Idioms 1
Ignorance is bliss.
I wish you hadn’t told me that. Ignorance is bliss.
Sometimes you’re better off not knowing something
Live and learn
Nobody’s perfect, and we all have to live and learn.
To make mistakes and learn from them
Rain on my parade
It’s my birthday and you’re being really grumpy. Don’t rain on my parade!
To ruin a good thing for someone
In the heat of the moment
I said something really mean in the heat of the moment.
Overwhelmed by a situation
There are plenty of fish in the sea
I know you’re sad that your girlfriend broke up with you, but there are plenty of fish in the sea.
There are many other opportunities available (often refers to romantic partners)
Back to the drawing board
All of my equations were wrong, so I guess I need to go back to the drawing board.
Start over
Hang in there
You just need to hang in there for a little while longer.
Don’t give up
The best of both worlds
I celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah, so I get the best of both worlds.
Benefits from two different things at the same time
See eye to eye
My wife and I used to argue about everything, but now we see eye to eye.
To agree
When pigs fly
I will apologize to her when pigs fly.
Refers to a time that will never come; something that will never happen (because pigs will never be able to fly)
To cost an arm and a leg
His new house cost an arm and a leg!
To be very expensive
To cut corners
The engineer decided to cut corners with his design, and now the dam is about to collapse!
To finish something quickly and without following the standard procedures, often resulting in low quality work
Add insult to injury
To add insult to injury, the worker stole money from the register after quitting without notice.
Make a bad situation even worse
Hit the nail on the head
You hit the nail on the head when you said that he was a troublemaker.
Get something exactly right
Throw caution to the wind
I know I haven’t trained much for the marathon, but I’m going to throw caution to the wind and run anyway.
Take a risk
Beat around the bush
He wanted to ask for a raise, but when the moment came, he got nervous and beat around the bush instead.
Avoid saying what you actually mean
Break a leg
You’re going to do great in the school play. Break a leg!
Good luck (often used with actors)
Call it a day
We’ve been here for 10 hours; let’s call it a day.
Stop working
Get out of hand
The party got out of hand when more people showed up.
Get out of control
On cloud nine
I was on cloud nine when they accepted my job application!
Very happy
Under the weather
I stayed home from school because I was feeling under the weather.
Sick or ill
Speak of the devil
Speak of the devil! We were just talking about you!
When someone you were just talking about arrives
Once in a blue moon
I only go to the movies once in a blue moon.
Very rarely
A piece of cake
That history exam was a piece of cake.
Easy
Barking up the wrong tree
The crime was committed by a man, so the police were barking up the wrong tree when they questioned the woman.
Looking for something in the wrong place