Everyday English Idioms for Speaking: In this lesson, you will be learning 10 really useful, and I mean extremely useful, English idioms for your speaking. These are quite advanced English idioms and all these idioms are common and extremely useful, and we use them on a regular basis. You know, they’re used in everyday English.
10 Great Everyday English Idioms for Speaking
- To take a leaf out of someone’s book
- A tall order
- Days are numbered
- Harebrained
- The proof of the pudding
- To get the wrong end of the stick
- To line one’s pockets
- To take the biscuit
- To put someone on a pedestal
- To call it a day
1. To take a leaf out of someone’s book
Meaning: this means to imitate or to copy something good that someone does.
So, it’s always positive. It’s about imitating something positive. You would never take a leaf out of someone’s book if they do something negative or something bad.
Example: You should take the leaf out of your brother’s book and go to the library to study on Saturday night.
Explanation: So you can imagine this is a mother who has two sons, let’s say, and one of them is very studious and goes to the library to study on Saturday night, and the other one maybe goes out to have fun with his friends. And his mother is saying, “You should take a leaf out of your brother’s book, you should imitate your brother, do what your brother does, and go to the library instead of going out. [Everyday English Idioms for Speaking]
2. A tall order
Meaning: this is any request or task that is difficult to fulfill, something very difficult to do, basically. It may not be impossible, but it’s just very difficult.
Example: Passing your C2 proficiency Cambridge English exam without any preparation is a very tall order.
Explanation: I’m not saying it’s impossible. It is possible to pass the C2 proficiency exam without preparation, but it’s very difficult. It’s a tall order. It’s almost impossible.
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3. Days are numbered
Meaning: when we someone or something’s days are numbered, and that means that person or that thing will not exist for much longer. So when we’re referring to a person, it could mean that they’re going to die, but usually, it’s not that extreme. Usually, we’re just saying that they’re not going to exist in a particular state or in a particular context. So you have to be a little bit careful with this one, but usually, the context is enough to know what you’re saying.
Example: The president’s days are numbered in the White House.
Explanation: That doesn’t mean that the president’s going to die. What I’m saying here is that the president’s time in the White House is not going to last much longer. There is an election coming up, and he’s probably going to lose. So his days are numbered.
4. Harebrained
Meaning: This idiom is used to describe a scheme or a plan or an idea. So a hare-brained scheme is a very common collocation, and it refers to a foolish or unrealistic scheme, plan, or idea. So a hare is an animal very similar to a rabbit but bigger, and for some reason, this animal was chosen to describe a foolish or unrealistic plan or scheme. [Everyday English Idioms for Speaking]
Example: The government’s hare-brained scheme to lower pollution levels is bound to fail.
Explanation: So this is suggesting that the scheme, the idea, the plan of the government to lower pollution levels is foolish, it’s unrealistic, it’s just not going to work, it’s impractical, it’s bound to fail. So when we say it’s bound to fail, it means it’s certain to fail.
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5. The proof of the pudding
Meaning: this means that the true value or quality of something can only be judged through experience, through real experience. So it’s not enough just to talk about something or to tell somebody that this thing is good, or what you are going to do is good. It has to be judged through real experience.
Example: Jane claims to be the fastest runner at school, but the proof of the pudding will be the race on Saturday.
Explanation: So Jane says, she claims, she tells everybody that she’s the fastest runner at school, but those are just words, right? We don’t know; we have to see through real experience. So there’s a race on Saturday, and if she wins the race, that will prove that she is the fastest runner.
6. To get the wrong end of the stick
Meaning: to misunderstand/misinterpret.
This is a particularly useful one for people who are speaking a second language because it often happens. There are often times where you may need to use this expression, to get the wrong end of the stick because it means to misunderstand or misinterpret what someone has said. So this can happen between two people who speak the same language, but often if one or both of the people are speaking a second language, there can be some confusion, and somebody might misunderstand or misinterpret what the other person has said. So they can get the wrong end of the stick.
Example: Sorry, I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick. I wasn’t disagreeing with you; on the contrary, I think you’re right.
Explanation: Somebody’s having a conversation, and they realize that the person they’re speaking to thinks that they’re disagreeing with them, but in actual fact, it’s the opposite. So they have to mention that. So I think you’re misunderstanding me, you’re misinterpreting what I’m saying. So this is a nice and polite way to clarify what is being said so you don’t continue the conversation with this misunderstanding. So a very useful idiom there.
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7. To line one’s pockets
Meaning: It means to make money, but dishonestly. So it has this kind of negative connotation that you’re making money but in a dishonest way.
Example: The corrupt politician was lining his pockets with money from campaign donations.
Explanation: So people were giving him money for the campaign in particular, but this politician, this corrupt politician, was putting the money into his pockets for his own use. So he was lining his pockets. As I said, it’s not just earning; it has this dishonest connotation.
8. To take the biscuit
Meaning: this is a particularly British English idiom. It’s used to express the idea that something is the most extreme.
So it depends on what you have already mentioned in the sentence or the previous sentence, but it’s really emphasizing that it’s the most extreme. It could be the best, the worst, the most annoying, the most surprising, the most boring, the most interesting, but it’s a great idiom to really emphasize. [Everyday English Idioms for Speaking]
Example: I’ve been to a few boring meetings before, but that one takes the biscuit.
Explanation: So what I’m saying here is that, yes, I’ve been to boring meetings; it’s quite normal to go to boring meetings, but that one was the most boring. There have never been any more boring meetings than that one. So it takes the biscuit. You can imagine the biscuit being the award, so you win the award for being the most boring meeting ever. So it takes the biscuit.
9. To put someone on a pedestal
Meaning: this means to admire someone greatly, in fact, you admire them so much as to think that they are perfect. So you really think they’re great; for whatever reasons.
Example: We shouldn’t put Instagram influencers on a pedestal. They have their faults and weaknesses like everyone else.
Explanation: So we shouldn’t put influencers on a pedestal; we shouldn’t admire them too much. They’re not perfect like anybody, you know. I’m not criticizing influencers here, but it’s just to say that perhaps some people put them on a pedestal; they admire them a bit too much, and they’re not perfect; they have their faults and weaknesses like everyone in the world.
10. To call it a day
Meaning: we use this idiom to signal that it’s time to stop doing an activity.
So maybe you’ve been doing a job or some kind of task for some time, and you decide that’s it; we’ve got to finish; we’ve got to call it a day. So we often say, “Let’s call it a day.” “
Example: We’ve been working on this dance routine for hours now; let’s call it a day.
Explanation: The activity here is practicing this dance routine, and maybe you’re getting tired or bored, and somebody decides it’s time to stop, so they say, “Let’s call it a day; let’s finish.”
Conclusion
Everyday English Idioms for Speaking: So those are all 10 amazing idioms for this lesson. Let’s call it a day. I hope you found it useful.
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