50 Popular English Idioms to Sound Like a Native Speaker

15. ONCE IN A BLUE MOON: when something rarely ever happens

• 
  We used to see him all the time, but now he just visits us once in a blue moon.
  

16. GO DOWN IN FLAMES: to end or fail suddenly and spectacularly

• 
  She’d wanted to become Managing Director, but her career went down in flameswhen they found out she’d been leaking information to our competitors.
  

17. TAR SOMEONE WITH THE SAME BRUSH: to believe that someone has the same bad qualities as others in a group

• 
  I don’t think much of that band, but the singer shouldn’t be tarred with the same brush. She’s got a fantastic voice.
  

18. COME OUT SWINGING: to be confrontational and strongly defend yourself at the beginning of a debate

• 
  Our local MP came out swinging against the current leadership and demanded that the government resign.
  

19. HANG IN THERE: wait and be patient

• 
  I know you’d really like to call him, but I don’t think that’s the right thing to do now. Just hang in there and he will call you.
  

20. SHOOT FROM THE HIP: to speak directly

• 
  If you want to get on well with your boss, try not to shoot from the hip next time. You don’t want to offend him, do you?
  

21. GO THE EXTRA MILE: to make a special effort/try very hard to achieve your goal

• 
  If you want to become proficient in English, you’ll have to go the extra mile and start learning idioms.
  
• 
  My English class was great, we learnt so much because our teacher was the best, she always went the extra mile for us.
  

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