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Idiomaticity

Idiomaticity is variously defined and described.  The following attempts to single out the two main features of what constitutes and idiom in a language and then to investigate how variable the features are.
You can work through the guide from here or go to a part which interests you from this menu.

Spot the idiom	Definitions	Collocation vs. idiom	Lexical chunk vs. idiom	Phrasal verb vs. idiom
Origins	Proverb origins	Fixedness and constraints	Opacity	Duplex expressions
Classification	Opacity and fixedness	One-word idioms	Bi- and tri-nomials	Reduplication
Ricochet words	Frozen similes	Style	Pronunciation	Teaching idioms

At the end of each section, you can click on -top- to return to this menu, simply read on, scroll back or bookmark the page for another time.

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What springs to mind when you see these images?  Click here when you have thought of 6 expressions.

There are two important characteristics of the expressions in black.  What are they?
Click here when you have an answer.

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Definitions

An early definition of an idiom comes from the linguist and teacher Henry Sweet (a major influence in the Reform Movement's reaction to grammar-translation approaches, incidentally).  He stated:

The meaning of each idiom is an isolated fact which cannot be inferred from the meaning of the words of which the idiom is made up.
(Sweet, 1889:139)

Since Sweet's time, the area has been continually revisited by researchers interested in finding out what constitutes idiomaticity in languages and how the various types of idiom can be classified and analysed.  What we have ended up with is a confusing muddle of terms, definitions and classifications which is, to say the least, unhelpful.  You may, for example, come across any or all of the following terms if you research this area:

figurative idioms or non-compositional metaphors	to refer to fact that we can often find a connection between figurative, idiomatic and literal meaning.  It is for example, just possible to figure out what bite the bullet might mean with some knowledge of pre-anaesthetic surgery.  Ditto, perhaps, with have an ace up one's sleeve
binomials	to refer to expressions such as time and again, Ladies and Gentlemen which occur as pairs of words, often with a fixed ordering
fixed expressions	to refer to idioms which are truly fixed such as an open and shut case
semi-fixed expressions	to refer to idioms where some flexibility is allowed.  For example, you can throw in the towel but also throw in the sponge, both meaning surrender, and both derived from boxing
lexicalised expressions	to indicate that the expression functions as a single lexeme.  For example, kick the bucket actually just functions as the verb die
opaque expressions	emphasising the fact that is often not possible to work out metaphoric meaning from literal meaning as it is with figurative metaphors.  For example, chew the fat
frozen collocations	emphasising the fixedness characteristic of some idioms such as a can of worms
restricted collocations	referring to those which allow some flexibility but only within a limited range.  For example, you can be a big/large/huge fish in a small/little/tiny pond
semi-idioms	to refer to anything which seems like an idiom, insofar as it acts like a single word, but is not completely opaque and fixed.  One part of the expression has a figurative meaning not found elsewhere but the other part is 'normal' as in expressions such as pay attention or foot the bill

It is not the suggestion here that such refinements are useless or deliberately confusing but we are interested in classifications which will be useful to us as English-language teachers rather than research linguists so this guide will focus on two the central characteristics of idiomatic language: fixedness and opacity (or non-compositionality, if you prefer).
This will be at the expense of some precision so if you are looking for more, there are references at the end to on-line, more scholarly articles that you may want to read.
In some analyses, the definition of an idiom includes both fixedness (the inability to change any of the components) and opacity (non-compositionality) but both these phenomena exist on a scale from fully fixed and opaque through semi-fixed and opaque to variable and easily understood.  The definition soon breaks down.

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Idiom, collocation, lexical chunks and, phrasal verbs: a blurred area

There are three areas in which the distinction between idioms in the true sense and other word combinations is not distinct.
In some analyses, the definition of idiom is so broad as to encompass most of the language.  For the sake of sanity, the following are not considered here as representing true idioms.
They have their own guides on this site which you will find linked in the list of related guides at the end.

Collocations

In the list above, we have something called semi-idioms and the examples are pay attention and foot the bill in which only one part of the expression is used figuratively.
There is a range of verbs which act in this way, collocating with nouns in predictable and fixed patterns.  For example:
    find fault
    lose confidence
    make arrangements
    pay a compliment
    take notice
    win respect
    make an excuse
    do justice
    lend a hand
    gain admiration
and, although the verbs will collocate with a range of other nouns, in these meanings there is usually only one possible choice.  We cannot, for example have:
    *say excuses
    *do arrangements
    *borrow a hand
    *discover fault
etc.
Some of the combinations do allow a certain flexibility so it is possible to have:
    win admiration
    gain, achieve or earn respect
These items are semi-idioms insofar as only one feature of the definition of an idiom applies.  The verb in such expressions is often described as delexicalised although in some the verb's usual meaning plays a minor role.
Because the nouns are usually transparent in meaning, they are not particularly opaque and the meaning can be derived from understanding their components.  In that sense they are not true idioms.
It is also the case that some verbs may be considered only semi-delexicalised in that their meaning does contribute something to the overall meaning of the clause in which they appear.  For example, in:
    pay a compliment
    take an interest
    set an example
    catch a name
    throw a tantrum
there is some sense of the verb's usual meaning in the clause but it is still very hard to predict which verb will form an acceptable collocation so the expressions may be considered idiomatic in that respect.
They are, however, more or less fixed as we saw and in that respect they are idioms.

It is also the case that delexicalised verbs can function almost wholly idiomatically.  For example:
    Take the bucket to the tap
contains a use of take which is wholly transparent and non-idiomatic.  However:
    Take a hammer to it
is an idiomatic use of take which is non-transparent because it means something like:
    Hit it with a hammer
And in:
    They made him the manager
we have a non-idiomatic use of make but
    If he's lived here since the war, that makes him over 90
is an idiomatic use of make which is akin to:
    If he's lived here since the war he must be over 90

For a list of semi- and fully delexicalised verbs, click here.
There is also a lesson for B1 / B2-level learners on delexicalised verbs here (new tab).

We also encountered what some people call frozen collocations which are so strong that they act as single words, always appearing in combination.  The example was a can of worms but many partitives are restricted in their collocations and we also find, e.g.:
    a rasher of bacon
    a pane of glass
    a gust of wind
and so on which can only occur in the context of the commodity or substance they describe.  For more, see the guide to classifiers and partitives, linked below.
Other very strong collocations which are produced and understood as single concepts and not constructed from their component parts include, for example:
    vested interests
    rock solid
    special pleading
    heart rending
and so on.
Whether such expressions are considered idioms (because they are clearly idiomatic) or just very strong collocations is a matter of taste and authorities differ.
When the collocation is noun + noun, some will shade into compound nouns so, for example:
    light bulb
    tree surgeon
    garden rake
    baby sitter
are all analysable as compound nouns and may even be written as one word.
In that sense they are not idioms because it is a simple matter, usually, to add meaning one to meaning two and arrive at the meaning of the whole expression.

The upshot of all this is that there is probably no way in principle that one can draw a line between a reasonably strong collocation and an idiom although it an easier task to identify one or the other.

Lexical chunks

We owe the term lexical chunk to Lewis (1993) and his investigation of a lexical approach to teaching.  He suggests that there is a range of more or less fixed chunks in the language including:

• polywords, e.g.:
      inside out
      back to front
      in that case
      if only
• institutionalised utterances, e.g.:
      Sorry to have kept you
      Take my word for it
      Would you like ...
      I'll see
      And that's that
• sentence frames, e.g.:
      That's not as ... as you think
      In what follows ...
      The upshot was ...
      And quite predictably ...

