Every language has idioms, there over 25,000 idioms or idiomatic expressions in the English language alone. They fall under what is called ‘formulaic language’, which includes proverbs, rhymes, and native expressions. These idioms can be difficult or confusing because they are fixed in form, especially for language learners and they can lose their meaning when translated. Here are 5 common idioms you may have heard or will hear when learning English:

To lose your head: When someone says “Mary lost her head when her son broke a toy.” It does not mean her head fell off and she couldn’t find it! What it means is: To not act in a calm way or not have control over your emotions.

Got to be kidding: You may have heard people say “you’ve got to be kidding!” or “you’re kidding!”. This phrase has nothing to do with children ; ‘to kid’ or ‘kidding’ means to joke, joking or make someone believe something is true even though it’s not.

Best of both worlds: This expression means when a person enjoys two different things at the same time. E.g. Mike works from home, this way he can spend more time with his family. He certainly has the best of both worlds.

Out of the blue: Although, phrases like ‘feeling blue’ or ‘being blue’ refer to being sad, ‘out of the blue’ means something that happens spontaneously, unexpectedly or suddenly. The colour blue here means the sky or the ocean because both are immeasurable and vast, it’s not easy to know which direction objects appear from.

“Over my dead body!”: We hear this phrase in movies and T.V. shows, its meaning is when someone will not allow for an event or situation to happen. E.g. I asked my dad if could get a tattoo, he replied, “Over my dead body!” '>