1. Back to the wall
   At wit's end
2. On the stump
   In the same boat

A person who has already exhausted all remaining amount of patience or level of thinking can be at wits' end if they've hit a wall. This means being in a confused or confounded state that you don't really know the next step to take, hence the "end" of your mental and emotional efforts.

1. Sail close to the wind
   Leave in the lurch
2. Live out of a suitcase
   Hold your horses

Aside from "hold your horses" which means to be patient and wait, there are many more idioms in the English language featuring horses. Examples are: straight from the horse's mouth, be on one's high horse, lead a horse to water, look a gift horse in the mouth, and beat a dead horse, to name a few.

1. Cloud on the horizon
   Bag of tricks
2. A cross to bear
   Itchy feet

Like a magician who can pull out anything amusing from their bag of tricks, you're also the same when you don't run out of ideas or innovations. On the one hand, you make work easier for your team since you're oozing with solutions. On the other hand, some might see you as brown-nosing the boss.

1. Cash cow
   An elephant in the room
2. A one-trick pony
   A loan shark

In this multimedia-driven multitasking world, a person who's a one-trick pony won't survive for long. Not only does a person need to develop several hard skills, but having soft skills is also huge in today's business climate.

1. Keeping your head above water
   Cutting corners
2. Dodging a bullet
   Crossing the bridge when you get there

Certain people get attracted to "get rich quick" schemes since it's a way of earning money by cutting corners. Instead of putting in the hard work, they opt to take their chances on the easy and quick route to fame and fortune. Unfortunately, they are the kind of people who get swindled easily, too.

1. Blue-eyed boy
   Smart cookie
2. Greenhorn
   Security blanket

Thank toddlers for giving us the concept of the "security blanket" or that piece of cloth they cling to for comfort. In adulthood, this security blanket morphs into things that give them reassurance and stability. It can be money or financial things, material things or property, or relationships.

1. In the nick of time
   On the cusp
2. Once in a blue moon
   Never in a million years

"Nick of Time" is also the title of a Johnny Depp '90s movie with a ticking bomb plot pattern. This means his character needs to do something drastic to save the life of his kidnapped daughter. If he doesn't execute plans in the nick of time, it's a life or death situation for the both of them.

1. Top dog
   Head honcho
2. Mover and shaker
   Any of the above

The top dog or head honcho in a company is usually a titan of their particular industry, too. If they're influential and visionaries to boot, then they're also part of the movers and shakers of society, not just their industry.

1. Getting my comeuppance
   Taking the rap
2. Burning bridges
   Facing the music

Certain professional life coaches advise us to not burn bridges when we're transferring from one job to another. This advice is helpful, especially if you're moving within a small industry where people might know each other. That's why one should never bad-mouth former coworkers to new ones.

1. Hit the roof
   Jump the lights
2. Fall off the back of a lorry
   Laugh all the way to the bank

Sudden bouts of anger cause a person to hit the roof. The intensity and the suddenness of this emotional surge makes this figurative "roof-hitting" possible. This is an example of hyperbole or exaggerated statements made for added emphasis; don't take it literally!

1. Making ends meet
   Looking like a million dollars
2. Left high and dry
   Having a foot in the door

Success doesn't happen overnight for most people, so it's important to seize opportunities as they come. Grabbing these brass rings leads to getting one foot in the door. This means you're slowly inching your way inside the industry or company you're aiming to enter.

1. Speed networking
   Making a beeline for it
2. Megaphone diplomacy
   Hitting the airwaves

Make a beeline for something when you're in a rush! This common phrase takes a page out of the worker bee manual, since these creatures are fast-moving workers in the animal kingdom. But humans have their own respective reasons for rushing, though; it's not necessarily work-related!

1. Putting the pedal to the metal
   Looking out for number one
2. The jury is still out.
   Asleep at the wheel

In a country using a jury in their judicial system, this collective body makes the decision that leads to sentencing or acquittal. So if "the jury is still out," no decision will literally happen in court. Countries that don't have a jury system might not get this idiomatic phrase, though.

1. On the blink
   Like a fish out of water
2. As clean as a whistle
   As cool as a cucumber

If you feel like you stick out like a sore thumb in a given place, situation or scenario, then you can feel like a fish out of water. It means you're not in your element and you feel so alienated being there. We've all felt wet behind our ears during our greenhorn days, for sure.

1. A can of worms
   A done deal
2. A hatchet job
   Ill-gotten gains

People who execute the published kind of hatchet job obviously hasn't heard of libel. It's a crime that a maligned person can file against an attacker who wrote and/or published the demeaning piece. People can sue any malicious hatchet job publication using this defense.

1. As full as a tick
   As hard as nails
2. Run-of-the-mill
   Ripple effect

The agricultural origin of "run-of-the-mill" has something to do with how grains are ground. The resulting quality will get scrutinized immediately by the mill worker to determine if they got good grain results or not. If they get ordinary or average yields, they say that's just "run-of-the-mill."

1. Butterflies in your stomach
   A dark horse
2. Pins and needles
   All of the above

Nervousness can clearly manifest physically in a person in various forms. Some break out a sweat and get cold, clammy hands, while some feel something at the pit of their stomachs. That's why we also call it having "butterflies in your stomach" when feeling anxious.

