Learning English expressions is important to improve your command of the language. Mainly because you will understand many phrases that do not have a literal translation into Portuguese, but which are widely used by fluent and native speakers. So, let's learn some of the idiomatic expressions most common in one of the world's major languages?

Keep reading, discover 35 common expressions and famous proverbs from British English. Stay until the end of this post and increase your level of English!

35 everyday English expressions

People often tend to translate a sentence word for word. However, this is not recommended because it can take away from the meaning of the communication. In the case of expressions in English, it is crucial that the understanding is based on the context and what is expected to be conveyed during the conversation.

Understanding expressions is a practice that requires mastery and immersion in any language. Therefore, we have gathered the main idiomatic expressions, along with their meanings and examples of use. Let's go?

1. Better late than never.

Its meaning is “better late than never”, which is close to the expression used in Portuguese. It can be used in a sentence like “You are here. Better late than never” .

2. Break a leg.

The expression is well-known in the world of theater and is often said before a big performance. The expression, considered informal, is used to wish someone good luck. An example sentence is “Break a leg today! The play will be awesome!”

3. Call it a day.

This phrase means “to end the day”, the equivalent, in good Portuguese, is “I’m going to pull the car”. For example, to use it, you can say “I'm so tired. Let's call it a day”“.

4. Cutting corners.

This expression means “to do something badly”, that is, take an unnecessary shortcut. There is a second meaning: to do something in the easiest way, to save effort. In everyday use it can be applied in a sentence like “Sorry, I tried to cut corners today”.

5. Get out of hand.

Its meaning is “to lose control of things”. This phrase can be applied as in the following example: “The gas price has gotten out of hand.”

6. Hang in there.

Similar to its literal translation, this phrase means “hold on tight” or “don’t give up.” Its application can be “I'm coming home right now. Hang in there!”

7. It's not rocket science.

This is another expression that has a meaning similar to the literal translation. It means “it’s not difficult”. It can be applied as in “Why are you taking so long? It's not rocket science!”

8. To make a long story short.

Its meaning is “in short” or “to summarize”. This expression is usually used to summarize a story. As in “To make a long story short, my day was awesome!”

9. Pull yourself together.

This is an expression that orders the person to calm down. In general, it is usually used in cases where the person seeks to be more powerful in the statement. For example: "Pull yourself together and focus on your homework!”

10. So far, so good.

This phrase means “so far, so good” or “everything is going as expected”. It can be used alone or with the help of another phrase. For example “It's a lot of work, but so far, so good.”

11. For God's sake!

Its meaning is “for the love of God!”. In addition, it is a way to avoid a swear word. However, it should not be used in any environment. An example of application is “Stop running at the mall, for God's sake!”

12. To have no clue.

Whoever says this phrase “has no idea what it’s about” – do you get the pun? After all, that’s exactly what it means. For example “I have no clue what to do tonight”

13. Pretty soon.

This expression means “soon”, in the sense of being almost immediate. It can be used in a sentence like “I'll be leaving for work pretty soon”

14. It's up to you.

It is an expression used by people who want to get rid of responsibility, since its meaning is “the decision is yours”. Its meaning becomes clear when applied to a sentence like “It's up to you where we'll eat on our anniversary”

15. Take your time.

This is an example of an expression that has the same meaning as its literal translation. In other words, “take your time” or “take your time, do it whenever you want”. For example “I'm in no hurry. Take your time.” At the same time, this sentence can be used ironically.

16. Same old, same old.

This is an expression that indicates that everything is the same or has always been the same. For example, in a dialogue when someone asks how you are and nothing new happened, you can answer: “Well, you know, same old, same old.”.

17. FYI.

To pronounce this expression, you need to spell the letters. It is formed by the initials of “for your information”, meaning “for your information” and it is most commonly used in printed material such as emails or text messages to colleagues or friends. An example of its use is “FYI, I was at my mother's home yesterday.”

18. As lost as a nun on a honeymoon.

This expression is the equivalent of “more lost than a blind man in a shooting“. The literal translation of the phrase in English is “as lost as a nun on her honeymoon.” To apply it in a sentence, you could say “What are you talking about? I'm as lost as a nun on a honeymoon“.

