100 Essential Idioms

Mastering idioms for Upper Intermediate and Advanced Learners

100 ESSENTIAL IDIOMS

Sound more natural and confident in English.
Learn 100 high-frequency idioms you’ll actually hear—and use them correctly in conversations, emails, and study/work tasks. Short explanations, natural examples, usage notes, and practical exercises after every set. With answers.

What you’ll learn

• Clear meanings and when to use each idiom (tone, register, common contexts).

• Typical grammar and patterns (e.g., be fed up with, end up -ing, on the same page).

• Collocations, variants, and near-synonyms—plus common pitfalls to avoid.

• How to replace literal, textbook phrases with natural-sounding English.

How the book works

• Learn it → concise definition, literal image, and pronunciation note (where useful).

• See it in context → mini-dialogue and a sentence for email/study use.

• Use it → cloze, choose-the-idiom, transformation, and short speaking/writing prompts.

• Review it → 10-idiom quizzes and cumulative reviews to fix learning.

• Answer Key included for fast, independent checking.

What’s inside

• 10 themed sets (10 idioms each): Work & Study • Decisions & Plans • Time & Progress • Problems & Solutions • Success & Failure • Feelings & Reactions • Agreement & Disagreement • Money & Business • Travel & Daily Life • Change & Trends.

• A mini phrasebank with useful alternatives and formal equivalents.

• An index by keyword and function (e.g., giving opinions, agreeing, contrasting, evaluating).

Who it’s for

• Strong Intermediate (CEFR B1–B2) learners who want natural, fluent English in speech and writing.

• Students preparing for speaking/writing exams (IELTS/TOEFL) and professionals using English at work.

• Teachers who want quick, ready-to-use idiom lessons.

Build fluent, natural English—idiom by idiom—until the meanings, nuances, and patterns feel automatic.