Idioms What are idioms?

§  An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is difficult or sometimes impossible to guess by looking at the meanings of the individual words it contains. e.g.  the phrase be in the same boat has a literal meaning that is easy to understand, but it also has a common idiomatic meaning:

I found the job difficult at first. But we were all in the same boat; we were all learning.

Here, be in the same boat means ‘to be in the same difficult or unfortunate situation’.

§  Some idioms are imaginative expressions such as proverbs and sayings: e.g.

Too many cooks spoil the broth.(If too many people are involved in something, it will not be well done.)

§  If the expression is well known, part of it may be left out. e.g.

Well, I knew everything would go wrong-It’s the usual story of too many cooks!

§  Other idioms are short expressions that are used for a particular purpose:

Hang in there! (used to encourage somebody in a difficult situation)

Get lost! (a rude way of saying “go away”)

§  Many idioms, however, are not vivid in this way. They are considered as idioms because their form is fixed. E.g. for certain, in any case…………

List of Idioms and Their Meanings

The following list of idioms will be in alphabetical order, with an explanation and contextual example provided for easier comprehension.

all ears- to say that you are all ears  means that you are listening very attentively. e.g. Of course I want to know. I’m all ears.

a little bird told me –It is said when you don’t want reveal the source of the information. e.g. "How did you know the news?" 
"Oh, a little bird told me." 

apple of somebody's eye- said about someone whom you love the most and you are very proud of. e.g. His son is the apple of his eye. 

at death's door- If you say you are at death’s door you mean that you are very close to the end of your life. e.g. She was so ill and was at death's door for more than a month.

bide your time.-If you bide your time, you wait for a good opportunity, to do something. e.g. He is not hesitating, he is just biding his time. He is waiting for the price to drop.

bite the hand that feeds you. If you bite the hand that feed you, you are unfriendly or do harm. 

e.g. You are very ungrateful, you bite the hand that  feeds you.

be a chicken means be a coward. e.g. Don't be a chicken. Talk to her about your love for her. 

be in deep water means to be in serious trouble. e.g. The government is in deep water because of its plans for tax increases. 

be like a fish out of water means to feel uncomfortable in a situation. e.g. After her divorce, she was like a fish out of water. 

beat around the bush means  to treat a topic, without mentioning its main points, often intentionally, because the topic is difficult or unpleasant. e.g. Stop beating around the bush and tell me what the problem is! 

better the devil you know(also better the devil you know than the devil you don’t) it is sometimes better to deal with someone or thing you know than to deal with a new person or thing who could be even worse. e.g. Nancy is such a difficult girl to work with, but better the devil you know. 

black sheep- a disreputable member of a family or a group. e.g. They say he's the black sheep of the Bakers. 

break your back-If you break your back to do something, you work very hard to do it. e.g.

I am not going to break my back to this job for such a low salary. 

bring to knees to destroy or defeat someone or something. e.g. Sanctions were imposed in an attempt to bring the country to its knees.

build bridges if a person builds bridges between opposing groups, they help them to cooperate and understand each other better. e.g. They wanted to build bridges between Nancy and Alan to settle the conflict once for all. 

burn candles at both end means you work very hard, day and night. e.g. She has been burning candles at both ends to finish a book about the history of the United States of America. 

References 

Oxford Advanced learner's Dictionary -2004

http://www.myenglishpages.com