[ENG] 오늘의 Idiom 100개

실제 회화에서 자주 사용하는 idiom 100개와 그에 대한 한국어 의미 및 예문을 정리해보았다.

Idiom은 직역을 할 경우 그 의미가 제대로 전달되지 않고, 전혀 엉뚱한 의미가 되는 경우가 많다.

예를 들어, 아래 나오는 예문 중 Break a leg on your performance tonight!을 직역 할 경우, ‘오늘 밤 네 공연에서 다리를 부러뜨려’ 가 되지만, Break a leg라는 idiom을 안다면 ‘오늘 밤 네 공연에 행운을 빈다’ 라는 의미로 제대로 해석 할 수 있게 된다.

따라서 idiom도 Phrase verb와 같이 신경써서 공부를 해야 한다.

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1-20

1. A piece of cake
   • 의미: 식은 죽 먹기
   • The exam was a piece of cake for her.
2. Break the ice
   • 의미: 어색한 분위기를 깨다
   • He told a joke to break the ice at the meeting.
3. Spill the beans
   • 의미: 비밀을 누설하다
   • Who spilled the beans about the surprise party?
4. Hit the nail on the head
   • 의미: 정곡을 찌르다
   • You’ve hit the nail on the head with your analysis.
5. Under the weather
   • 의미: 몸이 안 좋은
   • I’m feeling a bit under the weather today.
6. Burn the midnight oil
   • 의미: 밤늦게까지 공부하다/일하다
   • She’s been burning the midnight oil to finish the project.
7. Beat around the bush
   • 의미: 돌려 말하다
   • Stop beating around the bush and get to the point.
8. Bite the bullet
   • 의미: (힘들거나 불편한 일을) 참고 견디다
   • He had to bite the bullet and accept the decision.
9. Cost an arm and a leg
   • 의미: 엄청 비싸다
   • That car cost an arm and a leg!
10. Kill two birds with one stone
    • 의미: 일석이조
    • I killed two birds with one stone by finishing my errands on the way.
11. Let the cat out of the bag
    • 의미: 비밀을 누설하다
    • Don’t let the cat out of the bag about the surprise.
12. The ball is in your court
    • 의미: 네 차례야 (결정을 내릴)
    • I’ve given you all the information. The ball is in your court now.
13. Take it with a grain of salt
    • 의미: 걸러서 듣다
    • Take his advice with a grain of salt; he tends to exaggerate.
14. Add fuel to the fire
    • 의미: 불난 집에 부채질하다
    • His rude comments just added fuel to the fire.
15. On cloud nine
    • 의미: 매우 행복한
    • She’s been on cloud nine since she got the job offer.
16. Break a leg
    • 의미: 행운을 빌다
    • Break a leg on your performance tonight!
17. Hit the books
    • 의미: 공부하다
    • I need to hit the books for tomorrow’s exam.
18. Pull someone’s leg
    • 의미: 놀리다
    • Are you pulling my leg, or is this real?
19. Go the extra mile
    • 의미: 한 발 더 나아가다, 더 노력하다
    • She always goes the extra mile to help her clients.
20. Keep your fingers crossed
    • 의미: 행운을 빌다
    • I’m keeping my fingers crossed for your interview.

