Learn English Idioms and Expressions from TV Shows

Learning English through TV shows is an excellent way to pick up natural expressions and idioms. Here’s a collection of useful expressions with their meanings and example sentences.

Work and Career Expressions

Expression	Meaning	Example
Land a gig	Get a job	“If I don’t land a gig soon, I’m in trouble.”
Golden years	Retirement age	“I’m gonna be couch-surfing into my golden years.”
Float a paycheck	Give money/advance payment	“I would draw for anyone who’d float a paycheck.”
On the clock	Currently working	“You still on the clock, man?”

Emotions and Feelings

Expression	Meaning	Example
Get hit by a tidal wave	Overwhelmed by emotion	“Some days, I get hit by this self-doubt tidal wave.”
Self-doubt	Lacking confidence	“Everyone experiences self-doubt sometimes.”
Bummer	Disappointing situation	“Oh. Bummer. But on the bright side…”
Silver lining	Positive aspect of bad situation	“There’s always a silver lining.”

Expression	Meaning	Example
Heads-up	Warning/notification	“Thanks for the heads-up.”
Back up	Move away	“Yo, back up. Back up!”
Hold up	Wait	“Hey, Ward. Hold up.”
Come around	Change one’s mind	“Colleen will come around eventually.”
Run into someone	Meet by chance	“We just ran into each other the other day.”

Describing People

Expression	Meaning	Example
Ray of light	Positive/optimistic person	“You’re a ray of light, aren’t you?”
Born and bred	Native, raised from birth	“I’m a born and bred New Yorker.”
Gallant	Chivalrous, brave	“Oh, no. Gallant.”
Eclectic	Diverse, varied mix	“I love your place. It’s so eclectic and full of life.”

Conversational Expressions

Expression	Meaning	Example
Beats me	I don’t know	“Where did he go?” “Beats me.”
Earth to [someone]	Trying to get attention	“Earth to Danny. Are you listening?”
Did not mean to offend	Unintentional offense	“I’m sorry. I did not mean to offend.”
That doesn’t qualify as	That isn’t considered	“That doesn’t qualify as nonsense, Ward.”

Past and Memory

Expression	Meaning	Example
To put the past behind us	Move on from history	“I want to put the past behind us.”
Has been known to	Sometimes does	“I’ve been known to dabble in art.”
Got all caught up in	Became absorbed by	“I just got all caught up in that church spire.”

Movement and Direction

Expression	Meaning	Example
Be turned around	Be lost/confused	“Yeah, I was all turned around.”
Just past	Just beyond	“It’s just past the corner.”
Wander around	Walk without direction	“I like to wander around the city.”
Crisscross	Paths crossing	“Lives crisscrossing in the city…”

Beauty and Nature

Expression	Meaning	Example
Fleeting	Short-lived	“Beautiful but fleeting.”
Seeded into the sidewalk	Hopes planted in the city	“Hopes and dreams are seeded into the sidewalk here.”
Dabble	Do casually, as hobby	“You draw flowers?” “I’ve been known to dabble.”

Revenge and Relationships

Expression	Meaning	Example
Get back at	Take revenge	“I know Ramona only hooked up with you to get back at me.”
Preposterous	Absurd, ridiculous	“That is preposterous.”
Pick-up line	Flirting phrase	“It was time to use my gold medal pick-up line.”
Play hard to get	Act uninterested	“Don’t play hard to get.”
Crash with someone	Stay at someone’s place	“Nonsense! You can crash with me.”
Meant to be	Destined	“If what happened between us was meant to be…”

Grammar Notes

Presume vs Suppose

Presume: Already decided, assuming true
Suppose: Just thinking, hypothetical

“Would” for past habits

"I would sit at the kitchen table, and my mother would brush out my hair."
- "Would" indicates a repeated action in the past

Expressions for Describing Actions

Expression	Meaning	Example
Toss it in the trash	Throw away	“I should just toss it in the trash.”
Walk someone out	Escort to exit	“Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
Push away	Reject	“She is the only one who didn’t push me away.”
Knock the wall out	Break through	“When you knocked the wall out of the back of that nightclub.”

Meaningful Phrases

"You have no idea how much that means coming from you."
- Expression of deep gratitude when words mean a lot from a specific person

"You would not believe what just went down."
- Something incredible just happened

"It wasn't so long ago that you wanted out."
- Reminding someone of their recent past desires

Tips for Learning from TV Shows

Watch with subtitles first: Understand the context
Note new expressions: Keep a vocabulary journal
Review and repeat: Practice saying expressions out loud
Use shadowing: Repeat after characters
Focus on one show: Get familiar with characters’ speech patterns
Watch the same episode multiple times: Reinforce learning

Recommended Shows for Learning

For business English: Suits, Mad Men
For casual conversation: Friends, How I Met Your Mother
For drama/action: Iron Fist, Breaking Bad
For comedy: The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Learning from TV shows makes vocabulary acquisition enjoyable and helps you understand how native speakers actually talk in different situations.