Idioms and Phrases with Meanings and Examples

Idioms and phrases are fascinating linguistic tools that add depth and color to the English language. They are expressions that convey meanings beyond the literal interpretation of their individual words. Understanding idioms and phrases is crucial for effective communication, as they are commonly used in everyday conversation, literature, and even in professional settings. In this article, we will explore the world of idioms and phrases, providing meanings and examples to help you grasp their nuances.

Table of Contents

Idioms with Meaning and Examples

Go to the dogs	to become worse	After the death of his partner, their business went to the dogs.
Go to the wall/Be driven to the wall/Be pushed to the wall	to go bankrupt	Their business went to the wall due to bad management.
Go too far		Carry/take something too far carry/ take something to extremes (say too much about something)
Go up in smoke	be destroyed	Her dreams of becoming a doctor went up in smoke when she Could not get admission to a medical college.
Go without saying	used to mean that something is obvious	It goes without saying that you will be paid for the extra hours you work.
Go/get oft/get away or escape scot-free /get off scot-free	to avoid the punishment of doing something that deserves punishment	Criminals such as these can be allowed to get away scot-free.
Go/Run to seed	to stop looking healthy	He is not yet fifty, but the government seems to be going to seed.
Golden age	a period of success	The Muslims remember the golden age of their forefathers.
Golden opportunity	a very good chance to do or achieve something	Wise men avail themselves of golden opportunities.
Good-for-nothing	someone who is lazy and never does anything useful	Decent should get rid of those departments which are good-for-nothing.
Green horn	one who lacks experience	This man can easily be tricked as he is a green horn.
Hair-breath escape/narrow escape/close call/close shave	just to avoid danger	John had a narrow escape from being drowned.
Hand in glove with	closely linked with someone, especially in a bad or illegal activity	They suspect that some of the policemen are hand in glove with the robbers.
Hard and fast	fixed and not able to be changed	We will have to follow the hard and fast rules of this office.
Hard up	not having enough money	We were too hard up to buy new clothes.
Hard/tough nut to crack	a difficult problem or situation	To win the race will be a tough nut to crack.
Harp on something/ Harp on the same string	talk too much about something	I am tired of hearing his harp on the same string.
Have a bee in your bonnet	to think or talk about sth all the time	Joe has got a bee in his bonnet about saving money.
Have a finger in every pie many pies	to meddle in every matter	America likes to have a finger in every pie of the world.

Have a hand in	to influence or be involved in something	I suspect John had a hand in this plot.
Have a soft spot/corner for	to feel a lot of affection for	She has always had a spot for her younger brother.
Have an axe to grind	to have an opinion or aim that you want other people to accept or consider	I have no political axe to grind.
Have an iron / strong will / have a will of iron	to have an extremely strong character	Our team has an iron will to win the match.
Have something at one’s fingertips	be completely familiar with something	This teacher has all the rules of grammar at his fingertips.
Have too many/several irons in the fire	to be involved in several different activities or have several plans	If you have several irons, in the fire, you can focus on none.
Have/with one’s back to the wall	be in a difficult situation	My back to the wall, I had to accept his proposal.
Head and shoulders above the rest/others	be much better at something than everyone else	Joe would be the next chairman of this office as he is head and shoulders above the others.
Heart and soul	completely	She loves her son heart and soul.
High and mighty	proud	Nobody likes him as he always tries to be high and mighty.
High horse	the attitude of stubborn arrogance	Do not ride the high horse and admit that you are wrong.
Hobson’s choice	a situation in which there is only one thing you can do	It is Hobson’s choice for you to obey your boss.
Hold / Stand one’s ground/ hold one’s own	to defend yourself, or to succeed in a difficult situation	Although he is new in this race, he seems to be holding his ground.
Hold good / hold true	be true or valid	This advice will hold good throughout your life.
Hold in contempt	hate	Joe has never held anyone in contempt
Hold no brief for	to not support or be in favor of	You should hold no brief for this criminal.
Hold one’s head high/up	to be very confident and proud	Those who do noble deeds can hold their heads high
Hold one’s tongue	to angrily tell someone to stop speaking	Hold your tongue and do not abuse him like that.
Hold water	seem to be true or reasonable	His excuse for coming a did not seem to hold water.
Hope against hope	to continue to hope for something even when it is unlikely to happen	Saleh waited all day, hoping against hope that Liza would come to him.

Hue and cry	a great noise	There was a great hue and cry in the a
Ignorant of	uninformed, unaware	We must not be ignorant of our activates.
In a bad way	in a poor state	Do not buy this house as it is in a bad way.
In a fix	be in difficulties	She was in a fix after the death of her husband.
In a nutshell	in a short, clear way	To put it in a nutshell, the show was very exciting.
In addition to	as well as	John writes books in addition to teaching