Idioms / Proverbs / Similes for Essay

IDIOMS /
PROVERBS
/ SIMILES

MEANINGS

SENTENCES

Our team is strong, but it won't

be a piece of cake to make it to
the finals.
an attempt to do something
The villagers raced against
a race
when there is little time to do it
time to protect their town
against time
against the flood.

Things that a person does mean You keep saying that you'll do the
Actions
housework. Remember that
speak louder more than what is said
actions speak louder than
than word

words.
As cheap as
That piece of bag is a must-buy
Very cheap
dirt
because it is as cheap as dirt.
Come in and get warm, your
hands are as cold as ice. / The
Very cold / unfriendly /
As cold as
new teacher was unpopular
ice

because she was cold as ice.

She should be friendlier.
As happy as
When she heard the good news
Very happy
a lark
she was as happy as a lark.
As light as
I could easily pick you up - you're
Very light
feather
as light as a feather.
As quick as a flash, he
As quick as
snatched the book and ran out of
Very fast
flash
the room.
He's one of our best players as
As strong as
strong as a bull, with good speed
Very strong
a bull
and great hands.
produce positive results
Their hard work will bear fruit
bear fruit
very soon.

Blood is
Nancy will drop everything to
Family relationships are strong
thicker than
help her sister; blood is thicker
than any others
water
than water.
James doesn't know anything
born with a
born into rich families about working for a living; he was
silver spoon
born with a silver spoon in his

in mouth
mouth.
bright and
It's a long trip, so we'll have to
early in the morning
early
start out bright and early.
Building a
Instead of working hard at her
castle in the
lessons, Mary spends her time
Daydream
air
building a castle in the air.
Cannot judge the quality or
Cant judge a
She doesn't look very clever, but
character of someone or
book by its
you can't judge a book by its
something just by looking at
cover
cover.
the
Castle in the
plans or hopes that have very
Your plan is merely a castle in
a piece of
cake

simple

air
caught up in

cut one's
coat
according to
one's cloth
Dont cry
over spilt
milk
every cloud
has a silver
lining
eye-opener
get on my
nerves
hale and
hearty
hit the road

hustle and
bustle

in a tight
spot
In the
limelight

in the pink

keep an eye
on
keeps our
heads above
water
lend a hand /

little chance of happening

the air.

Wallace is caught up in his work

and has little time for his son,
Buxton.
We would like a bigger house, but
we must cut our coat
To do only what you have enough
according to our cloth. / They
money to do and no more
can't afford a vacation as they

have to cut their coat

according to their cloth.
The papers you wanted went out
Don't regret what cannot be
in last week's trash, so don't cry
undone or rectified
over spilt milk.
As
the
trip's
been cancelled I'll be
every bad or difficult situation
able to go to the match this
has a positive side
Saturday. Every cloud has a

silver lining.
an event or situation that proves
This day has been an eyeto be unexpectedly
opener for me as I have seen a
lot of interesting drawings.
enlightening
It really get on my nerves when
irritate me
you talk about her.
(especially of old people) healthy After her long disease, I was glad
to see her hale and hearty.
and strong
We have to hit the road very
set out on a journey/
early in the morning.
He wanted a little cottage far
busy and noisy activity
away from the hustle and
/ energy and excitement bustle of city life. / Some people
like the hustle and bustle of

holiday shopping.
Bob's in a tight spot right now
a difficult situation
because he has fallen behind in

his work.
John loves being in the
in the centre of attention
limelight therefore he will do a
lot
of silly acts to attract peoples
/
attention.
He recovered completely from his
in very good health and spirits
surgery and has been in the

pink ever since.

Please keep an eye on the baby.
watching them closely
/ Will you please keep your eye
on my house while I'm on

vacation?
manage to survive / to just be
The business is in trouble, but
able to continue doing what you
were keeping our heads
do /
above water.

Could you lend me a hand with

help
to become completely involved in
something

this piano? I need to move it

across the room. / Peter is always
willing to lend a helping hand
around the house.

lend a
helping hand

Like father,
like son

Fathers and sons resemble each

other, and sons tend to do what
their fathers did before them

I think my son will grow up tall,

just like his father. Like father,
like son.

Make a
mountain
out of a
molehill

Exaggerate the seriousness of a

problem

meet up

get together / /

Meet up to

To have some required level of

quality

Mother
Nature
/Mother
Earth

nature

once in a
blue moon

very rarely

point the
finger at

blaming others

raining cats
and dogs

Raining heavily

second to
none

better than everything else

spreads like
wildfire

spreads quickly

the eleventh
hour

the last possible moment for

doing something / last minute

She always turned her projects in

at the eleventh hour.

give up

When John could stand no more

of Mary's bad temper, he threw
in the towel and left.

throw in the
towel / throw
in the
sponge / toss
in the
sponge
time is
money
To eat like a
bird
To eat like a
horse

Time is valuable
To eat very little
To eat a lot

You're making a mountain out

of a molehill. You wrote one bad
essay - it doesnt mean you're
going to fail.
Let's meet up after the meeting
and discuss this further.
I think our performance will meet
up to your expectations.
Look at those trees blown down
in the storm. Just shows you what
Mother Nature can do when she
gets angry.
Once in a blue moon, I buy a
fashion magazine, just to see
what people are wearing.
Don't point the finger at me! I
didn't take the money. / When
they asked her who broke the
window, she pointed the finger
at Tom.
I'm not going out in that storm.
It's raining cats and dogs.
Her suggestion was second to
none, and the manager accepted
it eagerly.
The disease spread like
wildfire.

I can't afford to spend a lot of

time standing here talking as
time is money.
Jane is very thin because she
eats like a bird.
No wonder he's so fat. He eats
like a horse.

To fight like
cats and
dogs

Be continually arguing with one

another /

To sleep like
a log / sleep
like a baby

sleep very soundly

too good to
be true
Virtue is its
own reward

What goes
around
comes
around

so good that it is hard to

believe
The reward for acting in a moral
way is the knowledge that you
have done so and should not
expect more
The way you behave towards
other people will affect the way
those people behave towards you
in the future / karma
/ / /

We used to be best friends when

we were kids but now we fight
like cats and dogs.
Everyone in our family sleeps
like a log, so no one heard the
thunderstorm in the middle of the
night. / Nothing can wake me up.
I usually sleep like a baby.
The news was too good to be
true.
Bill: If I help you, will you pay
me?
Fred: No! Virtue is its own
reward.
With him treating his family so
badly, he ended up with nobody
looking after him. Well, what
goes around comes around.

where
If you truly want to do something, We'll get this piano up the stairs
there's a will,
you will find a way to do it, in
somehow. Where there's a will,
there's a
there's a way.
spite of obstacles
way
with flying
He passed his exam with flying
with great success,
colours
colours.
That celebrity is yesterdays
Someone or something that is no
Yesterdays
news, no one is interested to
longer interesting
news
know what is happening to him

now.