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A comprehensive reference of idioms, colloquialisms, phrasal verbs, sayings, and useful expressions grouped by theme, with meanings, usage notes, and example sentences.
How to use this book
Legend
Section A — Everyday conversational idioms (1–150)
Section B — Business & professional expressions (151–280) 151. think outside the box [I] — be creative. 152. touch base [Phr] — briefly make contact. 153. circle back [Phr] — return to a topic later. 154. low-hanging fruit [I] — easy tasks that yield quick wins. 155. run it up the flagpole [I] — test an idea. 156. move the needle [I] — make significant progress. 157. hit the ground running [I] — start energetically. 158. blue-sky thinking [I] — creative, unconstrained ideas. 159. game changer [I] — something that dramatically alters the situation. 160. take offline [Phr] — discuss outside a meeting. ... (continues to 280 with usage notes and example sentences)
Section C — Phrasal verbs (281–420) 281. bring up [Phr] — mention a subject. Ex: She brought up salary during the interview. 282. bring about [Phr] — cause something to happen. 283. carry out [Phr] — perform or complete. 284. come across [Phr] — find by chance / seem to be. 285. cut back (on) [Phr] — reduce. 286. drop off [Phr] — deliver or fall asleep. 287. figure out [Phr] — understand or solve. 288. get along (with) [Phr] — have a friendly relationship. 289. give up [Phr] — stop trying. 290. go over [Phr] — review or examine. ... (continues to 420 with notes on separable/inseparable patterns) 1001 english expressions and phrases pdf
Section D — Travel, directions & transport (421–520) 421. make tracks [I] — leave quickly. 422. hit the road [I] — depart on a journey. 423. off the beaten path [I] — not touristy; secluded. 424. in the driver's seat [I] — in control. 425. miss the boat [I] — miss an opportunity. 426. red-eye flight [I] — overnight flight. 427. catch some Zs [I] — sleep. 428. overbooked [I] — more reservations than capacity. 429. tight connection [I] — short transfer time between flights. 430. call shotgun [I] — claim front passenger seat. ... (continues to 520)
Section E — Emotions and relationships (521–650) 521. wear your heart on your sleeve [I] — show emotions openly. 522. have a crush on [I] — be romantically attracted to. 523. tie the knot [I] — get married. 524. on cloud nine [I] — extremely happy. 525. down in the dumps [I] — depressed. 526. roller coaster of emotions [I] — emotional ups and downs. 527. cold shoulder [I] — intentionally ignore someone. 528. bury the hatchet [I] — make peace. 529. love at first sight [I] — immediate attraction. 530. break someone’s heart [I] — cause emotional pain. ... (continues to 650)
Section F — Academic, study & exams (651–740) 651. cram for [I] — study intensively in short time. 652. pull an all-nighter [I] — stay awake all night to study. 653. ace the exam [I] — get a top score. 654. read between the lines [I] — infer implicit meaning. 655. hit the books [I] — study hard. 656. plagiarism [I] — copying others’ work (note: formal). 657. go over the syllabus [I] — review course outline. 658. peer-reviewed [I] — evaluated by experts. 659. write up [Phr] — prepare a formal report. 660. drop out [Phr] — leave a course or school. ... (continues to 740)
Section G — Food, cooking & dining (741–820) 741. bite off more than you can chew [I] — take on too much. 742. bring to the table [I] — contribute something useful. 743. cutlery [I] — utensils (formal). 744. eat like a horse [I] — eat a lot. 745. finger-licking good [I] — very tasty. 746. to go / takeaway [I] — food to take away. 747. on the rocks [I] — served over ice (drinks). 748. glass half full / half empty [I] — optimistic vs pessimistic view. 749. spice things up [I] — add excitement. 750. have a sweet tooth [I] — like sweets. ... (continues to 820)
Section H — Technology & internet (821–880) 821. go viral [I] — spread quickly online. 822. cloud computing [I] — remote servers for storage/processing. 823. lag behind [I] — be slower or less advanced. 824. user-friendly [I] — easy to use. 825. phishing [I] — fraudulent attempts to steal information. 826. bandwidth [I] — data transfer capacity. 827. debug [I] — fix program errors. 828. plug and play [I] — easy to set up. 829. beta version [I] — test release. 830. bandwidth hog [I] — app or user consuming large bandwidth. ... (continues to 880)
Section I — Formal & literary expressions (881–940) 881. at the eleventh hour [S] — at the last possible moment. 882. beg the question [I] — (formal) raise/cause a question (note: common misuse). 883. by and large [I] — on the whole. 884. in light of [Formal] — considering. 885. notwithstanding [Formal] — despite. 886. insofar as [Formal] — to the extent that. 887. underpin [Formal] — support (an argument). 888. paradigm shift [Formal] — fundamental change in approach. 889. myriad [Formal] — many. 890. hitherto [Formal/Literary] — until now. ... (continues to 940)
Section J — Proverbs and timeless sayings (941–1000) 941. actions speak louder than words [S] — deeds are more important than words. 942. the grass is always greener on the other side [S] — others’ situations often seem better. 943. don't count your chickens before they hatch [S] — don’t assume success prematurely. 944. you can’t judge a book by its cover [S] — appearances can be misleading. 945. beggars can’t be choosers [S] — accept what’s offered. 946. two heads are better than one [S] — collaboration helps. 947. a stitch in time saves nine [S] — timely action prevents more work. 948. too many cooks spoil the broth [S] — too many contributors ruin a project. 949. when in Rome, do as the Romans do [S] — follow local customs. 950. practice makes perfect [S] — repetition improves skill. ... (continue to 1000)
Bonus — 1001. Closing: handy mini-guide for learners 1001. back to square one [I] — start over. Ex: The plan failed; we’re back to square one. Searching for a "1001 English Expressions and Phrases
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When you study from a 1001 English expressions and phrases PDF, there is a risk of "over-idiomizing." Native speakers use idioms about 10-15% of the time. If you use them 80% of the time, you will sound strange.
Bad Example (Forced):
"Hi! I’m feeling under the weather. Let's hit the sack early so we can get a head start on the project and think outside the box tomorrow."
Good Example (Natural):
"I'm a bit sick today. I'm going to sleep early so we can start fresh tomorrow and brainstorm."
Rule of thumb: One idiom or expression per sentence maximum.
Finding a 1001 English expressions and phrases PDF is easy. Using it effectively is hard. Most learners download it, read the first 50 phrases, and never open it again. Here is the "Active Recall" method to make it stick.