English Idioms and Set Expressions: Two Flashcard Series
Two series, 34 sets and over 360 cards, from a piece of cake and bark up the wrong tree to no hard feelings and call it a day. Start with the one that fits your goal.
Idioms by theme: food, dogs, patience, control, agreeing and disagreeing, ignoring someone, with translations and explanations.
- 1/9 B1B2C1Start here Idioms about control: get out of hand
- 2/9 B1B2 Food idioms: a piece of cake, good egg
- 3/9 B2 Popular idioms: cost an arm and a leg
- 4/9 B1B2 Idioms about understanding: see eye to eye
- 5/9 B1B2C1 Short idioms: cut corners, hang in there
- 6/9 B2C1 Idioms about patience: pull yourself together
- 7/9 B2C1 Idioms for agreeing: you can say that again
- 8/9 B2C1 Idioms about ignoring: the cold shoulder
- 9/9 B2C1 Dog idioms: dog-tired, bark up the wrong tree
Set expressions native speakers use every day, from “my bad” and “call it a day” to “better safe than sorry”, in real sentences.
- 1/25 A2B1B2C1Start here Everyday set expressions: I’m all ears
- 2/25 B1B2 Break a leg, don’t count your chickens: meaning
- 3/25 B1B2C1 My bad, a likely story: meaning
- 4/25 B1B2C1 Better safe than sorry, I owe you one: meaning
- 5/25 A2B1B2C1 Put two and two together, hidden agenda: meaning
- 6/25 B1B2C1 No hard feelings, one for the road: meaning
- 7/25 B1B2C1 Seize the day, my hands are tied: meaning
- 8/25 B1B2C1 No such luck, a matter of taste: meaning
- 9/25 B1B2C1 To each his own, lesser of two evils: meaning
- 10/25 A2B1B2 Orders are orders, you only live once: meaning
- 11/25 B2 Rain or shine, the more the merrier: meaning
- 12/25 B1B2C1 Hit the books, Sunday best: meaning
- 13/25 B1B2C1 A drop in the ocean, agree to disagree: meaning
- 14/25 B1B2C1 Fall on deaf ears, good riddance: meaning
- 15/25 B1B2C1 Me time, safe and sound: meaning
- 16/25 B1B2C1 Come what may, a needle in a haystack: meaning
- 17/25 A2B1B2C1 Third wheel, silver lining: meaning
- 18/25 B1B2C1 Call it a day, clear the air: meaning
- 19/25 A2B1B2C1 Wet behind the ears, pros and cons: meaning
- 20/25 B1B2C1 Sweet tooth, call a spade a spade: meaning
- 21/25 B1B2C1 Half the battle, muddy the waters: meaning
- 22/25 B1B2C1 Rumour has it, nip in the bud: meaning
- 23/25 B1B2C1 Right-hand man, point of no return: meaning
- 24/25 A2B1B2C1 On the house, I’ll say: meaning
- 25/25 B1B2C1 My treat, mark my words: meaning
English idioms are phrases like a piece of cake (very easy) or cost an arm and a leg (very expensive): you know every word, yet the meaning has to be learned. They show up everywhere in films, songs and everyday talk, so these sets collect them as flashcards with translations into Ukrainian and Russian and short explanations.
Two series and how they differ
English idioms has 9 short sets by theme: control, food, patience, understanding, agreeing and disagreeing, ignoring people, and dogs. Each card holds the idiom itself (bite the bullet, see eye to eye, fly off the handle), its translation and, where it helps, a note on usage. Think of it as a compact dictionary, one theme at a time.
English set expressions has 25 sets of fixed phrases in real sentences: no hard feelings, my bad, call it a day, better safe than sorry, mark my words, plus proverbs such as every cloud has a silver lining. The front of each card is a sentence you could hear in conversation, the back is its translation, and the note explains the expression. This is practice: you see how the phrase behaves in a sentence.
Where to start
New to idioms? Start with Part 1 of English idioms: seven idioms about control, from get out of hand to run a tight ship. The themed sets are short, and a shared theme makes the phrases easier to connect.
Already following conversational English but want to sound more natural? Start with the set expressions: Part 1 gathers phrases for lively conversation, such as I’m all ears, good for you and last but not least.
A few phrases appear in both series, like call it a day and when it rains, it pours: one series teaches the meaning, the other shows it in use. The first sets of each series are free. Saving any ready-made set to your collection needs Premium, and paid sets are bought one at a time; Premium doesn’t include them.
Frequently asked questions
What is an idiom?
An idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning you can’t work out from its words. Bark up the wrong tree has nothing to do with dogs and trees: it means looking for something in the wrong place. That’s why idioms are learned whole, with an explanation and an example.
Where should I start with English idioms?
With the short themed sets of the English idioms series: 4–7 idioms on one theme, each with an explanation. Once they feel familiar, move on to the set expressions, where every card shows the phrase in a real sentence.
What is the difference between an idiom and a set expression?
A set expression is any phrase used as a fixed block: a proverb, a cliché like last but not least, a conversational formula like my treat. An idiom is a set expression whose meaning doesn’t follow from its words, like a piece of cake. Every idiom is a set expression, but not the other way round.