English funny idioms: If someone tells you to hold your horses, or if you’ve been running around like a headless chicken, you may even be asked to keep your eyes peeled. Yes, these idioms and many more can often sound rather disgusting, musing, confusing, and, well, quite funny actually. Yes, idioms in English are really, really varied. We’ve got idioms connected to animals, to disgusting things, and to just weird objects in general, like the kitchen sink.
Now, as frustrating as it can be to learn these idioms, it is also great fun once you get there and understand them because this is a great way to boost your English level instantly. Using idiomatic expressions like the 20 I’m going to share with you will help you sound a lot more natural and native in English and, importantly, help you understand native English speakers.
20 English Funny Idioms
- Hold your horses
- The elephant in the room
- Everything but the kitchen sink
- To keep your eyes peeled
- Up to your eyeballs
- Pick someone’s brain
- Bend over backwards
- Get/wake up on/out of the wrong side of the bed
- By the skin of your teeth
- Wet behind the ears
- A wet blanket
- To run around like a headless chicken
- To run around like a blue-ass fly
- A bull (male cow) in a china shop
- Monkey business
- The best thing since sliced bread
- More holes than Swiss cheese
- To have a bone to pick with someone
- Don’t give up your day job
- Fat chance or Slim chance
1. Hold your horses
Meaning: ‘Hold your horses’ doesn’t literally mean ‘hold your horses.’ It means to tell someone to stop, slow down or wait a moment.
Example:
- Right, hold your horses. I am not paying for dinner. You said it was your turn.
- Hold your horses. I am not ready yet. We can go out in half an hour.
2. The elephant in the room
Meaning: This phrase refers to a huge problem that everyone refuses to talk about.
If someone says, “We’re avoiding the elephant in the room,” then essentially you are avoiding a problem that everyone is aware of but no one really wants to or knows how to deal with it.
Example:
- We can’t carry on in this relationship. I want to get married and you don’t. I think it’s time we address the elephant in the room (when you address something, it means you face it and deal with it)
3. Everything but the kitchen sink
Meaning: almost everything: this refers to everything imaginable, even the unnecessary things.
So, often we would say when someone is packing for a holiday and maybe has a very large case or even two, “You’re only going away for a weekend. It looks like you’re packing everything but the kitchen sink.” So, everything including unnecessary things, things you probably won’t need.
Example:
- What did you buy at the supermarket? It looks like you’ve got everything but the kitchen sink.
4. To keep your eyes peeled
Meaning: watch out look out – pay attention: to look out for something
Example:
- Right, the street we need to turn down is just coming up, so keep your eyes peeled.
5. Up to your eyeballs
Meaning: this means that you have too much of something or something to do more than you want.
Example:
So, often we would use this expression when talking about work:
- I am up to my eyeballs in emails. I can’t believe how many people email me in one week while I’m on holiday. (this phrase is often used for talking about work) [English funny idioms]
- I am up to my eyeballs in dirty laundry. I’ve got so much washing to do (you can also use it to talk about daily life)
6. Pick someone’s brain
Meaning: to see what others think or know about a particular subject.
Example:
- Do you mind if I pick your brain about this new project? I just want to get your opinion on a few things.
7. Bend over backwards
Meaning: If you make a lot of effort doing something, particularly if you’re doing something for someone else to make them happy; often used to say that someone puts a lot of energy into pleasing someone else.
Example:
- When was the last time you bent over backward for somebody, and did they appreciate it?
8. Get/wake up on/out of the wrong side of the bed
Meaning: to begin the day in a bad mood; They’re not particularly happy, they’re grumpy, they’re miserable. Maybe they didn’t get a good night’s sleep, or maybe it’s just how they are in the mornings.
Example:
- The boss seems to have gotten up out of the wrong side of the bed, so I suggest avoiding him for the first hour this morning.
9. By the skin of your teeth
Meaning: it means narrowly, barely, or by a small margin. So, just about.
Example:
- She passed that exam by the skin of her teeth. It was only two marks off failing (when you get through something by the skin of your teeth, you’ve essentially just about avoided something or done something)
10. Wet behind the ears
Meaning: If you describe someone as being wet behind the ears, essentially you are saying they’re immature and inexperienced.
This phrase actually comes from farm animals. When a lot of animals are born in their amniotic fluid, a bit gross, they’re all wet and gooey, but the mommy will lick them to make sure they’re clean, but they usually miss their ears, so the back of them are quite wet. [English funny idioms] So, It’s referring to a baby animal, an inexperienced, immature baby animal, wet behind the ears.
