English-language idioms

Common words or phrases with non-literal meanings

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An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below).[1][2] By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.[3] For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" – and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context.

To evoke the desired effect in the listener, idioms require a precise replication of the phrase: not even articles can be used interchangeably (e.g. "kick a bucket" only retains the literal meaning of the phrase but not the idiomatic meaning).

Idioms should not be confused with other figures of speech such as metaphors, which evoke an image by use of implicit comparisons (e.g., "the man of steel"); similes, which evoke an image by use of explicit comparisons (e.g., "faster than a speeding bullet"); or hyperbole, which exaggerates an image beyond truthfulness (e.g., "more powerful than a locomotive"). Idioms are also not to be confused with proverbs, which are simple sayings that express a truth based on common sense or practical experience. Another example can be "green fingers".

## Notable idioms in English

[edit]

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Idiom  | Definition/Translation  | Notes  | Ref.

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a hard pill to swallow | A situation or information that is unpleasant but must be accepted |  | [4]
a dime a dozen | (US) Anything that is common, inexpensive, and easy to get or available anywhere |  | [5]
a hot potato | A controversial issue or situation that is awkward or unpleasant to deal with |  | [6]
a sandwich short of a picnic | Lacking intelligence |  |
ace in the hole | A hidden or secret strength; an unrevealed advantage |  | [7]
Achilles' heel | A small but fatal weakness in spite of overall strength |  | [8]
all ears | Listening intently; fully focused or awaiting an explanation |  | [9]
all thumbs | Clumsy, awkward |  | [10]
an arm and a leg | Very expensive or costly; a large amount of money |  | [11]
apple of discord | Anything causing trouble, discord, or jealousy |  | [12]
around the clock | When something is done all day and all night without stopping |  | [13]
as queer as a [strange object] (UK)  | Something particularly strange or unusual  |  | [14][15]
at the drop of a hat | Without any hesitation; instantly |  |
back to the drawing board | Revising something (such as a plan) from the beginning, typically after it has failed | [a] | [17]
back to the grindstone | To return to a hard and/or tedious task |  | [18]
ball is in his/her/your court | It is up to him/her/you to make the next decision or step. |  |
balls to the wall | Full throttle; at maximum speed |  |
barking up the wrong tree | Looking in the wrong place | [b] | [19]
basket case | One made powerless or ineffective, as by nerves, panic, or stress | [c] |
beating a dead horse | To uselessly dwell on a subject far beyond its point of resolution |  |
beat around the bush | To treat a topic but omit its main points, often intentionally or to delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant |  |
bed of roses | A situation or activity that is comfortable or easy |  | [20]
the bee's knees | Something or someone outstandingly good, excellent, or wonderful | [d] | [20]
best of both worlds | A combination of two seemingly contradictory benefits |  |
bird brain | A person who is not too smart; a person who acts stupid |  | [23]
bite off more than one can chew | To take on more responsibility than one can manage |  |
bite the bullet | To endure a painful or unpleasant situation that is unavoidable |  |
bite the dust | A euphemism for dying or death |  |
bought the farm | A euphemism for dying or death, especially in an aviation or military context |  |
break a leg | A wish of good luck to theatre performers before going on stage, due to the belief amongst those in theatre that being wished "good luck" is a curse |  | [24]
burn the midnight oil | To work late into the night | [e] | [25]
bust one's chops | To exert oneself | [f] | [26]
by the seat of one's pants | To achieve through instinct or to do something without advance preparation |  | [27]
by the skin of one's teeth | Narrowly; barely. Usually used in regard to a narrow escape from a disaster. | [g] | [28]
call a spade a spade | To speak the truth, even to the point of being blunt and rude |  |
call it a day | To declare the end of a task | [h] | [29]
champ at the bit or chomp at the bit | To show impatience or frustration when delayed |  | [30]
cheap as chips | Inexpensive; a good bargain |  |
chew the cud | To meditate or ponder before answering; to be deep in thought; to ruminate |  |
chew the fat | To chat idly or generally waste time talking |  |
chink in one's armor | An area of vulnerability | [i] | [31]
clam up | To become silent; to stop talking |  |
clutch one's pearls  | To be disproportionately shocked or affronted by something one perceives to be vulgar, in bad taste, or morally wrong |  |
cold feet | Not going through with an action, particularly one which requires long term commitment, due to fear, uncertainty and doubt |  |
cold shoulder | To display aloofness and disdain |  | [32]
couch potato | A lazy person |  | [33]
cool your jets  | Calm down.  |  | [34]
crocodile tears | Fake tears or drama tears; fake crying. |  |
cut off your nose to spite your face | To pursue revenge in a way that would damage oneself more than the object of one's anger |  |
cut a rug | To dance |  |
cut the cheese (US) | To pass gas |  |
cut the mustard | To perform well; to meet expectations |  | [35]
dicking around | Messing about, not making any progress |  |
dig one's heels in | Refuse to change one's plans or ideas, especially when counseled otherwise |  |
dollars to donuts | Assert certainty that something is either true or likely to occur, often expressed as a wager of something expensive (dollars) against something cheap (donuts) |  |
don't count your chickens before they hatch | Don't make plans for something that may not happen; alternatively, don't make an assumption about something that does not have a definitively predetermined outcome. |  |
don't cry over spilled milk | Don't become upset over something that has already happened and you cannot change |  |
don't have a cow | Don't overreact |  | [36]
drop a dime (US) | To make a telephone call; to be an informant; (basketball) an assist |  |
elephant in the room | An obvious, pressing issue left unaddressed due to its sensitive nature |  |
eleventh hour | At the last minute; the latest possible time before it is too late |  | [37]
