Phrases & idioms
Sayings and idioms: what they mean, where they come from and how to use them.
Nothing here matches that.
A
- A bad workman blames his tools
- A blessing in disguise
- Absence makes the heart grow fonder
- A chain is only as strong as its weakest link
- Actions speak louder than words
- A drowning man will clutch at a straw
- A fool and his money are soon parted
- A friend in need (is a friend indeed)
- A friend to everyone is a friend to no one
- A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
- A little learning is a dangerous thing
- All good things must come to an end
- All is well that ends well
- All roads lead to Rome
- All things come to those who wait
- A miss is as good as a mile
- An apple a day keeps the doctor away
- An army marches on its stomach
- An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
- An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
- Any port in a storm
- A penny saved is a penny earned
- A picture is worth a thousand words
- April showers bring forth May flowers
- A rising tide lifts all boats
- A rolling stone gathers no moss
- Ask no questions and hear no lies
- As the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined
- A stitch in time saves nine
- As you sow so shall you reap
- Attack is the best form of defense
- At the end of my rope
- A watched pot never boils
B
- Bad news travels fast
- Barking dogs seldom bite
- Beat around the bush
- Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
- Beauty is only skin deep
- Better late than never
- Better safe than sorry
- Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt
- Big fish eat little fish
- Bite the bullet
- Blood is thicker than water
- Born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth
- Boys will be boys
- Business before pleasure
C
D
- Denial is not a river in Egypt
- Discretion is the better part of valour
- Do not bite the hand that feeds you
- Do not judge a book by its cover
- Do not make a mountain out of a mole hill
- Do not put the cart before the horse
- Do not rock the boat
- Do not wash your dirty linen in public
- Don’t put too many irons in the fire
- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
E
- Easier said than done
- Easy come, easy go
- Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper
- Empty vessels make the most noise
- Enough is as good as a feast
- Even a worm will turn
- Every cloud has a silver lining
- Every little bit helps
- Every man has his price
- Every picture tells a story
- Every tide has its ebb
F
- Failing to plan is planning to fail
- Fair exchange is no robbery
- Faith will move mountains
- Fake it till you make it
- Fall seven times, stand up eight
- False friends are worse than open enemies
- Familiarity breeds contempt
- Fight fire with fire
- First come, first served
- First things first
- Forewarned is forearmed
- From the sublime to the ridiculous (is only a step)
G
H
- Half a loaf is better than no bread
- Haste makes waste
- He that goes a-borrowing, goes a-sorrowing
- He who hesitates is lost
- He who laughs last laughs longest
- He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword
- Hindsight is always twenty-twenty
- History repeats itself
- Hold your horses
- Honesty is the best policy
- Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst
- Hope springs eternal
I
- If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
- If it were a snake, it would have bit you
- If wishes were horses, beggars would ride
- If you cannot stand the heat, get out of the kitchen
- If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas
- If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys
- If you want a thing done well, do it yourself
- In for a penny, in for a pound
- It doesn’t add up
- It goes without saying
- It is a small world
- It is better to give than to receive
- It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness
- It never rains but it pours
- It takes a thief to catch a thief
- It takes a whole village to raise a child
- It takes one to know one
- It takes two to tango
- It’s Greek to me
J
K
L
- Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone
- Laughter is the best medicine
- Least said, soonest mended
- Less is more
- Let bygones be bygones
- Let sleeping dogs lie
- Let the buyer beware
- Let the punishment fit the crime
- Let well alone
- Life begins at forty
- Life is what you make it
- Like father, like son
- Little pitchers have big ears
- Little strokes fell great oaks
- Look before you leap
- Loose lips sink ships
- Love will find a way
M
N
- Necessity is the mother of invention
- Never let the sun go down on your anger
- Never look a gift horse in the mouth
- Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today
- Never say die
- Never say never
- Never speak ill of the dead
- Never too old to learn
- No guts, no glory
- No man is an island
- No news is good news
- No pain, no gain
- No pun intended
- No rest for the wicked
- Nothing ventured, nothing gained
O
- Oil and water do not mix
- Once bitten, twice shy
- One good turn deserves another
- One hand washes the other
- One law for the rich and another for the poor
- One man’s trash is another man’s treasure
- One swallow does not make a summer
- Out of sight, out of mind
- Out of the frying pan and into the fire
- Out of the mouths of babes (and sucklings)
P
- Penny wise and pound foolish
- Play stupid games, win stupid prizes
- Possession is nine-tenths of the law
- Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely
- Practice makes perfect
- Practice what you preach
- Prevention is better than cure
- Procrastination is the thief of time
- Put your best foot forward
- Put your money where your mouth is
R
S
T
- Take care of the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves
- Talk is cheap
- Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are
- That makes two of us
- The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree
- The best things in life are free
- The bigger they are, the harder they fall
- The customer is always right
- The darkest hour is just before the dawn
- The early bird catches the worm
- The end justifies the means
- The enemy of my enemy is my friend
- The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
- The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing
- The leopard does not change its spots
- The light is on but nobody is home
- The more the merrier
- The only way to find a friend is to be one
- The pen is mightier than the sword
- The pot calling the kettle black
- The proof of the pudding is in the eating
- There is no place like home
- There is no such thing as a free lunch
- There is no such thing as bad publicity
- There is no time like the present
- There is safety in numbers
- There’s nowt so queer as folk
- The squeaky wheel gets the grease
- Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones
- Time and tide wait for no man
- Time flies
- Time is a great healer
- Time is money
- To each his own
- To err is human, to forgive divine
- Tomorrow is another day
- Tomorrow never comes
- Too little, too late
- Too many cooks spoil the broth
- Too much of a good thing
- To the victor go the spoils
- Truth is stranger than fiction
- Two heads are better than one
U
W
- Walls have ears
- Waste not, want not
- Well begun is half done
- What does not kill me makes me stronger
- Whatever floats your boat
- What goes around, comes around
- When it rains it pours
- When life gives you lemons, make lemonade
- When the cat is away, the mice will play
- When you have seen one, you have seen them all
- Where there is a will there is a way
- Where there is life there is hope
- Where there is muck there is brass
- Who will bell the cat?
- Wonders will never cease