Here, you will find idioms that start with the letter T.
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Examples of Idioms Beginning With T
A Thing of Beauty: something that one truly appreciates or derives pleasure from; a thing that pleases you or brings a feeling of contentment.
Tailgate, to: to drive dangerously close behind another car or vehicle on the road.
Take a Joke (be able to): to not react negatively when you are teased or to jokes that are about you or against you; to be able to accept others making fun of you with grace and good humor.
Take a Nosedive: to fall suddenly and quickly; a sudden rapid decline or failure; etc.
Take After: to take after someone (an older relative) means to have a similar personality or character; to resemble an older family member or to behave like them; to run after or pursue (also take off after).
Take As Gospel: to absolutely believe something to be true.
Take Care: be careful, be cautious.
Take French Leave: to leave without getting permission or without informing anyone; to leave a gathering without saying goodbye to the host; to quit a job without giving notice.
Take It Upon Oneself: to decide to do something without asking for permission; to undertake something even though one has not bee asked to do so, to do something voluntarily, etc.
Take Off: to leave or go away; to move forward quickly or leave suddenly, etc.
Take off Something: to remove something being worn; to decrease or subtract; to take away or carry off.
Take Someone to the Cleaners: to take someone’s money or cause them to lose their money through nefarious means; to easily defeat an opponent; etc.
Take the Cake: When something takes the cake it is a remarkable example of something negative or positive.
Take With a Grain of Salt: to be skeptical about something; to not consider something to be completely true or correct; to have reservations about something.
Take Your Lumps: to suffer punishment, attack, or defeat; to experience difficulty in one’s efforts, plans, or as part of one’s life.
Taken Aback, to be: to be very shocked, surprised, or, to use another expression taken off guard. Used in a sentence such as “He was taken aback at his employee’s behavior,” this idiom takes on the meaning of a single word, with synonyms such as astonished, disconcerted, amazed, dumbstruck, startled, etc.
Talk A Blue Streak: to speak very quickly and at length, with the connotation of exhausting the listener.
Talk About: used to indicate a very good example of something; something that is remarkable; something that is significant; absolutely the case.
Talk Into: To talk someone into something is to persuade them to do it; to overcome someone’s objection to something through reasoned argument or by coaxing or badgering; to convince someone to do something.
Talk Someone’s Ear Off: to talk for a long time in a way that bores or bothers the listener until they are exhausted and sick of listening to you.
Talk the Bark Off a Tree: to talk continuously and to exhaust the listener.
Talk The Hind Legs Off A Donkey: to talk incessantly and to the point that the listener is exhausted.
Talking to a Brick Wall: to be ignored by someone you are talking to.
Tell Apart: to be able to distinguish one thing or person from another; to see the difference between two things or two people.
Tell That To The Marines!: an interjection used to express disbelief or incredulity.
Ten-Dollar Word: an uncommon, difficult word that is used in lieu of a simpler, more common word in an effort to sound more intelligent or important; a big and pretentious word.
Thankful for Small Mercies, be: to be relieved that a bad situation is not worse; to be thankful for any small advantages or benefits; etc.
That’s About the Size Of It: used to confirm someone’s assessment, summary, or impression of a situation. When we say ‘that’s about the size of it’ we are saying that is how things are or how things happened, etc. and we are agreeing that someone’s explanation or account is a valid one.
That’s Saying Something: what has been said is even more significant than one might think because of some other underlying fact or circumstance.
That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles: that’s the way things often turn out; that’s the way things are (and nothing can be done about it); that’s exactly what one would expect to happen.
There for Someone, to be: to be available to help someone and to provide support, to listen, and help comfort them, especially in times of trouble.
There’s No Accounting for Tastes: an individual’s likes, dislikes or preferences defy explanation; it is impossible to understand why people like certain things and dislike other things.
There’s No Telling: it is impossible to know (something); anything could happen.
Thick As Pea Soup, as: when fog or the humidity of the air is very thick and heavy.
Thick As Thieves: when a group of people are loyal to one another and do not keep secrets; close friends.
Think Twice: To think twice about something means to evaluate or consider something thoroughly; to think about something very carefully before doing it. See also the opposite, not think twice.
Throw Caution to the Wind(s): to act recklessly or rashly.