fall off the turnip truck | To be naïve, inexperienced, or unsophisticated. Sometimes used in a rural sense. |  | [38]
fish out of water | refers to a person who is in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable surroundings |  |
fit as a fiddle | In good physical health |  | [39]
for a song | Almost free; very cheap |  |
fly in the ointment | A minor drawback or imperfection, especially one that was not at first apparent, that detracts from something positive, spoils something valuable, or is a source of annoyance |  | [40]
fly on the wall | To join an otherwise private interaction, unnoticed to watch and/or listen to something |  | [41]
from A to Z | Covering a complete range; comprehensively | [j] |
from scratch / make from scratch | To make from original ingredients; to start from the beginning with no prior preparation |  |
get bent out of shape | To take offense; to get worked up, aggravated, or annoyed |  |
get a wriggle on | To move quickly or hurry |  | [42]
get one's ducks in a row | to become well prepared for a desired outcome |  | [43]
get one's knickers in a twist | (UK) To become overwrought or unnecessarily upset over a trivial matter |  |
get one's panties in a wad | To become overwrought or unnecessarily upset over a trivial matter |  |
get your goat | To irritate someone |  |
gone south | having an unforeseen or chaotic result |  |
grasp the nettle | To tackle a problem in a bold manner, despite the difficulty or complexity of doing so; to solve a problem despite short-term adverse consequences. |  | [44][45][46]
have a blast | To have a good time; to enjoy oneself. |  | [47]
have all your Christmases come at once  | To have extreme good fortune.  |  |
have eyes bigger than one's stomach | To have asked for or taken more of something (especially food) than one is actually capable of handling (or eating) |  | [20]
have eyes in the back of one's head | To be able to perceive things and events that are outside of one's field of vision |  |
head over heels | Be smitten, infatuated |  |
heard it through the grapevine | To have learned something through gossip, hearsay, or a rumor |  |
hit the ceiling/roof | To become enraged, possibly in an overreaction |  |
hit the nail on the head | 1\. To describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem; 2. To do or say exactly the right thing or to find the exact answer; 3. To do something in the most effective and efficient way; 4. To be accurate or correct about something. |  |
hit the road | To leave; start a journey |  | [48]
hit the sack/sheets/hay | To go to bed; to go to sleep. |  | [49]
hit the spot | To be particularly pleasing or appropriate; to be just right. |  |
hold all the cards | To control a situation; to be the one making the decisions. |  |
hold your horses | Wait. Slow down. |  |
hook, line and sinker | To be completely fooled by a deception |  | [50]
in over one's head | Overwhelmed or exasperated, usually by excessive responsibilities |  |
it is what it is | This challenging circumstance is simply a fact, to be accepted or dealt with. | [k] | [53][54]
jump ship | To leave a job, organization, or activity suddenly |  | [55]
jump the gun  | To start something before it is prudent or permitted; to act too hastily.  |  | [56]
jumping the shark | A creative work, an idea or entity reaching a point in which it has exhausted its core intent and is introducing new ideas that are discordant with its original purpose |  | [57]
kick the bucket | A euphemism for dying or death |  | [58]
kick the habit | To stop engaging in a habitual practice |  |
kill two birds with one stone | To accomplish two different tasks at the same time and/or with a single action |  |
king's ransom | A large sum of money |  | [59]
let the cat out of the bag | To reveal a secret |  |
like pulling teeth | Having difficulty in getting a person or item to act in a desired fashion; reference to a difficult task. |  | [60]
like turkeys voting for Christmas  | used as a metaphor for a parody in which a choice made is clearly against one's self-interest, facing adverse consequences of their those policies and still adhere to them.  |  |
lit up like a Christmas tree  | Clothes that are too bright or colourful for the occasion.  |  |
look a gift horse in the mouth | To find fault with something that has been received as a gift or favor |  |
loose cannon | A person who is uncontrollable and unpredictable but likely to cause damage to the group of which they are a member |  | [61]
method to (one's) madness | Despite one's seemingly random approach, there is actually orderly structure or logic to it. |  |
my two cents | (Canada and US) One's opinion on the subject |  | [62]
never put an apple in your rabbit  | Don't do something you know you shouldn't be doing  |  | [63]
nip (something) in the bud | To stop something at an early stage, before it can develop into something of more significance (especially an obstacle or frustration) |  |
no horse in this race or no dog in this fight | No vested interest in the outcome of a particular conflict, contest or debate |  |
off one's trolley or
off one's rocker | Crazy, demented, out of one's mind, in a confused or befuddled state of mind, senile | [l] | [64]
off the hook | To escape a situation of responsibility or obligation, or, less frequently, danger |  | [65]
the oldest trick in the book | An effective way of tricking someone even though it is a very popular method |  | [66]
once in a blue moon | Occurring very rarely |  |
own goal | To do something accidentally negative against yourself or your own team |  |
part and parcel | The attribute of being an integral or essential component of another object |  |
pop one's clogs | (UK) A euphemism for dying or death |  |
the pot calling the kettle black | Used when someone making an accusation is equally as guilty as those being accused |  | [67]
piece of cake | A job, task or other activity that is pleasant – or, by extension, easy or simple |  |
not one’s cup of tea  | Not the type of thing the person likes.  |  |
preaching to the choir | To present a side of a discussion or argument to someone who already agrees with it; essentially, wasting your time. |  | [68]
pull oneself together  | to recover control of one's emotions.  |  |
pull somebody's leg | To tease or joke by telling a lie |  |
push the envelope | To approach, extend, or go beyond the limits of what is possible; to pioneer. | [m] | [20]
pushing up daisies | A euphemism for dying or death |  |
put a spoke in one's wheel  | To disrupt, foil, or cause problems to one's plan, activity, or project.  |  |

