AMERICAN PROVERBS, ALLUSIONS, AND IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS
A
1. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.
2. A case in point
3. A chain is no stronger than its weakest link.
4. A feather in the cap
5. A fool and his money are soon parted.
6. A fresh pair of eyes
7. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
8. A friend who shares is a friend who cares.
9. A hard act to follow.
10. A heart of gold
11. A labor of love
12. A little bird told me.
13. A little learning is a dangerous thing.
14. A match made in heaven
15. A man is known by the company he keeps.
16. A miss is as good as a mile.
17. A penny saved is a penny earned.
18. A picture is worth a thousand words.
19. A rolling stone gathers no moss.
20. A stitch in time saves nine.
21. A wolf in sheep’s clothing
22. Above board
23. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
24. Ace in the hole
25. Achilles’ heel
26. Actions speak louder than words.
27. Add fuel to the fire.
28. Add insult to injury.
29. After the feast comes the reckoning.
30. All is fair in love and war.
31. All that glitters is not gold.
32. All roads lead to Rome.
33. An accident waiting to happen
34. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
35. An idle mind is the devil’s playground.
36. An offer you can’t refuse
37. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
38. As American as apple pie

B
1. Baby boomer
2. Back to square one
3. Back to the drawing board
4. Backseat driver
5. Bad news travels fast.
6. Baker’s dozen
7. Barefaced liar
8. Barking dogs seldom bite.
9. Barking up the wrong tree
10. Beat around the bush.
11. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
12. Beggars can't be choosers.
13. Better a live coward than a dead hero.
14. Better late than never.
15. Better safe than sorry.
16. Birds of a feather (flock together)
17. Bite off more than one can chew.
18. Blood is thicker than water.
19. Blow something out of proportion.
20. Born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth
21. Bread and butter
22. Burn one’s bridges.
23. Burn the candle at both ends.
C
1. Call a spade a spade.
2. Call it a day.
3. Call someone on the carpet.
4. Call the shots.
5. Calm before the storm
6. Can’t fight fire with fire.
7. Can’t see the forest for the trees.
8. Carrot and stick
9. Cash cow
10. Cat got your tongue.
11. Caught red-handed
12. Caught with one’s hand in the cookie jar
13. Charity begins at home.
14. Clothes make the man.
15. Coal to New Castle
16. Come back with a vengeance.
17. Cream of the crop

18. Crocodile tears
19. Curiosity killed the cat.
D
1. Damn with faint praise.
2. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
3. Dead in the water
4. Dead man walking
5. Deep pockets
6. Deer in the headlights
7. Devil is in the detail.
8. Devil’s advocate
9. Diamond in the rough
10. Dig your heel in.
11. Dime a dozen
12. Domino effect
13. Don't bite off more than you can chew.
14. Don't bite the hand that feeds you.
15. Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.
16. Don't cry over spilled milk.
17. Don't judge a book by its cover.
18. Don't judge a man until you've walked in his boots.
19. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
20. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
21. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
22. Don’t throw good money after bad.
E
1. Each to their own.
2. Early bird catches the worm.
3. Easier said than done.
4. Easy come, easy go.
5. Easy does it.
6. Easy on the eyes
7. Eat your heart out.
8. Elbow grease
9. Elephant in the room
10. Even keel
11. Every nook and cranny

F
1. Face the music.
2. Face your demons.
3. Fair and square
4. Fairweather friend
5. Fall by the wayside.
6. Fall from grace
7. Fall off the wagon.
8. Fall on deaf ears.
9. Familiarity breeds contempt.
10. Feel at home.
11. Feel the pinch.
12. Forewarned is forearmed.
13. Fresh off the boat
G
1. Game on.
2. Garbage in, garbage out.
3. Get along famously.
4. Get away scot-free.
5. Get away with murder.
6. Get it off your chest.
7. Get my drift.
8. Get on one’s nerves.
9. Get one’s feet wet.
10. Get out of bed on the wrong side.
11. Get the ball rolling.
12. Get the hang of it.
13. Give someone the benefit of the doubt.
14. God helps those who help themselves.
15. Good fence makes good neighbors.
16. Good things come in small packages.
17. Great minds think alike.

