300 English Idioms Flashcards for Work and Daily Life
You do not really know an idiom until you know where it fits.
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| 表 | 裏 |
|---|---|
| on the same page | Meaning: having the same understanding about a situation or the next steps Nuance: Common informal business English. Said by coworkers and managers. Positive when alignment is needed. Example: Before the client call, we need to get on the same page about pricing. |
| against the clock | Meaning: working with very little time before a deadline Nuance: Common and neutral. Used by anyone to stress time pressure. It does not praise or blame by itself. Example: We worked against the clock to finish the tender by Friday. |
| pull your weight | Meaning: do your fair share of the work Nuance: Common informal workplace English. Used by managers and teammates. Approving when met, critical when not. Example: If everyone pulls their weight, we can launch next week. |
| back to the drawing board | Meaning: You must start planning again because the first idea or attempt failed. Nuance: Informal, common in team talk. Negative, but often said in a practical, problem-solving way. Example: After the pilot missed key targets, it was back to the drawing board. |
| at each other's throats | Meaning: arguing fiercely or ready to fight Nuance: Informal and vivid. Said about tense relationships. Critical or worried. Example: By Friday, the sales team and design team were at each other's throats. |
| out of the blue | Meaning: suddenly and unexpectedly, with no warning Nuance: Common and neutral. Used in speech and writing by all kinds of speakers. It carries no praise or criticism. Example: Her resignation came out of the blue on Monday morning. |
| blow a fuse | Meaning: suddenly become very angry Nuance: Informal and common. Said in everyday speech, sometimes humorously. It usually criticizes the loss of control. Example: Dad blew a fuse when he saw the dent in the car. |
| on tenterhooks | Meaning: anxiously waiting to learn what will happen Nuance: Common and neutral. Used in speech and writing for tense waiting. It carries no clear approval or criticism. Example: We were on tenterhooks until the exam results arrived. |
| in the clear | Meaning: free from danger, suspicion, or trouble now Nuance: Informal to neutral. Often used about risk, blame, or rules. It usually carries a relieved tone. Example: Once the tests came back negative, she knew she was in the clear. |
| lose face | Meaning: suffer public embarrassment and a loss of respect Nuance: Common and somewhat formal. Often used about pride, status, or group image. It is negative. Example: The manager apologized quickly so the team would not lose face. |
| at one's wits' end | Meaning: so worried or troubled that you no longer know what to do Nuance: Common and neutral. Said by anyone. Sympathetic rather than critical. Example: We're at our wits' end trying to stop the leak before winter. |
| eat humble pie | Meaning: admit you were wrong in a way that feels humiliating Nuance: Informal and slightly old-fashioned. Often said with mild criticism or satisfaction. Example: After laughing at the idea, he had to eat humble pie when the app took off. |
| be keen as mustard | Meaning: be very eager and enthusiastic Nuance: Informal, chiefly British. Cheerful and approving. Example: The volunteers were keen as mustard to get the festival started. |
| the writing is on the wall | Meaning: There are clear signs that something bad is going to happen. Nuance: Common and neutral. Used by reporters and everyday speakers. Negative but matter-of-fact, not usually blaming anyone. Example: When sales fell for the sixth month, the writing was on the wall. |
| at the drop of a hat | Meaning: immediately and without needing much thought or warning Nuance: Informal. Said in everyday speech. It can praise readiness or criticize acting too quickly. Example: He will drive across town at the drop of a hat if his sister calls. |
| drag your feet | Meaning: delay doing something because you are unwilling or not fully committed Nuance: Informal and critical. Often said by managers, teammates, or frustrated observers. Example: The council dragged its feet on fixing the dangerous crossing. |
| every now and then | Meaning: occasionally, but not regularly Nuance: Informal and very common. Neutral in tone. Example: We still meet for coffee every now and then. |
| cost an arm and a leg | Meaning: be extremely expensive Nuance: Informal and common. Usually critical of a high price. Example: That tiny downtown studio costs an arm and a leg. |
| a race against time | Meaning: an urgent effort to finish before a deadline or before something bad happens Nuance: Common and fairly dramatic. Used in speech and writing about deadlines, emergencies, or pressure. Neutral in tone. Example: Finishing the vaccine shipment became a race against time after the freezer failed. |
| a pretty penny | Meaning: a large amount of money Nuance: Common and informal to neutral. Often said with mild surprise, admiration, or complaint. Example: That vintage watch cost a pretty penny, but he wears it every day. |