Lewis also focuses on the fact that some verbs, as we saw above, take their meaning from the noun with which they form a strong collocation.  This is what he calls delexicalisation and it mostly affects:
do | have | get | go | make | put | set | take
although we can add other marginal cases such as earn, pay, run and save.
All such multiple-word units (or MWUs in the trade) certainly exhibit some fixedness and are probably produced and understood as single items but they are not opaque in meaning.  They are idioms in the first sense but not in the second.
You may, incidentally, also find such chunks described as holophrases, prefabricated routines or formulas.

Phrasal verbs

One definition of a phrasal verb is that the adverb particle combines with the verb to produce a meaning which cannot be retrieved from understanding the sense of the adverb and the sense of the verb: a third meaning needs to be discovered.
Clearly, for example:
    sit back
    sit down
    sit up
    sit in
    sit out
are all verbs post-modified by an adverb but the meaning is extractable by understanding both parts so they are not phrasal verbs or idioms.  Changing the adverb has no effect on the meaning of the verb at all.
However,
    sit by (fail to take action)
    sit on (suppress)
    sit around (be idle)
    sit up (take notice)
are not easily understood by understanding their elements so count as idiomatic because they are both fixed (in the senses used) and opaque.  In this case, changing the particle will affect the meaning of the verb because it is the combination which supplies the third meaning.
Again, of course, there are degrees of opacity, but not of fixedness, because it is possible to understand the meaning of many by a small leap of imagination from the usual meaning of the prepositional use of the particles.  For example, once one has grasped that one of the meanings of out is clear or loud then combinations such as:
    speak out
    shout out
    make out
and more are quite easily understood as are:
    get on
    go on
    move on
    walk on
once we understand that one of the meanings of on is make progress.
Opacity is consequently low.
Phrasal verbs have their own section on this site (as part of the consideration of multi-word verbs in general) so will not feature in this guide to idiomaticity.  See the link at the end for more.

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Origins

Although this distinction is not necessary for teaching purposes, it is sometimes helpful in terms of memorisation to know the origin of the idiom one encounters.  There are two possible sources (which often overlap):

1. Fixed metaphor
   
   Frequently, very influential texts in English, such as the bible, Shakespeare's works and others, contain metaphors which have come into everyday use and become fixed idioms.  Some metaphorical uses are obscure in origin.  Examples include:
       heart of gold
       laughing stock
       wild goose chase
       wear your heart on your sleeve
       a foregone conclusion
       be cruel to be kind
       salad days
       cold comfort
       a tower of strength
   (all from Shakespeare)
       at the eleventh hour
       by the skin of your teeth
       a millstone around your neck
       the writing on the wall
   (all biblical)
       it gives me the creeps
       go on the rampage
   (both from Charles Dickens)
       spill the beans
       straight from the horse's mouth
       let the cat out of the bag
       count your chickens before they are hatched
       out to lunch
       just my cup of tea
   (all obscure in origin but some may conveniently but speculatively be derived from some occupations)
2. Historical and specific register origins
   
   Other idioms derive from certain registers: sport, the military, trade, sailing and so on and are often opaque without a certain amount of knowledge of the history of the domains.  They are usually not completely opaque, however.
   Examples include:
       a sticky wicket (from cricket)
       cover all the bases (baseball)
       run with the ball (rugby or American football)
       game, set and match (tennis)
       a level playing field (many sports)
       plant a seed (horticulture)
       plough through (farming)
       cut a deal (obscure but possibly from card games)
       hit a snag (angling or river navigation)
       a loose cannon (from naval warfare)
       flash in the pan (musketry)
       close ranks (army parade term)
       half-baked (cookery)
       cut and dried (herbalism)
       sail close to the wind (sailing)
       learn the ropes (sailing)

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	Proverb origins
Let sleeping dogs lie

Many idioms derive from proverbs in English although they are often truncated because the proverb is well known and does not need to be said in full for the message to be clear.
Such expressions are almost always very opaque because one needs access to the whole idiom to understand the meaning.  Examples include:

Abbreviated idiom	Source proverb	Meaning
Don't blame your tools	A bad workman always blames his tools	Poor workers will never blame themselves
Well, we have a bird in the hand	A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush	Be satisfied with what you have secured
He's the weakest link	A chain is only as strong as its weakest link	One weak element will make the whole thing weak
You are clutching at straws	A drowning man will clutch at a straw	When in desperation we will look anywhere for help
She won't change her spots	A leopard cannot change its spots	People are reluctant or unable to change their behaviours
All's well that ends well	Usually quoted in full	If the result is good, past problems don't matter
All that glitters	All that glitters is not gold	Things may appear better and more valuable than they really are
He's an empty vessel	An empty vessel makes the most noise	Ignorant people are often the most talkative
A stitch in time	A stitch in time saves nine	Repair something before it gets worse
He's a bit of a rolling stone	A rolling stone gathers no moss	People who move between places and jobs don't get rich
It's in the eye of the beholder	Beauty is in the eye of the beholder	Attractiveness is a personal opinion not reality
Beggars can't be choosers	Usually quoted in full	If you get something free, you can't complain about the quality
Better late than never	Usually quoted in full	As long as it's what you want, lateness doesn't matter
Curiosity killed the cat	Usually quoted in full	Do not pry
It's all coming home to roost	Curses, like chickens, come home to roost	The consequences of your actions will come eventually
Pearls before swine	Do not cast pearls before swine	Do not give people better than they can appreciate
We'll cross that bridge later	Do not cross the bridge till you come to it	Do not waste time worrying about a future that may not happen
Don't kill the goose	Don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs	Don't destroy something that is successful
That's the silver lining	Every cloud has a silver lining	Even bad situations have some good in them
That's just spilt milk	Do not cry over spilt milk	Don't worry about misfortune which cannot be changed
Make hay	Make hay while the sun shines	Take advantage of good conditions while they are here
Once bitten	Once bitten, twice shy	People will not repeat actions which were unpleasant
The grass is always greener	The grass is greener on the other side of the fence	People always want more than they have
We don't want too many cooks	Too many cooks spoil the broth	Having too many people in a team confuses a task
When in Rome	When in Rome, do as the Romans do	Adjust your behaviour to suit the culture you are in
You can lead a horse to water	You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink	You can show people how to do something but you cannot force them to do it
That's the last straw	It's the last straw that breaks the camel's back	A small increment can destroy all of something
Many hands	Many hands make light work	The more people you have the easier a job will be
You're an early bird	It's the early bird which catches the worm	The sooner you start the better will be the prospects

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Fixedness

This is not an on-off characteristic.  Some idioms are more fixed than others, some are very flexible.  Here's a cline for you to see what's meant.  Where would you put the idioms on right in the cline on the left (if idioms they actually are)?  Click on the image for some comments when you have an answer.

through thick and thin hammer and sickle aid and abet have a blast hit the sack off one's rocker call it a day assets and liabilities left, right and centre

life or death back to the drawing board cut corners put all your eggs in one basket torrential rain wouldn't be caught dead miss the boat make the grade make the beds raining cats and dogs

There is an interesting exception to fixedness.
Some idioms and even binomials which are normally considered wholly fixed can be modified with intensifiers.  It is possible, therefore, to have:
    I have been rushing hither and bloody yon all day
    I smell an extremely large rat
    I've missed the damn/an important boat
    have a total/absolute/complete blast
etc.  In particular, the so-called taboo words, bloody, bleeding, damn etc., are used in this way.

Flexibility

Idioms may be flexible to a certain extent, then, but the flexibility is also analysable by type.