[69]

put on airs | An English language idiom and a colloquial phrase meant to describe a person who acts superior, or one who behaves as if they are more important than others.  |  | [70]
put the cat among the pigeons | To create a disturbance and cause trouble |  | [71]
raining cats and dogs | Raining very hard or strongly |  | [72]
right as rain | Needed, appropriate, essential, or hoped-for; also has come to mean perfect, well, or absolutely right. | [n] | [73]
rock the boat | To do or say something that will upset people or cause problems |  |
shoot the breeze | To chat idly or casually, without any serious topic of conversation |  | [74]
shooting fish in a barrel | Frivolously performing a simple task |  |
screw the pooch | To screw up; to fail in dramatic and ignominious fashion. |  |
sleep with the fishes | To be murdered and thrown into a body of water | [o] |
speak of the devil (and he shall appear) | Used when an object of discussion unexpectedly becomes present during the conversation  |  |
spill the beans | To reveal someone's secret |  |
spin one's wheels | To expel much effort for little or no gain |  |
stay in one's lane  | To avoid interfering with, passing judgement on, or giving unsolicited advice about issues beyond one's purview or expertise; to mind one's own business.  |  | [75]
step up to the plate | To deliver beyond expectations |  |
stick out like a sore thumb | Something that is clearly out of place |  |

[76]