H
1. Hand to mouth
2. Hands down
3. Hang by a thread
4. Hang someone out to dry.
5. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
6. Happy go lucky.
7. Hard up
8. Haste makes waste.
9. Hat(s) off to someone
10. Have a ball.
11. Have a blast.
12. He who laughs last, laughs longest.
13. Head over heels over someone
14. Hell has no fury like a woman scorned.
15. Here’s looking at you, kid.
16. Hindsight is 20/20.
17. Honesty is the best policy.
I
1. Icing on the cake
2. Idle hands are the devil’s handiwork.
3. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
4. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
5. If the shoe fits, wear it.
6. If you can't beat them, join them.
7. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
8. If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas.
9. If worst comes to worst.
10. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
11. In a fix, in a jam, in a pickle, in a tight spot, in dire straits
12. In a flash, in a heartbeat, in a jiffy, in the wink of an eye
13. In a nutshell
14. In broad daylight
15. In cahoots
16. In cold blood
17. In the nick of time
18. In unity there is strength.
19. It never rains but it pours.
20. It takes two to tango.
21. It’s better to bend than break.
22. It’s Greek to me.
23. It’s raining cats and dogs.

J
1. Jack-of-all-trades
2. Jaws of death
3. Jekyll and Hyde
4. Jockey for position.
5. Jog my memory.
6. Join the club.
7. Joined at the hip.
8. Jump off the cliff.
9. Jump on the bandwagon.
10. Jump through hoops.
11. Jump to the conclusion (or conclusions).
12. Jury’s out.
13. Just what the doctor ordered.
14. Justice is blind.
K
1. Kangaroo court
2. Keep (someone) at bay, keep (someone) at arm’s length.
3. Keep (something) close to the vest.
4. Keep (someone) on his toes.
5. Keep (something) under wraps.
6. Keep tabs on (someone).
7. Keep your eye on the ball.
8. Keep your fingers crossed.
9. Keep your nose to the grindstone.
10. Keep up with the Joneses.
11. Keep your chin up.
12. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
13. Keep your head above water.
14. Kick a habit.
15. Kick the can down the road.
16. Kill two birds with one stone.
17. Knight in shining armor

L
1. Lay it on thick.
2. Learn the ropes.
3. Leave no stone unturned.
4. Leave well enough alone.
5. Left to your own devices
6. Left-handed compliment
7. Leopard can’t change its spots.
8. Lesser of two evils
9. Let bygones be bygones.
10. Let the cat out of the bag.
11. Let the dust settle.
12. Let the genie out of the bottle.
13. Life is a box of chocolates.
14. Lightning doesn’t strikes twice.
15. Live within (one’s) means.
16. Look before you leap.
17. Love at first sight
18. Love is blind.
19. Love makes the world go round.
M
1. Make a mountain out of a molehill.
2. Make ends meet.
3. Make hay while the sun shines.
4. Make your blood boil.
5. Make your flesh crawl, make your hair stand on end.
6. Make someone’s toes curl.
7. Make waves.
8. Man of his word
9. Man proposes, God disposes.
10. May the force be with you.
11. Might makes right.
12. Misery loves company.
13. Monday morning quarterback
14. Money does not grow on trees.
15. Money is the root of all evil.
16. My two cents

N
1. Necessity is the mother of invention.
2. Neck and neck
3. Neck of the woods
4. Needle in a haystack
5. Neither fish nor fowl
6. New kid on the block
7. Nip it in the bud.
8. No can do
9. No good deed goes unpunished.
10. No holds barred
11. No ifs or buts
12. No laughing matter
13. No news is good news.
14. No pain, no gain.
15. No use crying over spilled milk.
16. Nothing hurts like the truth.
17. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
O
1. Odds and ends
2. Off the beaten track
3. Off the chart
4. Off the cuff
5. Off the hook
6. Off the mark
7. Off the record
8. Off the wall
9. Offer an olive branch.
10. Old friends and old wine are best.
11. Old habits die hard.
12. Old wives’ tale
13. On a fishing expedition
14. On a roll
15. On a silver platter
16. On board
17. On good terms
18. On thin ice
19. On my watch
20. On pins and needles
21. One good turn deserves another.
22. One man's gravy is another man's poison.

