English Idioms For Popular

When something or someone becomes very well-liked by a lot of people, we often say it’s popular. Imagine your favorite ice cream flavor that everyone wants a scoop of, or a game that all your friends love to play – that’s what being popular is like.

But instead of just saying “popular,” there are fun and creative phrases, called idioms, that can describe this idea in a more colorful way. These idioms help us share our thoughts and feelings about things that are really liked and enjoyed by many people. Let’s explore some of these cool idioms that mean “popular,” making our conversations and writings even more interesting and lively!

What Does Popular Mean?

Popular refers to something or someone that is widely liked, admired, or supported by a large number of people. It’s about being well-received and favored in the public eye, whether it’s a trend, a person, a product, or an idea. Being popular means attracting positive attention and approval from a wide audience.

Idioms For Popular

1. A dime a dozen

Meaning: Common

  • Cheap pencils are a dime a dozen.
  • Such opinions are a dime a dozen.
  • Blogs like these are a dime a dozen.

2. Beat around the bush

Meaning: Evade

  • Stop beating around the bush, please.
  • He just beats around the bush.
  • Don’t beat around the bush tonight.

3. Bite the bullet

Meaning: Endure

  • I bit the bullet, job done.
  • She finally bit the bullet, relieved.
  • Just bite the bullet and apologize.

4. Break the ice

Meaning: Initiate

  • A joke can break the ice.
  • We used trivia to break ice.
  • Breaking the ice eased the meeting.

5. Call it a day

Meaning: Stop

  • We’re tired, let’s call it day.
  • After hours, we called it day.
  • It’s late, time to call day.

6. Cut corners

Meaning: Skimp

  • Cutting corners compromised the project’s quality.
  • They always cut corners to save.
  • Budget issues made them cut corners.

7. Easy does it

Meaning: Slowly

  • Easy does it with fragile items.
  • He approached quietly, easy does it.
  • Easy does it, she cautioned him.

8. Get out of hand

Meaning: Worsen

  • The party quickly got out hand.
  • Situations like this can get hand.
  • He let the argument get hand.

9. Hit the nail on the head

Meaning: Precise

  • Your comment hit the nail perfectly.
  • She hit the nail with her theory.
  • That explanation hit the nail, exactly.

10. Let the cat out of the bag

Meaning: Reveal

  • He accidentally let the cat out.
  • She finally let the cat bag.
  • Oops, the secret cat got out.

11. Miss the boat

Meaning: Lose

  • He missed the boat on that deal.
  • Don’t miss the boat, act now.
  • They missed the boat completely yesterday.

12. No pain, no gain

Meaning: Sacrifice

  • Remember, no pain means no gain.
  • He embraced the motto: no gain.
  • No pain, no gain she repeated.

13. On the ball

Meaning: Alert

  • Stay on the ball during meetings.
  • She’s always on the ball, thankfully.
  • Being on the ball saved us.

14. Pull someone’s leg

Meaning: Joke

  • I’m just pulling your leg, relax.
  • He loved to pull her leg.
  • Don’t worry, I’m pulling your leg.

15. Run-of-the-mill

Meaning: Ordinary

  • It’s just another run-of-the-mill restaurant.
  • His ideas were run-of-the-mill.
  • Expected nothing but run-of-the-mill performances.

16. Sit tight

Meaning: Wait

  • Just sit tight, he’ll arrive soon.
  • We need to sit tight now.
  • Sit tight; the results are coming.

17. Speak of the devil

Meaning: Coincidence

  • Ah, speak of the devil, John!
  • Speak of the devil, here she!
  • Just mentioned him, speak of devil.

18. Take with a grain of salt

Meaning: Doubt

  • Take his advice with a salt grain.
  • I’d take that claim with salt.
  • Those rumors? Take them with salt.

19. The best of both worlds

Meaning: Ideal

  • She enjoys the best of worlds.
  • They created the best of worlds.
  • It’s a scenario with best worlds.

20. Throw in the towel

Meaning: Quit

  • He finally threw in the towel.
  • After hours, she threw the towel.
  • Sometimes, it’s okay to throw towel.

21. Up in the air

Meaning: Uncertain

  • Plans are still up in air.
  • Everything about it was up air.
  • The decision remained up in air.

22. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it

Meaning: Later

  • Let’s cross that bridge later.
  • We’ll discuss it when necessary.
  • That problem? We’ll address it eventually.

23. You can’t judge a book by its cover

Meaning: Misleading

  • His style is misleading, surprisingly deep.
  • The simple packaging was quite misleading.
  • That quiet street? Surprisingly misleading.

24. Bend over backwards

Meaning: Strive

  • She bends over backwards for friends.
  • They always bend backwards for quality.
  • He bent backwards to finish it.

25. Go back to the drawing board

Meaning: Redo

  • Time to go back, unfortunately.
  • The failed plan sent them back.
  • He went back to improve designs.

26. Hit the sack

Meaning: Sleep

  • Too tired, need to hit sack.
  • He hit the sack immediately yesterday.
  • It’s late; let’s hit the sack.

27. It’s not rocket science

Meaning: Simple

  • This problem is definitely not complex.
  • Remember, it’s quite simple to manage.
  • Fixing this is actually quite simple.

28. Kick the bucket

Meaning: Die

  • Sadly, the old tree kicked bucket.
  • He joked about kicking the bucket.
  • One day we’ll all kick bucket.

29. Let sleeping dogs lie

Meaning: Avoid

  • Sometimes, just avoid stirring trouble.
  • It’s better to avoid this topic.
  • Avoid; don’t wake the trouble.

30. Out of the blue

Meaning: Unexpected

  • His decision was completely unexpected.
  • An unexpected call changed everything.
  • Then, out of nowhere, news arrived.

Explore More Idioms:

Essay | Education | Love

What does popular mean

Leave a Comment