Lit Genius — List Of Idioms

A a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush a bitter pill ace in the hole a chip off the old block a day late and a dollar short about face ace in the hole according to Hoyle Achilles' heel a dime a dozen albatross around ones neck all that glitters isn't gold An apple a day keep the doctor away. apple of one's eye at a loose end at the drop of a hat a whip-round B bad blood baker's dozen banker's hours basket case 'bated breath bat shit crazy be a tall order beat around the bush bees knees between the devil and the deep blue sea beg the question better to have loved and lost birdbrain birds and the bees bite off more than one can chew bite the bullet bite the dust black sheep black market blood in the water blood is thicker than water break a leg break the bank break the mold bucket list bull in a china shop bump on a log bun in the oven by the seat of one's pants C calm before the storm canary in the coal mine cat got your tongue cat's pajamas caught between a rock and a hard place caught red handed c'est la vie cold turkey cold shoulder crocodile tears cross the line crying over spilt milk cry wolf cut the cheese cut the mustard D dead as a doornail devil's advocate diamond in the rough dickens to pay doesn't hold a candle to dog and pony show don't drink the Kool-Aid don't change horses in the middle of a stream don't have a cow Doubting Thomas down the tubes dropping dime Dutch courage E easy does it eat, drink, and be merry (for tomorrow we die) eat ones words eye for an eye eye of the storm F false start few beers short of a six-pack fiddle while Rome burns fight fire with fire fit as a fiddle Five-by-Five five-finger discount flash in the pan flight of fancy Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me for a song fox in the hen house from scratch / to make from scratch from A to Z G get a grip get the shaft get the lead out get under one's skin give them an inch and they'll take a mile gone south go for broke go the distance go to hell in a handbasket going to pot good as gold got your back grass is always greener on the other side of the fence glutton for punishment H happy as a clam hard pill to swallow have a bone to pick with someone have no truck (with) have one's cake and eat it, too have one's head on backwards head in the clouds head and shoulders above herding cats his bark is worse than his bite. hit the nail on the head hold one's horses hollow victory horse sense I idle hands are the Devil's playthings in left field in like Flynn in the bag/ in the can in the cards in the doghouse in the limelight in the nick of time it ain't over till the fat lady sings it ain't rocket science it takes one to know one J jack-of-all-trades jump the shark jump to conclusions just desserts K Katy, bar the door! keep it 100 keep your shirt on kick the bucket kiss of death king of the hill L last laugh (to have the) laughing all the way to the bank let me off the hook let the cat out of the bag let the chips fall where they may like a bat out of hell like two peas in a pod lion in winter lesser of two evils like moths to a flame lower the boom M make a mountain out of a mole hill make ends meet mind one's Ps and Qs monkey see, monkey do more than one way to skin a cat Murphy's law N no rest for the wicked no spring chicken not playing with a full deck not the sharpest knife in the drawer (et al) O off one's rocker off the bat old wives tale one foot in the grave on one's last legs open a can of worms open a can of whup-ass one step forward, two steps back out to lunch out of my league over the hill over the moon over the top over your head P paint the town red pales in comparison paper trail party pooper pay the piper peas in a pod piece of cake piss on my foot and tell me it's raining play possum politically correct poster child practice makes perfect pull someone's leg/chain put the cat among the pigeons put the roses in somebody's cheeks Q quiet as a church mouse R rabbit hole raining cats and dogs raise the bar read between the lines red herring right as rain rob Peter to pay Paul rob the cradle rose-colored glasses rule of thumb S sail under false colors school of hard knocks (to have a) screw loose shake a leg shoot the moon shot in the dark shoulder to cry on show your true colors slap on the wrist sleep on a clothesline sleep with the fishes smoke 'em if you got 'em snake in the grass speak of the devil spill the beans spill the tea standing on the shoulders of giants stay out of my hair stiff upper lip stop on a dime T take a chill pill take a knee take it on the chin take the biscuit take the cake take the high road talk of the town the devil's in the details the early bird gets the worm the oldest trick in the book the road to hell is paved with good intentions the pot calling the kettle black there are plenty of (other) fish in the sea throw the book at someone throw under the bus the best thing since sliced bread thick as thieves thief in the night tilting at windmills time flies tongue in cheek turn the other cheek turn a blind eye two left feet U under the gun under the weather until the cows come home up in smoke up the creek (without a paddle) V vanilla W water off a duck's back water under the bridge watch your 6 wear your heart on your sleeve wet behind the ears what's good for the goose is good for the gander wild horses could't drag me away with a grain of salt witch hunt what goes around, comes around when hell freezes over when in Rome when pigs fly white elephant white whale won't bite work one's fingers to the bone wound too tight wolf in sheep's clothing wrong/other side of the tracks X x marks the spot Y yank one's chain you can't polish a turd # 86'ed