| on a shoestring | Meaning: with very little money or a very small budget Nuance: Common and informal to neutral. Often admiring of resourcefulness under financial limits. Example: They launched the podcast on a shoestring and did the editing at home. |
| in a nutshell | Meaning: in a very brief form that states only the main point Nuance: Common and neutral. Used by anyone summarizing. Mildly approving because it values clarity and brevity. Example: In a nutshell, the deal looks cheap now but risky later. |
| beg to differ | Meaning: to disagree, often in a polite or restrained way Nuance: Fairly formal or dry. Used to soften disagreement. Polite on the surface but firm underneath. Example: I beg to differ. Cutting support now will hurt sales next quarter. |
| make a mountain out of a molehill | Meaning: to treat a small problem as if it were very serious Nuance: Informal and mildly critical. Used when someone seems to be overreacting. Example: A missed comma is annoying, but don't make a mountain out of a molehill. |
| hold your tongue | Meaning: to stay silent instead of speaking Nuance: Old-fashioned but still clear. Often a direct order or self-advice. Can sound sharp or disapproving. Example: I wanted to correct him, but I held my tongue. |
| the long and short of it | Meaning: the essential facts or final point after leaving out details Nuance: Neutral and common. Said by someone summing up a story or problem. Neither approving nor critical. Example: The long and short of it is that we missed the deadline and lost the client. |
| agree to disagree | Meaning: accept that neither side will change its view and stop arguing about it Nuance: Neutral. Said by people ending a dispute politely. It can sound mature or slightly dismissive. Example: We've argued for an hour, so let's just agree to disagree. |
| stretch the truth | Meaning: make something sound more favorable or dramatic than it really is without fully inventing it Nuance: Neutral to critical. Used about speakers who exaggerate facts. Mildly disapproving. Example: He stretched the truth when he said the project was basically finished. |
| keep it under your hat | Meaning: keep something secret and do not tell other people Nuance: Informal and friendly. Said when sharing confidential news. Usually neutral. Example: Keep it under your hat, but Maya is interviewing for the director role. |
| a meeting of minds | Meaning: a point where people reach real agreement or mutual understanding Nuance: Slightly formal. Common in negotiation, business, or legal contexts. Usually approving or neutral. Example: After two rounds of talks, there was finally a meeting of minds on pricing. |
このデッキについて
Literal words do not help much when someone says you need to get on the same page, keeps a comment off the record, or feels between a rock and a hard place. The real mistake is often not the meaning but the situation: an idiom can be understood and still sound wrong in a meeting, a negotiation, or a tense conversation with a friend. This deck gives you 300 English idioms as whole units, each on its own card. The cards are split into work-and-business (55), people-and-relationships (50), emotion-and-reaction (45), difficulty-and-risk (50), time-and-money (45), and speech-and-opinion (55). On the back you get Meaning, Nuance, and Example, so you learn the sense, the register, and a natural sentence together. Once the cards are on a spaced-repetition schedule, the idioms you can answer stop coming back for a while and the ones you cannot keep returning until they stick. The deck chooses coverage over long explanations: you get the phrase, when it fits, and how it sounds in use, not origin stories or grammar lectures.
よくある質問
- Does this deck focus only on office idioms?
- No. work-and-business has 55 cards, but the deck also covers people-and-relationships (50), emotion-and-reaction (45), difficulty-and-risk (50), time-and-money (45), and speech-and-opinion (55).
- What does the Nuance field actually tell me?
- It shows the register and social fit of the idiom. For example, 'on the same page' is common informal business English, while 'off the record' marks a boundary around sensitive remarks.
- Why doesn't this deck include origin notes or long grammar explanations?
- Because the point here is fast recognition and usable recall. Each card keeps the focus on meaning, situation, and a natural sentence, so study time goes into choosing the phrase well.
- Can I import the whole deck on the free plan?
- Yes. Importing a saved deck runs no new AI generation and spends no AI credits, so the free plan imports all 300 cards. You can study, edit and delete them afterwards.
- Will importing it twice create duplicates?
- No. Cards you already have are skipped and only cards added in a revision come through. Including re-imports after deleting it, one official deck can be imported three times per account.
- Can I use it on the web and in the mobile app?
- Yes. The deck is added to your account rather than to a device, so the same cards and the same progress are there on the web, on iOS and on Android.
- Can I edit the cards after importing?
- Yes. Imported cards are yours: you can edit both sides, delete cards you do not need, change tags, and move cards to another deck.
No official exam questions are reproduced. Every card was written for this deck.Editorial reference date 2026-08-30.