Essay Idioms PDF! Below is the list of 50 idioms for argumentative essays, learn a very useful list of idioms for essays with meaning and examples. Download this list of idioms for the essay in an Infographic PDF.
Essay Idioms in English
List of Essay Idioms
Here are some more idioms that can be used in essays:
- A picture is worth a thousand words
- All’s fair in love and war
- Barking up the wrong tree
- Burning the midnight oil
- Cutting corners
- Devil’s advocate
- Don’t judge a book by its cover
- Every cloud has a silver lining
- Fit as a fiddle
- Get the ball rolling
- Hard to swallow
- In a nutshell
- Jump the gun
- Keep your chin up
- Let the cat out of the bag
- Make a long story short
- No pain, no gain
- On the same page
- Practice makes perfect
- Quick fix
- Rain on someone’s parade
- Sink or swim
- Time flies when you’re having fun
- Up in arms
- Variety is the spice of life
- When in Rome, do as the Romans do
- You can’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree.
- Actions speak louder than words
- All bark and no bite
- Beat around the bush
- Better late than never
- Bite the bullet
- Break a leg
- Burn bridges
- By the skin of your teeth
- Cry over spilt milk
- Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
- Elephant in the room
- Face the music
- Give the benefit of the doubt
- Hit the nail on the head
- Ignorance is bliss
- Jump through hoops
- Kill two birds with one stone
- Let sleeping dogs lie
- Misery loves company
- On thin ice
- Penny for your thoughts
- Put all your eggs in one basket
- Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Idioms For Essay Conclusion
Here are some idioms that can be used to conclude an essay:
- All things considered
- At the end of the day
- In a nutshell
- To sum up
- In conclusion
- Ultimately
- In summary
- In essence
- To put it simply
- To wrap it up
- On the whole
- All in all
- By and large
- To cut a long story short
- In the final analysis
- In the grand scheme of things
- In the long run
- In the end
- Lastly but not least
- To draw a conclusion
Idioms for Argumentative Essay
Here are some idioms that can be used in an argumentative essay:
- To be up in arms about
- To play devil’s advocate
- To fight tooth and nail
- To be a double-edged sword
- To hit the nail on the head
- To be a hot-button issue
- To be a bone of contention
- To stir up a hornet’s nest
- To get to the heart of the matter
- To be in someone’s corner
- To have a dog in the fight
- To hold one’s ground
- To make a case for
- To put one’s foot down
- To stand one’s ground
- To throw down the gauntlet
- To turn the tables
- To weigh the pros and cons
- To see both sides of the coin
- To take a firm stance
Essay Idioms With Meaning and Example Sentences
Below is the list of essay idioms in English:
REST/SIT ON ONE’S LAURELS
Meaning:To be satisfied with one’s achievements
- He retired at the peak of his career and is resting on his laurels.
RISE TO THE OCCASION
Meaning: To be able to do what is required in a crisis
- We should be ready to rise to every occasion.
ROYAL ROAD
Meaning: An easy way
- There is no royal road to success.
RUN SHORT OF
Meaning: To be in insufficient supply
- We are running short of fuel.
SAFE AND SOUND
Meaning: Without suffering any loss
- They reached home safe and sound.
SAVE SOMETHING FOR A RAINY DAY
Meaning: Save something for a time of crisis
- Wise persons save something for a rainy day.
SCOT-FREE
Meaning: Free from harm or penalty
- The court let him off scot-free.
SEE EYE TO EYE
Meaning: Agree fully
- Both the husband and the wife see eye to eye in this matter.
SEE HOW THE LAND LIES
Meaning: To find out about a situation
- Let me see how the land lies before we do anything.
SET / PUT IN MOTION
Meaning: To start a process
- Her anger set in motion the events that led to her downfall.
SET FREE
Meaning: To let someone free
- He opened the cage and set the birds free.
SET ONE’S FACE AGAINST
Meaning: To oppose
- Her father set his face Against her becoming an actress.
SHIPSHAPE
Meaning: In good order
- well-arranged, neat and clean)
SHOW THE WHITE FEATHER
Meaning: Show cowardice
- The brave never show the white feather in the battlefield.
SIT / BE ON THE FENCE
Meaning: To be neutral
- The judge should always sit on the fence.
SMALL TALK
Meaning: Polite talk about very unimportant matters
- I do not like to indulge in small talk.
