71 English idioms, each filed under its main word, the way a dictionary would. Each one shows what it literally says.
A
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To compare or mix up two things that don't belong together.
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To cost a huge amount of money.
B
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The early bird catches the worm
People who get up or get started early are the ones who get the best chances.
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To get two things done with a single action.
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To be stuck and unable to work something out.
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To shift the blame onto someone else.
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To die (said in a casual, joking way).
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To avoid saying the important thing directly.
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To feel a nervous, fluttering excitement, before something important or around someone you're attracted to.
C
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Something is very easy to do.
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To keep putting something off instead of dealing with it.
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To not care about something at all.
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Two people who are always arguing.
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To reveal a secret, often by accident.
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It is raining very heavily.
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Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
Don't count on a good result before it has actually happened.
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This isn't my problem, so I'm not getting involved.
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To be lost in thought and not paying attention.
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To talk nonsense or tell tall stories.
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That's the central point that everything else depends on.
D
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Talk the hind legs off a donkey
To talk a lot, often without stopping.
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To feel low, gloomy or a bit depressed.
E
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Hot enough to fry an egg on the pavement
It is extremely hot.
F
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You could have knocked me down with a feather
To be so astonished you can hardly believe what you're seeing or hearing.
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To be very lazy and avoid work.
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Wrap someone around your little finger
To have someone so charmed or devoted that they'll do whatever you want.
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To hope that things turn out well.
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Someone who feels uncomfortable and out of place in unfamiliar surroundings.
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To have no idea at all.
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To say or do something tactless that embarrasses you or upsets someone.
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Your voice has gone rough or croaky for a moment, so it's hard to speak clearly.
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To suddenly lose your temper.
G
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Small bumps on the skin caused by cold, fear or a strong emotion.
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I can't understand any of it.
H
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To argue about tiny details that don't matter.
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To laugh very hard.
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To have completely run out of patience with something.
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Even the most skilled people sometimes make mistakes.
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To be extremely hungry.
I
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Something extra that makes a good thing even better.
J
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To be lucky, often by pure chance.
K
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To faint or pass out.
L
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To tease someone by telling them something untrue as a joke.
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To sleep very deeply and soundly, without waking up.
M
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To have a lot of money.
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Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey
It is bitterly cold.
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To be extremely happy and delighted.
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Make a mountain out of a molehill
To treat a small problem as if it were a big one.
N
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To annoy or irritate someone.
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A very remote place, far from towns and people.
P
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Something is so boring it wears you out.
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For a very small amount of money.
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To look or be almost exactly alike.
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Not have two pennies to rub together
To have no money at all.
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To buy or agree to something without checking it first.
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It will never happen.
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To have a lot of work or problems to deal with at once.
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lit. ‘first lady (Italian)’
To want special treatment that nobody else gets.
S
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To go to bed.
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Packed tightly together in a crowded place.
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Someone is a bit crazy, or is acting as if they've lost their mind.
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To wait until the next day before making a decision.
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Very slowly.
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To not turn up for a date or meeting without telling the other person.
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A very short distance away.
T
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To jump suddenly from one topic to a completely unrelated one.
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To lie shamelessly while knowing full well it isn't true.
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Two people who are very close friends.
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To give up and admit defeat.
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To brag about yourself.
W
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To be in trouble or a difficult situation.