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Everyday idioms: Phrazle Everyday

Well-known sayings and expressions from every corner of the language, with no single theme. Six guesses, endless puzzles.

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Everyday idioms and sayings

This category is for the phrases that do not belong to one theme: the sayings about people, feelings, luck, effort, honesty, friendship and common sense that English speakers use every day. Some are proverbs that give advice, some are fixed expressions with a meaning you cannot work out from the words, and some are simply set phrases that everyone knows by heart.

Sayings like these exist in every language because they are a shortcut. Instead of explaining a whole idea, you say six familiar words and everybody understands. English collected them from many sources: Greek and Latin writers, the Bible, Shakespeare, old collections of proverbs, German and French neighbors, and, more recently, newspapers, films and television.

The puzzles on this page come from every corner of the language, so there is no theme to lean on. That makes this the best category for a real test. Short words such as A, THE, OF, IS and YOUR appear often, so start with them.

Everyday idioms and what they mean

None of these examples is used as a puzzle, so reading them will not spoil a game.

  • Actions speak louder than words: what people do shows their intentions better than what they say. The idea is ancient, and the English wording has been common since the 1700s.
  • The pen is mightier than the sword: writing and ideas can change the world more than force. Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote it in his 1839 play Richelieu.
  • Necessity is the mother of invention: people find clever solutions when they really need them. The idea is often traced back to Plato's Republic.
  • Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater: do not get rid of something good while removing something bad. It comes from an old German saying, recorded in 1512 by the writer Thomas Murner.
  • Absence makes the heart grow fonder: we often love people and places more when we are away from them. The line became widely known through a song of the 1800s.
  • If at first you don't succeed, try, try again: keep going after a failure. It spread through American and British schoolbooks in the 1800s.
  • Topsy-turvy: upside down or in complete disorder. The second half probably comes from an old word meaning to overturn.
  • Wishy-washy: weak, unclear or unable to decide. It first described thin, watery drinks and soups.

Everyday idioms FAQ

What is the difference between an idiom and a proverb?

An idiom is a phrase whose meaning you cannot guess from its words, like "wishy-washy". A proverb is a short saying that gives advice or states a general truth, like "actions speak louder than words". Phrazle uses both, along with other well-known expressions.

Is this category harder than the others?

It can be, because there is no theme to guide your guesses. The meaning hint helps most here: it tells you what the phrase is about before you have found many letters.

Does the Everyday category have its own statistics?

Yes. Every category keeps its own games played, win percentage, streak and guess distribution. Playing here never changes your Daily statistics or your Daily streak.