1. Conjugation
   Idioms which contain verbs are frequently conjugated to conform to the normal rules so, e.g.:
       pass the buck
   may be
       passes, passed, is passing the buck
   and so on and the verb can be nominalised as in:
       I resent your passing the buck
   Pronouns will change in the normal way and may be accompanied by other changes, e.g.:
       She bit off more than she could chew
       He has bitten off more than anyone could chew
2. Passivisation
   Such idioms can also be made passive so we can allow
       They have cooked the books
   and
       The books have been cooked
3. Insertion of words (usually adjectives or adverbs)
       right at the eleventh hour
       teaching new tricks to a very old dog
       by the absolute skin of my teeth
4. Re-formulation
       We need a level playing field → We need to level the playing field
       She has a heart of gold → Her heart is of pure gold

Constraints

Some idioms are constrained structurally.  For example:

1. Some can only be used in the negative so we allow:
       I didn't sleep a wink
       I can't make head (n)or tail of it
       She wouldn't be caught dead with him
   but not:
       I slept a wink
       I made head or tail of it
       She would be caught dead with him
2. Some can only appear in the passive or active voice so we allow:
       He's fed up with the work
       I am snowed under with emails
       Don't beat about the bush
       Let's call it a day
   but not:
       *The work fed him up
       *The emails snowed me under
       *The bush was beaten about
       *It was called a day
   However, reformulation is often allowed so we see and hear:
       He missed the boat
       The boat was missed
       I gave him the benefit of the doubt
       He was given the benefit of the doubt
       The benefit of the doubt was given to him
       She was let off the hook
       They let her off the hook
   and so on.

This is a wholly unpredictable area.

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Opacity or non-compositionality

Again, there's a cline because there are levels of opacity and transparency.  The image below separates them into those whose meaning is obvious (literal), those where it can be deduced (figurative uses) and those which are wholly opaque (often metaphorical).
As you did above, locate these expressions on the right somewhere on the cline on the left and then click the image for a commentary.

barking up the wrong tree a bitter pill to swallow by the skin of one's teeth bread and circuses kiss and tell heads or tails spick and span holding all the aces at a snail’s pace

a dime a dozen bite off more than one can chew cut the mustard bob and weave under the weather hot and bothered research and development come rain or shine Tom, Dick and Harry

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Duplex expressions

Most strong collocations are perfectly easily understood by understanding the individual lexemes.
For example, there is no difficulty at all in understanding
    counterfeit money
    bank account
    garden party
    make a choice
    deeply regret
    wholly unacceptable
and thousands more by understanding the words in them, even when, as in the fourth case, the verb carries little real meaning.

There are, however, some collocations which may be literal in meaning in one sense and used figuratively in another.  For example:
    a fine-tooth comb
may be reference to a particular type of comb which has small gaps between the teeth.  However, when we say:
    They went through the accounts with a fine-tooth comb
we are referring to very careful examination and not to a comb at all.  Equally,
    a slippery slope
may simply refer to an ice-like surface on an incline but in something like:
    She's on a slippery slope to being dismissed
we are referring to the fact that small actions or omissions can result in large, negative consequences.
Furthermore, some idiomatic expressions which look like simple collocations are, in fact, only used figuratively so, for example:
    He's a big noise in the army
refers to someone who is important and influential but the words big and noise do not elsewhere form a natural collocation (the preferred adjectives being, loud, huge, deafening etc.).

Macis and Schmitt (2017) estimate that a quarter of strong collocations have figurative (i.e., idiomatic) meanings and are, therefore, more sensibly dealt with in the classroom as idioms which should be learned and produced as single lexical chunks.
Looking out for collocations which are, in fact, being used figuratively and idiomatically may pay dividends in terms of teaching and remembering lexis.

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Classifying idiomatic language

We can use the concepts of opacity and fixedness to try our hand at classifying the range of idioms in English.  Such a classification ignores form for the most part and that we shall deal with shortly but it does give us a way of making sense of large amounts of data.  It also, unfortunately, means that categories have blurred edges but that is what always happens when we try to draw lines on a continuum.  This will also give us the opportunity to add a few more examples of the kinds of idioms we have discussed so far.
For teaching purposes, the following categories have some utility because it allows us to focus our learners on idiomatic language which shares definable characteristics rather than just showering them with random examples of idioms.  Later, we will suggest other ways that idioms can be classified for teaching purposes which rely more heavily on meaning and conceptual hooks for their effect.
It is also possible to add to the categories we will use here by inventing new intermediate ones to extend the possibilities but blurred edges will always be with us.
Whether you choose to use fixedness or opacity as the measuring stick for these categories is entirely up to you.  Either approach will make sense in the classroom.  The first categories in the first two sections of what follows are the same.

Fixed idioms

Fixedness does not always refer to an absolute quality because function words (particularly determiners) and tense forms may be altered to suit the context.  So, for example, we can have:
    keep an / your / my / his eye on
in which the lexical items (keep, eye) cannot be altered and even the preposition is fixed.  The determiner can vary however and so can the tense.  It is, therefore, rare for any of the lexical constituents to be changed (and even number and mood are frequently fixed).  For example:
    bells and whistles
is always plural
    storm in a teacup
is always singular and the determiner is also fixed.
    make head or tail of
is always negative.

1. Fixed and opaque
   These idioms usually constitute single lexemes and are learnable as language chunks.
   These types are also characterised by having a high level of non-compositionality.  Even with context and co-text, it is often impossible to work out the meaning despite knowing all the words which make up the expression.
   Examples are:
       a can of worms (a complex and difficult situation or set of things)
       the black sheep of the family (a family member who is considered to deviate from the norm)
       up the garden path (a misleading direction)
2. Fixed and semi-opaque
   While maintaining a high level of fixedness, these idioms may be accessible to comprehension providing one is alert to metaphorical and figurative uses of lexemes.  Context and co-text will often help.
   Examples are:
       as different as chalk and cheese (completely different)
       neither here nor there (irrelevant)
       making a mountain out of a molehill (exaggerating an issue)
       bend over backwards (go to great lengths to be helpful)
3. Fixed and transparent
   Here we verge on strong collocation rather than idiomaticity per se.  These expressions are fixed but if you know the meaning of the elements within them, the meaning can be easily surmised so they are virtually transparent.
   Examples are:
       set in stone (a fixed rule)
       love at first sight (instant adoration)
       a bull in a china shop (being careless of the damage one's actions may cause)

Opaque idioms

1. Opaque and fixed
   This is essentially the same category as 1. above because we are identifying the extreme ends of the clines.  As above, these expressions usually operate as single lexemes and can be learned and used as prefabricated chunks.
       feeling under the weather (ill)
       the back of beyond (remote and isolated)
       pass the buck (transfer responsibility or guilt to another)
2. Opaque and semi-fixed
   These are opaque but some variation is possible.  They are, however, not accessible for meaning without a great deal of guesswork and use of co-text and context.  Even then, comprehension is not assured.
       throw in the towel / sponge (resign or surrender)
       take the mickey / piss / a rise (ridicule)
       have a bash / go / stab / shot (try)
3. Opaque and variable
   Here again, we wander into the realm of simple collocation or delexicalisation.  The opacity stems from the fact that the verb is empty of any obvious meaning so it can only be processed by understanding the noun and even then may remain opaque.
       make a promise / a friend / a difference
       pay a visit / a complement / one's respects
       catch a cold / sight of / fire / a train
       lose heart / confidence / the plot / the thread

Metaphorical or figurative uses

1. Verbs
   This differs from delexicalised use of verbs insofar as the verb retains its meaning but it has been extended to the point at which the meaning is no longer transparent although some imagination may help to unpack the significance.
   Examples are:
       spend time
       close a deal
       pencil someone in
       crash a party
       fall asleep
       bear a hand
       drop a hint
2. Nouns
   These are often nouns being used outside the field in which they normally operate.
       a team player
       a point of view
       a short head
       a hair's breadth
       a bird's eye view
       a rat's nest
       the end of one's tether
3. Adjectives and adverbs
   Colour adjectives are frequently used figuratively and cultural influences come into play.  Other adjectives and adverbs referring to perceptions are also often used figuratively.  Most are sometimes considered very strong collocations but, because of the metaphorical use, we prefer to classify them as idioms.  They are not duplex forms because there is no literal sense.
   example are:
       a black look
       a white lie
       a warm welcome
       a hot reception
       hotly contested
       coolly received
       bitterly contested
       flatly refuse

We can summarise all this like this:

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The relationship between fixedness and opacity

There is a tendency for these two characteristics to rise and fall together.  In other words, the more fixed and inflexible the expression, the more likely it is to be opaque in meaning and vice versa.

