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An idiom is a phrase that means something different from its literal words. “It's raining cats and dogs” doesn't mean animals are falling — it means it's raining hard! Read each idiom and its real meaning.
| Idiom / Saying | What it really means |
|---|---|
| Break the ice | To start a conversation and make people feel comfortable. |
| A piece of cake | Something very easy to do. |
| Hit the books | To study hard. |
| Under the weather | Feeling sick. |
| Once in a blue moon | Something that happens very rarely. |
| Spill the beans | To reveal a secret. |
| Bite the bullet | To do something hard or unpleasant you've been avoiding. |
| Let the cat out of the bag | To accidentally reveal a secret. |
| The ball is in your court | It's your turn to make a decision or take action. |
| Cost an arm and a leg | To be very expensive. |
| Cry over spilled milk | To be upset about something that already happened and can't be changed. |
| Hit the nail on the head | To describe or do something exactly right. |
| Pull someone's leg | To joke with or tease someone. |
| Butterflies in your stomach | A nervous, fluttery feeling. |
| A blessing in disguise | Something that seems bad at first but turns out to be good. |
| Burn the midnight oil | To stay up late working or studying. |
| Miss the boat | To miss a chance or opportunity. |
| On the same page | To agree or share the same understanding. |
| Raining cats and dogs | Raining very heavily. |
| The tip of the iceberg | A small, visible part of a much bigger problem. |
| Cut corners | To do something the cheapest or easiest way, often poorly. |
| Get cold feet | To become nervous and unsure before doing something. |
| Barking up the wrong tree | Looking in the wrong place or blaming the wrong person. |
| Give the benefit of the doubt | To trust what someone says even without proof. |
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This free printable list of common idioms and sayings explains each phrase in plain, kid-friendly language. Idioms can confuse young and ESL readers because their meaning isn't literal, so a reference like this is great for classrooms, homeschool, and vocabulary building. Print it and explore a few expressions at a time.
An idiom is a common phrase whose meaning is different from the literal meaning of its words, like “break the ice” meaning to start a conversation.
Yes — it's completely free to print and share for home or classroom use.
Because you can't figure out an idiom's meaning just by reading the individual words — you have to learn the expression as a whole. That's why a reference list helps.