straw that broke the camel's back | The last in a line of unacceptable occurrences; the final tipping point in a sensitive situation. |  |
take a shine | To develop a liking or fondness for someone or something |  | [77]
take the biscuit | (UK) To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious |  |
take (or grab) the bull by the horns | To deal bravely and decisively with a difficult, dangerous, or unpleasant situation; to deal with a matter in a direct manner, especially to confront a difficulty rather than avoid it. |  | [20]
take the cake | (US) To be especially good or outstanding. Alternatively (US) To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious. |  |
take the piss | (UK) To tease, ridicule, or mock someone |  |
take with a grain of salt | To not take what someone says too seriously; to treat someone's words with a degree of skepticism. |  |
through thick and thin | through all obstacles in a path; in good times and bad times |  |
throw stones in glass houses | One who is vulnerable to criticism regarding a certain issue should not criticize others about the same issue. |  |
throw the baby out with the bathwater | To discard, especially inadvertently, something valuable while in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted |  |
throw under the bus | To betray or sacrifice someone for selfish reasons |  |
snake in the grass | An unrecognizable danger or hidden enemy |  |
thumb one's nose | To express scorn or disregard |  |
tie one on | To get drunk |  |
to and fro or toing and froing | To move from one place to another; going back and forth; here and there. |  | [78][79]
to steal someone's thunder | To preempt someone and rob them of gravitas or attention. To take credit for something someone else did. |  |
trip the light fantastic | To dance | [p] | [81]
two a penny | Cheap or common |  |
under my thumb | Under my control |  | [82]
under the weather | Feeling sick or poorly |  | [83]
the whole nine yards | Everything; all the way |  |
watching paint dry | To describe something tedious or boring  |  |
water under the bridge | Something that already happened in the past and should not be the primary focus of attention because it cannot be changed  |  | [84]
wild goose chase | A frustrating or lengthy undertaking that accomplishes little |  |
willy-nilly | An activity, situation, decision or event that happens in a disorganized manner; or it is done haphazardly, chaotically and randomly, without any sort of planning or direction. | [q] | [86][87]
wolf something down  | devour (food) greedily.  |  |
you can say that again | That is very true; an expression of wholehearted agreement. |  |

## See also

[edit]

* Linguistics portal
* Lists portal

* List of 19th-century English-language idioms
* List of proverbial phrases
* List of business terms
* Siamese twins (linguistics)
* wikt:Category:English idioms
* Cliché