We can find low fixedness with some expressions but they are likely to be quite literal in meaning.  For example, as old as ... can be followed by a number of expressions (God, the hills, Noah etc.) but opacity is also low.
Similarly, strong collocations such as a pronounced accent are not firmly fixed (we can have strong, broad etc. as the adjective with roughly the same meaning) but they are usually easy to understand (if not to learn).  Such expressions have low fixedness and also low opacity.

On the other hand, an expression such as off one's rocker has quite high fixedness (there's only one conventional alternative to rocker, trolley) and it is also quite high in opacity.  Extreme cases of fixedness are also, often, extreme cases of opacity.  Expressions such as let the cat out of the bag are both opaque and fixed as are binomials such as helter-skelter.

There are, nevertheless, instances, especially with binomials, of low opacity and high fixedness.  In other words, they always occur together and in the same order but are straightforward to understand.  Examples are:
    here and there
    hand in hand
    dead and buried
etc.

The moral?
Whenever we find a highly opaque expression, the way to bet is that it is also firmly fixed.  The reverse is not always true: firmly fixed expressions are not always opaque..
Here's a graphical representation of that.  Before teaching idioms, it is worth 5 minutes of the planning time to consider where in the matrix the target language items fall.

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One-word idioms

Idioms are usually understood to be phrases or clauses which cannot be immediately understood by retrieving the meaning of the words in them.  However, many words, especially verbs, are or can be used metaphorically and qualify as idioms because they are (obviously) fixed with synonyms rarely having the same effect and they are often quite opaque in meaning.
Some examples are:
    The show bombed
    I was bombarded with questions
    The question threw me
    They sacked him
    You have lost me
    It's a pig
    My printer died
etc.
None of these examples will mean the same when synonyms or near synonyms are used so, for example:
    The show shelled
    I was blasted with questions
    The question flung me
    They plundered him
    You have misplaced me
    It's a hog
    My printer perished
are all either incomprehensible or extremely unnatural.

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Binomials and trinomials

Because these are so common in English, they merit a short section to themselves.  Many of these items are worth teaching as single lexemes because they are handy language chunks, they are extremely common and they are not easily paraphrased.
There are some general characteristics of binomial expressions:

1. Form:
   They consist of two lexical items belonging to the same word class so they are, noun + noun, verb + verb, adjective + adjective, adverb + adverb.  Examples of the four main sorts are:
   Noun + Noun:
       He has lived here man and boy
   Verb + Verb
       You can take it or leave it
   Adjective + Adjective
       And that's the truth, pure and simple
   Adverb + Adverb
       I will do it sooner or later
   (Rarely, the two items are not of the same word class but follow similar structural forms so, for example:
       We were home and dry
   in which home is an adverb and dry an adjective but both are joined to the subject by the copular verb.  That is probably not something with which to trouble your learners.)
2. Meaning:
   Some are literal (apples and oranges etc.), some are figurative (the chicken or the egg etc.) and some are wholly opaque (milk and honey, fiddle-faddle etc.).
3. Rarity:
   Some, such as helter-skelter, super-duper, to and from, hither and yon etc., contain words found nowhere else or retained from archaic forms.
4. Concord:
   When two nouns are joined, the resulting expression is often singular, e.g.:
       Fire and brimstone is all he shouts about
       Thunder and lightning is on its way
   but, if the nouns are already plural, that is not the case:
       His eyes and ears are everywhere
       The stars and stripes are flying over The White House
5. Ordering:
   The order of the items is usually fixed although with some, reversal has no effect.  We can have:
       She worked day and night
   and
       She worked night and day
   We allow
       I'll do it sooner or later
   but not
       *I'll do it later or sooner
6. Inflections:
   The tenses, verbs forms, adjective inflexions and numbers of items are normally retained in both constituents so we get, for example:
       It's done and dusted
       That's bigger and better
       It comes with many bells and whistles
       I'll name and shame him
       There will be some naming and shaming
       They were named and shamed
   etc. and:
       *for all intent and purpose
       *It's time to cut and be running
   are not encountered.
7. Coordination:
   The items are frequently joined with the coordinator and but there are other possibilities including: but, or, either ... or, neither ... nor, to, after, by, in.
8. Prosody:
   Often the items rhyme or are, more often, alliterative as in, e.g.:
       make or break
       high and dry
       house and home
       do or die
   etc.
   In some, a phenomenon called assonance is discernible so for example, a stressed vowel will be the same in both items or a consonant duplicated with different vowels as in
       harum scarum
   or
       tittle-tattle.
9. Collocation:
   Because binomials operate as single lexemes, they are subject to the same collocational forces as all other lexemes so, for example:
       high and dry collocates strongly with the verb leave
       high and low collocates with verbs such as look (for), search, hunt and seek
       dead and buried collocates with nouns such as ideas, proposals, suggestions, schemes and plans
   and so on.
10. Effect:
    Binomials often intensify, especially reduplicative ones, so, e.g.:
        She went from strength to strength
        They asked again and again
    Ones in which the two items are synonyms have the same effect:
        He's at my beck and call
        The truth is pure and simple
    and, perversely, antonym pairs also intensify:
        We searched high and low, in and out, in each and every part of the house
    The intensification is either echoic (repeating the word) as in the first two examples or a function of synonymy or antonymy as in the other examples.

Here's a selection.
Fuller lists with some doubtful inclusions are available via a web search.

joined with coordinators (and or or/neither ... nor etc.)

above and beyond airs and graces alive and kicking all or nothing an arm and a leg apples and oranges assault and battery back and forth ball and chain beck and call beer and skittles bells and whistles for better or worse betwixt and between bits and bobs bow and arrow by and large cat and mouse the chicken or the egg cut and dried cut and run day or night dead and buried dead or alive divide and conquer do or die down and out each and every eyes and ears far and wide guys and girls horse and carriage intents and purposes kill or cure

kill or be killed knife and fork law and order love nor money lo and behold loud and clear make or break man and boy milk and honey more or less neat and tidy nip and tuck nook and cranny fast and loose fingers and thumbs fire and brimstone first and foremost forever and a day free and clear fight or flight (neither) fish nor fowl fun and games (come) hell or high water (neither) here nor there hit or miss hale and hearty hard and fast hearts and minds here and now high and dry high and low home and dry hope and pray nuts and bolts

odds and ends pure and simple pepper and salt (hair colour) rags to riches rain or shine research and development room and board sink or swim sooner or later take it or leave it salt and pepper (seasoning) seek and destroy short and / but sweet sick and tired slash and burn smash and grab snakes and ladders stand and deliver supply and demand sweetness and light tables and chairs tar and feather tea and crumpets thunder and lightning time after time to and fro toil and trouble tooth and nail touch and go trial and error up and about vim and vigour wait and see wine and roses

with reduplication
The term reduplicate is a slight misnomer because the words are duplicated, not reduplicated.

