Formal Idioms

15 Idiomatic Expressions You Can Use at Work

          A lot of American idiomatic expressions are typically used in in formal English -- but these 15 idioms are different! Read the idiomatic expressions and example sentences, listen to the pronunciation and repeat the words and sentences out loud to improve your English speaking.

Reference:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YYJCk76nTM

idioms Song

             This idiom song is written from the perspective of a confused boy whose family uses idioms to communicate with him. Students enjoy the story format, and it keeps them engaged in the learning process. The song gives examples of idioms and focuses on what idioms are and how they are used. I recommend noting instances when idioms come up in everyday classroom conversation or in literary text to reinforce the understanding of idioms in a real life context.

Reference:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPngxOnjKP0

25 most commonly used Idioms and their Meaning

1. A Penny for Your Thoughts 00.00
Your friend takes too long to respond. He or she is zoning... there is an idiom that just might come in handy if you want to draw his attention! A penny for your thoughts!

2. Hold Your Horse 01.00
Patience is a virtue that we rarely ever have... It's tough! Especially when there are fun things you can do...
3. Back to the Drawing Board 01.42
Sometimes things just don't go as you plan. Things crumble, and you're left to start from scratch... That's exactly what this idiom stands for!
4. Against the Clock 02.37
There is lots to do in virtually no time at all! What do you race against? Something that keeps tick, tick, ticking away.
5. Hit the Sack 03.31
Long exhausting day? There is just the place for you to hit! It's soft, warm and cosy!
6. Spade up04.17
Ah well! There is too much of caking around your plants? Is it muddy? There is something you can do to loosen it all up... That's what this idiom stands for!

7. Be Glad to See the Back of 05.14
Some people are so annoying! You'd rather see them walk away. That's what this little phrase stands for!

8. New Kid on the Block 05.54
There is someone new joining your group? Great! Make them as comfortable as you can... the new kid on the block!

9. A Breath of Fresh Air 06.44
When life gets too mundane, all you need is a little of change to make it all look better again!

10. Chicken Scratch 07.20
Some people have such horrible handwriting! You can barely read a letter, let alone words! There is a useful description for that: Chicken scratch!

11. Call It a Day 08.05
Worked for too long, and you're tired. There is one thing that will recharge you, call it a day!

12. On Pins and Needles 08.45
Anxiety pricks! Ow, ow, ow! You never know what to expect... You get throbbing jabs
13. At the Drop of a Hat 09.32
Some things are extremely spontaneous... People plan things in no time at all. Without thinking twice...
14. Lend an Ear 10.16
It's important to be able to empathize with people. Listen up and understand what they have to say. The first step is to lend an ear...
15. Quiet As a Mouse 11.12
The most successful thieves in all households live in little burrows... They sneak out quietly... Here is an idiom that uses that as an example.
16. Keep Under Wraps 11.53
When you know something needs to be kept safe you cover it up... Here is a useful phrase that means just that!
17. Be Dead to the World 12.40
Some people can shut off completely when they go to sleep! They can't hear clamors, they don't respond at all... Here is an expression that states that.
18. Cut Corners 13.22
Little money and no time at all. What do you do? You come up with the cheap and best design!
19. Southpaw 14.11
Left-handed people have the toughest time adjusting with the rest of the world. There is a reason they're called southpaws...
20. Bag of Bones 14.54
Some people are nothing but skin and bones... There is no flesh! There is a short phrase that precisely sums it up!

21. Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder 15.37
Absence is something that adds value to relationships. You miss that special person more when they are not around!
22. Add Insult to Injury 16.30
What hurts more when you're injured? Harsh words! It only digs deeper into your wounds.

23. The Best of Both Worlds 17.27
Some people are multifaceted and multi-talented and they enjoy the advantages of different environments!

24. Face Your Demons 18.15
When fear cripples you, you fight back, but how? By facing it! Face your demons!
25. No Love Lost 19.10
Hatred is something that leaves no warm feelings in the hearts of people.