19. Bite your tongue.

When someone predicts something horrible and you want to disapprove of the person's attitude, you can use this expression. Its equivalent in Portuguese can be “turn that mouth over there!” One use of this phrase in English is: “If you get angry at the boss, just bite your tongue.”

Many of the phrases seen so far are common in the English language. Therefore, knowing their meanings is very important to be able to read and interpret them correctly. books in english.

20. Saved by the bell.

As the translation suggests, this expression means “saved by the bell”. For example, “You were saved by the bell. One more minute and I would have been gone.”

21. To be a piece of cake.

It means to be very easy. In this case, the literal translation will not make sense for the context in which the phrase is used. One of its applications might be “This homework will be a piece of cake”.

22. So what?

Do you know when you want to say “so what?” in English? Then, at that time you use this expression. For example in “So what if my house was messy?”

23. Spare me.

This expression means “spare me”. It can be used to respond to a disrespectful comment, for example. As in the case of “Spare me the details”.

24. Slip up.

Have you ever stopped to think about what it means to “make a mistake” in English? One of the most relaxed ways to say it is using this expression. For example, in “I hope I don't slip up this time.”

25. My bad.

This expression is used to apologize in a slightly more informal way. A possible equivalent in Portuguese is to say “foi mal”. As in “I broke the glass. My bad”.

26. I told you so.

Everyone has a friend who does something even though they know it will go wrong. So, this expression means “I told you so”. For example “As always, I told you so.”

27. Make a scene.

This expression means “to make a scene” or “to make a drama”. One application in a sentence is “Don't make a scene. We are in public!”

28. Keep in touch.

The meaning of this expression is “keep in touch”. So when you want to ask someone not to disappear, you can say “Let's keep in touch and get together someday.”

29. Once and for all.

This expression means “once and for all”. For example, “Once and for all, you need to get some rest!.”

30. It's about time.

For this expression, an equivalent meaning is “it was about time”. For example, when someone is late for an appointment and the person finally arrives. In these cases you can use “It's about time you got here.”

31. My lips are sealed.

Use this expression to show how a secret is safe with you. A Portuguese equivalent is the classic “my mouth is a tomb”. For example, "I won't say anything. My lips are sealed.”

32. Over my dead body.

This phrase is equivalent to the expression “over my dead body.” It is usually used to say that you will do everything you can to avoid something. For example, “You will win this game over my dead body!”

33. To get blood out of a stone.

It has the same meaning as “getting blood from a stone”. That is, when someone manages to do something that was very difficult to achieve. For example, “Making the kids keep quiet is like getting blood out of a stone.”

34. To be the last straw.

This expression means that something was the last straw. For example, "When he crashed her car, it was the last straw.”

35. Cross my heart.

You can use this expression to swear that something is true. For example, in “I'm very serious about this. Cross my heart.”

These expressions are very common in many English-speaking regions. However, they are most commonly used in the United States. To learn more phrases used in everyday life, watch the titles in our list of movies to learn English!

Proverbs in English

English proverbs are not often used in everyday conversation. But are common in several situations. Just like some popular sayings here in Brazil, you know?

To avoid getting lost when you come across a proverb like this, check out the list of the most used ones and their meanings now. Check it out!

Saying	Meaning
A snowball's chance in hell.	No chance possible.
A storm in a teacup.	To make a fuss over little things.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.	Eating apples is good for your health.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.	"Better safe than sorry".
Calm before the storm.	Something bad is going to happen, but right now everything is fine.
Curiosity killed the cat.	Those who investigate a lot discover what they don't want.
Every dog has his day.	People have opportunities at least once in their lives.
He's sitting on the fence.	The person is indecisive. He is “on the fence”.
On cloud nine.	Very happy.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.	Things go from bad to worse.
Water under the bridge.	It's already in the past. “It's water under the bridge.”
When it rains, it pours.	Everything is bad at the same time.
You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.	To get what you want, you have to be likeable.
You can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs.	There is always a price to pay for getting what you want.

If translated literally, many of these proverbs lose their meaning. Therefore, it is important understand the context and meaning behind each of them, without getting too attached to literal translations.

Did you see how English has many expressions that can be easily used in everyday life? They can be seen in many situations in life. To understand them better, you need to improve your listening skills. See our list of podcasts in English to improve the listening!

See you later!