Every country and language has its special ways of expressing itself. English has a bunch of wacky ones that will make you laugh or scratch your head in confusion.
Let's go and take a look at these funny English sayings that will guarantee you will laugh out loud.
The elephant in the room
If you say something is “the elephant in the room” then you mean that something is very obvious but no one is talking about it.
Keep your eyes peeled
Sound a little strange, doesn’t it? This means to watch out for something, for example, “keep your eyes peeled for any clues that could lead us to the murderer” or “You should turn right somewhere here, keep your eyes peeled.”
Go down a rabbit hole (or go down the rabbit hole)
This came from Lewis Carroll’s story “Alice in Wonderland” as a girl called Alice falls down a rabbit hole and finds herself in a strange, magical place, called Wonderland. Going down a rabbit hole has two meanings, it either means getting into a situation that is unpredictable or overwhelming or becoming deeply curious about a certain topic.
“I went down the rabbit hole of looking at cake recipes, and now I am thinking about opening a cake shop”.
Best/greatest thing since sliced bread
When you say that something is “the best thing since sliced bread” this means that it's great. This could be a person or an object for example “the new iPhone is the best thing since sliced bread”.
This may have originated in the 1930s when the first pre-sliced bread load “Wonder Bread” (by the Continental Baking Company) was created.
Take a chill pill
Often said when someone may be angry, overly excited, or arguing, in other words, you are telling this person to calm down.
A bone to pick with (someone)
When someone has a bone to pick with someone, it means that they have a problem with them and they want to talk and fix it.
Fly off the handle
For those who may be very quick-tempered or quick to explode with anger or frustration. You may say that this person has “flown off the handle”.
Have a frog in (one’s) throat
*Ribbit* *croak* did you hear that?
To have a frog in your throat doesn't mean there is a frog there. This is used when your throat is dry or having trouble talking and you must clear your throat.
It’s raining cats and dogs
Do not check outside for any falling cats or dogs from the sky! This means it is raining very heavily.
To quit (something) cold turkey
When you quit something cold turkey this means you have stopped it abruptly. This could be an addiction or medication that should be slowly weaned off instead.
Hold your horses!
We don't mean that you should go and attempt to hold a pair of horses, but rather to slow down or stop something. For example “hold your horses! Let me think about this for a moment”.
Running around like a headless chicken
If you are running around doing a lot of things in an ineffective or unorganized way then in this case you are the headless chicken.
Conclusion
Whether you are holding your horses, or have a frog in your throat these English sayings are used a lot by native speakers. We hope that you enjoyed these 12 silly English sayings, do share this with your friends or family so they can have a good laugh at these silly sayings.
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