again and again all in all around and around arm in arm back to back bit by bit bumper to bumper by and by cheek to cheek closer and closer coast to coast day to/ by day elbow to elbow end to end dog eat dog from ear to ear an eye for an eye

eye to eye face to face hand in hand head to head heart to heart higher and higher horror of horrors less and less little by little lower and lower man to man more and more mouth to mouth neck and neck never say never nose to nose on and on

one by one out and out over and over round and round shoulder to shoulder side to side step by step strength to strength through and through time after time (from) time to time two by two toe to toe up and up wall to wall for weeks and weeks woman to woman

with rhymes or similar sounds
These are often considered a subset of reduplicate phrases but exactly where the border between a reduplicative and these examples lies is not always easy to determine.  Parts of the words are clearly duplicated and the words often rhyme, a phenomenon encapsulated in the alternative name, ricochet words.
Many of these items contain words unused elsewhere in the English lexicon and they exhibit both very high noncompositionality as well as fixedness so they are idioms par excellence.

belt and braces box and cox chalk and talk chit-chat claptrap dilly-dally ding-dong double trouble even Stevens fender-bender fiddle-faddle flim-flam flip-flop hanky-panky harum-scarum helter-skelter †higgledy-piggledy high and dry

hire and fire hither and thither hocus-pocus hodge-podge hoity-toity horses for courses hubble-bubble huff and puff hurly-burly hustle and bustle meet and greet mish-mash namby-pamby name and shame near and dear knickknacks nitty-gritty odds and sods

out and about pell-mell ping-pong pitter-patter razzle-dazzle riff-raff roly-poly shillyshally time and tide tip-top tittle-tattle town and gown use it or lose it wear and tear willy-nilly wine and dine wishy-washy yea or nay

† there is disagreement about the spelling of this item so we may see, higgelty-piggelty, higgeldy-piggleldy as well.
Hyphenation (see below) is also variable and idiosyncratic with some items so we also see flimflam, shilly-shally, mishmash, chitchat, knick-knacks, dingdong etc.

ordering the items
There are, interestingly for some, rules for which item is placed first when the vowel sounds differ and they have to do with what is called ablaut reduplication.  Ablaut describes the alternation in vowels that we see in, e.g., sing, sang, sung or ring, rang, rung and so on.
Although there are very rare exceptions, the rule is that the first item contains a higher vowel than the second.  That is to say, the tongue is higher in the mouth when the vowel in the first item is produced than in the second.
High vowels in English include: /ɪ/ as in kid, /iː/ as in heel, /ʊ/ as in foot and /uː/ as in shoe.
Low vowels include /æ/ as in hat, /ɒ/ as in wash, /ʌ/ as in cup, /ɔː/ as in taught and /ɑː/ as in car.
So it is that we get shilly-shally, not shally-shilly, ping pong, not pong ping, chit-chat not chat-chit, ding-dong not dong ding, flim-flam and flip-flop not flam-flim and flop-flip and so on.
It also explains why most speakers will say this and that not that and this, knife and fork, not fork and knife and so on.
This phenomenon is rarer for trinomials in the list below but is evident in, e.g., cool, calm and collected, eat, drink and be merry and this, that and the other.
This appears to be non-language specific, incidentally.

Some quite common words in English are derived by reducing rhyming or similar-sounding binomials so, e.g.:
    patter is a reduction of pat-pat (to hit gently).
    blabber is a reduction of blab-blab
    paddle is a reduction of pad-pad
and so on.
The technical term for this phenomenon is that the word is a frequentative.

trinomials

There are fewer of these and they almost always employ and as the coordinator.  Examples include:

beg, borrow or steal blood, sweat and tears cool, calm and collected eat, drink and be merry ear, nose and throat gold, silver and bronze guns, germs and steel healthy, wealthy and wise here, there and everywhere

hook, line and sinker hop, skip and jump judge, jury and executioner left, right and centre lights, music, action lock, stock and barrel nasty, brutish and short planes, trains and automobiles ready, willing and able

reading, writing and arithmetic red, white and blue sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll tall, dark and handsome Tom, Dick and / or Harry shake, rattle and roll this, that and the other way, shape or form win, lose or draw

Comma use is shown here without the Oxford comma (after and) as above but that is often inserted.

hyphenation

Many binomials, especially those without a connecting conjunction, are conventionally hyphenated so we get helter-skelter, willy-nilly, harum-scarum and so on.
Others are only hyphenated when they are used adjectivally so we get, for example:
    It's a question of law and order
    The price is subject to the influence of supply and demand
etc., because these are being used as nouns, but we have:
    This is a law-and-order issue
    It's a supply-and-demand influence
etc., because these are adjectival uses.
Trinomials exhibit the same phenomenon.

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Frozen or fixed similes

Similes explicitly compare two items, usually, in English, with the as ... as formulation.
A number of these constitute a kind of idiom although in almost all cases they are a) fixed and b) often (but not always) quite literal and transparent in meaning.  To extract the meaning, one has usually only to understand the first item and then understand that the idiom emphasises its strength.
They include items such as:

as blind as a bat as black as night as cheap as chips as clean as a whistle as cool as a cucumber as dead as a doornail

as deaf as a post as fit as a fiddle as flat as a pancake as free as a bird as fresh as a daisy as good as gold

as hard as nails as hard as (a) stone as keen as mustard as large as life as light as a feather as mad as a hatter

as old as the hills as plain as day as poor as a church mouse as quiet as a mouse as regular as clockwork as right as rain

as safe as houses as sharp as a knife as sick as a dog / cat as strong as an ox as stubborn as a mule as thin as a rake

etc.
Such expressions, too, are often alliterative.
The main elements are usually given equal stress.

A second form for these fixed expressions employs the like preposition.  These are not adjectival so, often, it is a noun being compared to another or a verb being used figuratively as in

Nouns	Verbs	Modified nouns
ears like a bat eyes like a hawk a face like a brick wall a face like a torn balloon a face like thunder a grip like a vice a hand like a bunch of bananas a hand like a claw legs like tree trunks a look like thunder a mouth like a trap skin like a rhino a voice like a foghorn like water off a duck's back	cry like a baby drink like a fish eat like a bird eat like a horse fight like cat and dog fit like a glove go like lightning go like the wind run like clockwork sell like hot cakes sleep like a baby smoke like a chimney spin like a top stick out like a sore thumb work like a Trojan	be like a child in a sweet shop be like chalk and cheese be like a sight for sore eyes be like a dog in a manger be like a fish out of water be like a breath of fresh air be like a bull in a china shop be like a dog with two tails be like two peas in a pod be like a moth to a flame be like the cat that got the cream be like a headless chicken be like watching paint dry be like shooting fish in a barrel

They are almost totally confined to informal speech and writing.  Such clichés are often disparaged in more formal texts.

Similes can also be created in English with the use of neither the as ... as nor the like formulation.  Here's a short list of what is meant:
    crystal clear (=as clear as crystal)
    feather light (=as light as a feather)
    grass green (=as green as grass)
    ice cold (=as cold as ice)
    paper thin (=as thin as paper)
    razor sharp (=as sharp as a razor)
    sky high (=as high as the sky)
    stone cold (=as cold as a stone)
etc.
These formulations are rarer.

Such expressions are also sometime abbreviated with -like as the adjective-forming suffix to signal that we are referring to a simile so we also encounter:
    claw-like hand
    ghost-like face
    glove-like fit
    vice-like grip
but such expressions are unpredictably acceptable and cannot be formed from the majority of like similes.

