50 Funny Body Parts Idioms

I was compiling a list of 50 idioms connected to body parts, and while I googled these phrases, I cracked up. Of course, one shouldn’t take idioms by their literal meaning.

However, I couldn’t help myself from laughing when I was reading it sans its figurative content. So let's check out these 50 funny body parts idioms.

An idiom contains words that, when taken collectively, show us the figurative meaning of such a phrase; otherwise, when each word is taken separately would indicate its usual, predictable meaning that could be readily found in a dictionary.

Idioms have cultural bearing and localized usage, which require outsiders to be familiar with their meaning. However, an idiom’s popularity makes it universally known and used.

The thumb

1. To say someone is all thumbs means that the person is lacking physical coordination, skill, or grace, or clumsy in doing things. Also synonymous with be all fingers and thumbs.

2. To thumb (one’s) nose means to express scorn or ridicule someone. Also used as thumb your nose at somebody/something.

3. Thumbs down is used to express rejection, refusal, or disapproval.

4. You say thumbs up means to express approval, success, or hope.

5. To be under (one’s) thumb means to be under the control of someone or be subordinate to someone.

6. To turn thumbs down (on someone or something) means to reject someone or something. Its antonymous phrase is: turn thumbs up (on someone or something).

7. A rule of thumb means a guiding principle gained through experience.

8. To stand/stick out like a sore thumb means someone or something is being obvious, noticeable, or easily recognized as different from the group.

9. To twiddle your thumbs means doing nothing practically useful while waiting for something to happen.

10. To thumb through (something) means to have a quick look at a pile of papers, pages of magazines, or books.

The heart

11. To say that someone is a man/woman after your own heart means you admire that person because of shared beliefs or likes.

12. At heart means to feel deeply. See also the post Learning empathy even if you can't relate.

13. By heart means you had learned something by rote or have memorized it word for word.

14. To do (one’s) heart good means to lift one’s spirits or make one happy.

15. To have (one’s) heart in (one’s) mouth means to feel extremely frightened or anxious about something.

16. When you do something with half a heart, it means you are unenthusiastic or showing less interest in your work.

17. To wear your heart on your sleeve means showing your feelings clearly and openly by your behavior.

18. To do (something) in a heartbeat means to do something right away if you have the chance.

19. If someone had a change of heart, it means that the person has changed his or her feeling or opinion about something.

20. To eat one's heart out means to feel much jealousy, bitterness, or grief about something.

The eyes

21. All eyes means watching very closely or showing a lot of interest in something or someone.

22. To have/keep half an eye on something/somebody means to watch something or someone without giving them your full attention.

23. If somebody’s eyes are bigger than their belly/stomach, it means he or she has taken more food than necessary.

24. To be easy on the eye means to have an attractive or pleasing appearance. Isn't it funny that students all over the world are studying the English Language to learn this sort of stuff?

25. To pull the wool over somebody’s eyes means deceiving someone to prevent them from seeing or knowing what you're actually doing.

26. To turn a blind eye (to something) means to pretend or decide that something does not exist or is not true because you don’t want to deal with it.

27. To catch somebody’s eye or catch the eye of somebody means to attract someone’s attention or to be attractive enough to be noticed.

28. To get your eye in means becoming very good at a sport or activity or by practicing it like developing one's organizational skills.

29. To have an eye for/on the main chance means someone is always looking for opportunities to make money or improve their situation.

30. To run one’s eye over something means to look at the entirety of something.

The bones

31. A bone of contention means a subject or cause of a conflict.

32. To be like a dog with a bone means to refuse to stop thinking or talking about a subject.

33. To have a bone to pick with somebody means to have a complaint or disagreement with someone.

34. I (can) feel it in my bones is used to express that you are certain something is true or will happen, although you have no proof at hand.

35. Bone up (on something) means to study something thoroughly or to review the facts about something.

36. To make no bones about (something) means saying clearly what you feel or think about something (even though you may offend or embarrass someone).

37. To wear/work your fingers to the bone means to work very hard.

38. To cut something to the bone means to cut down severely on something (like a monthly budget) or to reduce something to the lowest possible level or amount.

39. To the bone means as completely as possible; severity. You might, for example, be questioning the value of self-help to the bone, if you feel like doing that.

40. If he/she doesn’t have a [jealous, mean, unkind, or any other trait or characteristic] bone in his/her body means that the person does not have the trait or characteristic described.

The foot/feet

41. On the right foot means in favorable or fortunate circumstances. Its direct opposite is on the wrong foot. My job got me on the right foot.

42. To get off on the right foot means to begin doing something in a way that is likely to succeed. Its antonymous phrase is: get off on the wrong foot.

43. To put your foot in it or put your foot in your mouth means to say something by accident that may cause embarrassment or hurt to someone.

44. To put your best foot forward means to do something in the best way possible so you can gain favorable opinions from other people.

45. To have two left feet means to be awkward or clumsy with one’s feet.

46. To foot the bill (for something) means paying for the total amount.

47. To hold somebody’s feet to the fire or put somebody’s feet to the fire means to cause someone to feel pressure or stress.

48. To have cold feet means to have a fear of doing something. This phrase could also mean cowardice at the moment of action.

49. To knock somebody off their feet means to cause someone great pleasure or surprise, as I experienced with some online education courses. Stunning!

50. To think on one’s feet means to think and react quickly, especially in a situation where things are happening very fast.

Do you know what it is with online education? It may very well help you to beat the clock, knock you off your feet because of its efficiency, and put you on the right foot for a rewarding career and future.