Common idioms and their meanings

Hello my wonderful students! Welcome to our English class. Today, we're going to learn about something very interesting: Idioms and Figurative Expressions.

Understanding these helps you speak and write better, especially for your WASSCE, NECO, UTME, and NABTEB exams.

What are Idioms?

An idiom is a group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words themselves. It's like a secret code in English!

Let’s say you hear someone say 'it’s raining cats and dogs'. They don’t mean real cats and dogs are falling from the sky. It simply means it’s raining very heavily.

Common Idioms and Their Meanings

Break a leg

This idiom is used to wish someone good luck, especially before a performance or a big event. It doesn't mean you should actually go and break your leg!

Example: Before Chidi went for his JAMB exam, his mother told him, 'Break a leg, my son!'

Hit the road

This means to leave a place or begin a journey.

Example: It’s getting late; we need to hit the road before the Lagos traffic gets too bad.

Bite the bullet

To bite the bullet means to face a difficult or unpleasant situation with courage and endurance.

Example: Aisha didn't want to do the extra homework, but she decided to bite the bullet and get it done.

Under the weather

When someone is under the weather, it means they are feeling slightly unwell or sick.

Example: Tunde looked pale and said he was feeling a bit under the weather, so he couldn't play football.

Cost an arm and a leg

This idiom means something is very expensive.

Example: That new iPhone must cost an arm and a leg! My father cannot afford it.

In a nutshell

To say something in a nutshell means to summarize it very briefly and clearly.

Example: The teacher asked us to explain the whole story in a nutshell.