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Style and register

Most idiomatic language is stylistically informal and inappropriate in a number of situations.  Idioms are used extensively in informal speech and writing (especially in newspapers), however, so a knowledge of common ones is very helpful for learners of English.  Unfortunately, there are, by some estimates, 25,000 of them in English.
In more formal contexts, idioms will often be avoided so we are unlikely to find, for example:
    Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen is under the weather
    The government negotiators are reluctant to open a can of worms, said the White House spokesman.
etc.
Learners of the language can be tempted to overuse idiomatic language in situations where it is not appropriate or they can get the meaning just slightly wrong and produce, e.g.:
    *I'll do it willy-nilly
    *I'm down in the dumps with her
    *The government isn't cutting the mustard for it
In common with many idiomatic expressions, bi- and trinomials are often informal and common in spoken language.
A few, however, such as first and foremost, more and more, intents and purposes and others are encountered in formal writing and some are confined to specific registers such as economics (supply and demand), the law (aid and abet), education (reading, writing and arithmetic) or engineering, politics and commerce (research and development, wear and tear, trial and error, ways and means).
They are, to some extent, clichés and accordingly much used in journalese.

The same considerations of grammar and form apply here as they do in the teaching of any lexis.
It is important to make sure, then, that idiom presentation is set in an appropriate context (both style and register) and that word class is considered along with aspects of transitivity, complementation and so on.

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Pronunciation

• Most binomials are evenly stressed with the coordinating item being weakened.  We get, therefore:
      name and shame /ˈneɪm.n̩.ˈʃeɪm/
      fun and games /ˈfʌn.n̩.ˈɡeɪmz/
      tittle tattle /ˈtɪt.l̩.ˈtæt.l̩/
      shoulder to shoulder /ˈʃəʊl.də.tə.ˈʃəʊl.də/
  A few may operate like compound nouns and take the stress on the first element, e.g.:
      near and dear (/ˈnɪər.n̩.dɪə/)
  but stressing both components equally is more common.
  
• Trinomials are lists but, because they are processed as single units, the normal list intonation, with rises after each item and a fall at the end, is compromised.  We may get, therefore, for example:
      game, set and match
  pronounced as
  /ˈɡeɪmset.n̩.ˈmætʃ/
  rather than
  /ˈɡeɪm.ˈset.ənd.ˈmætʃ/
  with the normal pause after the first item and equal stress on all the items.
  More commonly, the stress on each item is retained but the intonation does not rise as it would in a list of less connected items:
      beg, borrow and steal /ˈbeɡ.ˈbɒ.rəʊ.n̩.ˈstiːl/
• Many idioms operate as single lexemes and only one tone unit is discernible so we have, e.g.:
      I wouldn't be caught dead
  /ˈaɪ.wʊdnt.bi.kɔːt.ˈded/
  with only two stressed syllables.
  Compare:
      I wouldn't do that if I were you:
  /ˈaɪ.wʊd.də.ˈðət.ɪf.ˈaɪ.wə.ˈju/
  with four stresses.
• Because of their single lexeme nature, idioms are spoken rapidly as one chunk so syllable reduction and weak forms are common.  E.g.:
      She's bitten off more than she can chew
  is often pronounced as
      /ʃiz.ˈbɪt.n̩.ə.mɔː.ðən.ʃi.kn̩.tʃuː/
  with two syllabic consonants and weak forms (/ə/, /i/).  See, too, the pronunciation of and in the binomial examples which is often reduced to a single syllabic consonant (/n̩/).

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Teaching idiomatic language

Too often, in coursebooks and study guides, idioms and idiomatic language are relegated to peripheral 'Useful phrases' boxes and then ignored.  That's a great pity as it is almost impossible to become fluent in English without acquiring a fair number of idiomatic expressions.  In fact:

Most students are very interested in learning idiomatic language.  They recognize it as an area in which they have difficulties, and appreciate systematic instruction.
(Irujo, 1986: 242)

There's nothing mysterious about this.  We have to make the same judgements that we make when teaching lexis of any sort.  In other words, we must consider appropriacy and style, range, learnability, frequency and so on.  For more, see the guide to teaching lexis, linked below.

Difficulties

Idioms present some serious difficulties for learners and that is one reason that they have fallen out of fashion of late.

1. Idioms date quite rapidly.
   It may be the case that native speakers of English used to exclaim
       Ye Gods and little fishes!
   when astonished by something but to do so now would make the speaker sound very odd and old fashioned.
   The popular example of dating is the expression
       raining cats and dogs
   which almost no native speaker would use but which is often heard from learners of English.  Other examples of dated idioms to avoid include:
       to be in seventh heaven
       to keep up with the Joneses
       the gift of the gab
       to be dead beat
       to take a rise out of someone
   and there are many more with which it is unwise to burden learners.
2. Idioms require learning and reproducing as a string of words exactly.
   Some idioms are quite long strings and impose something of a strain on the memory.  For example:
       choose the lesser of the two evils
       give someone the benefit of the doubt
       cross that bridge when you come to it
   are all quite long and hard to remember as language chunks.
3. Fixedness and naturalness.
   Getting even one word wrong in an idiom can often result in the expression sounding absurd and unnatural, although it will rarely be misunderstood.  For example:
       *That's a sour pill to swallow
       *I wash my hands from it
       *Speak of a devil
       *It's not rocket physics
   are all wrong by one word and even missing or misusing an article can make the speaker sound foreign or amusing.
4. Some idioms are stand-alone expressions but some can only be used embedded in co-text.  For example:
       Get your act together
       Better late than never
       So far so good
       You can say that again
   are all routinely used as isolated phrases (although they can be embedded in other language).
   However:
       the best of both worlds
       miss the boat
       beat around the bush
       on the ball
       in the mire
   are only used when they are embedded in other language and cannot stand alone.

Classification and selection for teaching

One can, of course, teach idioms only as and when they arise in texts used in the classroom or in response to learner enquiries.  That makes some sense because it avoids problematising the issue and demystifies a complicated area.
However, especially at more advanced levels, many learners appreciate that they can only sound truly natural in English if they are able to use a reasonably wide range of idiomatic expressions.  They will often, therefore, appreciate and be motivated by lessons which focus specifically on idioms and idiomatic language.
The teacher's problem is how to select, group and present the most common ones.  There are three main ways:

1. A shared conceptual category
   It has been noted that some words in English feature in idioms more than most and provide a jumping-off point as well as a conceptual hook to help people remember the expressions.  For example:

