Idioms for school and work: meanings and examples

Short answer: Idioms for school and work describe studying, doing a job and making an effort. “Hit the books” means to study hard, “call it a day” means to stop working for now, and “go back to the drawing board” means to start again because a plan did not work.

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What do these expressions mean?

Expression	Meaning	Example
Hit the books	To study hard	I need to hit the books tonight for the science test.
Burn the midnight oil	To work or study late at night	We burned the midnight oil to get the report ready.
Pass with flying colors	To do very well in a test or exam	He passed the driving test with flying colors.
Learn the ropes	To learn how to do a new job or activity	It takes a few weeks to learn the ropes in a new job.
Call it a day	To stop working for now	We have done enough work. Let's call it a day.
Cut corners	To do something cheaply or too quickly, often badly	Don't cut corners when you check your work.
Go back to the drawing board	To start again because the plan did not work	The first design did not work, so we went back to the drawing board.
Get the ball rolling	To start something	Let's get the ball rolling with a short meeting.
Go the extra mile	To do more than people expect	Our teacher always goes the extra mile to help us.
Bite off more than you can chew	To try to do more than you can do	I took three extra classes and bit off more than I could chew.
Bend over backwards	To try very hard to help someone	They bent over backwards to find me a seat.
Think outside the box	To think in a new and different way	We need to think outside the box to solve this.
Get the hang of it	To learn how to do something well enough	Typing felt slow at first, but now I am getting the hang of it.
Kill two birds with one stone	To achieve two things with one action	I walked to the store and mailed the letter on the way, so I killed two birds with one stone.

When do you use idioms for school and work?

To talk about study: “hit the books”, “burn the midnight oil”, “pass with flying colors”.
To talk about a new job: “learn the ropes”, “get the hang of it”.
To talk about effort: “go the extra mile”, “bend over backwards”.
To talk about plans: “get the ball rolling”, “go back to the drawing board”, “think outside the box”.

Are they formal or informal?

Many are common in office talk and class talk. In a formal report or an essay, plain words are clearer: “start”, “study”, “try again”. “Kill two birds with one stone” uses a violent picture, but the meaning is only about doing two things with one action.

Common mistakes with idioms for school and work

“Cut corners” means to do something too quickly or cheaply, often badly. It is not a compliment.
“Bite off more than you can chew” means to try to do more than you can. It is a warning, not advice to eat less.
“Call it a day” means to stop for now, not to end the job for ever.
Keep the exact words: “burn the midnight oil”, not “burn the night oil”.

Similar expressions

To start something, use “get the ball rolling”. To start again after a failed plan, use “go back to the drawing board”. To do more than expected, use “go the extra mile”.

More idioms

Questions

What does “hit the books” mean?

It means to study hard. You can say, “I need to hit the books tonight.”

What does “call it a day” mean?

It means to stop working for now, often because you have done enough.

What does “learn the ropes” mean?

It means to learn how to do a new job or activity.

What does “go back to the drawing board” mean?

It means to start again because the plan did not work.

What does “cut corners” mean?

It means to do something cheaply or too quickly, often badly. For example, “Don't cut corners when you check your work.”

Part of the English idioms guide in the 💬 Idioms tool.

Written for English learners by the English for Fun team. How we write our lessons · Last updated 2026-11-05.