An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase.
Here are the list of idioms starting with H.
Idioms Starting with J
1. Jack Frost
Meaning: If everything has frozen in winter, then Jack Frost has visited.
2. Jack the Lad
Meaning: A confident and not very serious young man who behaves as he wants to without thinking about other people is a Jack the Lad.
3. Jack-of-all-trades
Meaning: A jack-of-all-trades is someone that can do many different jobs.
4. Jam on your face
Meaning: If you say that someone has jam on their face, they appear to be caught, embarrassed or found guilty.
5. Jam tomorrow
Meaning: This idiom is used when people promise good things for the future that will never come.
6. Jane Doe
Meaning: Jane Doe is a name given to an unidentified female who may be party to legal proceedings, or to an unidentified person in hospital, or dead. John Doe is the male equivalent.
7. Jekyll and Hyde
Meaning: Someone who has a Jekyll and Hyde personality has a pleasant and a very unpleasant side to the character.
8. Jersey justice
Meaning: Jersey justice is very severe justice.
9. Jet set
Meaning: Very wealthy people who travel around the world to attend parties or functions are the jet set.
10. Jet-black
Meaning: To emphasize just how black something is, such as someone’s hair, we can call it jet-black.
11. Job’s comforter
Meaning: Someone who says they want to comfort, but actually discomforts people is a Job’s comforter. (Job’s is pronounced ‘jobes’, not ‘jobs’) Jobs for the boys Where people give jobs, contracts, etc, to their friends and associates, these are jobs for the boys.
12. Jockey for position
Meaning: If a number of people want the same opportunity and are struggling to emerge as the most likely candidate, they are jockeying for position.
13. Jog my memory
Meaning: If you jog someone’s memory, you say words that will help someone trying to remember a thought, event, word, phrase, experience, etc.
14. John Doe
Meaning: John Doe is a name given to an unidentified male who may be party to legal proceedings, or to an unidentified person in hospital, or dead. Jane Doe is the female equivalent.
15. John Q Public
Meaning: John Q Public is the typical, average person.
16. Johnny on the spot
Meaning: A person who is always available; ready, willing, and able to do what needs to be done.(‘Johnny-on-the-spot’ is also used.)
17. Johnny-come-lately
Meaning: A Johnny-come-lately is someone who has recently joined something or arrived somewhere, especially when they want to make changes that are not welcome.
18. Joined at the hip
Meaning: If people are joined at the hip, they are very closely connected and think the same way.
19. Judge, jury and executioner
Meaning: If someone is said to be the judge, jury, and executioner, it means they are in charge of every decision made, and they have the power to be rid of whomever they choose.
20. Juggle frogs
Meaning: If you are juggling frogs, you are trying to do something very difficult.
21. Jump down someone’s throat
Meaning: If you jump down someone’s throat, you criticize or chastise them severely.
22. Jump on the bandwagon
Meaning: If people jump on the bandwagon, they get involved in something that has recently become very popular.
23. Jump the gun
Meaning: If you jump the gun, you start doing something before the appropriate time.
24. Jump the shark
Meaning: Said of a salient point in a television show or other activity at which the popularity thereof begins to wane: The Flintstones jumped the shark when a man from outer space came to visit them. The expression derives from an episode of the television sitcom ‘Happy Days’ in which Fonzie, clad in leather jacket and on water skis, jumps over a shark. That episode was widely seen as the beginning of the end for the formerly popular series.
25. Jump through hoops
Meaning: If you are prepared to jump through hoops for someone, you are prepared to make great efforts and sacrifices for them.
26. Jump to a conclusion
Meaning: If someone jumps to a conclusion, they evaluate or judge something without a sufficient examination of the facts.
27. Jumping Judas!
Meaning: An expression of surprise or shock.
28. Jungle out there
Meaning: If someone says that it is a jungle out there, they mean that the situation is dangerous and there are no rules.
29. Jury’s out
Meaning: If the jury’s out on an issue, then there is no general agreement or consensus on it.
30. Just around the corner
Meaning: If something is just around the corner, then it is expected to happen very soon.
31. Just as the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined
Meaning: Things, especially education, that affect and influence us in our childhood shape the kind of adult we turn out to be. (There are various versions of this, like ‘As the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined’ and ‘As the twig is bent, so the tree inclines’, ‘As the twig is bent so is the tree inclined’)
32. Just coming up to
Meaning: If the time is just coming up to nine o’clock, it means that it will be nine o’clock in a very few seconds. You’ll hear them say it on the radio in the morning.
33. Just deserts
Meaning: If a bad or evil person gets their just deserts, they get the punishment or suffer the misfortune that it is felt they deserve.
34. Just for the heck of it
Meaning: When someone does something just for the heck of it, they do it without a good reason.
35. Just for the record
Meaning: If something is said to be just for the record, the person is saying it so that people know but does not necessarily agree with or support it.
36. Just in the nick of time
Meaning: If you do something in the nick of time, you just manage to do it just in time, with seconds to spare.
37. Just off the boat
Meaning: If someone is just off the boat, they are naive and inexperienced.
38. Just what the doctor ordered
Meaning: If something’s just what the doctor ordered, it is precisely what is needed.
Also Read ==>>
- 168+ Idioms Starting with G | List with Meaning
- 148+ Idioms Starting with H | List with Meaning
- 133+ Idioms Starting with I | List with Meaning
