Idioms in Real Life — B2 level

61 expressions of level B2 (Upper-intermediate) from the “Idioms in Real Life” collection. Each one has a short definition in simple English; tap one to open its dictionary page.

This topic by level: B2 · 61 Whole collection: 81 words →

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Word	Definition
cost an arm and a leg	to be very expensive
twist someone's arm	to persuade someone to do something they are reluctant to do
rack your brains	to think very hard to remember or solve something
get cold feet	to suddenly become too nervous to do something planned
off the top of my head	from memory, without checking or thinking carefully
play it by ear	to decide what to do as a situation develops, without a plan
get it off your chest	to tell someone about something that has been worrying you
bite your tongue	to stop yourself from saying something you want to say
a slip of the tongue	a small mistake in speaking, saying something you didn't mean
head over heels	completely in love with someone
give someone the cold shoulder	to treat someone in an unfriendly way; to ignore them
the black sheep	a person in a family who is seen as bad and different
a dark horse	a person whose abilities or plans are unknown and surprise people
the early bird catches the worm	the person who acts first has the best chance of success
the lion's share	the largest part of something
a fish out of water	a person who feels uncomfortable in a situation
take the bull by the horns	to deal with a difficult situation in a brave, direct way
a bull in a china shop	a clumsy person who breaks things or handles a delicate situation badly
a can of worms	a complicated situation that causes many new problems once you start dealing with it
smell a rat	to sense that something is wrong or dishonest
straight from the horse's mouth	directly from the person who really knows
ants in your pants	unable to keep still because you are excited or impatient
break the bank	to cost more money than you can afford
foot the bill	to pay for something, often for other people
tighten your belt	to spend less money because you have less
bring home the bacon	to earn money to support your family
make ends meet	to earn just enough money to cover your needs
the daily grind	the boring, repetitive routine of daily work
back to square one	back to the starting point after a failure
climb the ladder	to move up to higher positions at work
cut corners	to do something cheaply or quickly, lowering the quality
in the red	owing money; having spent more than you have
egg on your face	looking foolish or embarrassed because of something you did
a hard nut to crack	a difficult problem or person to deal with
food for thought	something that makes you think carefully
take it with a pinch of salt	to not fully believe something
bite off more than you can chew	to take on more than you can handle
butter someone up	to be extra nice to someone so they help you
the icing on the cake	an extra good thing that makes a good situation even better
sell like hot cakes	to sell very quickly and in large numbers
the calm before the storm	a quiet period just before a time of trouble or intense activity
the ship has sailed	it is too late; the opportunity has passed
a close call	a situation where something bad nearly happened
under the radar	without being noticed
third time's the charm	said in the hope that a third attempt will succeed after two failures
out of the woods	no longer in danger or difficulty
better safe than sorry	it is better to be careful than to risk something bad happening
hit the sack	to go to bed
out of the blue	suddenly and unexpectedly
in the nick of time	just before it is too late
against the clock	rushing to finish before a deadline
get your act together	to start organizing yourself and behaving effectively
ring a bell	to sound familiar; to remind you of something
cut to the chase	to get to the main point without wasting time
a wake-up call	an event that warns you to change or take action
hit the roof	to become extremely angry
blow off steam	to release anger or energy in a harmless way
jump the gun	to act too soon, before the right time
the bigger picture	the most important facts about a situation and its wider effects
a long shot	an attempt with little chance of success
call the shots	to be the person in control who makes the decisions

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Idioms in Real Life — B2 level

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