21-40

21. Bite off more than you can chew
    • 의미: 감당할 수 없는 일을 하다
    • Don’t bite off more than you can chew with this project.
22. Cry over spilt milk
    • 의미: 이미 엎질러진 물을 후회하다
    • There’s no use crying over spilt milk.
23. Hit the ground running
    • 의미: (시작하자마자) 열심히 하다
    • She hit the ground running in her new job.
24. Jump on the bandwagon
    • 의미: 유행에 편승하다
    • Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon of this new trend.
25. Burn bridges
    • 의미: 뒤를 끊다
    • Don’t burn bridges with your colleagues; you might need them someday.
26. Every cloud has a silver lining
    • 의미: 구름 뒤엔 밝은 면이 있다 (안 좋은 일에도 좋은 점이 있다)
    • Don’t worry; every cloud has a silver lining.
27. Actions speak louder than words
    • 의미: 말보다 행동이 중요하다
    • Show your dedication; actions speak louder than words.
28. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
    • 의미: 한 가지에 모든 걸 걸지 마라
    • Invest wisely; don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
29. Miss the boat
    • 의미: 기회를 놓치다
    • He missed the boat on the investment opportunity.
30. Play it by ear
    • 의미: 상황에 따라 하다
    • Let’s play it by ear and see what happens.
31. In hot water
    • 의미: 곤경에 처하다
    • He’s in hot water for missing the deadline.
32. Out of the blue
    • 의미: 갑자기
    • She called me out of the blue yesterday.
33. Throw in the towel
    • 의미: 포기하다
    • He decided to throw in the towel after many failed attempts.
34. Call it a day
    • 의미: 일을 마치다
    • Let’s call it a day and head home.
35. Feel under the weather
    • 의미: 몸이 안 좋다
    • She’s feeling under the weather, so she stayed home.
36. Let sleeping dogs lie
    • 의미: 건드리지 않는 게 낫다
    • Let’s let sleeping dogs lie and not bring up old arguments.
37. Steal someone’s thunder
    • 의미: ~의 공을 가로채다
    • She stole my thunder by announcing the news first.
38. Get a taste of your own medicine
    • 의미: 자업자득
    • He got a taste of his own medicine when no one helped him.
39. Pull out all the stops
    • 의미: 모든 노력을 다하다
    • We’ll pull out all the stops to make this event a success.
40. Throw caution to the wind
    • 의미: 신중함을 버리다
    • She threw caution to the wind and invested all her savings.

41-60

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41. The last straw
    • 의미: 인내심의 한계점
    • The broken vase was the last straw for her.
42. Speak of the devil
    • 의미: 호랑이도 제 말 하면 온다
    • Speak of the devil, here he comes now!
43. Kick the bucket
    • 의미: 죽다 (구어적 표현)
    • He almost kicked the bucket during his illness.
44. Burning the candle at both ends
    • 의미: 지나치게 과로하다
    • She’s burning the candle at both ends to meet the deadline.
45. Jump the gun
    • 의미: 성급히 행동하다
    • Don’t jump the gun before the official announcement.
46. Blow off steam
    • 의미: 스트레스를 풀다
    • He goes jogging to blow off steam after work.
47. Under one’s nose
    • 의미: 바로 눈앞에서
    • The wallet was stolen right under his nose.
48. In the same boat
    • 의미: 같은 처지에 있다
    • We’re all in the same boat with this difficult project.
49. A blessing in disguise
    • 의미: 전화위복
    • Losing that job was a blessing in disguise.
50. Hit the jackpot
    • 의미: 대성공하다
    • He hit the jackpot with his new business idea.
51. Keep an eye on
    • 의미: 주시하다
    • Can you keep an eye on the kids while I’m out?
52. Shake a leg
    • 의미: 서두르다
    • Shake a leg, or we’ll be late for the movie!
53. Cold feet
    • 의미: 갑작스러운 두려움
    • He got cold feet before the big presentation.
54. Once in a blue moon
    • 의미: 아주 드물게
    • We go hiking once in a blue moon.
55. Ring a bell
    • 의미: 낯익다
    • That name rings a bell, but I can’t remember where I heard it.
56. Play devil’s advocate
    • 의미: 일부러 반대 입장을 취하다
    • He played devil’s advocate to test her argument.
57. Put your money where your mouth is
    • 의미: 말한 것을 행동으로 보여주다
    • If you believe in this idea, put your money where your mouth is.
58. Throw someone under the bus
    • 의미: 희생양으로 삼다
    • He threw his teammate under the bus to save himself.
59. On the tip of your tongue
    • 의미: 기억날 듯 말 듯 하다
    • Her name is on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t remember it.
60. Lose your touch
    • 의미: 감을 잃다
    • He’s losing his touch in playing the guitar.

