| Idiom | Meaning | Example Sentence |
| apple of one's eye | a person that is adored by someone | Baby Jessica is the apple of her father's eye. |
| (have a) bun in the oven | be pregnant | I don't think Jan will come to the bar because she has a bun in the oven. |
| bad egg | a person who is often in trouble | I don't want my little brother hanging around with the bad eggs on the street. |
| big cheese | very important person (VIP) | I thought I was just going to interview the secretary, but they let me talk to the big cheese himself. |
| bread and butter | necessities, the main thing | Just explain the bread and butter of your report. You don't have to go into details. |
| bring home the bacon | earn the income | My husband has had to bring home the bacon ever since I broke my leg. |
| (score) brownie points | things done or said that make someone else like you better | I scored brownie points with my teacher by bringing her a cup of coffee. |
| butter someone up | be extra nice to someone (usually for selfish reasons) | We'll have to butter Angie up before we tell her the news about the broken vase. |
| (have one's) cake and eat it too | want more than your fair share or need | Rick wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to be single but he doesn't want me to date anyone else. |
| carrot top | person with red or orange hair | Simon is the first carrot top I've ever gone out with. |
| cheesy | silly | I love reading cheesy romance novels because I don't have to think. |
| cool as a cucumber | very relaxed | I thought I was afraid of flying, but I was cool as a cucumber all the way to England. |
| cream of the crop | the best | We hired the cream of the crop to entertain us at the Christmas party. |
| (don't) cry over spilled milk | get upset over something that has happened and cannot be changed | The mirror is broken and we can't fix it. There's no need to cry over spilled milk. |
| cup of joe | cup of coffee | Let's stop for a cup of joe before we head to work. |
| (not my) cup of tea | something you enjoy (usually used negatively) | Opera isn't exactly my cup of tea. |
| egg someone on | urge someone to do something | The gang tried to egg us on but we didn't want to fight. |
| freeze one's buns off | be very cold | I froze my buns off at the ice rink. |
| full of beans | have a lot of (silly) energy | The kids were full of beans after the circus. |
| gravy train | extremely good pay for minimal work | The unionized grocers have been enjoying the gravy train for twenty years. |
| (have something) handed to someone on a silver platter | receive without working for something | The professor's daughter had her college diploma handed to her on a silver platter. |
| hard nut to crack | difficult to understand (often a person) | Angelo is a hard nut to crack when something is bothering him like this. |
| hot potato | a controversial or difficult subject | Choosing a location for our new store is a hot potato right now. |
| in a nutshell | simply | In a nutshell, I'm having a bad day. |
| nuts about something, someone | like a lot | I'm nuts about classical music these days. |
| out to lunch | crazy or mad | Harry has been out to lunch ever since he lost his job. |
| one smart cookie | a very intelligent person | Your daughter is one smart cookie. She reads much higher than her grade level. |
| peach fuzz | small amount of hair growth | Except for a bit of peach fuzz, the baby came out bald. |
| piece of cake | very easy | The exam was a piece of cake. |
| put all of ones eggs in one basket | rely on one single thing | Even though I'm majoring in Art, I'm taking a maths course because my Dad says I shouldn't put all of my eggs in one basket. |
| souped up | made more powerful or stylish | The car was souped up with shiny rims and a loud stereo. |
| sell like hot cakes | bought by many people | The new Harry Potter books sold like hot cakes. |
| spice things up | make something more exciting | I wanted to spice things up in the office, so I bought some red and gold paint. |
| spill the beans | reveal the truth | On Monday, I'm going to spill the beans about my travel plans. |
| take something with a pinch (grain) of salt | don't consider something 100% accurate | Take Mandy's advice with a pinch of salt. She doesn't always do her research. |
| use your noodle | use your brain | You're going to have to really use your noodle on this crossword puzzle. It's an extra difficult one. |