E -Idioms

 each and every

- every

"I want each and every student to bring his or her textbook tomorrow."
eager beaver

- a person who is always eager to work hard or do extra work

My colleague is an eager beaver and is always ready to work hard when we need him.
eagle eye

- an eye with sharp visual powers

The woman watched her young child with an eagle eye.
an ear to the ground

- attention that is paid to the way things are going or the way people feel and think

The president has an ear to the ground and knows everything that is going on in our company.
earful

- a scolding, much talking in the form of complaints

The man gave his daughter an earful when she came home late.
early bird

- a person who gets up early or arrives early for something

My sister is an early bird and gets up very early every morning.
early bird catches the worm

- a person who gets up early in the morning has the best chance of success

Our supervisor always goes to work before his colleagues because he knows that the early bird catches the worm.
early on

- at an early stage

We had a meeting early on to try and solve the problem.
earn one's keep

- to earn one's pay or a place to live by doing some work

I work hard in my uncle's garden in order to earn my keep when I stay with him.
ease off/up on (someone or something)

- to put less pressure on someone or something, to relax

The president was asked to ease off on his efforts to cut staff in the company.
easier said than done

- to be easier to talk about than to do

I would like to change jobs but it is easier said than done.
easy come, easy go

- something that you get easily can be lost easily

My cousin does not care if he loses his job or not. For him everything is easy come, easy go.
easy does it

- doing something slowly or without sudden movements

"Easy does it," I said as we moved the large piano.
easy-going

- to be tolerant and relaxed

Our boss has a very easy-going management style.
easy to come by

- to be easy to find

Money is not easy to come by for many people with no education.
eat Idioms
eat and run

- to eat a meal quickly and then leave

We had to eat and run in order to arrive at the soccer field early.
eat away at (someone)

- to bother someone, to worry someone

Money problems have been eating away at the man recently.
eat away at (something)

- to rot/destroy something

The mildew has been eating away at the window frame all year.
eat crow

- to admit that one is mistaken or defeated

Our boss was forced to eat crow when the figures that he presented at the meeting were wrong.
eat dirt

- to accept another`s insults or bad treatment

The accountant had to eat dirt because of the problems that he had caused.
eat humble pie

- to admit one`s error and apologize

The boy had to eat humble pie when his friends discovered his mistake.
eat like a bird

- to eat very little

He eats like a bird. That is why he cannot gain enough weight to join the football team.
eat like a horse

- to eat a lot

My friend eats like a horse but he never gains any weight.
eat one`s cake and have it too

- to use or spend something but still keep it

The man wants to eat his cake and have it too and he will never give up anything.
eat one`s heart out

- to be envious, to be very sad

"You can eat your heart out. I am going to Hawaii for three weeks!"
eat one`s words

- to admit being wrong in something that one has said

The worker was forced to eat his words after his boss proved that he was wrong.
eat out

- to eat in a restaurant

I eat out three or four times a week.
eat out of (someone's) hand

- to do what someone else wants

The secretary had her boss eating out of her hand and she could do whatever she wanted.
eat (someone) out of house and home

- to eat much food in someone's home

The two teenage boys were eating their parents out of house and home.
eat (something) up

- to enjoy something, to absorb something

The children ate up the stories that the teacher was telling.
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eating someone

- to be bothering or worrying someone

I do not know what is eating my friend but she is not in a good mood today.
ebb and flow

- the decrease and increase of something like the tide

The ebb and flow of the singer's popularity was always a topic of conversation.
edge (someone) out

- to win a competition against someone and get a job or position

I was able to edge out the other applicants to get the job.
egg (someone) on

- to urge or push someone to do something

The boy is always egging his friend on to do stupid things.
either feast or famine

- to be/have either too much or not enough of something

It is either feast or famine for the woman. Sometimes she has lots of money and sometimes she has none.
eke out (a living)

- to earn one's living with difficulty

My uncle was unable to eke out a living on the farm so he sold it.
elbow grease

- the effort and strength to clean something

We will have to use a lot of elbow grease to clean the kitchen.
elbow room

- enough space to be comfortable

The couple moved to the country in order to have more elbow room.
elbow (someone) out of (somewhere)

