Idioms Beginning With E
English idioms, proverbs, and expressions are an important part of everyday English. They come up all the time in both written and spoken English. Because idioms don’t always make sense literally, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the meaning and usage of each idiom. That may seem like a lot of work, but learning idioms is fun, especially when you compare English idioms to the idioms in your own language.
List of Idioms Beginning With E
- Easier said than done
- Eat crow
- Eat humble pie
- Eat one’s words
- Eat out of house and home
- Egg on your face
- Elbow grease
- Elephant in the room
- End of one’s rope
- Every cloud has a silver lining
- Everything but the kitchen sink
- Excuse my French
- Eye for an eye
- Eye of the storm
- Eyes are bigger than one’s stomach
- Eager beaver
- Eagle-Eyed
- Early Bird
- Eat Crow
- Eat Humble Pie
- Eat Someone’s Lunch
- Eat Your Heart Out!
- Eighty-Six
- Elephant in the Room
- Elevator Music
- Elevator Pitch
- Eleventh Hour
- Even Steven
- Every Dog Has His
- Every Man and His Dog
- Every Man for Himself
- Excused Boots
Idioms Beginning With E with Meaning and Example
Here’s a list of “Idioms Beginning With E” in English:
Easier said than done
Meaning: Something that sounds easy but is hard to do.
Example: Quitting smoking is easier said than done.
Eat crow
Meaning: To admit that you were wrong.
Example: After criticizing the new policy, he had to eat crow when it succeeded.
Eat humble pie
Meaning: To make a humble apology.
Example: She had to eat humble pie after her mistake was pointed out.
Eat one’s words
Meaning: To retract what one has said, especially when proven wrong.
Example: He had to eat his words when the project succeeded.
Eat out of house and home
Meaning: To consume so much food that it causes financial strain.
Example: The teenagers ate us out of house and home during their stay.
Egg on your face
Meaning: To be embarrassed.
Example: He had egg on his face after making the wrong prediction.
Elbow grease
Meaning: Hard physical work.
Example: It took a lot of elbow grease to clean the old house.
Elephant in the room
Meaning: An obvious problem or issue that people avoid discussing.
Example: The budget cuts were the elephant in the room at the meeting.
End of one’s rope
Meaning: Having no more patience or ability to cope.
Example: I’m at the end of my rope with these constant delays.
Every cloud has a silver lining
Meaning: Every bad situation has some good in it.
Example: Losing that job was tough, but it led me to a better career – every cloud has a silver lining.
Everything but the kitchen sink
Meaning: Almost everything imaginable.
Example: She packed everything but the kitchen sink for the trip.
Excuse my French
Meaning: Please excuse my swearing.
Example: Excuse my French, but that was a really dumb mistake.
Eye for an eye
Meaning: Retribution in kind.
Example: Some people believe in an eye for an eye as a form of justice.
Eye of the storm
Meaning: The calm center of a turbulent situation.
Example: The CEO remained calm in the eye of the storm during the crisis.
Eyes are bigger than one’s stomach
Meaning: Taking more food than one can eat.
Example: My eyes were bigger than my stomach at the buffet.
Eager beaver
Meaning: An enthusiastic person who works very hard.
Example: She’s an eager beaver and always the first to volunteer.
Eagle-eyed
Meaning: Having sharp vision; very observant.
Example: The eagle-eyed editor spotted the mistakes immediately.
Early bird
Meaning: A person who gets up or arrives early.
Example: The early bird catches the worm.
Eat someone’s lunch
Meaning: To outdo someone; to defeat or outcompete someone.
Example: The new startup is eating the established company’s lunch in the market.
Eat your heart out!
Meaning: Said to show that one has done something better than someone else.
Example: Eat your heart out, I just ran a marathon!
Eighty-six
Meaning: To get rid of; to remove or reject.
Example: The manager eighty-sixed the proposal after finding flaws.
Elephant in the room
Meaning: An obvious problem that no one wants to discuss.
Example: His gambling problem was the elephant in the room during family gatherings.
Elevator music
Meaning: Bland, unremarkable music typically played in elevators.
Example: The doctor’s office was filled with boring elevator music.
Elevator pitch
Meaning: A brief, persuasive speech to spark interest in what you’re offering.
Example: He gave his elevator pitch to the investors in less than a minute.
Eleventh hour
Meaning: The last possible moment.
Example: They submitted their project at the eleventh hour.
Even Steven
Meaning: Equal; fair.
Example: Let’s call it even Steven and not argue about who owes what.
Every dog has his day
Meaning: Everyone gets a chance eventually.
Example: Don’t worry about it; every dog has his day.
Every man and his dog
Meaning: A large number of people.
Example: Every man and his dog showed up for the concert.
Every man for himself
Meaning: Everyone looks out for their own interests.
Example: When the company started failing, it was every man for himself.
Excused boots
Meaning: Free from obligation or duty.
Example: He’s excused boots from the meeting because he has a doctor’s appointment.
Even Steven
Meaning: Being equal or fair.
Example: Let’s call it even Steven and move on.
Excused boots
Meaning: Not required to participate in an activity.
Example: He was excused boots from the drill because of his injury.