite  At the eleventh hour

Five and dime or Five and ten

He's had one over the eight

I've half a mind to  It's six of one and half a dozen of the other  It takes two to tango

Once bitten twice shy  One picture is worth a thousand words

The seven year itch  There's nowt as queer as folk  Twelfth night  Two heads are better than one  Two wrongs don't make a right

You're one in a million

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Idiom Examples about Time

Every now and again

Never in a month of Sundays

Once in a blue moon

There's a time and a place for everything  There's no time like the present  Time flies  Time heals all wounds  Time is money  Time is of the essence  Time is on our side  Time waits for no man  Time will tell  Time works wonders

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Idiom Examples about Animals

A little bird told me  Albatross around your neck  All bark no bite  Ants in your pants  As the crow flies  At a snails pace

Back the wrong horse  Beating a dead horse  Bee in your bonnet  Bee's knees  Beeline for  Big fish  Bigger fish to fry  Bird brain  Bird in the hand is worth two in the bush  Birds and the bees  Bird's eye view  Black sheep  Blind as a bat  Brass monkey  Bull in a china shop  Busy as a beaver  Butterflies in your stomach

Cat amongst pigeons  Cat got your tongue  Cloud cuckoo land  Could eat a horse

Dog eared  Dog's dinner  Donkey's years  Don't count your chickens until they've hatched  Don't look a gift horse in the mouth  Drink like a fish 

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Idiom Examples about Body and Bodily Functions

A fresh pair of eyes  Abscence makes the heart grow fonder  All ears  All heart  All in your head  All skin and bone  An arm and a leg  Armed to the teeth  At arm's length  At each other's throats  At the top of my lungs

Bad blood  Bad mouth  Bad taste in my mouth  Bag of nerves  Bat an eyelid  Bated breath  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder  Beauty is only skin deep  Behind someone's back  Belly up  Bend someone's ear  Better than a kick in the teeth  Big nose  Break a leg 

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Idiom Examples about Colours

Black-and-blue  Blue in the face 

Catch someone red handed 

Feeling blue 

Go blue  Green around the gills  Green fingers  Green light  Grey area 

In the red and in the black 

Jet black 

Off colour  Out of the blue 

Paint the town red 

Red letter day  Red mist  Red rag to a bull  Roll out the red carpet  Rose tinted glasses 

Show your true colours 

Tickled pink 

Walk the green mile  White lie  With flying colours 

Yellow bellied 

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Idiom Examples about Food

A piece of cake  About as useful as a chocolate teapot  All the tea in China  As cool as a cucumber  As nice as pie 

Bad apple  Bad egg and good egg  Best thing since sliced bread  Big cheese  Bring home the bacon  Bun in the oven  Butter wouldn't melt in their mouth 

Can't do it for toffee  Chalk and cheese  Cheap as chips  Couch potato  Cut the mustard 

Don't put all your eggs in one basket 

Know your onions 

Mutton dressed as lamb 

Not my cup of tea  Nutty as a fruitcake 

Over egg the pudding 

Packed like sardines 

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Idiom Examples about Clothes

All mouth and no trousers  At the drop of a hat 

Big girls blouse  Birthday suit  By the seat of your pants 

Dressed to kill  Dressed to the nines 

Feather in your cap  Fur coat and no knickers

Hang by a thread  Have a trick up your sleeve  Hot under the collar 

Keep it under your hat  Keep your shirt on  Knickers in a twist  Knock your socks off 

Put a sock in it

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Idiom Examples about Home

A watched pot never boils  Arm chair critic 

Brush under the carpet 

Charity begins at home  Clean sheet 

Down the drain 

Everything but the kitchen sink 

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Idiom Examples about NUMBERS

To access the videos click on the links below.

A baker's dozen  A four-letter word  A stitch in time saves nine  A three-piece suit  A three-piece suite  At the eleventh hour

Five-and-dime or five-and-ten

He's had one over the eight

I've half a mind to  It's six of one and half a dozen of the other  It takes two to tango

Once bitten twice shy  One picture is worth a thousand words

The seven year itch  There's nowt (nothing) as queer as folk  Twelfth Night  Two heads are better than one  Two wrongs don't make a right

Y  You're one in a million


Idiom Examples about TIME

To access the videos click on the links below.

Every now and again

Never in a month of Sundays

Once in a blue moon

There's a time and a place for everything  There's no time like the present  Time flies  Time heals all wounds  Time is money  Time is of the essence  Time is on our side  Time waits for no man  Time will tell  Time works wonders


Idioms about ANIMALS

To access the videos click on the links below.

