20 English Idioms with their Meanings and Origins

by Target Language Translation Services

- October 21 2021

Languages evolve and idioms are formed with collective meanings through time. Idioms are phrases that are common to a certain population. They are typically figurative and usually go against grammar rules and their origins might be unclear or unverified, therefore a prior understanding of its usage is usually necessary. Idioms are vital to the progression of language. They function in a manner that, in many situations, literal meanings cannot. We use them every day, sometimes without even realizing that what we’re saying is nonsensical without the implied and widely accepted meaning behind it. Actually idioms can all be explained and, in many cases, their origin can be traced back to one particular point in time. Here we’ve compiled a list of English idioms that non-English speakers might find downright strange or hilarious, especially when translated into their native tongue.

Straight from the horse’s mouth

Meaning: Getting information directly from the most reliable source

Origin: This one is said to come from the 1900s, when buyers could determine a horse’s age by examining its teeth. It’s also why you shouldn’t “look a gift horse in the mouth,” as inspecting a gift is considered bad etiquette.

Drink like a fish

Meaning: To consume alcoholic drinks excessively

Origin: Used since the 1600s, this idiom alludes to the way fish obtain oxygen with open mouths and appear like they are constantly drinking water.

Let the cat out of the bag

Meaning: To mistakenly reveal a secret

Origin: Up to and including in the 1700s, it was common for street vendors to sell piglets in bags. Sometimes these vendors were deceitful and put a cat in the bag hoping the buyer wouldn’t notice. When a cat was let out of a bag, the jig was up.

Hands down

Meaning: Without a lot of effort; easily and decisively; without question

Origin: Winning “hands down” once referred to 19th-century horseracing, when a jockey could drop his hands down to loosen the reins and still win the race because he was so far ahead.

Riding shotgun

Meaning: the coveted front passenger seat of a vehicle

Origin: In the Wild West, the person who sat next to the driver was often equipped with a shotgun to kill any robbers that might happen upon the coach.

Barking up the wrong tree

Meaning: Pursuing a misguided line of thought or course of action

Origin: In the early 1800s, hunting with packs of dogs was very common. The dogs would often chase animals up trees but then not realize that the prey in question moved to the next branch. Thus, they often found themselves barking up the wrong tree.

Flying off the handle

Meaning: To lose one’s temper suddenly and unexpectedly

Origin: This one is said to come from poorly made axes of the 1800s that would often fly off of its handle while being swung.

Cost an arm and a leg

Meaning: Extremely expensive

Origin: A similar line, “I’d give my right arm” was used in the early 1600s. After the American Civil War, the government enacted a special pension for soldiers who lost their limbs, so the idiom was linked to the huge compensation for war-related injuries and accidents.

Bite the bullet

Meaning: To perform a painful task or endure an unpleasant situation

Origin: Before advances in medicine and anesthetics, injured soldiers would literally bite on a metal bullet to cope with the pain of having surgery to keep themselves from biting their tongues.

Mind your own beeswax

Meaning: A more indirect version of “mind your own business”

Origin: Back in the day, American colonial women stirred wax to make candles. If they didn’t concentrate, they could end up burning themselves. Thus, someone needed to remind them to “mind their own beeswax”.

Butter someone up

Meaning: To praise or flatter someone, usually to gain a favor

Origin: A customary religious act in ancient India included throwing butter balls at the statues of gods to seek good fortune and their favor.

Knock your socks off

Meaning: To amaze or impress someone; to be taken by surprise

Origin: In the mid 19th century, this expression meant defeating someone in a fight or beating a person violently until their socks came off. Then in the 1960s, an ad campaign by Pepsi-Cola promoting Mountain Dew popularized the positive meaning of the idiom and encouraged consumers to “get the barefoot feeling” and “knock one’s socks off”.

White elephant

Meaning: Term referring to something not particularly useful that often has a very high cost of upkeep

Origin: In the ancient kingdom of Siam (modern day Thailand) the Siamese King would give live white elephants to people who he didn’t like. While seemingly kind, having a white elephant is extremely expensive and difficult to keep (or re-gift). They eat about 400 pounds of food a day!

Pulling someone’s leg

Meaning: Teasing someone, usually by lying in a joking manner

Origin: Although pulling someone’s leg is all in good fun nowadays, it originally described the way in which thieves tripped their victims to rob them.

Pass with flying colors

Meaning: To succeed at something difficult with ease

Origin: In the 1600s, warships would fly their colored flags (usually signifying their country) after a victory. If you saw a ship pass with colored flags flying, you could assume they just won a battle at sea.

Wolf in sheep’s clothing

Meaning: Someone who is pretending to be something they are not, usually to the detriment of others

Origin: This one’s attributed to the Bible (Matthew 7:15). The Bible also gave us “rise and shine” (Isaiah 60:1), “seeing eye to eye” (Isaiah 62:8), and a “broken heart” (Psalm 69:20).

Go cold turkey

Meaning: To abruptly quit something, without planning or preparation.

Origin: In the 1920s, the expression was tied to quitting addictive substances. There are a few unclarified origins, but one of the more logical ones would be the comparison between a pale and clammy turkey’s carcass and a drug user’s face when experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

Sleep tight

Meaning: Used to tell someone to sleep well

Origin: One possible origin of this phrase dates back to when mattresses were supported by ropes; sleeping tight meant sleeping with the ropes pulled tight, which would provide a well-sprung bed.

Give the cold shoulder

Meaning: Ignoring someone or making it clear that they aren’t welcome.

Origin: In medieval England, it was customary for the dinner host to give his guests a cold piece of shoulder meat (from whatever dish they were eating) as a polite way of saying it was time to leave.

Jump the shark

Meaning: The moment when a form of entertainment reaches a decline in quality by including gimmicks to maintain interest.

Origin: In the show Happy Days, the character Fonzie literally jumps over a shark while water skiing; afterward, radio personality Jon Hein popularized the phrase “jump the shark” to describe the decline of the show.

Do you have any favorite idioms in your native language? Leave a comment and explain their origins.

This article is reprinted from Leverage, gengo and Inklyo.

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