Throw Down the Gauntlet: to issue a challenge to an opponent.
Throw In the Towel: to quit or give up, admitting defeat.
Throw Out the Baby with the Bathwater, don’t: to discard something useful, essential, or important because you want to get rid of something undesired or negative; to lose valuable ideas or aspects because you want to get rid of certain things you don’t want.
Throw Someone Under the Bus: to make someone a scapegoat; to publicly betray an ally or colleague; to let someone take the blame for something that you were also involved in; to fail to defend someone or to sacrifice their interests, especially to protect your own.
Thumb Your Nose At Someone: to show contempt or defiance towards someone; to ridicule or scorn someone; to show that you do not respect someone or something.
Tick Off: to mark an item on a list or a check with a check mark to show that the item has been completed or dealt with; to name a list of things; to list items from memory; etc.
Ticked Off: to be angered or infuriated by someone or something.
Tie the Knot: an informal way to refer to getting married.
Tight-Fisted: unwilling to spend money; stingy and miserly.
Till the Cows Come Home: a vey long time, perhaps forever; an indefinite but long period of time.
Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun): a phrase describing how time sometimes seems to pass quicker than usual, especially when having fun.
Time is Money: time is a valuable resource or commodity, so you should do things quickly in order not to squander or waste time.
Time Is Ripe: when the conditions are good and the right moment has been reached for something.
TLC: tender loving care; considerate, compassionate, and solicitous care and attention, as you might give to someone who is sick or grieving.
To a Fault: to have an excessive or extreme amount of a normally good quality; more than is normal or necessary.
To a T: perfectly or just right.
To Advantage: in a way that helps or benefits you; in a way that produces a favorable effect; in an advantageous way.
To Your Heart’s Content: as much as you want; as long as you want; until you are completely satisfied and happy.
Toe the Line: to do what you are expected to do or ordered to do; to obey the rules; to stop disobeying the rules; to meet standards.
Tongue In Cheek: Tongue in cheek is an idiom referring to the way something is said. It means that someone is joking or speaking in a facetious or ironic manner but seems to be serious.
Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth: too many people trying to do the same work or activity at the same time will either hinder progress or ruin the final result.
Too Many Irons in the Fire: to be engaged in too many activities or undertakings at once and thus to be unable to give adequate attention to any one of them.
Too Much On One’s Plate: to have too much to do; to have too many responsibilities or commitments; to have too much to cope with.
Tough Nut to Crack, a: a difficult problem; something that is challenging to solve; someone difficult to deal with or understand; etc.
Travel Light: to take as little baggage as possible when traveling; to try and avoid responsibilities.
Trip On: to catch or knock your foot against something and to lose your balance as a result.
Trip the Light Fantastic: to dance.
Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction: real life is often more remarkable, strange, or fantastic than fictional stories.
Turkey Shoot: something astonishingly easy to do, especially a competition where one side is much stronger; a marksmanship contest in which shooters fire at moving targets.
Turn a Blind Eye: to choose to ignore or overlook something; to refuse to acknowledge something, especially something improper or illegal; to pretend not to notice something.
Turn One’s Stomach: for something to make you feel sick, disgusted, or angry.
Turn Over a New Leaf: to start behaving in a new way; to change your way of doing things; to start fresh; etc.
Turn the Other Cheek: to do nothing to retaliate when attacked or insulted by another; to accept an attack passively; to respond to an attack or insult in a humble and mild way.
Twist Someone’s Arm: to try very hard to convince or persuade someone; to try to persuade someone to do something that they are reluctant to do or that you think they are reluctant to do; to coerce or cajole.
Twist Someone’s Words: to repeat what someone has said in an inaccurate or distorted way; to misrepresent or alter what someone has said to make it seem like they meant something different than they actually meant; to misrepresent the meaning or intention of what someone has said.
Two Can Play at that Game: another person can do the same thing or behave the same wa; if you do something bad to someone they can do something bad to you; a wronged person can reciprocate.
Two Left Feet: to be clumsy or awkward, especially in regards to one’s feet.
Two Peas in a Pod, like: when two people are very similar to one another and have a close resemblance.
Two Pennies to Rub Together, to not have: to be broke; very poor; impoverished.
