Useful Idioms for IELTS

out of someones league

too good or expensive for someone to have

over the moon

to be extremely pleased or happy.

part and parcel

something integral with a whole

penny for your thoughts

asking someone what is in their mind

pull yourself together

recover control of your emotions

put all your eggs in one basket

to depend for success on a single person or plan

raining cats and dogs

raining very heavily

set in their ways

not wanting to change

so far so good

used to say that something (such as a plan or project) is progressing well with no problems up to the present.

someone wouldnt be caught dead

someone dislikes something very much

someones heart is in the right place

someone only has good intentions

someones jaw drops

someone is very surprised

someones pride and joy

a person or thing that gives someone a lot of satisfaction and happiness

someones true colours

the kind of person someone really is rather than what they appear to be

something rings a bell

something is familiar or that you've heard something before

speak of the devil

said when a person appears just after being mentioned

the ball is in your court

it's your decision

the best of both worlds

a situation in which you can enjoy the advantages of two different things

the best thing since sliced bread

a really great invention

the bottom line

most important number of information.

the devil is in the details

it looks good from afar, but when you look more closely, there are problems

the early bird gets the worm

the people who arrive first will get the best stuff

the elephant in the room

the big issue, the problem that people are avoiding

the last straw

the last in a series of unpleasant events that makes you feel like you can't continue

there are plenty more fish in the sea

it's ok to miss opportunity because others will arise

there is a method to someones madness

someone appears crazy but actually they have a plan

there is no such thing as a free lunch

nothing is entirely free

through thick and thin

under all circumstances, no matter how difficult

to be tickled pink

to be very happy

to call it a day

to stop what you are doing because you think you have done enough or do not want to do any more

to get out of hand

to become difficult to control

to get something out of your system

to get rid of a wish or emotion especially a negative one, by allowing yourself to express it

to get your act together

to start to organise yourself so that you do things in an effective way

to give someone the benefit of the doubt

to decide that you will believe someone, even if you are not sure that what they're saying is true

to give someone the cold shoulder

to ignore someone

to go back to the drawing board

to start planning something again because the first plan failed

to hit the nail on the head

to get something exactly right

to hit the sack

to go to bed

to jump on the bandwagon

to join an activity, trend or opinion that has become popular

to keep ones chin up

to keep ones spirit high

to kill two birds with one stone

get two things done with a single action

to leave no stone unturned

try every possible course of action in order to get something done

to let sleeping dogs lie

to leave a situation as it is, in order to not make it worse

to let someone off the hook

to allow (someone who has been caught doing something wrong or illegal) to go unpunished

to let the cat out of the bag

to reveal a secret

to love someone to bits

to love someone a lot

to make a long story short

used to indicate that you are providing just basic facts and information in order to reduce the length of a story

to make matters worse

with the result that a bad situation is made worse