A bestiary of English idioms: English Slang Collection

Dark horse

"We all reckoned Priya was just tagging along down the local, then she smashed the karaoke and nicked first place. Absolute dark horse."

Red herring

"He kept banging on about the spelling mistake in my report, but that was a red herring. The real issue was the dodgy numbers."

Let the cat out of the bag

"We’d planned a surprise do for Jess, but Liam let the cat out of the bag by dropping it in the family group chat."

Barking up the wrong tree

"The police were barking up the wrong tree for weeks before they realised the real culprit was the one who reported it."

Let sleeping dogs lie

"You’re really gonna bring up that wedding speech from 2019? Leave it, mate, let sleeping dogs lie, we’ve finally got Mum smiling again."

Kill two birds with one stone

"I’m popping Tesco and dropping your parcel at the Post Office, two birds with one stone. Might grab a chippy tea too if the queue’s not murder."

Hold your horses

"I’ve already ordered the suit and booked the venue. Hold your horses, we haven’t even agreed on a date and you’re acting like it’s tomorrow."

Beating a dead horse

"Beating a dead horse. Making too many references to something, often a joke, that people are tired of and don't want to hear anymore. Oh my God, man, why does Hollywood keep putting screaming goats in their movies? The meme's like 14 years old. I mean, talk about beating a dead horse."

Beating a dead horse

"Bro, that screaming goat joke again? You're beating a dead horse. That meme was cooked back when people still argued about fidget spinners."

Bee in your bonnet

"He’s got a bee in his bonnet about the neighbour’s parking, keeps peeking through the curtains and leaving passive aggressive notes on windscreens."

Ants in your pants

"Mum: Stop wriggling, you’ve got ants in your pants. We’re in the queue for chips, calm down or you’ll spill the vinegar."

Rabbit hole

"I popped online after tea for a biscuit recipe, fell down a rabbit hole, and two hours later I’m watching a bloke in Leeds build a pallet bunker."

Rabbit on

"Kev rabbited on about his new shed for an hour, dead serious. I smiled, said nice one mate, then legged it for a fake loo break."

Sacred cow

"The team hates the Monday all-hands, but the boss calls it a sacred cow, so we log in, yawn, and pretend it’s productive."

Guinea pig

"They’ve got a dodgy new energy drink from the corner shop. I said I’d be the guinea pig. Ten minutes later I’m sweating buckets and regretting everything."

Lab rat

"I signed up to be a lab rat for the sleep study, three nights wired up to machines for a bit of cash."

A dog's dinner

"Tried to tile the bathroom myself and made a dog's dinner of it, wonky rows, grout everywhere, and the missus fuming."

The dog's bollocks

"You try that new kebab shop on the high road? It’s the dog’s bollocks, mate, proper juicy, and the chilli sauce has a kick."

The dog's

"That new burger gaff is the dog's. Thought it’d be bang average, but it’s lush and even Dave quit moaning for a full five minutes."

Fit as a butcher's dog

"Gaz rocked up to five-a-side after two months off the booze, shoulders like a wardrobe. Absolute nuisance, fit as a butcher's dog."

In the doghouse

"Forgot our anniversary and turned up with garage flowers. Now I’m in the doghouse, sleeping on the sofa and making endless brews to get back in her good books."

The cat's pyjamas

"That little coffee gaff round the station is the cat's pyjamas, mate. Flat white was so good I tipped the barista my last biccie."

The bee's knees

"Her new coffee machine is the bee's knees, I want one exactly like it."

Wild goose chase

"IT swore the backup was in the old server room, so I trapsed round for ages. Room’s been gutted for years. Proper wild goose chase."

Early bird

"Dave rocked up at 6am with a Pret and a grin, proper early bird. By nine we rolled in like zombies and nicked his biscuits."

Night-owl

"I'm a total night-owl, my best ideas always turn up around two in the morning."

Bookworm

"She's been a bookworm since she was five, always three novels deep at once."

Slippery as an eel

"Did Gaz ever pay you back for that kebab? Nah, he’s slippery as an eel, bangs on about the footy and suddenly he’s vanished."

Like a bull in a china shop

"We asked Dave to have a quiet word with the neighbours, and he marched in, slagged off their garden, like a bull in a china shop."

Chewing a wasp

"Dave rocked up and realised it was alcohol-free lager. He sat there chewing a wasp all night, like the bar had personally betrayed him."

Pig out

"Came back from the pub and pigged out on a dirty kebab, cheesy chips and half a pizza. Woke up parched, crumbs everywhere, no shame."

Wolf it down

"He wolfed it down before the kettle clicked off. I’m still buttering toast and he’s already asking what’s for pud. Mental."

Scaredy-cat

"Don't be such a scaredy-cat, the haunted house is for little kids."

Copycat

"Quit being a copycat and pick your own outfit for once."

Cold turkey

"Went cold turkey on energy drinks, and by lunchtime I was staring at the kettle like it owed me money. Colleague offered decaf, I nearly lost it."

Pigeon pair

"Sue’s buzzing, she’s got her pigeon pair now, one of each. Dave’s acting like he’s won the bloody lottery, pushing the pram round Tesco."

Moggy

"Wanted a calm pet, but the moggy’s nicked my spot on the sofa, scoffed my chicken, then shouted for Dreamies like it pays council tax."

Earwig

"Oi, stop earwigging, yeah? I’m trying to book the holiday. Next thing I know you’re telling Mum my budget like you paid it."

Earworm

"Heard that supermarket jingle once and now it’s an earworm. Been humming it on the bus all morning, doing my head in."

Twitcher

"Baz shot to Norfolk at 5am after a WhatsApp tip-off, queued with a flask, then got told it dipped ten minutes ago. Brutal."

Hen do

"Jess’s hen do was in full swing at Spoons, all in pink sashes. Two cocktails in, Kayleigh’s leading a conga and the bride’s lost her shoes."

Stag do

"We took Gaz on a stag do, stuck him in a giant baby outfit, and he tried paying for a kebab with his cufflinks. Absolute carnage."

Galah

"You left the esky in the sun and now the snags are swimming. You galah, grab some ice before everyone cracks it."

Drongo

"Mate tried to pay at the servo with his library card, then blamed the EFTPOS. Absolute drongo, we were standing there like stunned mullets."

Budgie smugglers

"Uncle Kev rocked up to the family barbecue in his budgie smugglers like he was about to compete at the Olympics. Nan nearly dropped the pavlova."

Hen

"Hen, is this the queue or are we aw just hovering like lost pigeons? Aye, it’s the queue. Sound, I’ll bide here then, cheers hen."

Duck

"Alright, duck, you after a bacon cob or what? Cheers, love, stick a brew on an’ all, I’m starving, ta."

Bird

"Is that Dave’s new bird? Met her at the gig last week, proper sound, and she didn’t blink when Gaz started chatting rubbish."

Feeding frenzy

"The Black Friday drop was a feeding frenzy, lads shoving past the ropes, snatching the last console, and security sprinting over like it was match day."

Get my goat

"His constant humming gets my goat, I cannot concentrate on a single thing while he keeps doing it."

Goat

"GOAT, an acronym for greatest of all time, can also be used as an adjective to say someone or something is GOATED and is also often used in hyperbole to say something is really, really, really good. Did you see Mighty Mouse's flying armbar against Ray Borg? Oh, he is the GOAT!"

A bestiary of English idioms

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