10 Idioms that Every Intermediate English Speaker should know and use!

Idioms are an important part of any language specially English. Whether you are learning Intermediate English or Advanced English, whether you want to learn American or British English, learning idioms is an important aspect.

Think of how often you use idioms in your own native language. Very often, right? Idioms make language more beautiful. Whether you are writing an office email or doing a business presentation, using idioms can make you look eloquent and explain your point better. Idioms can make your message more interesting and polished. And sometimes, especially when doing business, you have to communicate to impress as much as to express!

Here’s our list for today! These idioms are perfect for intermediate English learners who want to expand their vocabulary further. Remember, don’t try to memorize all of these and use them all next time you speak with someone. That will be overkill! (that’s a bonus 11^th idiom for you – overkill means too much of something) Rather learn one or two a week and slowly start using them when speaking English.

10 Idioms that every intermediate English speaker should know and use!

Rattle the cage – means trying to upset or annoy a person.

E.g. whatever you do, don’t do anything to rattle his cage!

Get in to the weeds – means to get in to the details.

E.g. I’m not going to get in to the weeds today but let me know if you want me to walk you through that later.

Rubber hits the road – means the moment you apply what you’ve learned.

E.g. Launching the advertisement is where the rubber hits the road. Until then, everything is just speculation.

Spring chicken – means young. The word “Spring chicken” is often used in the negative form “no spring chicken”

E.g. Bob Dylan is no spring chicken anymore but he still makes great music.

Test the waters – means to try out something before making a commitment.

E.g. Gina wanted to test the waters before opening the restaurant. So she started a food truck.

Monkey off the back – means to end or solve a problem.

E.g. By winning the tournament, the team finally got the monkey off its back.

Elephant in the room – means the obvious, big concern that no ones to talk about.

E.g. The big lay-offs were the elephant in the room, but no one wanted to discuss it in the meeting.

Bent over backwards – means going out of the way to help someone

The teacher bent over backwards to help her students but the students put in very little effort from their side.

Set in stone – means that something is fixed and cannot be changed.

E.g. The agreement is not yet set in stone

Before the ink is dry – means when something just happened.

E.g. John wanted to wait till the ink was dry on the agreement to make the announcement.

As I mentioned before, don’t worry if these idioms don’t come to you naturally when you speak in English. But when you get more chances to practice English with native speakers, try to use these, whether it is oral or written communications. You will turn in to an advanced English speaker from an intermediate English speaker in no time!

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January 14, 2015