How to Learn American English Idioms (Article 9)

Idioms are unique phrases used to express a situation in a different way. This post will provide you with a list of common idioms and their meanings. I’ll also teach you how to use them in everyday conversations and writing.

STEP 1: Start by learning the basic meanings

Idioms are usually easy to figure out. For example, an idiom that expresses a situation in a new way is “to be up to one’s ears in something.” This means that someone is involved in an activity that is very time consuming, stressful, or difficult.

Another example is “to have a bird’s eye view.” This means that you have a clear understanding of a situation. If you don’t have a bird’s eye view, you might have a hard time figuring out what’s going on.

STEP 2: Use the phrase as it’s written in context

You should only use an idiom when it makes sense to do so. If the word it is attached to doesn’t make sense, you should remove it. In other words, if you write “to have a bird’s eye view,” you should change that to “to have a bird’s-eye view” (with the hyphen).

You may also want to read this post on using idioms correctly.

STEP 3: Use idioms with other idioms

Idioms are often used together with other idioms. For example, “to go off half-cocked” means that someone acts without thinking through their actions. If you use this idiom, you can say, “to go off half-cocked” with another idiom, such as “to do something on the fly.”

This way, your meaning becomes more clear.

STEP 4: Practice and use them in your writing

Once you’ve learned idioms, practice using them in your writing. You should always use them in proper context. You don’t want to say, “I am up to my ears in this project,” when it would make more sense to say, “I have a lot of work to do.”

If you do this, you will become a master at expressing yourself through idioms.

STEP 5: Read a dictionary or thesaurus

Reading a dictionary or a thesaurus is another way you can improve your idiom usage. This will help you figure out new idioms.

STEP 6: Write your own idioms

This may seem like a strange step, but you can write your own idioms. Some people say, “if you know what you’re doing, you can write your own idiom,” but I disagree.

The reason is that many idioms are created for a specific purpose. For example, the phrase, “to have a bird’s eye view,” was not created as an idiom. It was used to describe a particular situation.

You should be careful when writing your own idiom because it will not be as accurate as the original one. However, it will provide you with new ideas that will allow you to express yourself in new ways.

STEP 7: Share them with others

When you learn new idioms, you should share them with other people. If you use idioms incorrectly, someone else might get confused and use them incorrectly as well.

This leads me to my last point…

STEP 8: Improve your writing

If you want to become a better writer, you should improve your writing style. You can start by learning how to write an effective cover letter or resume.