Reference:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G030DoBGxc

Education Idioms

Learn English Idioms

Idioms and Sayings About Education

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Idiom/Saying	Explanation
To be a bookworm. For example: "He's always reading. He's a real bookworm."	Someone who reads a lot.
To be a copycat. For example: "She always copies my work, she's such a copycat."	Someone who does or says exactly the same as someone else.
To learn something off by heart. For example: "I learnt all the vocabulary off by heart."	To learn something in such a way that you can say it from memory.
To learn the hard way. For example: "I told her not to marry him. But she had to learn the hard way."	To have a bad experience.
To learn the ropes. For example: "She's new here and is still learning the ropes."	To learn how to do a job.
To learn your lesson For example: "I got very drunk once and was really sick. I won't do it again, I learnt my lesson."	To suffer a bad experience and know not to do it again
To live and learn For example: "I never knew that she was married. Oh well, you live and learn."	Said when you hear or discover something which is surprising:
The school of hard knocks. For example: "He learnt the hard way at the school of hard knocks."	Often said about people who haven't had an easy life.
To be a swot. For example: "They called her a swot because she was always reading books."	A student who is ridiculed for studying excessively.
To teach an old dog new tricks. For example: "He could never learn how to use the Internet. Just shows you can't teach an old dog new tricks."	The older you are the more set in your ways you become.
To be teacher's pet. For example: "She always has the right answer. She's a real teacher's pet."	To be the favourite pupil of the teacher.
To teach someone a lesson. For example: "I hit him hard on the nose. That taught him a lesson."	To do something to someone, usually to punish them.
To teach your grandmother to suck eggs. For example: "He tried to tell me how to drive and I told him not to try and teach your grandmother to suck eggs. I've been driving for years."	To give advice to someone about a subject that they already know more about than you
The three Rs. For example: "Some children are leaving school without even the basic three Rs."	Used to refer to the basic areas of education: reading, writing and arithmetic.
The University of Life. For example: "I studied at the University of Life."	People who never went on to higher education often say this.
With flying colours. For example: "She got into the university of her choice, because she passed all her exams with flying colours."	If you do something such as pass an exam with flying colours, you do it very successfully.
More idioms and sayings

Reference : http://www.learnenglish.de/vocabulary/educationidioms.html

short stories to learn idioms and expressions in context

STORY

English language is full of fun stuff

I'd like to put a bug in your ear about something that just has me rolling in the aisles. It's been a month of Sundays since I heard it through the grapevine but if I don't dish the dirt on this soon I'll be beside myself.

One day when it was raining cats and dogs, my best bud stuck her foot in her mouth and spilled the beans about her main squeeze. She's always had loose lips but this time she really talked my arm offabout her sugar daddy.

It seems he'd had his nose to the grindstone for months till he finally popped a cork and went on the lamfrom work. He hot-footed it to the local watering hole and really tied one on. In two shakes of a lamb's tail he wound up three sheets to the wind. I mean drunk as a skunk.

The next thing you know, someone ticked him off and like a bull in a china shop he wiped the floor withthe guy - totally cleaned his clock. Of course, he didn't know the guy from a hole in the wall, but it turns out the guy was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and is all but_ joined at the hip with the son of Sugar Daddy's boss.

Are you getting the big picture here?

At this point in time, I'm about to blow off- the whole shootin' match cause I just can't quite get my arms around this- walk in the park. But my girlfriend is becoming a real basket case over the whole can of worms. So even though it sounds all out of whack, I let her rattle on bending my ear with this cock and bull story.

Well, to make a long story short, Sugar Daddy finds his heart in his mouth when he sees what a pickle he's in. So he grabs his cell phone and calls his flavor of the month (my friend) and starts crying in his beer about how he's going to be toast if she doesn't hustle her bustle over there and help him put some lipstick on the pig before the police throw him in the pokey.

Now, I have to admit, she's a little wet behind the ears, otherwise she would have known that he wasfeeding her a line. But no, she swallows it hook, line and sinker. She throws caution to the wind and lays rubber all the way across town to rescue a drunk who's dumber than a stump.

When she walked in the bar, the victim was still out cold and she actually thought he had kicked the bucket - you know, bought the farm. But she got him on his feet and paid through the nose for a cab to take him home. Then she and Sugar Daddy took a powder before the cavalry arrived.

But here's the icing on the cake. The next day, Sugar Daddy hands my friend the green weenie! That's right. He says he needs some space, wants to consider his options, and thinks they should cool it.

Well, I tried to soft peddle it for my friend's sake, but she really kissed the pooch on this one. I should have just put my cards on the table and told her that's what happens when you wear your heart on your sleeve. So put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Oh well, that's how the cookie crumbles.

***********************************************************************

(All the idioms that you guys have already found out will be highlighted)

And,

After finding out all the idioms of a sentence.

There will be a challenge for us to convert the original sentence above in Simple English? you can use or not some of those idioms in the original sentence.

That's really a good way for us to learn how to use English in the best way. Don't you think so?

Reference : http://www.myenglishclub.com/profiles/blogs/a-story-full-of-idioms-would-you-like-to-try-finding-them

Commonly used Idioms

Idiom: a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language

Every language has its own collection of wise sayings. They offer advice about how to live and also transfer some underlying ideas, principles and values of a given culture / society. These sayings are called "idioms" - or proverbs if they are longer. These combinations of words have (rarely complete sentences) a "figurative meaning" meaning, they basically work with "pictures".
This List of commonly used idioms and sayings (in everyday conversational English), can help to speak English by learning English idiomatic expressions. This is a list, which contains exactly 66 of the most commonly used idioms and their meaning.

