Many English speakers hear idioms from their parents and teachers while growing up, so they are very familiar with these idioms and connect emotionally to them.

Are you ready to level up your English and use English like a first language speaker? We hope so! Let’s learn 10 new English idioms that you can use in your daily life…

Idioms help you speak in new ways, they add emotion to your speech, and they help English speakers connect with you on a deeper level.

Idioms are very commonly used when speaking English.

In the comments, try to explain what each one of these idioms mean.

10 useful English idioms to use in your daily life

Idiom 1:

Make a long story short

Idiom 2:

That’s the last straw

Idiom 3:

It takes one to know one

Idiom 4:

Wrap your head around something

Idiom 5:

Cut somebody some slack

Idiom 6:

On thin ice

Idiom 7:

You can’t judge a book by its cover

Idiom 8:

A snowball effect

Idiom 9:

Haste makes waste

Idiom 10:

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink

There you have it! Time to put your idioms to use and impress your friends, teachers or colleagues!

If you already know these phrases and would like some more help, we recommend looking through other phrases articles, mixing-and-matching phrases, and working together with private tutors.

[Need some extra help with this or want to practise your new idioms with a teacher? Check out a service called EnglishScore Tutors, British Council’s online English tutoring service. We highly recommend them for quality and comfort. Sign up today using our link and get your first session for $1]