Contents 1
1 A Blessing in Disguise 1
2 A Bull in a China Shop 3
3 A Fair-Weather Friend 5
4 All Thumbs 7
5 A Shot in the Dark 9
6 A Square Peg in a Round Hole 11
7 A Stick in the Mud 13
8 Apple of One's Eye 15
9 Ask for the Moon 17
10 A Storm in a Teacup 19
11 At the End of One's Tether 21
12 Bark up the Wrong Tree 23
13 Be(Feel)Under the Weather 25
14 Be a Flash in the Pan 27
15 Be at Sixes and Sevens 29
16 Be Head and Shoulders Above Somebody 31
17 Be in a Rut 33
18 Be in the Dark 35
19 Be in the Same Boat 37
20 Be not One's Cup of Tea 39
21 Be on a Cloud 41
22 (of Marriage)Be on the Rocks 43
23 Be on Top of the World 45
24 Be the Talk ofthe Town 47
25 Be up to One's Ears(Chin,Neck,Eyes)in Work 49
26 Be Wet Behind the Ears 51
27 Beat Around the Bush 53
28 Beat the Air 55
29 Bite the Bullet 57
30 Break the Ice 59
31 Bring down the House 61
32 Bury the Hatchet 63
33 Call a Spade a Spade 65
34 Call It a Day 67
35 Call Somebody's Bluff 69
36 Carry a(the)Torch for Somebody 71
37 Cook One's Goose 73
38 Cough up 75
39 Different Strokes for Different Folks 77
40 Do Donkey Work 79
41 Drive Someone up the Wall 81
42 Drop Somebody a Line 83
43 Duck Soup 85
44 Eyes Are Bigger Than One's Belly 87
45 Fall Between Two Stools 89
46 For a Song 91
47 For Donkey's Years 93
48 Get Goose Pimples 95
49 Get into Hot Water 97
50 Get in Someone's Hair 99
51 Get off Someone's Back 101
52 Get the Axe 103
53 Get the Ball Rolling 105
54 Get the Hang of Something 107
55 Get the Jump on Someone 109
56 Get the Red-Carpet Treatment 111
57 Get up on the Wrong Side of the bed 113
58 Give It One's Best Shot 115
59 Give Somebody the Cold Shoulder 117
60 Give Someone the Slip 119
61 Give the Bullet 121
62 Go Bananas 123
63 Go Dutch 125
64 Go to the Dogs 127
65 Hand in Glove with Somebody 129
66 Hang By a Hair 131
67 Have a Finger in Every Pie 133
68 Have a Hollow Leg 135
69 Have an Ace up One's Sleeve 137
70 Have Ants in One's Pants 139
71 Have Egg on One's Face 141
72 Have Something at One's Finger Tips 143
73 Have Other Fish to Fry 145
74 Have Something on the Tip of One's Tongue 147
75 Have the World by the Tail 149
76 Hear Something on the Grapevine 151
77 Hit Below the Belt 153
78 Hit the Bottle 155
79 Hit the Hay 157
80 Hit the Nail on the Head 159
81 Hold One's Horses 161
82 Hold the Bag 163
83 Hot Under the Collar 165
84 If the Shoe Fits,Wear It 167
85 Jump down Someone's Throat 169
86 Jump the Gun 171
87 Jump the Queue 173
88 Keep One's Nose Clean 175
89 Keep One's Powder Dry 177
90 Keep Open House 179
91 Keep Something Under One's Hat 181
92 Keep up with the Joneses 183
93 Keep Your Shirt on 185
94 Kick up One's Heels 187
95 Leave Someone High and Dry 189
96 Let Sleeping Dogs Lie 191
97 Let the Cat out of the Bag 193
98 Lick Somebody's Boots 195
99 Lose One's Shirt 197
100 Make a Pass at Somebody 199
101 Make a Splash 201
102 Miss the Bus 203
103 Monkey Business 205
104 Not Find One's Tongue 207
105 Not Hold Water 209
106 On Ice 211
107 On One's Last Legs 213
108 On the Line 215
109 Out of the Woods 217
110 Paddle One's Own Canoe 219
111 Paint the Town Red 221
112 Pass the Buck 223
113 Pay/Give Lip-Service 225
114 Pay Through the Nose 227
115 Play into Somebody's Hands 229
116 Pull One's Leg 231
117 Pull One's Socks up 233
118 Pull Strings 235
119 Rest on One's Laurels 237
120 Ring a Bell 239
121 Rub Somebody the Wrong Way 241
122 Scratch Someone's Back 243
123 Sell Somebody Down the River 245
124 Sell Someone Short 247
125 Shake a Leg 249
126 Shoot off One's Mouth 251
127 Shoot the Breeze 253
128 Sing the Blues 255
129 Sit on the Fence 257
130 Sleep Like a Log 259
131 Small Potato 261
132 Smell a Rat 263
133 Spill the Beans 265
134 Split Hairs 267
135 Steal the Show 269
136 Stick One's Neck Out 271
137 Straight from the Horse's Mouth 273
138 Take the Bull by the Horns 275
139 Talk Through One's Hat 277
140 Talk Turkey 279
141 Throw up/in the Sponge 281
142 Tongue in Cheek 283
143 Touch and Go 285
144 Touch the Tender Spot 287
145 Turn Someone off 289
146 Walk on Air 291
147 Walk on Eggshells 293
148 Wear One's Birthday Suit 295
149 Wear the Trousers 297
150 Zip One's Lips 299