Idioms are the heart of good books, poetry and just English in general, but sometimes it’s difficult to understand what they mean. If it’s ‘raining cats and dogs’, it’s not actually raining cats and dogs, it’s just a term for saying ‘it’s raining heavily’! 

 

Out of the frying pan, into the fire: 

This is my favourite idiom – imagine going out of a frying pan and into the fire. Can you guess what this means? Lying in a frying pan would be painful, but falling into the fire is much worse! What this means is that you come out of a bad situation and then find yourself in a worse situation.  

 

Break a leg: 

Do you say this to your friends and family sometimes when they are going to do something important? It’s quite a common one, but many people don’t know its origin. ‘Break a leg’ means ‘good luck’, but that doesn’t make much sense! A doctor wouldn’t want to break a leg, would he/she? There are many theories to this idiom’s origin. Here are a few: 

  • Some say, in ancient Greek times, instead of clapping, the audience would stomp their feet to show how much they loved the show. If they broke a leg, that would mean they loved it a lot, and therefore stomped too hard! 

  • If you wish someone bad luck, then the opposite will happen. Who knows? 

It’s up to you to choose which one of these you think contains the most truth (if any) – personally, I think the last one makes the most sense. 

 

Let the cat out of the bag: 

Have you got a secret, and someone suspects you have one? Well, they might say ‘let the cat out of the bag’ to ask you to reveal your secret. Of course, nobody would keep a cat in a bag, because that’s just cruel! 

 

The ball is your court: 

Imagine standing in the middle of a netball match. Everybody’s watching you. The ball is in your hands – the next move is in your hands, in fact. That’s basically what this saying means – the next decision is yours. Yep, that’s what it means. Make sure you use the saying next time you – or your friend – has to make a choice on their own! 

 

Speaking of the devil: 

Hmm... where’s mum gone; she should have been back by now!? Then next thing you know, she’s walking into the room. That’s when saying ‘speaking of the devil’ would fit in - but just remember, it can be an insult. If you call someone a devil, it’s offending, but is often used in a pleasant manner. 

 

He’s got a chip on his shoulder: 

Have you just had a fight with your best friend, and it got a bit serious? Well, maybe you, or your friend, holds grudges, and that’s when this saying fits it. If you’ve got a chip on your shoulder, it means you’re holding a grudge, making you feel very angry and mad.  

 

Don’t beat around the bush: 

Sometimes saying harsh (but true) things can be hard, or in general you might find it hard to get to the point. When you ‘beat around the bush’, you’re saying the same things in circles, again and again and again. Just get to the point, will ya?! 

 

Sat on a fence: 

When you sit on a fence, you aren’t taking any sides. It could be a political affair, or a friendship problem. People sit on fences to avoid getting into trouble, a sensible but often annoying option. 

 

Curiosity killed the cat: 

So many movies (annoyingly) have heroes who were too curious and ended up dying or standing in a bad situation, and ‘curiosity killed the cat’ applies to that. It’s when you are too nosy and inquisitive about other people’s affairs that you end up getting into trouble. 

 

Idioms are fun, and you never know when you’ll come across one that you will love with your heart and soul!