1. On the home stretch
   On the warpath
2. My way or the highway
   Any port in the storm

This term comes from Native American lore, and historically had an actual connection to physical paths. Today, to be "on the warpath" means you're on your way to battle with somebody. It could also mean you're furious about something that it can push you to war mode.

1. Being a social butterfly
   Passing the buck
2. Hanging you out to dry
   Gets your goat

When something or someone gets you angry or irritated for a reason (or even for no apparent reason), then it's obviously getting your goat. In millennial speak, you're "getting triggered" if they're getting your goat.

1. In dire straits
   As fresh as a daisy
2. New kid on the block
   As good as gold

Aside from being the name of a popular '90s boy band, "new kid on the block" refers to any new person who finds themselves in a company, group, place or community whose members are tightly knit already. To gain acceptance and respect, newbies need to prove themselves worthy first.

1. A bad hair day
   Even the score
2. A slap on the wrist
   Cut both ways

Murphy's Law states that "anything that can go wrong will go wrong," so the disastrous consequence of that is to have a "bad hair day." The two concepts share the same idea of having things out of control, messing up stuff that can get chaotic in our lives.

1. In dribs and drabs
   On all fours
2. Lion's share
   In one fell swoop

In the division of things such as duties or goods, one gets the "lion's share" if they receive the biggest chunk of it. Its animal kingdom reference points to the king of the jungle getting its rightful portion. But in human terms, getting the lion's share doesn't necessarily mean you're the boss.

1. Spread like wildfire
   A shotgun approach
2. About face
   One over the eight

A wildfire can consume prairie lands, grasslands or forests very fast and can burn down everything on its path. So for something to "spread like wildfire" means it catches on so fast that it becomes uncontrollable already. But the parallelism only refers to the spreading, not the burning down part.

1. You speak of the devil.
   Mending fences
2. Be as blind as a bat
   Get taken for a ride

It's a painful and traumatic experience if you get taken for a ride, especially if the one who "drove" was a close friend or relative. It means getting fooled or swindled by gaining your trust first. The ride part is the betrayal that they'll do next to con you out of something valuable.

1. Gets my fingers burned
   Hear it through the grapevine
2. Money talks
   Draws a blank

"To draw a blank" is an amusing idiomatic phrase that's also philosophical as well as existential. Drawing a blank means producing nothing in particular, so there's no result or evidence. If you ask someone and they draw a blank, that means they didn't give you anything substantial.

1. Smart aleck
   Armchair critic
2. Back seat driver
   Any of the above

Back seat drivers are passengers who dictate directions and driving tips to the driver, appearing like a know-it-all. Meanwhile, an armchair critic is someone who's good at theoretically analyzing and critiquing a situation they don't have practical knowledge of. Both can be a smart aleck, too.

1. In the interim
   At the eleventh hour
2. Fifteen minutes of fame
   For donkey's years

"Fifteen minutes of fame" is a phrase commonly attributed to artist Andy Warhol, who mentioned it in his exhibit catalog. He theorized that people will pursue fame and will become famous for a grand total of 15 minutes on average. Media scholars say social media enables this theory right now.

1. Middle of the road
   In the same boat
2. Highways and byways
   Hell or high water

"Come hell or high water" is a common phrase to use when you want to encourage yourself to push things further. Nothing will drown you to surrender and no devil can prohibit you from achieving your goal.

1. Grasp at straws
   Shape up or ship out
2. Juggle frogs
   Get the show on the road

"Shape up or ship out" originated as a military threat during times of war. It's a North American idiom that warned soldiers to get their act together and behave properly as military men. If they don't, then they'll get sent out to battle at the war zones.

1. Feather their nest
   Hit pay dirt
2. Paddle their own canoe
   Go back to square one

To "paddle your own canoe" means you're making moves to be independent, self-reliant and self-sufficient. You're also taking charge of your destiny and where you want to go in life since only you can paddle that canoe and no one else.

1. As mad as a hatter
   As clear as mud
2. As different as night and day
   As tough as old boots

When two things are "as different as night and day," then there's an obvious differentiation between two parties or entities. Often, this differentiation points to being opposites, too, just like how nighttime and daytime are opposite times of a given day.

1. Be out of touch
   Talk for England
2. Fiddle while Rome burns
   Argue the toss

"To be out of touch" can have different meanings depending on how the phrase gets used. Its primary meaning refers to lack of communication with someone, whether for a long time or even briefly. It can also mean not updating yourself with the latest knowledge in specific sectors or domains.

1. Angel investor
   Lame duck
2. Cog in the machine
   Wolf in sheep's clothing

Two common phrases refer to feeling mechanical in a workplace: "cog in the machine" and "cog in a wheel." Both idioms refer to a worker who has a small role in the company's upkeep so they don't have a big influence or authority to make big decisions.

1. The road less traveled
   On the cusp
2. Just around the corner
   Going downhill

Each time we use "the road less traveled" in a sentence, Robert Frost might inadvertently turn in his grave! That's because the line is a misquote from his poem entitled "The Road Not Taken" which says "I took the one less traveled by / And that has made all the difference."

1. Go Dutch
   Make a killing
2. No such thing as a free lunch
   Money doesn't grow on trees

There was such a thing as a free lunch in the U.S. during the 19th century but only in concept. Saloon owners advertised that people can get free food for lunch if they buy drinks. So "there's no such thing as a free lunch" indeed when hidden costs in drinks actually pay for the freebie.