QUIZ: Complete These Common English Phrases

This popular figure of speech means literally one can’t have a piece of cake and eat it too, as the cake would cease to exist. It basically means we can’t only enjoy the good parts of life without dealing with the icky parts. “They want to have a 6 bedroom condo overlooking the ocean without having to pay too much in taxes. But they can’t have their cake and eat it too.”

Typically, people who share similar personality traits, values, and morals are usually friends. This common English phrase carries negative undertones. “He went to jail several times. His girlfriend had some run-ins with the law too. But it’s not surprising. Birds of a feather flock together, after all.”

When people don’t spend every moment together, we end up loving them more and missing them harder. “When we lived together, we ran out of things to say. The relationship was a tad stale. But now that we both have our own place, we miss each other like crazy. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, indeed.”

This idiom is used to convey the message that people don’t change, especially when they have negative personality traits. “Sarah cheated on every boyfriend she ever had. She claims she’s going to be faithful now. But a leopard doesn’t change its spots, or does it?”

This idiom usually refers to someone who has more important things to take care of than whatever is happening at the moment. “Carlton gets a lot of hate comments over his animal activism, but he has bigger fish to fry.”

When someone says they're going to paint the town red, what they're really saying is that they're going to go out and enjoy themself in an extremely flamboyant way that’s wilder than usual.

When one says they'll be burning the midnight oil, they're letting people know that they'll be staying up all night either working on a project or cramming for an exam.

When something takes place “once in a blue moon” it means the event or situation happens rather infrequently. “My aunt’s son only calls her once in a blue moon, but she forgives him because she loves him.”

Not a spark of decency is a phrase used to describe someone who has no manners or someone who is extremely rude. So, say that someone was cussing at a dinner party, one would say that person does not have a spark of decency.

This idiom is typically used to compare two things that are not in the same category whatsoever. “We can’t compare Britney Spears to Mariah Carey when it comes to who’s got the best vocal range. It’s like comparing apples to oranges.”

To spill the beans means to reveal a secret or some information that is not supposed to be shared. The word spill has been used to mean divulge or expose since the late 1500s.

To turn over a new leaf means to change one’s behaviors significantly and start anew in some aspect of life. Having a New Year’s Resolution is a great way to turn over a new leaf.

It is unclear where this phrase originated, but to “kick the bucket” refers to someone passing away. Some people theorize that Shakespeare may have had a hand in popularizing this phrase.

To not have a horse in this race means that a person has no interest in the outcome of something because it doesn’t effect them personally.

This phrase means that something or someone shouldn’t be judged by their outer appearance alone. Once of its first appearances was the 1860 book “The Mill on the Floss” by George Eliot.

To ‘hit the hay’ or ‘hit the sack’ means to go to bed. This phrase originated in the early 1900s, a time when mattresses were often stuffed with straw or hay.

To shape up or ship out means to behave oneself or they will be forced to leave. The phrase was originated by military professionals in the 1940s during World War II.

To say that something will happen ‘when pigs fly’ means that the person using the phrase doesn’t think that it will ever happen. This phrase has been used since the 1600s as a sarcastic remark.

To do something by the skin of one’s teeth means to do something just in time or by a very narrow margin. This phrase may date back to biblical times and it’s unclear what its origin was.

This phrase is used in conversation to imply that the information being given is from a trusted source. The phrase probably originated among horse racers, who placed bets based on how the horses performed, not what other people said.

The phrase “break a leg” is commonly used to wish someone luck by theatre performers before a performance, because some actors consider saying “good luck” to be bad luck.

This idiom refers to the silver lining in every cloud, or in this case, to point out that every bad situation has some hint of good fortune or hope. For example, the silver lining to a house burning down is that the owner can collect the insurance money and buy another house.

When someone tells another person that they’re not playing with a full deck, it’s a mean way of saying that their intellectual capacity may be somewhat limited or diminished, hence why they’re acting strangely.

To let the cat out of the bag means to reveal a secret by mistake. For example, “Now that Dexter let the cat out of the bag, he had no choice but to confess to his crimes.”

When someone says that another person has fallen off the wagon, they're saying that the person who had been avoiding doing something such as drinking, smoking or overeating has stopped abstaining and gone back to their old habits.

This phrase is actually a proverb used to warn someone to either not ask a lot of questions, or go meddling in other people’s affairs through investigation. It can also be a warning when experimenting with something unknown to satiate one's curiosity.

When a person hits the nail on the head, it means that they've found the correct way to describe the cause of an issue. For example, Maggie hit the nail on the head when she told her kids that the reason for their insomnia was drinking soda before bed.

To pass the buck means to shift the responsibility of something to somebody else. For example, the mayor couldn’t handle the economic crisis in his town, so he passed the buck of responsibility to the state’s governor.

When someone lets sleeping dogs lie, they avoid messing or interfering in something that’s not causing them or anyone else problems, but may start to do so if they “awaken” the situation by interfering.

Best thing since sliced bread is used to describe a person, an object or a situation that one thinks is useful or good. For example, Netflix is the best thing since sliced bread.

Don’t give up my day job is a funny, sometimes sarcastic way of judging someone’s talent. So, say for example that someone goes on stage to sing a karaoke song and thinks they’re so good they could be a pop star, but the listener thinks it’s bad, they'd use this phrase to suggest that they can’t make a living out of their talent.

