If something costs an arm and a leg, it’s expensive.

Example:

It looks like that new car that she bought costs and arm and a leg.

Calling a spade a spade means that you give your direct opinions or thoughts about something. If you don’t like something or you disagree, you say it. If you do like something, you say good or positive things about it. When you call a spade a spade you are not shy about giving your true opinions.

Example:

I do not think that this plan is going to work. I’m going to have to call a spade a spade.

If someone has a lot to say, he or she can make a long story short. This means that the person will shorten (make shorter) what he or she was telling you.

Example:

Mark and Jan are not dating now. To make a long story short, they had a big argument and decided to end their relationship.

This idiom means that you should be optimistic, because things will get better or you. It also means that good things could happen out of bad things.

Example:

I can’t believe that I lost my job!
Maybe, you will get a better job. Every cloud has silver lining.

When someone has the face music, he or she probably did something wrong and has to face the consequences.

Example:

Jan spent too much money when she went shopping. She’ll have to face the music when her husband sees the bill.

Time flies is a very common idiom. It means that time moves quickly. Some people say that time flies when you are having fun.

At the Drop of a Hat means that something has happened suddenly and unexpectedly. You can also do something at the drop of a hat. Maybe you decided to go to the movies at the drop of a hat.

This idiom is just a nice way to ask someone what she is thinking. When you see someone who seems to be very focused on his or her thoughts, you can say, A penny for your thoughts, and the person should tell you his or her thoughts.

A penny is a coin (money) used in the picture. Pennies are worth 1 cent. You can see pennies in the picture above.

We often use the idiom, once in a blue moon to talk about something that doesn’t happen often or happens rarely. This idiom is every common, and it’s good to know what it means. Where does this idiom come from? Well in this case, the idiom sounds like its meaning. Blue moons are rare, so something that happens once in a blue moon happens rarely.