23. One swallow does not a summer make.
24. Open a can of worms.
25. Open Pandora’s box.
26. Out of the blue
P
1. Page turner
2. Pain in the neck
3. Paint the town red.
4. Paint yourself into a corner.
5. Pass muster.
6. Pay peanuts.
7. Pay through the nose.
8. Pay your dues.
9. Pecking order
10. Peeping Tom
11. Pen is mightier than the sword.
12. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
13. Pet peeve
14. Pick someone’s brains.
15. Pick your battle.
16. Pie in the sky
17. Poor as dirt
18. Practice makes perfect.
19. Preach to the choir.
20. Put one’s foot in one’s mouth.
21. Put something on the back burner.
22. Put the cart before the horse.
Q
1. Quick on the draw
2. Quid pro quo

R
1. Rack one’s brains
2. Rags to riches
3. Rain on someone’s parade.
4. Raise eyebrows.
5. Raw deal
6. Read between the lines.
7. Real McCoy
8. Recipe for disaster
9. Red herring
10. Reinvent the wheel.
11. Rome wasn't built in a day.
S
1. Sacred cow
2. Saigon moment
3. Salad days
4. Same old, same old
5. Save for the rainy day.
6. Saved by the bell
7. Scare the living daylights out of someone.
8. Scrape the bottom of the barrel.
9. Scratch the surface.
10. Screw loose
11. Sea change
12. Seamy side
13. See eye to eye.
14. Silence is golden.
15. Silver lining
16. Sink your teeth into something
17. Sit on the fence.
18. Somewhere over the rainbow
19. Speaking of the devil
20. Steal someone’s thunder.
21. Strike while the iron is hot.
22. Sweep something under the rug.

T
1. Tables are turned.
2. Take a hike.
3. Take a rain check.
4. Take it up a notch.
5. Take it in stride.
6. Take one for the team.
7. Take someone to task.
8. Take someone to the cleaners.
9. Take someone under one’s wing.
10. Take the bull by its horns.
11. The absent-minded professor
12. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
13. The ball is in your court.
14. The best things in life are free.
15. The best of both worlds
16. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
17. The buck stops here.
18. The d evil’s advocate
19. The end justifies the means.
20. The face that launched a thousand ships
21. The first step is always the hardest.
22. The grass is always greener on the other side.
23. The green-eyed monster
24. The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
25. The long and short of it
26. The proof is in the pudding.
27. The rest is history.
28. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
29. The squeaking wheel gets the oil.
30. The Trojan Horse
31. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
32. The writing on the wall
33. There are daggers in men’s smiles.
34. There is no honor among thieves.
35. There's no fool like an old fool.
36. There's no place like home.
37. To be or not to be: that is the question
38. To each his own.
39. To err is human; to forgive, divine.
40. Too many chiefs, not enough Indians.
41. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
42. Too much of a good thing
43. Truth will set you free.
44. Two heads are better than one.
45. Two's company, three's a crowd.

U
1. Unchartered waters
2. Uncle Sam
3. Under a cloud (of suspicion)
4. Under false pretenses
5. Under fire
6. Under lock and key
7. Under the belt
8. Under the gun
9. Under the radar
10. Under the table
11. Under weather
12. Under your nose
13. Under your skin
14. Under your thumb
15. Up for grabs
16. Up in the air
17. Up to snuff
18. Up to speed
V
1. Variety is the spice of life.
2. Vicious circle, vicious cycle
W
1. Walk a fine line.
2. Walk a mile in someone’s shoes.
3. Walk on eggshells.
4. Walk on water.
5. Walking encyclopedia
6. Waste not, want not.
7. Water under the bridge
8. Wear your heart on the sleeve.
9. We’re not in Kansas anymore.
10. Weather the storm.

11. What goes around comes around.
12. When hell freezes over
13. When it rains, it pours.
14. When life gives you a lemon, make lemonade.
15. When in Rome (do as the Romans do)
16. When push comes to shove
17. When the cat's away, the mice play.
18. When rubber meets the road
19. Where there's smoke, there's fire.
20. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
21. Which way the wind blows
22. Whip someone into shape.
23. With a grain of salt
24. Without rhyme or reason
Y
1. Yellow-bellied
2. You are toast!
3. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
4. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
5. You can’t judge a book by its cover.
6. You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
7. You have to take the good with the bad.
8. You reap what you sow.
9. You're never too old to learn.
10. You’ve made your bed, now lie in it.
Z
1. Zero tolerance
2. Zip it! Zip your lip!