Example:
- The new girl at work? Lovely, but a bit wet behind the ears. I don’t think she’s ever had a job before.
Students Also Read: 10 Great Everyday English Idioms for Speaking
11. A wet blanket
Meaning: If you describe someone as being a wet blanket, they are boring. They create a situation where everyone’s having fun, and then they do something to make it a lot less fun.
Essentially, we’re referring to a wet blanket putting out a fire or flames of some sort. So, this is someone who dampens, who makes wet, everyone’s enthusiasm or excitement for something.
Example:
- They were all celebrating his birthday, but she came in and was a real wet blanket, just sat there sulking all day. I think she wanted the attention.
12. To run around like a headless chicken
Meaning: to run around doing a lot of things in a disorganised ineffective manner; It’s a bit chaotic; they’re not particularly efficient or effective.
Example:
- I have been trying to get this party organized, but honestly, I feel like I’m running around like a headless chicken. No one is helping.
13. To run around like a blue-ass fly
Meaning: It means you are exceptionally busy. You’re in a state of frenzied activity—you have got so much to do and so little time. Just imagine a fly buzzing around your room. It really does seem like it’s doing something and nothing, just crazy and chaotic.
Example:
- I have been running around like a blue-ass fly all day, and I don’t think I’ve got anything done.
14. A bull (male cow) in a china shop
Meaning: when we refer to somebody being a bull in a china shop or going in like a bull in a china shop, they are not being very subtle.
Someone who is very careless in the way they move or behave. It doesn’t literally have to be about breaking things; it could be about being insensitive and upsetting people. So, being very clumsy and not very tactful in dealing with sensitive situations.
Example:
- She always comes into the meeting like a bull in a china shop, just blurts out her idea and dismisses everybody else’s. She really doesn’t have much tact, meaning the ability to be sensitive and delicate in certain situations.
15. Monkey business
Meaning: in this case, we’re referring to the kind of playfulness of monkeys. So, when we refer to monkey business, we’re referring to this exact thing: shenanigans, naughty behavior, but fun.
Example:
- The boys have been very quiet this afternoon. I wonder what monkey business they are getting up to.
16. The best thing since sliced bread
Meaning: to show enthusiasm about a person, thing or idea; when we say the best thing since sliced bread, we could be serious—we could be saying something is amazing, fantastic, the best thing you’ve heard of recently at least. Or you could be using it in more of a sarcastic way.
Example:
- The way they’re behaving, you would think the new girl’s the best thing since sliced bread, which is really nothing special. [English funny idioms]
17. More holes than Swiss cheese
Meaning: when we say there’s more holes in something than Swiss cheese, we’re saying that it has many faults, many problems, flaws.
Example:
- That Netflix series has more holes than Swiss cheese. Seriously, how even did they get together? That just didn’t make any sense to me.
18. To have a bone to pick with someone
Meaning: when you say that you’ve got a bone to pick with someone, it’s quite a serious idiomatic expression, meaning you’ve got an issue you need to raise with them.
Example:
- Look, I’ve got a bone to pick with you. You said you were going to pay me back that 10 pounds last week, and you still haven’t. So, when am I going to get my money back?
19. Don’t give up your day job
Meaning: used as a humorous but well-meaning way to tell someone they are not very good at something.
If you’ve got the kind of relationship where you can talk quite freely and openly and kind of make fun, then you might use the expression, “Don’t give up the day job.”
Example:
- Her cooking isn’t great. I told her not to give up the day job!
20. Fat chance / Slim chance
Meaning: there’s a very little chance of that happening; you’re saying that there is a very minute possibility of something happening (of something happening)
Example:
- He asked me out for dinner the other night. Fat chance I’m gonna say yes. Now, fat chance is actually going to be a little bit stronger and ruder than slim chance.
- There is a slim chance that I can make it to the party tonight, but I’ll let you know—I’ll text beforehand.
Note: If you say fat chance, it really sounds quite rude and abrupt. So, avoid that unless you are talking about somebody crazy inviting you out for dinner.
Conclusion
There we go—20 English funny idioms expressions that are bizarre, strange, and may even have you laughing just from the picture, the imagery that they create.
Students Also Read:
Top 50 American Idioms and Phrases With Meaning
C1 Idioms List: 12 Useful C1 Level English Idioms