Idioms
English idioms, sorted by level
Eighty-one expressions that genuinely turn up in conversation, in the press and in exams — each with its meaning, its Spanish translation, and the mistake Spanish speakers reliably make with it.
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An idiom is a phrase whose meaning doesn't follow from its words. “Spill the beans” isn't about beans and “under the weather” isn't about weather. That is what makes them the last wall before fluency: you can know every word in a sentence and still not understand it.
They are grouped by CEFR level, following roughly the frequency lists behind Cambridge's B2 First, C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency. If you're preparing for an exam, start at your level and go one above; if you just want to speak better, B2 is where you get the most return per hour.
By level
Each level groups idioms by frequency and difficulty, not by theme.
B220 idioms
See this level →The everyday ones. They show up in any informal conversation and in most TV. Missing these is immediately noticeable.
- out of the blueunexpectedly, without warning
- by the wayincidentally, in addition
- on the other handfrom another perspective; in contrast
- make up your minddecide
- a piece of cakevery easy
- in a nutshellbriefly, summarised
- get the hang of (something)learn how to do something with practice
- spill the beansreveal a secret
- under the weatherfeeling slightly ill
- miss the boatmiss an opportunity
- hit the nail on the headsay exactly the right thing
- cost an arm and a legbe very expensive
- once in a blue moonvery rarely
- break the icedo or say something to relieve initial awkwardness
- let the cat out of the bagaccidentally reveal a secret
- kill two birds with one stoneachieve two things with one action
- the ball is in your courtit's your turn to act or decide
- off the top of my headwithout thinking carefully or checking
- back to square oneback to the starting point after a failed attempt
- to make a long story shortto summarise quickly
C136 idioms
See this level →The real jump. These separate correct English from natural English — and they carry the most weight in C1 Advanced.
- come to terms with (something)to accept or learn to live with something difficult
- a turn of minda particular way of thinking or mental disposition
- in hindsightin retrospect; looking back with the knowledge we have now
- have second thoughtsbegin to doubt a decision already made
- play devil's advocateargue the opposite side for the sake of debate
- in the grand scheme of thingslooking at the bigger picture; relatively
- take (something) with a pinch of salttreat with scepticism; don't believe entirely
- splitting hairsarguing over trivial distinctions
- grasp at strawstry desperate solutions in a hopeless situation
- at the end of the daywhen all is considered; ultimately
- cut to the chaseget to the important point without preamble
- beat around the bushavoid getting to the point; speak indirectly
- see eye to eye (with someone)fully agree
- on the fenceundecided between two options
- the elephant in the rooman obvious problem nobody wants to discuss
- the tip of the icebergthe small visible part of a much larger problem
- a blessing in disguisesomething that seems bad but turns out beneficial
- by and largefor the most part; generally
- in the long runover an extended period; eventually
- give (someone) the benefit of the doubttrust a person's intention when evidence is ambiguous
- the jury is still outa decision or judgement hasn't been reached yet
- a stone's throw awayvery close in distance
- go the extra milemake additional effort beyond what's required
- take it with a grain of saltbe sceptical; don't believe completely
- burn the midnight oilwork late into the night
- throw in the towelgive up; surrender
- a rule of thumba rough practical guideline based on experience
- the bottom linethe most important fact or conclusion
- more often than notusually; in most cases
- in the pipelinein development or planning, not yet released
- by no meansdefinitely not; in no way
- the jury is out on (something)there's no consensus yet on something
- set the stage for (something)create the conditions necessary for something to happen
- in broad daylightopenly, in plain view
- raise eyebrowscause surprise or mild disapproval
- have a bone to pick (with someone)have a grievance to discuss with someone
C225 idioms
See this level →High register and written press. Less frequent in speech, but decisive for reading The Economist or arguing a position precisely.
- by the skin of your teethvery narrowly, barely
- play it by eardecide what to do as the situation develops
- the proof of the pudding is in the eatingthe real test is in practice, not theory
- leave no stone unturnedmake every possible effort
- the writing on the wallclear signs of impending failure or change
- throw caution to the windact recklessly, abandoning prudence
- wrap your head around (something)manage to understand something difficult
- pull the rug out (from under someone)suddenly remove support, undermining someone
- go against the graingo against conventional wisdom or one's instincts
- have your cake and eat itwant two incompatible things simultaneously
- burn (your) bridgesdestroy relationships or options in a way that can't be undone
- preaching to the choirarguing a point to people who already agree
- the best-laid plans of mice and meneven careful planning can fail
- in the thick of itin the busiest or most intense part of an activity
- have a finger in every piebe involved in many activities or projects
- above boardlegitimate and transparent; with no hidden dealings
- par for the courseexactly what one would expect; typical
- in the same veinin a similar manner or style; on the same theme
- few and far betweenrare; infrequent
- out of your comfort zonein a situation that challenges one's usual habits
- to each his owneveryone has different preferences; respect them
- set in stonepermanent; not subject to change
- by all accountsaccording to what everyone says
- have an axe to grindhave a personal grievance or hidden motive
- stand the test of timeremain valuable or valid over a long period
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