Essay Idioms: Idioms for Argumentative Essay

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:

  1. A picture is worth a thousand words
  2. All’s fair in love and war
  3. Barking up the wrong tree
  4. Burning the midnight oil
  5. Cutting corners
  6. Devil’s advocate
  7. Don’t judge a book by its cover
  8. Every cloud has a silver lining
  9. Fit as a fiddle
  10. Get the ball rolling
  11. Hard to swallow
  12. In a nutshell
  13. Jump the gun
  14. Keep your chin up
  15. Let the cat out of the bag
  16. Make a long story short
  17. No pain, no gain
  18. On the same page
  19. Practice makes perfect
  20. Quick fix
  21. Rain on someone’s parade
  22. Sink or swim
  23. Time flies when you’re having fun
  24. Up in arms
  25. Variety is the spice of life
  26. When in Rome, do as the Romans do
  27. You can’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree.
  28. Actions speak louder than words
  29. All bark and no bite
  30. Beat around the bush
  31. Better late than never
  32. Bite the bullet
  33. Break a leg
  34. Burn bridges
  35. By the skin of your teeth
  36. Cry over spilt milk
  37. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
  38. Elephant in the room
  39. Face the music
  40. Give the benefit of the doubt
  41. Hit the nail on the head
  42. Ignorance is bliss
  43. Jump through hoops
  44. Kill two birds with one stone
  45. Let sleeping dogs lie
  46. Misery loves company
  47. On thin ice
  48. Penny for your thoughts
  49. Put all your eggs in one basket
  50. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Idioms For Essay Conclusion

Here are some idioms that can be used to conclude an essay:

  1. All things considered
  2. At the end of the day
  3. In a nutshell
  4. To sum up
  5. In conclusion
  6. Ultimately
  7. In summary
  8. In essence
  9. To put it simply
  10. To wrap it up
  11. On the whole
  12. All in all
  13. By and large
  14. To cut a long story short
  15. In the final analysis
  16. In the grand scheme of things
  17. In the long run
  18. In the end
  19. Lastly but not least
  20. To draw a conclusion

Idioms for Argumentative Essay

Here are some idioms that can be used in an argumentative essay:

  1. To be up in arms about
  2. To play devil’s advocate
  3. To fight tooth and nail
  4. To be a double-edged sword
  5. To hit the nail on the head
  6. To be a hot-button issue
  7. To be a bone of contention
  8. To stir up a hornet’s nest
  9. To get to the heart of the matter
  10. To be in someone’s corner
  11. To have a dog in the fight
  12. To hold one’s ground
  13. To make a case for
  14. To put one’s foot down
  15. To stand one’s ground
  16. To throw down the gauntlet
  17. To turn the tables
  18. To weigh the pros and cons
  19. To see both sides of the coin
  20. 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

Idioms for Argumentative Essay

essay Idioms

essay Idioms

List of essay Idioms

List of essay Idioms

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