Important Idioms and Phrases starting with “E”

Idioms and Phrases

Meaning

Sentence

Eager beaver

A keen and enthusiastic person who works very hard.

Raman is a real eager beaver and I am sure he will do very well in this organization.

Enough to cobble dogs with

A large surplus of anything

We've got enough investment to cobble dogs with

Easy as pie

Extremely easy, simple, or intuitive; requiring very little skill or effort

After so many years as an accountant, doing taxes is as easy as pie for me.

Easy does it

used to advise someone to approach a task carefully and slowly.

Easy does it, guys— you are moving a priceless piece of art which is worth of 3 crores.

Eat crow/Eat humble pie

To admit that one is wrong, usually when doing so triggers great embarrassment or shame

He had no option but to eat crow and admit that his analysis was wrong.

Economical with the truth

the one who omits important facts or gives incomplete information, Deceitful

I wouldn’t trust him everyone says he’s economical with the truth.

Egg on your face

If someone has egg on their face, they are made to look foolish or embarrassed, to suffer embarrassment as a result of some public failure or faux pas.

The CEO really had egg on his face after he went on stage to demonstrate the new product and couldn't get it to work right.

Elbow grease

hard physical work, especially vigorous polishing or cleaning/Energetic labor.

It requires to put a lot of elbow grease to shift from one place to another.

Elbow room

Enough space to move around an area easily/ The freedom and ability to act as one wants.

We shared a small office where neither of us had enough elbow room.

Engaging manner

Good behaviour

The Prime Minister became popular because of his engaging manners.

Ended in smoke

No concrete or positive result/Came to nothing

All her plans for the trip to the hill station ended in smoke as she got ill at that time.

Even at the turning of the tide

to denote some change from a previously stable course of events.

The lifestyle of rich and the famous hasn't changed much even at the turning of the tide.

Every nook and cranny

Any part or section of a given place, especially those that are hard to see or reach/ every small, out-of-the-way place or places where something can be hidden

We looked for our tickets in every nook and cranny but could not find it.

Eye to eye (with someone)

to agree with someone, or to have the same opinion as them

I don’t see eye to eye with my father on many things.

Every cloud has a silver lining

there is always something good even in an unpleasant, difficult or even painful situation.

You should never feel hopeless. Every cloud has a silver lining, you know.

Every Tom, Dick & Harry

Every kind of common, undistinguished person; anyone at all, indiscriminately/to talk about many different people, especially people they do not think are special or important.

You don't want every Tom, Dick, and Harry coming to your performance, but then you don't want to limit the amount of audience you might bring in.

Eyewash

nonsense, deception, insincere talk

All that stuff about blood being thicker than water was nothing more than eyewash.

Ease off/Ease up

to give something less effort or energy, especially when you have been working very hard

If she doesn’t ease off at work, she’ll make herself ill.

Eke Out

to make (a living) or support (existence) laboriously/To supplement; to add to something.

The old man eked out his pension by selling vegetables from his garden.

Egg Someone On

to urge or strongly encourage them to do something especially something not wise enough

She didn't really want to learn to drive but her children kept egging her on.