In this page, we’ll explore idioms to express feelings and emotions in English. Whether you’re feeling on top of the world or down in the dumps, there’s an idiom for every occasion. We’ll cover a range of emotions, from happiness and contentment to frustration and anger, and provide examples of how these idioms are used in everyday conversation.
Feelings and Emotions Idioms
- All the Rage
- Meeting of the Minds
- Scare the Living Daylights out of Someone
- Out of Sight, Out of Mind
- Tear-Jerker
- Pet Peeve
- Pull Yourself Together
- Get Carried Away
- Think Big
- Not Playing with a Full Deck
- Under the Impression
- Out of Sorts
- Short Fuse
- Off One’s Rocker
- Bang One’s Head Against the Wall (Against a Brick Wall)
- Young at Heart
- Take It Easy
- Passing Fancy
- On the Ball
- On the Fence
- Living in Cloud Cuckooland
- Mad as a Hatter
- Freudian Slip
- Fly off the Handle
- Draw a Blank
- Drive Someone Up the Wall
- Down in the Dumps
- Chuck a Wobbly
- Cock-A-Hoop
- Blow One’s Stack
- At the End of One’s Rope (Tether)
- At Wit’s End
- Air Rage
- Act One’s Age
Feelings and Emotions Idioms with Meaning
| Idiom | Meaning |
|---|---|
| All the Rage | Extremely popular or fashionable at a particular time. |
| Meeting of the Minds | A situation where two or more parties reach an understanding or agreement. |
| Scare the Living Daylights out of Someone | To frighten someone severely. |
| Out of Sight, Out of Mind | A phrase suggesting that something or someone not visible is easily forgotten. |
| Tear-Jerker | A story, movie, or drama that is so sad it makes the audience cry. |
| Pet Peeve | Something that a person finds particularly annoying. |
| Pull Yourself Together | To regain self-control and behave normally after being upset or chaotic. |
| Get Carried Away | To become overly excited or involved in something and lose perspective. |
| Think Big | To be ambitious or imagine greater possibilities. |
| Not Playing with a Full Deck | Not having all one’s mental faculties; lacking intelligence or common sense. |
| Under the Impression | Believing that something is true based on information or assumptions. |
| Out of Sorts | Feeling slightly unwell or in low spirits. |
| Short Fuse | A quick temper; getting angry easily. |
| Off One’s Rocker | Crazy or behaving irrationally. |
| Bang One’s Head Against the Wall (Against a Brick Wall) | To repeatedly try something with no success; to face a frustrating situation. |
| Young at Heart | Having a youthful outlook or disposition, regardless of one’s age. |
| Take It Easy | Relax and not exert oneself too much or to take things lightly. |
| Passing Fancy | A brief infatuation or interest. |
| On the Ball | Alert and efficient or effective. |
| On the Fence | Undecided about something. |
| Living in Cloud Cuckooland | Having unrealistic or fanciful beliefs or plans. |
| Mad as a Hatter | Completely crazy, derived from the historical use of mercury in the hat-making industry causing madness. |
| Freudian Slip | An unintentional error in speech or action that is thought to reveal subconscious thoughts or feelings. |
| Fly off the Handle | To lose one’s temper suddenly and unexpectedly. |
| Draw a Blank | To be unable to remember something or to fail to produce an idea or answer. |
| Drive Someone Up the Wall | To irritate or annoy someone to the point of distraction. |
| Down in the Dumps | Feeling unhappy or depressed. |
| Chuck a Wobbly | To throw a tantrum or become very upset. (Primarily used in Australian and British English) |
| Cock-A-Hoop | Feeling very pleased and proud; exultant. |
| Blow One’s Stack | To become very angry and lose one’s self-control. |
| At the End of One’s Rope (Tether) | To be at the limit of one’s patience or resources. |
| At Wit’s End | To be so worried, confused, or annoyed that you do not know what to do next. |
| Air Rage | Aggressive or violent behavior exhibited by airline passengers during a flight. |
| Act One’s Age | To behave in a manner appropriate to one’s maturity rather than one’s age. |
Feelings and Emotions Idioms with Examples
| Idiom | Example |
|---|---|
| All the Rage | Smartwatches are all the rage these days; everyone seems to be wearing one. |
| Meeting of the Minds | After a long discussion, we finally had a meeting of the minds and could proceed with the project. |
| Scare the Living Daylights out of Someone | The horror movie was so intense it scared the living daylights out of me. |
| Out of Sight, Out of Mind | I try to keep snacks out of sight, out of mind, so I’m not tempted to eat them. |
| Tear-Jerker | That movie is a real tear-jerker; I can’t watch it without crying. |
| Pet Peeve | One of my pet peeves is when people don’t replace the toilet paper roll. |
| Pull Yourself Together | After the bad news, he had to pull himself together to speak to the press. |
| Get Carried Away | She got carried away shopping and spent way more than she intended. |
| Think Big | When it comes to your dreams, you’ve got to think big and aim high. |
| Not Playing with a Full Deck | He’s definitely not playing with a full deck if he thinks that plan will work. |
| Under the Impression | I was under the impression that the meeting was next week, not today. |
| Out of Sorts | I’m feeling out of sorts today, so I might stay in and rest. |
| Short Fuse | Be careful around the boss today; he’s got a short fuse and has been snapping at everyone. |
| Off One’s Rocker | You must be off your rocker if you’re going swimming in this freezing weather! |
| Bang One’s Head Against the Wall (Against a Brick Wall) | Trying to get a straight answer from them is like banging your head against a brick wall. |
| Young at Heart | My grandmother is 80, but she’s young at heart and loves to go dancing. |
| Take It Easy | You’ve been working so hard lately, you should take it easy this weekend. |
| Passing Fancy | I thought I wanted to learn the guitar, but it turned out to be just a passing fancy. |
| On the Ball | Our project manager is really on the ball; she always keeps the team on track. |
| On the Fence | I’m on the fence about going to the party; I can’t decide if I want to go or not. |
| Living in Cloud Cuckooland | He thinks he’s going to become a famous actor without any training or experience—he’s living in cloud cuckooland! |
| Mad as a Hatter | He’s been acting mad as a hatter ever since he started working odd hours. |
| Freudian Slip | When he called his teacher “Mom,” it was a classic Freudian slip. |
| Fly off the Handle | She flew off the handle when she found out the event had been canceled at the last minute. |
| Draw a Blank | I drew a blank when the interviewer asked me to describe my experience with the software. |
| Drive Someone Up the Wall | The constant construction noise is driving me up the wall. |
| Down in the Dumps | He’s been down in the dumps ever since his team lost the championship. |
| Chuck a Wobbly | The toddler chucked a wobbly in the store when his mother refused to buy him candy. |
| Cock-A-Hoop | He was cock-a-hoop after winning the chess tournament. |
| Blow One’s Stack | My dad blew his stack when he saw the dent I’d made in the car. |
| At the End of One’s Rope (Tether) | After dealing with the stress at work all week, she was at the end of her rope. |
| At Wit’s End | I’ve tried every possible solution and I’m at my wit’s end trying to resolve this issue. |
| Air Rage | The flight attendant handled the passenger’s air rage with remarkable calm. |
| Act One’s Age | The children were giggling and being silly, prompting the teacher to tell them to act their age. |