10 Common English Idioms You Should Know

If you’ve been learning English for very long, then you have heard some idioms. You may understand the individual words, but you don’t understand how they work together. Idioms are strange like that. An idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is only understood based on the common use of that expression, separate from the literal meaning of the words. There are estimated to be over 25,000 idioms in the English language.

Idioms can be very colorful, but they can also be extremely hard for non-native speakers to understand. Some idioms are widely understood. Idioms like, “This is a piece of cake”- meaning it is easy- have many variations in other languages as well. To help you out (assist you) here is a list of ten common English idioms, their meaning, and how they are used.

Table 1: 10 Common English Idioms You Should Know

Idiom	Meaning	Example of use
used to	Accustomed to/ comfortable with	I am not used to running so far. That is why I am tired.
take place	To happen/ to occur	The party took place at Jim’s house.
stick with (something)	To continue / to not quit (especially with difficulties)	It was hard, but I stuck with my piano lessons. Now I can play well.
show up	To appear/ to arrive/ to be present	I did not think the teacher was going to show up today, but he was just late.
A dime a dozen	Common/ easy to get	I thought that my baseball card was rare, but the man told me it was a dime a dozen.
A slap on the wrist	A mild punishment	When he broke the window he should have gotten thrown out of school. Instead, he just got a slap on the wrist. He has to go to a week of detention.
An arm and a leg	Very expensive/ a large amount of money	A nice laptop computer will cost you an arm and a leg.
On the other hand	However/ in contrast/ looking at the opposite side of a matter	I like your idea of skipping class today, but on the other hand I need to keep my grades up.
For sure	Without doubt/ certainly/ surely	I am going to meet you for sure this weekend.
For good	Permanently	Did you hear? They are closing the store for good tomorrow!

This guest post is contributed by Debra Johnson, blogger and editor of full time nanny. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: - jdebra84 @ gmail.com.

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