What is an idiom?
An idiom is an expression or term that is unique to a language, whose meaning can not be understood by reading the words. The origins of these unusual phrases are astonishing, poetic, bizarre and sometime mysterious.
Who is this app for?
English Idioms Illustrated will be enjoyed by English students, teachers and enthusiasts alike. The origin and meaning of each idiom is masterfully illustrated by Professor Potts. Download the app now to see for yourself!What idioms are included?
The app contains more than 160 idioms from "Achilles' heel" to "Wrong side of bed". The first 23 idioms are included for free.
- Achilles' heel
- Acid test
- An axe to grind
- Apple of one's eye
- At the drop of a hat
- At loggerheads
- At sixes and sevens
- Barking up the wrong tree
- Bated breath
- Beat about the bush
- Bee's knees
- Berserk
- Beyond the pale
- Bite the bullet
- Bitter end
- Black dog
- Blockbuster
- Blue chip
- Blue ribbon/riband
- Blue stocking
- Bob's your uncle
- Bone up
- Bootlegger
- Brand new
- Bring home the bacon
- Build castles in Spain
- Bury the hatchet
- By a long chalk
- By and large
- By the skin of one's teeth
- Chauvinism
- Chestnut
- Chock a block
- Claptrap
- Close but no cigar
- Cloud cuckoo land
- Cock-a-hoop
- Cold shoulder
- Cool as a cucumber
- Cross the Rubicon
- Curate's egg
- Curry favour
- Cut and dried
- Cut the mustard
- Dark horse
- Different kettle of fish
- Dog days
- Doldrums
- Donkey's years
- Doolally
- Draconian
- Dressed to the nines
- Ears are burning
- Eating humble pie
- Feather in one's cap
- Feet of clay
- Field day
- Fifth column
- Fine fettle
- First rate
- Fit as a fiddle
- Flash in the pan
- Fly off the handle
- Forlorn hope
- Gerrymander
- Get down to brass tacks
- Gibberish
- Gild the lily
- Goody two shoes
- Gordon Bennett
- Grapevine
- Gravy train
- Gringo
- Groggy
- Guinea pig
- Gung-ho
- Halcyon days
- Hanky-panky
- Happy as Larry
- Haywire
- Heebie-jeebies
- Higgledy-piggledy
- Hobson's choice
- Hunky-dory
- In a nutshell
- In the limelight
- In the offing
- Ivory tower
- Jump on the bandwagon
- Knuckle down
- Kowtow
- Lame duck
- Led up the garden path
- Lick into shape
- Lily-livered
- Lion's share
- Loose cannon
- Lucky break
- Mad as a hatter
- Maverick
- Moment of truth
- Moot point
- Mumbo jumbo
- No holds barred
- Nose to the grindstone
- On cloud nine
- On tenterhooks
- Once in a blue moon
- Over a barrel
- Paper tiger
- Parting shot
- Pay on the nail
- Pay through the nose
- Pell mell
- Pie in the sky
- Po-faced
- Point blank
- Pull out all the stops
- Put the dampers on
- Read the riot act
- Real McCoy
- Red herring
- Red letter day
- Red tape
- Ring the changes
- Run amok/amuck
- Run the gauntlet
- Salad days
- Salt of the earth
- Saved by the bell
- Scot-free
- Sea Change
- Sent to Coventry
- Ships that pass in the night
- Short shrift
- Skid row
- Slough of despond
- Slush fund
- Sour grapes
- Spick and span
- Spike someone's guns
- Spruced up
- Steal one's thunder
- Storm in a teacup
- Sub rosa
- Svengali
- Sword Of Damocles
- Taken aback
- Talk turkey
- Throw in the towel
- To a T
- Turn over a new leaf
- Up to scratch
- Watershed
- Wet one's whistle
- White elephant
- Wild goose chase
- Win hands down
- With a grain of salt
- With flying colours
- Work cut out
- Writing's on the wall
- Wrong side of bed
About the author
Professor Potts is a dashing investigator who loves nothing more than jet-setting around the world exploring scientific mysteries. He lives in a secret location with his glamorous wife. His butler has a PhD in nuclear science and his dog will only eat bones from the Jurassic period.
Aidan Potts -his alter ego- has a slightly more tedious biography. Aidan was born in London 1963 and 6 months later he moved to Nigeria, followed by Bogota, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Tripoli, Libya and the Turks and Caicos. He studied History of Art at University College London, then began working as an illustrator for the British press. Among his books are Uneversaurus and The Smash Smash Truck.