A Monday morning quarterback is used to describe someone who is always criticizing the way others do things and then suggests a different course of action that they would have done and claim it would have been different and better.

When someone says jump on the bandwagon, they're asking people to follow the crowd by joining an exciting activity. It can also be used to express that someone should follow the lead of the majority way of thinking, like one politician calling for an end to all war and 9 others jumping on the bandwagon.

When one says “back to the drawing board,” they mean that whatever they were doing failed and now they have to start over again. Sometimes, this may mean finding a different way of doing it when they try again.

To pull the wool over someone’s eyes indicates that the person has been able or are trying to deceive another person. It can also mean that they managed to hide the truth. On the other hand, someone can also say that another person was too smart to let someone pull the wool over their eyes.

One might hear someone say stop beating around the bush. What they’re really saying is that the person is avoiding doing something or talking about something and they need to stop and get to the point.

When someone says take it with a grain of salt, they're saying that another person should regard something as not being entirely true or that a statement has been greatly exaggerated so they only believe certain parts of the story or not at all.

Bought the farm is a euphemism that means to die either in an accident, a battle or in general. It was originally an Air Force term from the '50s that meant to crash in action or pass away in the line of duty.

Drastic times call for drastic measures refers to someone taking extreme actions when facing a difficult and often undesirable situation in order to solve a difficult crisis.

The phrase, "a bigger bang for their buck" is used to express a greater worth for the money someone is spending. In this case, bang expresses excitement and buck means money.

That’s all she wrote is used to indicate an abrupt ending to something. It can also be used to suggest that there’s nothing more that can be said about a particular matter.

This common English phrase is often used when someone needs to take some time to understand a complicated matter, situation, or event. “She needs to wrap her head around the idea that her children will eventually move out of the house.”

Any money we manage to save today, we’ll be able to spend later down the line. “Dad gave the kids $50 each. He’s taking them to the bank so they can open a savings account because a penny saved is a penny earned.”

To cut someone some slack is to not judge a person harshly despite their shortcomings due to a particular situation. “Yes, Dana has been late for work lately, but let’s cut her some slack because her mother is ill.”

It’s best to finish a task, complete a project, or arrive later than expected than to not show up at all. “Her date showed up 30 minutes late, buy hey! Better late than never, right?”

This idiom implies it’s best for two people or several groups of people to stop fighting or disagreeing about something and just make peace or be cordial again. “After spending years feuding with his mother in law, they finally decided to bury the hatchet and be nice to each other.”

This common English phrase is used when someone can benefit from two different situations at the same time. “Martha works from home, so she’s able to further her career and see her kids any time she wants. She does have the best of both worlds.”

This phrase is used when a person or situation is able to resolve itself with one single action. “When we visited Spain on a business trip, we took a few days to visit our relatives, so we killed two birds with one stone.”

This expression is used when two people need to reach a compromise in order to figure out a situation. It can also be used to imply that two people are at fault. “Mark and Laura got a divorce. Mark blames Laura for their relationship going south, and Laura blames Mark. But when it comes to relationships, we all know it takes two to tango.”

This phrase is often used to imply that someone needs to do something they’ve been anxiously waiting for so they can go on with their life. “My sister was in love with her best friend for years. She finally confessed her feelings because she needed to get it out of her system.”

We don’t need to address that problem at the moment. We’ll figure out a way to fix it when the time is appropriate. “We may have to move before the end of the year. We really worry it’s going to cost us our savings. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

This saying means to organize one's affairs or life in a way that allows them to be more productive or prepared. “We know our son loves to go backpacking all over the world, but it’s about time he gets his act together and finds a good job.”

Figuratively, this saying implies that someone has agreed to do more than they actually can. “Lisa accepted a promotion right after having her first baby. She definitely bit more than she could chew so she struggled for a while.”

In essence, we can try to explain an idea but a picture conveys a stronger message in the end. “Packets of cigarettes feature images of diseased lungs to warn smokers about the dangers of smoking. A picture is worth a thousand words, after all.”

To do something abruptly, without any hesitation, or without giving it much thought. “Mariah is truly reliable and efficient. If an employee misses a deadline, she’ll pick up the slack at the drop of a hat.”

This phrase means to argue the opposite case to offer an unbiased point of view, even if it’s deemed controversial. “His parents had every right to be offended by what Michael posted online. But let’s play devil’s advocate. Perhaps, Michael thought he was just venting to his online friends.”

When there’s a major controversial issue that needs to be addressed but people are avoiding like the plague. “Our parents talk about anything and everything. But neither one is addressing the big elephant in the room— are they getting a divorce or not?”

This idiom is be used to describe an action that someone is taking that makes absolutely no sense and seems a bit crazy to everyone else, but actually has a reason and purpose.

This phrase illustrates the action of ignoring someone. “After their less-than-amicable split, Matt ran into his ex-girlfriend at a party. She gave him the cold shoulder all night.”

This common English phrase means that nothing in life is actually free. “Our aunts were invited to a free spa day at a fancy hotel. But there’s no such thing as a free lunch. At the end of the day, they were forced to sit through hours of a timeshare promotional presentation. Yikes.”