House & Furniture Idioms List

Free House & Furniture Idioms List for ESL teachers and students, to learn idioms or prepare ESL lesson plans. (Free download available.)

Idioms List Relating to House, Furniture & Fittings

darken somebody’sdoor	Just get out of here and never darken my door again!
the door swings both ways	“You never call me.” “You don’t contact me either. The door swings both ways you know!”
open doors to-from something	A degree from a top university generally opens doors to major companies.
dead as a doornail	They’ve started fighting again, so the peace agreement is now as dead as a doornail.
hammer home	The police hammered home the dangers of drinking and driving.
fly off the handle	Dad flew off the handle when I told him I had damaged his new car.
bring the housedown	If he sings like that on Saturday, he’ll bring the house down.
on the house	The new owner offered us a drink on the house.
put house in order	You should put your house in order before telling me what to do!
under the knife	I’m not worried about the anaesthetic.  I’ve been under the knife several times.
light bulb moment	Harry had a light-bulb moment when he finally realized what was blocking the mechanism.
see in a new light	After listening to my colleague, I began to see things in a new light.
big picture	While each aspect is important, try not to forget the big picture.
picture of health	Nice to see you again Mr. Brown.  I must say you look the picture of health!
a picture is worth a thousand words	Look at the picture of the crash! A picture is worth a thousand words isn’t it?
get the picture	The alarm went off and people started running everywhere – you get the picture I’m sure!
put in the picture	Some changes were made during your absence.  Let me put you in the picture.
a lot on your plate	It’s not a good time to discuss the problem with David.  He’s got a lot on his plate at the moment.
want head on a platter	He was so angry when he read the article about his family that he wanted the journalist’s head on a platter.
pot calling kettle black	After being disqualified for not obeying the rules, the player accused another competitor of cheating; it was the pot calling the kettle black!
raise the roof	The concert was such a success, the audience raised the roof.
sweep under the rug	They tried unsuccessfully to sweep the scandal under the rug.
no strings attached	I managed to get a loan with no strings attached.
put/lay one’s cards on the table	Let’s clean the air and put our cards on the table.
bang one’s head against a brick wall	I’ve been banging my head against a brick wall trying to explain the internet to my grandmother!
like talking to a brick wall	I tried to discuss the problem with him but it was like talking to a brick wall.
writing on the wall	We all knew Larry was going to lose his job, but he refused to see the writing on the wall.
bounce off the walls	Danny can’t wait to start his new job.  He’s bouncing off the walls.
window on the world	The internet has become a window on the world.
window shopping	I haven’t been paid yet,  so I can only go window shopping.
go out the window	When the plant closed down, all hopes of finding a job went out the window.

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