List of Idioms & Proverbs

A List of Idioms & Proverbs. An idiom is a phrase or expression that has a figurative meaning that is different from the literal meaning of the words in the phrase. Idioms are often culturally specific and possibly likened to private jokes between people. Idioms 06 is a pictorial collection of such phrases or expressions. How many can you identify in Idioms 06. Bear in mind that each idiom might have a regional variation.

1	A bad workman always	blames his tools
2	A bird in hand is worth	two in the bush
3	Absence makes the heart	grow fonder
4	A chain is only as strong as	its weakest link
5	Actions speak louder	than words
6	A drowning man will	clutch at a straw
7	A fool and his money	are soon parted
8	The leopard does not	change his spots
9	All good things come	to an end
10	All that glitters	is not gold
11	All’s fair in	love and war
12	Put your best	foot forward
13	An apple a day keeps	the doctor away
14	A picture is worth	a thousand words
15	A rolling stone	gathers no moss
16	A stitch in time	saves nine
17	As you sow, so	you shall reap
18	A thing begun	is half done
19	Beauty is in the	eye of the beholder
20	Beauty is only	skin deep
21	Beggars can’t be	choosers
22	Best things in life	are free
23	Better late than	never
24	Better to be poor and healthy	rather than rich and sick
25	Blood is thicker	than water
26	Cleanliness is next to	Godliness
27	Clothes do not make	the man
28	Curiosity killed	the cat
29	Discretion is the better	part of valor
30	Don’t bite off more than	you can chew
31	Don’t bite the hand that	feeds you
32	Don’t blow your own `	trumpet
33	Don’t count your chickens	before they hatch
34	Don’t cross a bridge until	you come to it
35	Don’t judge a book	by its cover
36	Don’t kill the goose that	lays the golden egg
37	Don’t put all your eggs	in one basket
38	Don’t put the cart	before the horse
39	Don’t throw the baby out	with the bathwater
40	Every cloud has	a silver lining
41	Every dog has	his day
42	Every man is the architect	of his destiny
43	Every man has	his price
44	Familiarity breeds	contempt
45	Fools rush in where angels	fear to tread
46	Fortune favours	the brave
47	Get out while the	going is good
48	Give an inch and	they’ll take a mile
49	God helps those who	help themselves
50	Good things come to	those who wait
51	Honesty is the	best policy
52	Hope for the best,	prepare for the worst
53	If it ain’t broke,	don’t fix it
54	If wishes were horses,	beggars would ride
55	If you can’t beat them,	join them
56	Better to be safe	than sorry
57	It’s easy to be wise	after the event
58	It’s no use crying over	spilt milk
59	It takes two to make	a quarrel
60	Laughter is the	best medicine
61	Learn to walk before	you run
62	Let sleeping dogs	lie
63	Lightning never strikes twice	in the same place
64	Look before you	leap
65	Money doesn’t grow	on trees
66	Make hay while the	sun shines
67	Necessity is the mother	of invention
68	Never put off until tomorrow what you	can do today
69	Once bitten	twice shy
70	One man’s junk is another	man’s treasure
71	The pen is mightier than	the sword
72	People who live in glass houses shouldn’t	throw stones
73	Practice what	you preach
74	Rome wasn’t built	in a day
75	Still waters	run deep
76	Strike while the	iron is hot
77	The end justifies	the means
78	The grass is always greener on the other	side of the fence
79	The proof of the pudding is	in the eating
80	There’s more than one way to	skin a cat
81	The road to hell is paved with	good intentions
82	Time and tide wait	for no man
83	Too many cooks spoil	the broth
84	Two wrongs don’t make	a right
85	What goes around	comes around
86	Where there’s a will,	there’s a way
87	No smoke without	fire
88	When one door closes,	another opens
89	While the cat’s away, the	mice will play
90	You can lead a horse to water but you can’t	make him drink
91	You can’t fit a round peg in a	square hole
92	You can’t have your cake	and eat it
93	You can’t make an omelette without	breaking eggs
94	You can’t teach an old dog	new tricks
95	You show me the man and I’ll	show you the rule
96	A bad penny always	turns up
97	A fish always rots	from the head down
98	A fool and his money	are soon parted
99	A friend in need is a	friend indeed
100	A golden key can open	any door
101	A good beginning makes	a good ending
102	A little knowledge is	a dangerous thing
103	A man who is his own lawyer	has a fool for his client
104	A miss is as good	as a mile
105	A new broom	sweeps clean
106	A nod’s as good as a wink to	a blind horse
107	A penny saved is	a penny earned
108	A person is known by the	company he keeps
109	A picture paints	a thousand words
110	A place for everything and	everything in its place
111	A rolling stone gathers	no moss
112	A trouble shared is a	trouble halved
113	An apple a day keeps	the doctor away
114	Ask no questions and	hear no lies
115	Beggars should not	be choosers
116	Better the Devil you know than	the Devil you don’t
117	Beware of Greeks	bearing gifts
118	Birds of a feather	flock together
119	Bread always falls	buttered side down
120	Cheaters never win and	winners never cheat
121	Children should be seen	and not heard
122	Cold hands,	warm heart
123	Cut your coat according	to your cloth
124	Dead men tell	no tales
125	The Devil makes work	for idle hands
126	Don’t cut off your nose to	spite your face
127	Don’t keep a dog and	bark yourself
128	Don’t shut the stable door after	the horse has bolted
129	Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man	healthy, wealthy and wise
130	The early bird	catches the worm
131	Every cloud has	a silver lining
132	Fine words butter	no parsnips
133	Give a man enough rope and	he will hang himself
134	Great oaks from	little acorns grow
135	He who laughs last	laughs longest
136	He who lives by the sword	shall die by the sword
137	He who pays the piper	calls the tune
138	If a job is worth doing it is	worth doing well
139	If you can’t stand the heat get	out of the kitchen
140	Imitation is the sincerest	form of flattery
141	Jam tomorrow and jam yesterday,	but never jam today
142	Jack of all trades,	master of none
143	Keep your friends close and your	enemies closer
144	Least said,	soonest mended
145	Love of money is the	root of all evil
146	Man does not live	by bread alone
147	There’s many a slip	‘twixt cup and lip
148	Many a true word is	spoken in jest
149	Many are called but	few are chosen
150	Many hands make	light work
151	Marry in haste,	repent at leisure
152	Needs must when the	devil drives
153	Ne’er cast a clout ’til	May be out
154	Never look a gift horse	in the mouth
155	No names, no	pack-drill
156	One might as well be hanged for a	sheep as a lamb
157	One swallow doesn’t	make a summer
158	Only fools and	horses work
159	Penny wise and	pound foolish
160	Pride comes before	a fall
161	Rain before seven,	fine before eleven
162	Revenge is a dish	best served cold
163	Spare the rod and	spoil the child
164	Talk of the Devil,	and he is bound to appear
165	The best laid schemes of	mice and men
166	The Devil has all the	best tunes
167	There but for the grace of God,	go I
168	There’s many a good tune played on an	old fiddle
169	There’s no such thing as a free	lunch
170	There’s none so blind as those	who will not see
171	To the victor go the	spoils
172	What’s sauce for the goose is	sauce for the gander
173	Where there’s muck	there’s brass
174	Wherever you wander, there’s no	place like home
175	You can’t run with the hare and	hunt with the hounds
176	You can’t make a silk purse out	of a sow’s ear
177	Youth is wasted on	the young