61-80

61. Make ends meet
    • 의미: 겨우 먹고살다
    • It’s hard to make ends meet with rising prices.
62. Read between the lines
    • 의미: 숨은 의미를 파악하다
    • Read between the lines to understand what he really means.
63. Get cold feet
    • 의미: 겁이 나다
    • She got cold feet before her wedding day.
64. Jump the ship
    • 의미: 포기하거나 떠나다
    • Many employees jumped ship when the company started failing.
65. Keep your chin up
    • 의미: 기운 내다
    • Keep your chin up; better days are coming.
66. Pull your weight
    • 의미: 자기 몫을 다하다
    • You need to pull your weight in this team project.
67. Scratch the surface
    • 의미: 수박 겉핥기
    • We’ve only scratched the surface of this issue.
68. The elephant in the room
    • 의미: 모두가 알지만 말하지 않는 문제
    • We need to address the elephant in the room during this meeting.
69. Bite the dust
    • 의미: 패배하거나 죽다
    • Many competitors bit the dust in the race.
70. Pull strings
    • 의미: 연줄을 이용하다
    • He pulled some strings to get the job.
71. Raining cats and dogs
    • 의미: 비가 엄청 내리다
    • It’s raining cats and dogs outside!
72. Bury the hatchet
    • 의미: 화해하다
    • Let’s bury the hatchet and move on.
73. Go bananas
    • 의미: 미치다, 흥분하다
    • The crowd went bananas when the singer appeared.
74. Skeleton in the closet
    • 의미: 숨기고 싶은 비밀
    • He has a skeleton in the closet about his past.
75. By the skin of your teeth
    • 의미: 간신히
    • He passed the exam by the skin of his teeth.
76. Cut corners
    • 의미: 절차를 생략하다
    • Don’t cut corners when building a house.
77. Go back to square one
    • 의미: 처음부터 다시 시작하다
    • We had to go back to square one after the project failed.
78. Call the shots
    • 의미: 결정을 내리다
    • She’s the one calling the shots in this company.
79. Hit below the belt
    • 의미: 비열한 공격을 하다
    • That comment was hitting below the belt.
80. Blow your own trumpet
    • 의미: 자기 자랑을 하다
    • Stop blowing your own trumpet and let others speak!

81-100 (마지막 부분)

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81. Kill the mood
    • 의미: 분위기를 깨다
    • He killed the mood by bringing up a depressing topic.
82. Let off steam
    • 의미: 스트레스를 풀다
    • He goes running to let off steam after work.
83. Blow something out of proportion
    • 의미: 과장하다
    • Don’t blow this argument out of proportion.
84. Go down in flames
    • 의미: 완전히 실패하다
    • Their plan went down in flames when the funding was cut.
85. Stick to your guns
    • 의미: 자신의 입장을 고수하다
    • Despite criticism, she stuck to her guns.
86. Keep your head above water
    • 의미: 간신히 버티다
    • He’s just managing to keep his head above water financially.
87. Hit it off
    • 의미: 죽이 잘 맞다
    • They hit it off immediately at the party.
88. Have a sweet tooth
    • 의미: 단 것을 좋아하다
    • He has a sweet tooth and loves desserts.
89. The tip of the iceberg
    • 의미: 빙산의 일각
    • The problems we see are just the tip of the iceberg.
90. Lose your head
    • 의미: 냉정을 잃다
    • Don’t lose your head during the crisis.
91. Roll up your sleeves
    • 의미: 소매를 걷어붙이고 시작하다
    • Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.
92. Be on the same page
    • 의미: 의견이 일치하다
    • We need to be on the same page before we proceed.
93. Bark up the wrong tree
    • 의미: 엉뚱한 방향으로 가다
    • If you think he’s guilty, you’re barking up the wrong tree.
94. Throw in the towel
    • 의미: 포기하다
    • After years of trying, they finally threw in the towel.
95. Walk on eggshells
    • 의미: 눈치를 보다
    • We’ve been walking on eggshells around her since the argument.
96. Keep it under wraps
    • 의미: 비밀로 하다
    • Let’s keep the plans under wraps until we’re ready to announce.
97. Get the hang of it
    • 의미: 요령을 익히다
    • It took a while, but I finally got the hang of it.
98. Face the music
    • 의미: 결과를 받아들이다
    • You made a mistake, so you need to face the music.
99. The best of both worlds
    • 의미: 두 가지 장점을 모두 취하다
    • She has the best of both worlds with her flexible job.
100. Jump through hoops
     – 의미: 까다로운 절차를 겪다
     – He had to jump through hoops to get the approval.