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ This expression refers to the fact that plans or blueprints are often drawn on a drawing board. It probably originated during World War II, most likely in the caption of a cartoon by Peter Arno published in The New Yorker.[16]
2. ^ Originally a hunting term.
3. ^ Originally a British slang term for a quadruple amputee during World War I.
4. ^ The origin is unclear; it may simply have emerged in imitation of the numerous other animal-related nonsense phrases popular in the 1920s such as "the cat's pyjamas" or "the monkey's eyebrows",[21] or it may be a deliberate inversion of the earlier attested singular "bee's knee" used to refer to something small or insignificant.[22][20]
5. ^ Alludes to burning oil to produce light in the time before electric lighting; originated with the English writer Francis Quarles who wrote: "Wee spend our mid-day sweat, or mid-night oyle; :Wee tyre the night in thought; the day in toyle."
6. ^ At the turn of the century, wearing very long sideburns – called "mutton chops" – was common. A bust in the chops was to get hit in the face.
7. ^ The phrase first appears in English in the Geneva Bible (1560), in Job 19:20, which provides a literal translation of the original Hebrew, "I haue escaped with the skinne of my tethe." The original Hebrew בְּעוֹר שִׁנָּי (b'3or shinai) is a phono-semantic match of the Hebrew word בְּקוֹשִׁי (b'qoshi) which means "barely, hardly, with difficulty." It may never be known if this phrase became an idiom before the biblical book of Job was written, or if the word b'qoshi was mis-heard by a scribe.
8. ^ Its 19th-century predecessor is seen in the line "It would have been best for Merlin... to quit and call it half a day", from the novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) by American writer Mark Twain.
9. ^ The word "chink" here is generally used in the sense of a crack or gap.
10. ^ As of the English alphabet, which ranges from the first letter, A, to the last letter, Z.
11. ^ Earliest usage unknown. In 1945, Bertrand Russell wrote of a logician's irritation that "the world is what it is";[51] by 1949 the full phrase appeared in the Nebraska State Journal.[52]
12. ^ Since both "off one's trolley" and "off one's rocker" became popular in the late 1890s about the same time streetcars were installed in major American cities, and since "rocker", like "trolley", means the wheel or runner that makes contact with an overhead electric cable, it is likely that the "rocker" of the expression carries the same meaning as "trolley". "Off your trolley" may refer to the fact that when the wires are "off the trolley", the vehicle no longer receives an electric current and is, therefore, rendered inoperative.
13. ^ This expression originated as aviation slang and referred to graphs of aerodynamic performance on which "the envelope" is the boundary line representing the limit of an aircraft's capabilities (especially its altitude and speed). It was popularized by Tom Wolfe's 1979 book The Right Stuff.[20]
14. ^ The life of an agrarian community depends on the success of the local crops, which in turn depends on rain. In pre-industrial times, rain was widely appreciated as essential for survival.
15. ^ The original text in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather reads: "'The fish means that Luca Brasi is sleeping on the bottom of the ocean,' he said. 'It's an old Sicilian message.'"
16. ^ The expression is generally attributed to John Milton's 1645 poem L'Allegro, which includes the lines: "Com, and trip it as ye go,
On the light fantastick toe."[80]
17. ^ The idiom has another meaning; "with or against one's will", which was popularized from the expression "will he, nill he", found in Shakespeare's Hamlet.[85]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "English Idioms, Phrases & Idiomatic Expressions". UsingEnglish.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
2. ^ "idiomconnection.com". Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
3. ^ "id·i·om". The Free Dictionary. Farlex, Inc. 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
4. ^ "a hard pill to swallow". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
5. ^ "The Idioms". Retrieved 29 December 2012.
6. ^ "A hot potato". TheIdioms.com. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
7. ^ "Ace in the hole". The free dictionary.com. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
8. ^ "Achilles' heel". phrases.org.uk free. 11 December 2023.
9. ^ "All ears". The free dictionary.com. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
10. ^ "Idioms = "All Thumbs" = Today's English Idioms & Phrases". Goenglish.com. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
11. ^ "'An arm and a leg' - the meaning and origin of this phrase". 11 December 2023.
12. ^ "Idioms.in - Idioms and Phrases". Retrieved 24 November 2013.
13. ^ "Time Idioms & Phrases". Englishlikeanative.co.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
14. ^ Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry (26 June 2015). The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-37252-3.
15. ^ Grose, Francis (1796). A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Hooper and Wigstead.
16. ^ back to the drawing board. (n.d.) The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. (2003, 1997).
17. ^ "back to the drawing board". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
18. ^ "Common English Idioms For Hard Work". Englishlikeanative.co.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
19. ^ "Barking up the wrong tree". The Phrase Finder. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
20. ^ a b c d e f g Siefring, Judith, ed. (2005). The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-861055-6.
21. ^ Harry Oliver, Bees' Knees and Barmy Armies: Origins of the Words and Phrases We Use Every Day, John Blake Publishing Ltd, 2011 ISBN 1857829441
22. ^ Robert Allen, Allen's Dictionary of English Phrases, Penguin UK, 2008 ISBN 0140515119.
23. ^ "Bird Brain - English Idioms". English The Easy Way.
24. ^ Urdang, Laurence; Hunsinger, Walter W.; LaRoche, Nancy (1985). Picturesque Expressions: A Thematic Dictionary (2 ed.). Gale Research. p. 321. ISBN 0-8103-1606-4.
25. ^ "Burning the midnight oil". The Phrase Finder. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
26. ^ "Idioms & Axioms currently used in America". Pride UnLimited. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
27. ^ "Idiom: By the seat of your pants". www.usingenglish.com. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
28. ^ "Skin of your teeth". Theidioms.com. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
29. ^ "American-English idiom Call it a day". Quotations.me.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
30. ^ "Chomp at the bit". onlineslangdictionary.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
31. ^ "Chink in one's armor | Define Chink in one's armor at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
32. ^ Martin, Gary (11 December 2023). "'Cold shoulder' - the meaning and origin of this phrase". phrases.org.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
33. ^ "What does couch potato mean?". www.myenglishpages.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
34. ^ "cool your jets!". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
35. ^ Ammer, Christine (7 May 2013). The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 106\. ISBN 978-0-547-67753-8.
36. ^ "Idiom: Don't have a cow". idiomsphrases.com. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
37. ^ "eleventh hour, noun". Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
38. ^ "'TO FALL OFF THE TURNIP TRUCK': MEANING AND ORIGIN". 15 September 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
39. ^ "Idiom: Fit as a fiddle". UsingEnglish.com. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
40. ^ "fly in the ointment". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
41. ^ "30 Animal Idioms". www.englishlikeanative.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
42. ^ "Get a wiggle on!". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
43. ^ "Get/Have your ducks in a row".
44. ^ "GRASP THE NETTLE definition in American English | Collins English Dictionary". Retrieved 18 February 2024.
45. ^ "Macmillan Dictionary'grasp the nettle' definition and synonyms".
46. ^ Martin, Gary (11 December 2023). "'Grasp the nettle' - the meaning and origin of this phrase". phrases.org.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
47. ^ "Have a blast". iStudyEnglishOnline.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
48. ^ "hit the road". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
49. ^ "Hit the sack". funkyenglish.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
50. ^ "Hook, Line and Sinker". Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
51. ^ Russell, Bertrand (1945). A History of Western Philosophy. Unwin Paperbacks. p. 586\. ISBN 9-780041-000450. `{{cite book}}`: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
52. ^ "Who Coined the Phrase "It Is What It Is"? | YourDictionary". Retrieved 18 February 2024.
53. ^ "It is what it is". 29 July 2019.
54. ^ "It Is What It Is". The New York Times. 5 March 2006.
55. ^ "jump ship". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
56. ^ "jump the gun", Wiktionary, 25 January 2022, retrieved 7 April 2022
57. ^ Glenn, Alan (19 February 2016). "He's a maniac". Michigan Today. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
58. ^ "Kick the bucket". idiomreference.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
59. ^ "King's ransom". merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
60. ^ "LIKE PULLING TEETH definition | Cambridge English Dictionary". Retrieved 18 February 2024.
61. ^ "loose cannon". Retrieved 13 June 2022.
62. ^ "My Two Cents".
63. ^ Kellett, Arnold (2008). The Little Book of Yorkshire Dialect. Dalesman Publishing Co Ltd. p. 107\. ISBN 978-1855682573.
64. ^ Greenwald, Ken (24 June 2005). "off your rocker". wordwizard.com. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
65. ^ "Off the hook". Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
66. ^ "the oldest trick in the book Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
67. ^ "THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK definition | Cambridge English Dictionary". Retrieved 18 February 2024.
68. ^ "Preaching to the Choir". 13 April 2011.
69. ^ "put a spoke in wheel". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
70. ^ Ammer, Christine (2013) [2008]. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms (Paperback) (2nd ed.). Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Paw Prints. p. 174\. ISBN 978-0-547-67658-6. 1439527245. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
71. ^ "Random Idiom Definition - put the cat among the pigeons". myenglishpages.com. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
72. ^ "Raining cats and dogs". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
73. ^ "Right as rain". Islandnet.com. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
74. ^ "shoot the breeze". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
75. ^ "stay in (one's) lane". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
76. ^ "What are the Origins of the Phrase "Sticks out Like a Sore Thumb"?". Language Humanities. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
77. ^ "10 Weather Idioms". www.englishlikeanative.co.uk. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
78. ^ "to and fro". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
79. ^ "to and fro - WordReference.com Dictionary of English". www.wordreference.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
80. ^ Kirkpatrick, Betty and Kirkpatrick, Elizabeth McLaren (1999) "light fantastic" Clichés: Over 1500 Phrases Explored and Explained Macmillan, New York, page 115, ISBN 978-0-312-19844-2
81. ^ "trip the light fantastic". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
82. ^ Evans, Andrew (19 January 2017). "How Irish falconry changed language". BBC Travel. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
83. ^ "under the weather". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
84. ^ Paul Heacock, Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms (2003), p. 457.
85. ^ "WILLY-NILLY". The Idioms. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
86. ^ "willy-nilly". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
87. ^ Candace Osmond (28 August 2014). "Willy-Nilly – Origin & Meaning". Grammarist. Retrieved 9 September 2023.

