Idioms Beginning With Q

Idioms Beginning With Q

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 Q

Idioms Beginning With Q with Meaning and Example

Here’s a list of “Idioms Beginning With Q” in English:

Quake in one’s boots

• Meaning: To be very frightened.
• Example: The idea of speaking in public makes me quake in my boots.

Quarrel with bread and butter

• Meaning: To argue about or criticize something essential to one’s livelihood.
• Example: Complaining about the boss’s decisions is like quarreling with bread and butter.

Queer the pitch

• Meaning: To spoil someone’s plans or chances.
• Example: By revealing our strategy to the competitors, he really queered the pitch for us.

Question mark

• Meaning: Something that is uncertain or unknown.
• Example: His ability to lead the team is a big question mark.

Quick and dirty

• Meaning: Done or produced hastily and without regard for quality.
• Example: The quick and dirty solution worked for now, but we’ll need a proper fix later.

Quick as a flash

• Meaning: Very quickly.
• Example: She responded to the question quick as a flash.

Quick fix

• Meaning: A simple, temporary solution to a problem.
• Example: The patch was just a quick fix until we can replace the software.

Quick on the draw

• Meaning: Very fast at reacting to something.
• Example: She’s quick on the draw when it comes to answering customer complaints.

Quick on the uptake

• Meaning: Quick to understand or learn something.
• Example: He’s very quick on the uptake, so he caught on to the new process right away.

Quick study

• Meaning: Someone who is able to learn or understand something quickly.
• Example: Despite being new, he’s a quick study and has already mastered his tasks.

Quiet as a mouse

• Meaning: Very quiet.
• Example: The children were quiet as a mouse during the movie.

Quits with

• Meaning: Even or equal with someone, usually after a debt has been paid.
• Example: After returning the favor, I felt quits with him.

Quit while you’re ahead

• Meaning: To stop doing something before it gets worse.
• Example: You’ve done well so far, but you should quit while you’re ahead.

Quid pro quo

• Meaning: A favor or advantage granted in return for something.
• Example: The deal was a simple quid pro quo; she got the job and he got the contract.

Quaking in one’s boots

• Meaning: To be extremely frightened.
• Example: He was quaking in his boots before his first big presentation.

Quarrel with one’s bread and butter

• Meaning: To criticize or argue about something that is essential to one’s livelihood.
• Example: It’s not wise to quarrel with your bread and butter by insulting your employer.

Queen bee

• Meaning: A woman who dominates or leads a group.
• Example: She’s the queen bee of the office, always getting her way.

Queer fish

• Meaning: An odd or eccentric person.
• Example: He’s a bit of a queer fish, always wearing mismatched socks.

Question of time

• Meaning: Inevitable that something will happen, just not sure when.
• Example: It’s just a question of time before they find out the truth.

Quench one’s thirst

• Meaning: To satisfy one’s thirst.
• Example: A cold glass of water will quench your thirst after a long run.

Quake In One’s Boots

• Meaning: To be very frightened.
• Example: She was quaking in her boots at the thought of the exam.

Quarter Past

• Meaning: Fifteen minutes after the hour.
• Example: The meeting starts at a quarter past nine.

Quarter To/Of

• Meaning: Fifteen minutes before the hour.
• Example: The train leaves at a quarter to eight.

Queer the Pitch

• Meaning: To spoil someone’s plans or chances.
• Example: Don’t mention our plans to anyone, or you’ll queer the pitch.

Quick as a Flash

• Meaning: Very quickly.
• Example: She completed the task quick as a flash.

Quick-and-Dirty

• Meaning: Done or produced hastily and without regard for quality.
• Example: They came up with a quick-and-dirty solution to get through the crisis.

Quote Unquote

• Meaning: Used to indicate that one is quoting someone else.
• Example: She said, quote unquote, “I will never do that again.”

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