   colours	verbs / nouns	body parts	animals	nature
   black and blue black and white black looks black market black out to be in the black blue movies browned off be green with envy green politics give the green light have green fingers men in grey suits in the pink purple prose a red-letter day catch red handed red blooded red carpet see red red tape to be in the red scarlet woman yellow bellied	bark ... worse than ... bite big bang bite off more than you can chew bite the bullet bite your tongue buy the farm catch / get a name catch a programme catch (+ transport) catch it (be punished) catch someone (meet) there's a catch fall foul of something go the extra mile grab a quick bite kick into the long grass like it or lump it make the grade nuclear option open your heart open and shut pay the piper raise Cain run it up the flagpole run a risk throw a party throw a fit throw a wobbly throw in the towel / sponge throw someone (puzzle or confuse) throw the toys out of the pram throw your hat in the ring	cost an arm and a leg play by ear elbow in keep an eye on see eye to eye give your eye teeth for a finger in many pies make a fist of best foot forward foot the bill footloose and fancy free face the music face to face lose face get in someone's face face up to put your foot in it have / get cold feet find one's feet a head start put your head in the sand let your hair down head for home head in the clouds head over heels dig your heels in over my head be neck and neck bend the knee have a knees up put your nose in shoulder responsibility by the skin of your teeth have a sweet tooth get your teeth into something tooth and nail toe the line	bear / bull market bear with a sore head beaver away eager beaver let the cat out of the bag headless chicken chicken livered cow eyes a milch cow crocodile tears crow about dog tired let sleeping dogs lie do the donkey work elephant in the room ferret around a fish out of water a cold fish a fly on the wall a fly in the ointment wouldn't hurt a fly get someone’s goat a wild goose chase hare around flog a dead horse back the wrong horse up with the lark the lion's share lounge lizard pig out rabbit in the headlights smell a rat rat on snake in the grass squirrel away pearls before swine keep the wolf from the door a wolf in sheep’s clothing worm your way in	black hole blizzard of paperwork a breeze the cliff edge an Everest to climb have a feather in your cap flood of applications fog of confusion forest of legs gale of laughter light years away lightning quick mists of time mountain of work nip something in the bud ocean of tears quantum leap ripple of applause river of demonstrators sea of troubles storm of protest stream of invective thunderous footsteps vale of tears wave of protest wet behind the ears wet blanket

2. A shared source
   We saw above that many idioms derive from professions and activities and this too can be a way of helping the memory.  For example:

   sports and leisure activities	warfare	commerce and business	seafaring
   the ball is in your court off his own bat be blinkered push the boat out paddle your own canoe mark someone’s card jump the gun be for the high jump jump through hoops hold your horses a marathon not a sprint to give a free rein to keep on a tight rein a front runner be in the saddle shoot your mouth off call the shots skate around the problem snookered to spur on the home stretch a sticky wicket down to the wire	attack a problem bombard with questions have a blitz damage limitation dig in pull up the drawbridge wave a white flag the big guns to steal a march get your head over the parapet take no prisoners rank and file beat a retreat scattershot lay siege to snipe go over the top torpedo an idea circle the wagons a war of nerves a war of words to be in the wars	a blank cheque the bottom line break the bank close a deal corner the market do a deal do the business get down to business have a monopoly insider information open an account pay dividends pay over the odds return with interest rig the market sell short sign on the dotted line stakeholders trade in	be taken aback batten down the hatches brass monkeys a broadside choppy water clear the decks all hands on deck fly the flag hull up hit a rock / reef keep a lookout ride out a storm know / learn the ropes sail before the wind set sail a shot across the bows show your true colours smooth sailing get a head of steam swing the lead toe the line in the wake of

3. A shared function
   Idioms can be classified by the sorts of things they refer to and this is also a useful way of helping the memory.  For example:

   describing personality	complementing	complaining
   a pain in the neck a dark horse a bright spark a wet blanket a rough diamond the life and soul a wallflower a shrinking violet	She's a diamond You're a trooper You're a brick He's a class act It's worth an Oscar Take a bow You've saved my life You're a star	breathe down someone's neck Pull your weight Get off my back pay through the nose argue the toss have a bone to pick make a mountain out of a molehill a backseat driver

Lists

A web search will reveal some very long lists of idioms which you may be tempted to teach to your long-suffering learners.  There is nothing wrong with accessing such materials providing:

1. you are aware that many lists are collected by people who do not really understand the difference between an idiom, a proverb and a strong collocation.
2. you are alert to issues of fixedness and opacity and react accordingly making a principled selection
3. you know a little about how learners may be helped to remember items by linking them to conceptual categories or embedding them in a memorable setting or text

With all that in mind, the following is a selected list of around 380 common idioms which attempts to exclude items which are not actually idioms at all, ones which are rare or ones confined to certain registers only.  We have also excluded any we didn't know and those which, while classifiable as idioms, are wholly transparent in meaning.

above and beyond above board accident of birth accident waiting to happen ace in the hole ace up one’s sleeve Achilles’ heel acid test add insult to injury albatross around one’s neck alive and kicking all and sundry all bets are off all ears all hands on deck all over bar the shouting all the tea in china all thumbs an axe to grind an early bird an eye for an eye any port in a storm apple of one’s eye arm and a leg armed to the teeth as fit as a fiddle as pale as a ghost as poor as a church mouse asleep at the wheel at the drop of a hat at the eleventh hour at the end of one’s tether at one’s wit’s end back of beyond back to square one back to the drawing board bad apple bag of tricks ball in your court bang one’s head against a brick wall bark up the wrong tree basket case batten down the hatches beat a dead horse beat around the bush bed of roses bee's knees behind the scenes behind the times bells and whistles best thing since sliced bread best of both worlds between a rock and a hard place between the devil and the deep blue sea between two stools beyond the pale bird brain bird’s-eye view bite off more than you can chew bite the bullet bite the dust bitter pill to swallow black sheep blow hot and cold bolt from the blue bone dry break the ice brush / sweep something under the carpet bump in the road burn the candle at both ends burn the midnight oil bury the hatchet by the skin of one’s teeth call a spade a spade call it a day call the shots carrot-and-stick carry the can Catch-22 caught red-handed champ at the bit chase rainbows cherry-pick chew the fat chickens coming home to roost child’s play chink in someone's armour chip off the old block claim to fame clear the air close, but no cigar cold shoulder come clean come hell or high water come rain or shine cool as a cucumber couch potato cry over spilt milk cry wolf cut corners cut the mustard dance to someone’s tune dark horse dead as the dodo dead heat dead ringer devil’s advocate dig one's heels in dime a dozen dodge a bullet dog in the manger double-edged sword down in the dumps drag one’s feet draw a blank drive a hard bargain drive someone up the wall drop a line dry run dyed-in-the-wool eagle-eyed early bird eat humble pie eat your heart out elephant in the room eleventh hour every man and his dog every man for himself face the music fall prey to fat cat father figure feather in one’s cap feather one’s own nest fed up with fell off the back of a lorry fight fire with fire fight like cat and dog find your feet fish out of water flash in the pan fly in the ointment fly off the handle food for thought Freudian slip from pillar to post

from scratch full of the joys of spring get a word in edgewise get carried away get off scot free get one’s hands dirty get someone’s goat get the ball rolling get the picture get the sack get to grips with get wind of give someone a piece of your mind give someone a run for their money give someone the cold shoulder give the green light go bananas go berserk go down in flames go off half-cocked go off the deep end go out on a limb go pear-shaped go the extra mile go to the dogs go viral go with the flow grasp at straws grasp the nettle grease the wheels grind one’s teeth guilty pleasure guinea pig hair of the dog hands down hanging by a thread have (one’s) head in the clouds have a bone to pick with someone have a chip on one’s shoulder have a lot on one’s plate have a nose for have a whale of a time have an ace up one’s sleeve have bigger fish to fry have egg on your face have one’s cake and eat it have something in the bag have your say head and shoulders above head over heels head start hear on the grapevine heart and soul hell for leather hit a wall hit the ceiling hit the ground running hit the hay hit the nail on the head hit the road hit the roof hit the sack / hay hit the spot Hobson's choice hold one’s peace hot on the heels of hot potato in a heartbeat in a jam in a nutshell in a rut in broad daylight in clover in hot water in one fell swoop in the blink of an eye in the dark in the driver’s seat in the limelight / spotlight in the long run in the nick of time in the pipeline in the same boat in the works it’s not rocket science itchy feet Jack of all trades join the club jump on the bandwagon jump ship jump the gun jump through hoops just what the doctor ordered just the ticket keep a stiff upper lip keep an eye peeled keep it under your hat keep your powder dry kick it into the long grass kick the bucket kick the habit kill two birds with one stone kiss and make up kith and kin know something like the back of one’s hand learn / know the ropes leave someone in the lurch let sleeping dogs lie let the cat out of the bag like ... (see similes, above) lion’s share look a gift horse in the mouth lose the thread low-hanging fruit make a mountain out of a molehill make ends meet make one’s mark meeting of the minds miss the boat move heaven and earth much of a muchness music to one’s ears neck and neck nip something in the bud no rhyme or reason to nothing to write home about off the hook off your trolley / rocker once in a blue moon paddle one’s own canoe pain in the neck par for the course pass the buck pass with flying colours pencil something in penny-pinching pie in the sky piece of cake pipe dream play it by ear pop your clogs pot calling the kettle black peaching to the choir pull someone's leg pull strings pushing up the daisies