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History of English

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Phonological history

| Vowels|

* A
* Changes before historic /l/
* Changes before historic /r/
* Close back vowels
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* Diphthongs
* Great Vowel Shift
* Open back vowels
* Trisyllabic laxing

|

Consonants|

* Clusters
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* Ng
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Dialects and accents of Modern English by continent

Europe|

| Great
Britain|

| England|

| North|

* Cheshire
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|

Midlands|

* East Midlands
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South|

* East Anglia
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* Cockney
* Multicultural
* Received Pronunciation
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Scotland|

* Glasgow
* Highlands

Wales|

* Abercraf
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Ireland|

* Dublin
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* Channel Islands
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* Malta

Americas|

| North
America|

| Canada|

* Aboriginal
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|

United
States|

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Social and
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Caribbean|

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Oceania|

| Australia|

* variation
* accent
* Aboriginal
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* Torres Strait
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|

* Fiji
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* accent
* Palau
* Solomon Islands

Africa|

* Cameroon
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* accent
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Asia|

| East Asia|

* Hong Kong

|

South Asia|

* Bangladesh
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* regional and occupational
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* Nepal
* Pakistan
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Southeast Asia|

* Brunei
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* Philippines
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Antarctica|

* Antarctica

Related|

* English language
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Germanic languages

