Common English idioms, slang and social phrases

Common Everyday Idioms

Break a leg: a way to wish someone good luck, commonly used in theater.

Under the weather: feeling sick or unwell.

Piece of cake: something very easy to do.

Costs an arm and a leg: something is very expensive.

Once in a blue moon: an event that rarely happens.

Spill the beans: to reveal (share) a secret.

Cut corners: doing something poorly (bad) or cheaply (not good quality) to save time or money.

Don’t Beat around the bush: avoiding the main topic.

Business and Action-Oriented Phrases

Ball is in your court: it is up to you to make the next decision or step.

Call it a day: to stop working on something.

Hit the nail on the head: to describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem. It means that you are saying something correctly.

Getting the hang of it: learning how to do something.

Put a pin in it: to pause a discussion with plans to return to it later.

Pass the buck: to shift (give) responsibility to someone else but they don’t want it. You make someone else take care of your problem.

Back to the drawing board: to start over because a previous attempt failed. Go back to the beginning and redo it.

Conversational and Sosial Phrases

(Casual phrases – Not Formal)

What’s up?: a common, informal greeting meaning “How are you?” or “What are you doing?”

Hey! Is an informal greeting, similar to “Hi” or it can be a way to get someone’s attention.

Yo!:  is used as an exclamation to get someone’s attention, express excitement, greet someone, etc. Or it can be an informal greeting, similar  to “Hi” or “Hey”. Only use with close friends!

Hang out: to spend time relaxing with someone.

Go Dutch: to split the bill, where each person pays for their own meal. Double edged sword – It is good and bad at the same time.

Hit me up (HMU): contact or text me. This is for 20 years and younger.

No-brainer: an easy decision.

Common Informal or Slang and Fillers

Awesome: used frequently to  describe anything that is good, cool or impressive.

Like: frequently used as a filler word in conversation. Example: Like, that isn’t cool.

Yeah/ Yep: informal ways to say “yes”.

Yay!: is an exclamation used to express joy or excitement. It can also be used in a sarcastic tone to express not being excited by something or someone.