push the envelope put the cart before the horse put the cat among the pigeons put your foot down queer the pitch quick as a flash quick-and-dirty quote unquote race against time rain cats and dogs raise the bar raise the roof rank and file read between the lines read the riot act red herring red tape reinvent the wheel right as rain right under one’s nose right-hand man ring a bell rock bottom rock the boat rub something in rubber-stamp rule of thumb run out of steam sacred cow sandwich short of a picnic second wind see eye to eye sell like hotcakes set in stone set the Thames on fire sharp as a tack shoot the breeze shooting fish in a barrel show one’s true colours sick and tired of sight for sore eyes silver bullet sink or swim sitting duck sitting pretty six of one, half a dozen of the other sleep like a baby slippery slope small beer smell a rat smoking gun snake oil sore point sour grapes spick and span spill the beans spin a yarn square the circle stab in the dark stab someone in the back stand on one’s own two feet stand one’s ground steal someone’s thunder stem the tide step up to the plate storm in a teacup strike a chord sweep under the carpet / rug swim against / with the tide sword of Damocles take a gander take a rain check take it easy take it or leave it take something with a pinch of salt take the biscuit take the bull by the horns take the edge off take the mickey / piss take the wind out of someone’s sails take with a grain of salt take your medicine taste of your own medicine teach an old dog new tricks tear one’s hair out ten / two a penny test the waters that ship has sailed there’s no such thing as a free lunch thin on the ground think outside the box / envelope through the grapevine through thick and thin throw a spanner in the works throw caution to the wind throw down the gauntlet throw in the towel / sponge throw out the baby with the bathwater thumb your nose at tight-lipped till the cows come home time is money tip of the iceberg toe the line tongue-in-cheek too many to shake a stick at touch base tread water turn a blind eye to turn the corner turn the tables twist the knife make a U-turn under / below the radar under someone's thumb under the weather until the cows come home until you’re blue in the face up for grabs up in the air up to scratch upset the apple cart use one’s head vicious circle virgin territory vote with one’s feet waiting in the wings walk on eggshells water under the bridge wet behind the ears wet blanket what goes around comes around when the chips are down wild goose chase window dressing window shop witch hunt work one’s fingers to the bone writing on the wall year in, year out you can say that again you can’t judge a book by its cover young at heart your guess is as good as mine yours truly zero in on something

If you would like all those lists as a single PDF document, it's available here and from the links at the end.

Clearly, such a list is only useful for planning purposes and as an aide memoire.  Please do not be tempted to give it to your learners to commit to memory.
One way of approaching the area which has found some success is to alert the learners that every lesson will include a new idiom from this list.  Their job is to try to identify it when it appears in the materials or in something you say and point this out to the class.
In this way, an enjoyable and simple challenge can be set and the learners are not overloaded with too many idioms they can neither remember easily nor use naturally.

Techniques and classroom approaches

Idioms and idiomatic language have some characteristics that make certain approaches more worthwhile and productive than others.

• Context and co-text
  Idioms are, as we saw above, not confined to general informal speech but that is the setting in which they are most frequently used.
  It makes sense, therefore, to ensure that we set them in a clear informal social context with language used among people well known to each other and without too many disparities in roles and power.
  Idioms occur more naturally in informal story-telling language so that's a good place to situate them.  Context will also help learners appreciate issues of style and co-text will often disambiguate meaning successfully.
  In particular, idioms are frequently used to sum up a situation and, without the preceding text are almost impossible to understand.
  An expression such as:
      this is a whole new ball game
  is superficially opaque but if it comes at the end of a conversation about possibilities and suggestions, it may be easy to grasp the meaning.
• Illustrations
  Because idioms are so picturesque, it makes it comparatively easy to link them to illustrations (see the introduction to this guide for examples).
• Figurative meaning
  Group and pair-work to decipher figurative meaning is helpful because people see different things in language and have different mental metaphors so they can help each other significantly.  Obviously, the more transparent the meaning is, the less hard the expression will be to understand and learn.
• Retelling stories
  Retelling exercises can be a powerful way of consolidating idiomatic language as can dialogue writing and creative story writing.
• Translation
  Idioms rarely translate exactly between languages but it is surprising how similar concepts are encoded in idiomatic language.  For example, the expression it cost an arm and a leg is rendered in Spanish with something like it cost an eye of your face and in German, a hook in the matter means there's a fly in the ointment.  All languages exhibit a rich and picturesque range of metaphorical meaning.  It can be educational, interesting and fun to compare how meanings are encoded in various languages and that, too, can help retention.
  Here are some examples for fun.  Can you match the English idioms on the left to their equivalents in other languages on the right?  Click on the image when you have an answer.

  
  You can, of course, get your learners to make up quizzes like this and challenge others to find the English equivalent or figure out the meaning.

More teaching ideas can be found in Irujo (1986)

In the section for learners on this site, there are some exercises to do with idioms and binomials.  Check the exercise index under vocabulary for more.

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There is a very short test on some terms to help you recall some of this.

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Related guides
synonymy	for more on how this and related areas work with more on similes and metaphors (fixed and otherwise)
semantics	for a theoretical guide to meaning
teaching lexis	for some practical ideas
PDF list	for all the lists used above of English idioms
the lexical approach	for a guide to an approach to analysing and teaching language which focuses on chunks, holophrases, polywords and more
collocation	for more on this form lexical relationship
classifiers and partitives	for a guide which considers the role of restricted partitives such as pane of and rasher of
empty or delexicalised verbs	for a list in PDF format
multi-word verbs	for the guide to many idiomatic expressions

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References:
Barkema, H, 1996, Idiomaticity and terminology: a multi-dimensional descriptive model, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Studia Linguistica, Volume 50, Issue 2, pp. 125-160
Benor, SB & Levy, R, no date, The Chicken or the Egg? A Probabilistic Analysis of English Binomials, available from http://www.pdfmanuale.com/file/9GW/the-chicken-or-the-egg-a-probabilistic-analysis-of-english.html [accessed January 2015]
lrujo, S, 1986, A piece of cake: learning and teaching idioms, English Language Teaching Journal, 40 (3) pp. 236-242, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Lewis, M, 1993, The Lexical Approach, Hove, England: Language Teaching Publications
Macis, M and Schmitt, N, 2017, The figurative and polysemous nature of collocations and their place in ELT, ELT Journal Volume 71/1 pp50-59, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Moreno, REV, no date, Idioms, Transparency and Pragmatic Inference, available from http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/publications/WPL/05papers/vega_moreno.pdf [accessed January 2015]
Schmitt, N and McCarthy, M, 1997, Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Sweet, H, 1889, The practical study of languages, London: Oxford University Press (Reprinted in 1964)
(A list of, it is claimed, over 1500 English idioms is available from https://7esl.com/english-idioms/ but be warned, many are not really idioms and proverbs are included in the lists.)

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