Smart Idioms

A hot potato

Speak of an issue (mostly current) which many people are talking about and which is usually disputed

A penny for your thoughts

A way of asking what someone is thinking

Actions speak louder than words

People's intentions can be judged better by what they do than what they say.

Add insult to injury

To further a loss with mockery or indignity; to worsen an unfavorable situation.

An arm and a leg

Very expensive or costly. A large amount of money.

At the drop of a hat

Meaning: without any hesitation; instantly.

Back to the drawing board

When an attempt fails and it's time to start all over.

Ball is in your court

It is up to you to make the next decision or step

Barking up the wrong tree

Looking in the wrong place. Accusing the wrong person

Be glad to see the back of

Be happy when a person leaves.

Beat around the bush

Avoiding the main topic. Not speaking directly about the issue.

Best of both worlds

Meaning: All the advantages.

Best thing since sliced bread

A good invention or innovation. A good idea or plan.

Bite off more than you can chew

To take on a task that is way to big.

Blessing in disguise

Something good that isn't recognized at first.

Burn the midnight oil

To work late into the night, alluding to the time before electric lighting.

Can't judge a book by its cover

Cannot judge something primarily on appearance.

Caught between two stools

When someone finds it difficult to choose between two alternatives.

Costs an arm and a leg

This idiom is used when something is very expensive.

Cross that bridge when you come to it

Deal with a problem if and when it becomes necessary, not before.

Cry over spilt milk

When you complain about a loss from the past.

Curiosity killed the cat

Being Inquisitive can lead you into an unpleasant situation.

Cut corners

When something is done badly to save money.

Cut the mustard [possibly derived from "cut the muster"]

To succeed; to come up to expectations; adequate enough to compete or participate

Devil's Advocate

To present a counter argument

Don't count your chickens before the eggs have hatched

This idiom is used to express "Don't make plans for something that might not happen".

Don't give up the day job

You are not very good at something. You could definitely not do it professionally.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket

Do not put all your resources in one possibility.

Drastic times call for drastic measures

When you are extremely desperate you need to take drastic actions.

Elvis has left the building

The show has come to an end. It's all over.

Every cloud has a silver lining

Be optimistic, even difficult times will lead to better days.

Far cry from

Very different from.

Feel a bit under the weather

Meaning: Feeling slightly ill.

Give the benefit of the doubt

Believe someone's statement, without proof.

Hear it on the grapevine

This idiom means 'to hear rumors' about something or someone.

Hit the nail on the head

Do or say something exactly right

Hit the sack / sheets / hay

To go to bed.

In the heat of the moment

Overwhelmed by what is happening in the moment.

It takes two to tango

Actions or communications need more than one person

Jump on the bandwagon

Join a popular trend or activity.

Keep something at bay

Keep something away.

Kill two birds with one stone

This idiom means, to accomplish two different things at the same time.

Last straw

The final problem in a series of problems.

Let sleeping dogs lie

Meaning - do not disturb a situation as it is - since it would result in trouble or complications.

Let the cat out of the bag

To share information that was previously concealed

Make a long story short

Come to the point - leave out details

Method to my madness

An assertion that, despite one's approach seeming random, there actually is structure to it.

Miss the boat

This idiom is used to say that someone missed his or her chance

Not a spark of decency

Meaning: No manners

Not playing with a full deck

Someone who lacks intelligence.

Off one's rocker

Crazy, demented, out of one's mind, in a confused or befuddled state of mind, senile.

On the ball

When someone understands the situation well.

Once in a blue moon

Meaning: Happens very rarely.

Picture paints a thousand words

A visual presentation is far more descriptive than words.

Piece of cake

A job, task or other activity that is easy or simple.

Put wool over other people's eyes

This means to deceive someone into thinking well of them.

See eye to eye

This idiom is used to say that two (or more people) agree on something.

Sit on the fence

This is used when someone does not want to choose or make a decision.

Speak of the devil!

This expression is used when the person you have just been talking about arrives.

Steal someone's thunder

To take the credit for something someone else did.

Take with a grain of salt

This means not to take what someone says too seriously.

Taste of your own medicine

Means that something happens to you, or is done to you, that you have done to someone else

To hear something straight from the horse's mouth

To hear something from the authoritative source.

Whole nine yards

Everything. All of it.

Wouldn't be caught dead

Would never like to do something

Your guess is as good as mine

To have no idea, do not know the answer to a question

Reference : http://www.smart-words.org/quotes-sayings/idioms-meaning.html