- to pressure someone out of somewhere

The woman elbowed the other shoppers out of the way so that she could buy some shoes.
eleventh-hour decision

- a decision that is made at the last possible minute

The government made an eleventh-hour decision to save the hospital.
an end in itself

- something that one wants for itself alone and not as a way to get/do something else

For many people travelling is an end in itself and the destination is not important.
end of one`s rope

- the last of one`s ability or ideas about how to do something

I am at the end of my rope regarding what to do about my job.
end up (doing something)

- to do something that one had not planned to do

I ended up studying rather than going to a movie last night.
end up (going somewhere)

- to go somewhere where you had not planned to go

We ended up going to a restaurant after the movie last night.
end up (somewhere)

- to finish at a certain place

We ended up at a small coffee shop near the restaurant.
engage in small talk

- to talk about minor things rather than more important things

The sale staff engaged in small talk before the meeting.
enough to go around

- to be enough of something to serve everyone

There was enough cake to go around and everybody had a piece.
enter one's mind

- to come into one's consciousness (an idea)

It never entered my mind to make a reservation at the restaurant.
equal to (something)

- to be able to deal with something

The apartment manager was more than equal to the task of managing the building.
escape (someone's) notice

- to go unnoticed

The fact that my library books were overdue escaped my notice.
even so

- nevertheless, however

My friend always works but even so he has no money saved.
even steven

- even with (someone or something)

Both teams were even steven by the middle of the game.
every Idioms
every cloud has a silver lining

- there is something good in every bad thing

Every cloud has a silver lining and although I lost my job other good things have happened.
every dog has his day

- everyone will have a chance for success someday

You should be patient and wait until you get a chance. Remember every dog has his day.
every inch a (something)

- completely, in every way

Jack was every inch a sailor and loved to go out on the ocean with his boat.
every last one

- every single one

Every last one of the children received a certificate from the swimming club.
every living soul

- everybody

We gave a free newspaper to every living soul in the apartment building.
every minute counts

- time is very important

Every minute counts when the fire department goes to fight a fire.
every nook and cranny

- every small hiding place where you can put something

I looked in every nook and cranny of my apartment but I could not find my house keys.
every other

- every second one

I have to work every other Saturday evening.
every so often

- occasionally

You should stand up every so often when you are on a long plane trip.
every time one turns around

- frequently

Every time I turn around my little boy asks me a question.
every Tom, Dick and Harry

- the average person

The man said that he is not the same as every Tom, Dick and Harry.
every which way

- in all directions

The small children at the birthday party were running every which way.
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everything but the kitchen sink

- almost everything

We took everything but the kitchen sink on our camping trip.
everything humanly possible

- everything in the range of human powers

The doctors did everything humanly possible to save the man after the accident.
the exception that proves the rule

- an exception to a rule proves that the rule exists

The salesman is very quiet and shy and he is the exception that proves the rule in his company. Everybody else is very talkative.
excuse (someone)

- to forgive someone

We excused the man for his rude comments because he did not know any better.
explain (oneself)

- to give an explanation for something wrong that you may have done

The director was forced to explain himself after the accounting problems were discovered.
explain (something) away

- to explain something so that it seems less important

The sales clerk tried to explain away the problem with the sales receipt.
express (one's) anger

- to release one's anger

The man often loses his temper which is not a good way to express his anger.
extend credit to (someone)

- to permit someone to buy something on credit

The bank extended credit to the small company so that they could continue to operate.
extend one's sympathy to (someone)

- to express sympathy to someone

We extended our sympathy to the family of the dead woman.
extenuating circumstances

- the special circumstances that cause something to happen

We were able to avoid paying the parking ticket because of extenuating circumstances.
eye of the storm

- the center of a problem

The politician was in the eye of the storm because of the accounting scandal.
eyeball-to-eyeball

- face to face

I sat eyeball-to-eyeball with our boss during the meeting.
eyes are bigger than one`s stomach

- to take or want more food than you can eat

The man's eyes are bigger than his stomach. He will never finish all of the food that he took.
eyes in the back of one`s head

- the ability to know what is happening behind one`s back

He has eyes in the back of his head and you can never borrow anything without him knowing about it. eyes pop out

- much surprised

Her eyes popped out when she saw her name in the newspaper.