According to contemporary philology

West

| Anglo-Frisian|

| Anglic|

* English
* dialects
* Old English
* Middle English
* Modern English
* Early Modern English
* Irish Middle English
* Fingallian
* Kildare
* Yola
* Scots
* Early Scots
* Middle Scots

|

Frisian|

| Historical forms|

* Old Frisian
* Middle Frisian

|

East Frisian|

* Ems
* Saterland Frisian
* Upgant Frisian
* Weser
* Wangerooge Frisian
* Wursten Frisian
* Harlingerland Frisian

North Frisian|

* Insular
* Eiderstedt
* Föhr–Amrum
* Föhr
* Amrum
* Heligolandic
* Sylt
* Mainland
* Bökingharde
* Mooring
* Halligen
* Goesharde
* Northern
* Central
* Southern
* Karrharde
* Strand
* Wiedingharde

West Frisian|

* Hindeloopen
* Schiermonnikoog
* Westlauwers–Terschellings
* Mainland West Frisian
* Clay Frisian
* Wood Frisian
* Westereendersk
* Terschelling

Low German|

| Historical forms|

* Old Saxon
* Middle Low German

|

West Low German|

* Dutch Low Saxon
* Stellingwarfs
* Tweants
* Gronings
* Drèents
* Gelders-Overijssels
* Achterhooks
* Sallaans
* Urkers
* Veluws
* Northern Low Saxon
* East Frisian Low Saxon
* Gronings
* Hamburg
* Holsteinisch
* Oldenburgisch
* Bremian
* Schleswigsch
* Eastphalian
* Westphalian

East Low German|

* Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch
* Brandenburgisch
* Central Pomeranian
* East Pomeranian
* Low Prussian
* Plautdietsch / Mennonite Low German

Low Franconian|

| Historical forms|

* Frankish
* Old Dutch
* Middle Dutch

|

Standard variants|

* Dutch
* Afrikaans (Kaaps)

West Low Franconian|

* Central Dutch
* Hollandic
* West Flemish
* French Flemish
* Zeelandic
* East Flemish
* Brabantian
* Kleverlandish

* Surinamese Dutch
* Jersey Dutch
* Mohawk Dutch
* Stadsfries/Bildts/Amelands/Midslands

East Low Franconian|

* Limburgish

Cover groups|

* Bergish
* Meuse-Rhenish

High German
(German)|

| Historical forms|

* Old High German
* Middle High German
* New High German
* Early New High German

|

Standard German|

* German Standard German
* Austrian Standard German
* Swiss Standard German

Non-standard variants
and creoles|

* Namibian German
* Namibian Black German
* Berlinerisch
* Unserdeutsch
* Barossa German
* Rotwelsch
* Lotegorisch
* Yenish
* Yiddish
* Eastern
* Western
* Scots Yiddish
* Klezmer-loshn
* Lachoudisch

Central German|

| West Central German|

* Central Franconian
* Ripuarian
* Colognian
* Southeast Limburgish
* Moselle Franconian
* Luxembourgish
* Transylvanian Saxon
* Hunsrückisch
* Hunsrik
* Rhine Franconian
* Lorraine Franconian
* Palatine
* Volga German
* Pennsylvania Dutch
* Hessian
* Central Hessian
* Amana German

|

East Central German|

* Thuringian
* Upper Saxon
* Erzgebirgisch
* Lusatian
* Silesian German
* High Prussian
* Wymysorys
* Halcnovian

Upper German|

* Alemannic in the broad sense
* Low Alemannic
* Alsatian
* Coloniero
* High Alemannic
* Swiss German
* Highest Alemannic
* Walser German
* Swabian
* Bavarian
* Northern Bavarian
* Central Bavarian
* Viennese German
* Southern Bavarian
* South Tyrolean
* Cimbrian
* Mòcheno
* Hutterite German
* Gottscheerish
* South Franconian
* East Franconian
* Vogtlandian
* Langobardic

North and East

| North|

| Historical forms|

* Proto-Norse
* Old Norse
* Old West Norse
* Old East Norse
* Old Gutnish

|

West|

* Norwegian
* Bergensk
* Kebabnorsk
* Sognamål
* Trøndersk
* Valdris
* Vestlandsk
* Vikværsk
* Bokmål (written)
* Nynorsk (written)
* Old Norwegian
* Middle Norwegian
* Faroese
* Icelandic
* Old Icelandic
* Middle Icelandic
* Greenlandic Norse
* Norn

East|

* Swedish
* Swedish dialects
* Rinkebysvenska
* Danish
* Danish dialects
* Insular Danish
* Jutlandic
* South Jutlandic
* East Danish
* Bornholmsk
* Scanian (historically)
* Southern Schleswig Danish
* Gøtudanskt
* Perkerdansk
* Old Danish
* Middle Danish
* Dalecarlian
* Elfdalian

* Gutnish
* Mainland Gutnish
* Fårö Gutnish

East|

* Gothic
* Crimean Gothic
* Ostrogoth
* Visigoth
* Gepid ?
* Burgundian
* Vandalic
* Herulian ?
* Skirian ?