A little bird told me  Albatross around your neck  All bark no bite  Ants in your pants  As the crow flies  At a snails pace

Back the wrong horse  Beating a dead horse  Bee in your bonnet  Bee's knees  Beeline for  Big fish  Bigger fish to fry  Bird brain  Bird in the hand is worth two in the bush  Birds and the bees  Bird's eye view  Black sheep  Blind as a bat  Brass monkey  Bull in a china shop  Busy as a beaver  Butterflies in your stomach

Cat amongst pigeons  Cat got your tongue  Cloud cuckoo land  Could eat a horse

Dog eared  Dog's dinner  Donkey's years  Don't count your chickens until they've hatched  Don't look a gift horse in the mouth  Drink like a fish


Idioms about BODY and BODILY FUNCTIONS

To access the videos click on the links below.

A fresh pair of eyes  Abscence makes the heart grow fonder  All ears  All heart  All in your head  All skin and bone  An arm and a leg  Armed to the teeth  At arm's length  At each other's throats  At the top of my lungs

Bad blood  Bad mouth  Bad taste in my mouth  Bag of nerves  Bat an eyelid  Bated breath  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder  Beauty is only skin deep  Behind someone's back  Belly up  Bend someone's ear  Better than a kick in the teeth  Big nose  Break a leg 


Idioms about COLOURS

To access the videos click on the links below.

Black-and-blue  Blue in the face 

Catch someone red handed 

Feeling blue 

Go blue  Green around the gills  Green fingers  Green light  Grey area 

In the red and in the black 

Jet black 

Off colour  Out of the blue 

Paint the town red 

Red letter day  Red mist  Red rag to a bull  Roll out the red carpet  Rose tinted glasses 

Show your true colours 

Tickled pink 

Walk the green mile  White lie  With flying colours 

Yellow bellied 


Idioms about FOOD

To access the videos click on the links below.

A piece of cake  About as useful as a chocolate teapot  All the tea in China  As cool as a cucumber  As nice as pie 

Bad apple  Bad egg and good egg  Best thing since sliced bread  Big cheese  Bring home the bacon  Bun in the oven  Butter wouldn't melt in their mouth 

Can't do it for toffee  Chalk and cheese  Cheap as chips  Couch potato  Cut the mustard 

Don't put all your eggs in one basket 

Know your onions 

Mutton dressed as lamb 

Not my cup of tea  Nutty as a fruitcake 

Over egg the pudding 

Packed like sardines 


Idioms about CLOTHES

To access the videos click on the links below.

All mouth and no trousers  At the drop of a hat 

Big girls blouse  Birthday suit  By the seat of your pants 

Dressed to kill  Dressed to the nines 

Feather in your cap  Fur coat and no knickers 

Hang by a thread  Have a trick up your sleeve  Hot under the collar 

Keep it under your hat  Keep your shirt on  Knickers in a twist  Knock your socks off 

Put a sock in it


Idioms about HOME

To access the videos click on the links below.

A watched pot never boils  Arm chair critic 

Brush under the carpet 

Charity begins at home  Clean sheet 

Down the drain 

Everything but the kitchen sink 

There's also a collection using the Pulse Smart Pen and the Livescribe facility. With pencasts the student is able, via audio-visual presentations, to both enrich his vocabulary and improve his listening skills.


This is an idiom dictionary, an ever-growing list of idioms.

Simply click on the words below to access collections connected to the relevant word. The text is also provided via a second link below the pencast presentation.

For a very large collection of LOVE IDIOMS click here.

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Over 200 MONEY IDIOMS can be found here.

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IDIOMS - HEAD

Click here for the text of the HEAD IDIOMS

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The text for the WALK IDIOMS can be found here. Vocabulary and phrasal verbs are also included.

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Each of the presentations is accompanied by the text.

To take full benefit the student should:

  • Listen to the presentation 2 or 3 times without text.
  • Listen again with the text.
  • Learn the idioms, accessing individually the ones you aren't sure of.
  • The next day, week, month and 6 months repeat the steps.

The foundation for improving your speaking skills is your listening ability.

The audio capability of the Smart Pen provides an excellent opportunity to practise this skill.

This is particularly true if you are at an intermediate or advanced level.

Other INGLES ONLINE pages (accessed via this link) complement this section with additional materials, including PHRASAL VERBS aimed at improving all language skills, but always with listening at the forefront.

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