SMELL A RAT
Meaning: To have the feeling that something is bad or wrong
- The thief smells a rat and ran away.
SO FAR
Meaning: A long way
- At is so far to go.
SO FAR AS
Meaning: As far as
- Try to avoid him, so far as I know him, he is not a good boy.
SOUR GRAPES
Meaning: Fake dislike for something one cannot have
- The poor man said that he did not need money, but that was just sour grapes.
SPEAK ONE’S MIND
Meaning: Express one’s views, feelings, and thoughts
- Everyone should be free to speak his mind
SPEAK VOLUMES
Meaning: To convey a great deal of meaning without using words
- She said nothing but her face spoke volumes.
SPICK AND SPAN
Meaning: Neat and clean, brand new
- She always keeps her house spick and span.
SPLIT HAIRS
Meaning: To make trivial distinctions
- Let us do not split hairs, I will do it as your wish.
SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE
Meaning: Spread rapidly
- The news of his success spread like wildfire.
STAND ON CEREMONY
Meaning: To behave in a formal way
- Please sit down and make yourself comfortable, do not stand on ceremony here.
STEAL A MARCH ON
Meaning: To gain an advantage
- Do not let him steal a march on you.
STORM IN A TEACUP
Meaning: A big clash on a small matter
- Do not worry about the two ladies quarreling, it is just a storm in a teacup.
STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT
Meaning: To do something at a proper moment
- Wise people always strike while the iron is hot.
SUIT SOMEBODY’S BOOK
Meaning: To fit well into someone’s plans
- We need a male teacher, he suits our book.
TAKE A FANCY TO
Meaning: Begin to love
- He has taken a fancy to that beautiful girl.
TAKE A LEAF FROM/OUT OF SOMEBODY’S BOOK
Meaning: To imitate, to follow someone’s example
- Our country should take a leaf from Japan’s book.
TAKE A LEAP IN THE DARK
Meaning: To do something without worrying about the results
- To start such a big business without experience is like to take leap in the dark.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOMETHING/SOMEBODY
Meaning: To make use of something well
- We took full advantage of the hotel facilities.
TAKE CARE OF
Meaning: To look after
- I take good care of my car.
TAKE FRENCH LEAVE
Meaning: To take time away from your job without asking for permission
- Her boss was angry at her for taking French leave.
TAKE HEART
Meaning: Gather courage
- Do not get discouraged, just take heart to face the music.
TAKE IT ILL
Meaning: Get offended
- She will take it ill if you refuse to lend her problem.
TAKE ONE’S TIME
Meaning: To use as much time as you need without hurrying
- The judge took his time to decide the case.
TAKE PAINS TO DO SOMETHING/TAKE PAINS WITH/OVER SOMETHING
Meaning: Make a special effort to do something
- Elina takes great pains to do his work.
TAKE SOMETHING/SOMEBODY BY STORM
Meaning: To be very successful in a particular place or with a group of people
- This book has taken the students by storm.
TAKE SOMETHING INTO ACCOUNT/TAKE ACCOUNT OF SOMETHING
Meaning: To consider particular facts while making a decision about something
- The government should take into account the pitiable condition of the poor.
TAKE THE BULL ‘BY THE HORNS
Meaning: To tackle the difficulties boldly
- Brave people always take the bull by the horns.
TAKE TO HEART
Meaning: Feel sad
- He took the death of his mother to heart.
TAKE TO ONE’S HEELS / SHOW A CLEAN PAIR OF HEELS
Meaning: Run away
- Brave warriors never take to their heels from the battlefield.
TAKE TO TASK
Meaning: Rebuke
- The principal took the peon to task for his laziness.
TAKE WITH A GRAIN/PINCH OF SALT
Meaning: To receive with a little doubt
- Take his story with a grain of salt as he is a liar through and through.
TALK SHOP
Meaning: To talk about your work
- His habit of talking shop is boring for others.
THE MAN IN THE STREET
Meaning: An ordinary man
- The man in the street takes no interest in politics.
THE RED CARPET TREATMENT/WELCOME
Meaning: Great respect and honor given to the guests
- The minister was given a red-carpet welcome when he visited the city.
Must Learn: List of Interesting Idioms & Phrases
Idioms Used in Essays – Infographic
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Last updated on April 20th, 2023 at 11:24 am
