5 Common but Useful English Idioms You Must Know | Vital Vocabulary

Hoping to sound like a native English speaker? Desiring to introduce an artistic flavour to your speech or writing? One of the quickest ways would be to pick up some easy and useful English idioms! In this blog entry, I would love to share some of the most effective English idioms that are widely used in daily conversations. 

What is an idiom?

An idiom is a group of words in a fixed order, possessing a particular meaning that is different from the meanings of each word on its own. Typically, an idiom expresses a figurative meaning, but some idioms can be rather literal too. 

1. A piece of cake 

Meaning: easy to do; simple to accomplish. (as easy as eating a piece of yummy cake)

Sentence example: That Physics test was a piece of cake! 

2. Best of both worlds 

Meaning: a situation in which you can enjoy the advantages of two very different things at the same time.

Sentence example: Peter got the best of both worlds during his trip to Europe as he got to admire the wonderful scenery in the day and enjoy the city life at night. 

3. Sit on the fence 

Meaning: avoid making a decision or take a side of an argument or discussion. 

Sentence example: Knowing that I could not sit on the fence any longer, I made up my mind. 

4. Call it a day

Meaning: decide or agree to stop doing something.

Sentence example: After working for ten hours straight, the workers decided to call it a day. 

5. Take it easy

Meaning: To proceed in a calm and relaxed manner.

Sentence example: You have barely recovered from your illness, so take it easy.