Philology

| Language subgroups|

* North
* East
* West
* Elbe (Irminonic)
* Weser-Rhine (Istvaeonic)
* North Sea (Ingvaeonic)

* Northwest
* Gotho-Nordic
* South

|

Reconstructed|

* Proto-Germanic
* Proto-Germanic grammar
* Germanic parent language
* Ancient Belgian language

Diachronic features|

* Grimm's law
* Verner's law
* Holtzmann's law
* Sievers's law
* Kluge's law
* Germanic substrate hypothesis
* West Germanic gemination
* High German consonant shift
* Germanic a-mutation
* Germanic umlaut
* Germanic spirant law
* Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law
* Great Vowel Shift

Synchronic features|

* Germanic verb
* Germanic strong verb
* Germanic weak verb
* Preterite-present verb
* Grammatischer Wechsel
* Indo-European ablaut

* Italics indicate extinct languages
* Languages between parentheses are varieties of the language on their left.

* v
* t
* e

Dictionaries of English

Old and Middle English|

* An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary
* Dictionary of Old English
* Middle English Dictionary

Historic|

* Catholicon Anglicum (1483)
* The English Schoole-Master (1596)
* The New World of English Words (1658)
* A New English Dictionary (1702)
* An Universal Etymological English Dictionary (1721)
* Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language (1755)
* Webster's Dictionary (1828)
* Worcester's Dictionary
* Richardson's New Dictionary
* Imperial Dictionary (1847–1850)
* Century Dictionary (1889–1891)
* World Book Dictionary
* Dictionary of American English

British English|

* Chambers
* Collins
* Oxford
* OED
* ODE
* Compact
* Concise
* Shorter
* Penguin

American English|

* American Heritage
* American Regional
* Encarta
* New Oxford American
* Random House Webster's
* Webster's New World
* Webster's Third New International

Canadian English|

* Canadian Oxford
* Dictionary of Canadianisms
* Dictionary of Newfoundland English
* Gage Canadian

Australian English|

* Australian National
* Australian Oxford
* Macquarie

Online|

* Collaborative International Dictionary of English
* Urban Dictionary
* Wiktionary
* Wordnik

Learners / ESL|

* Cambridge Advanced Learner's
* Collins COBUILD Advanced
* Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
* Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners
* Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's
* Oxford Advanced Learner's

Geopolitical use

* v
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* e

English-speaking world

English speaking countries

Further links

| Articles|

* English-speaking world
* History of the English language
* British Empire
* English in the Commonwealth of Nations
* Anglosphere

|

Lists|

* List of countries by English-speaking population
* List of countries where English is an official language

|  |

* Countries and territories where English is the national language or the native language of the majority

Africa|

* Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Americas|

* Anguilla
* Antigua and Barbuda
* The Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bermuda
* British Virgin Islands
* Canada
* Cayman Islands
* Dominica
* Falkland Islands
* Grenada
* Guyana
* Jamaica
* Montserrat
* Saba
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Sint Eustatius
* Sint Maarten
* South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Turks and Caicos Islands
* United States
* United States Virgin Islands

Europe|

* Guernsey
* Ireland
* Isle of Man
* Jersey
* United Kingdom

Oceania|

* Australia
* New Zealand
* Norfolk Island
* Pitcairn Islands

* Countries and territories where English is an official language, but not the majority first language

Africa|

* Botswana
* Cameroon
* Eswatini
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Malawi
* Mauritius
* Namibia
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* Sierra Leone
* Somaliland
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Americas|

* Puerto Rico

Asia|

* Christmas Island
* Cocos (Keeling) Islands
* Hong Kong
* India
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Singapore

Europe|

* Gibraltar
* Akrotiri and Dhekelia
* Malta

Oceania|

* American Samoa
* Cook Islands
* Fiji
* Guam
* Kiribati
* Marshall Islands
* Micronesia
* Nauru
* Niue
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Palau
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* Tokelau
* Tuvalu
* Vanuatu

Dependencies shown in italics.
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*[Ref.]: Reference(s)