Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket is one of a surprising number of idioms that refer to eggs. This particular idiom is a warning not to focus all your resources or energy...
Category: Idioms
Life and Soul of the Party
In British English we often talk about someone being the “life and soul of the party”. The American English equivalent is “life of the party”. We use the phrase to refer to people who...
The proof is in the pudding
“The proof is in the pudding” is an English idiom. At first sight it doesn’t make much sense. When a pudding has jam in it, it’s a jam pudding. When a pudding has steak...
Me and My Shadow
“Me and My Shadow” is a popular song, written nearly a hundred years ago and recorded countless times since then. It is about being lonely – the only company the singer has is his...
Out of order
When we say that something is out of order, we might mean that it isn’t working properly and can therefore not be used. Some examples: Similar expressions include: We also use “out of order”...
You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs
When we say that you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs we mean that it’s impossible to do something good without damaging something else. It’s an idiom that we often use – sometimes...
Bee in your bonnet
We say that someone has a bee in their bonnet when they can’t stop talking or thinking about something. This might be because they are worried or angry about it. Or it might be...
To put one’s foot in it
“To put one’s foot in it” is an idiom. We use it to talk about someone saying something embarrassing without meaning to do so. If I say “I put my foot in it”, I...
Mind-boggling
When we say that something is mind-boggling, we mean that it is so large, complicated or extreme that it is very surprising and difficult to understand or imagine. For example: We often use the...
What is a Joke?
As a noun, “a joke” is something that is said to make people laugh. And as a verb, “to joke” is to say something to make people laugh. Some examples: (In English there is...