170+ List of Idioms Starting with H | Idioms with Meaning

Idioms Starting with H | An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase. Some phrases which become figurative idioms, however, do retain the phrase’s literal meaning. Categorized as formulaic language, an idiom’s figurative meaning is different from the literal meaning.

Here are the list some of the Idioms starting with H:

Idioms Starting with H

Sr. No.	Idiom	Meaning
1	Hail-fellow-well-met	Someone whose behavior is hearty, friendly and congenial.
2	Hair of the dog	If someone has a hair of the dog, they have an alcoholic drink as a way of getting rid of a hangover, the unpleasant effects of having drunk too much alcohol the night before. It is commonly used as a way of excusing having a drink early on in the day.
3	Hairy at the heel	Someone who is hairy at the heel is dangerous or untrustworthy.
4	Hale and hearty	Someone who is hale and hearty is in very good health.
5	Half a loaf is better than no bread	It means that getting part of what you want is better than getting nothing at all.
6	Half a mind	If you have half a mind to do something, you haven’t decided to do it, but are thinking seriously about doing it.
7	Half-baked	A half-baked idea or scheme hasn’t not been thought through or planned very well.
8	Hammer and tongs	If people are going at it hammer and tongs, they are arguing fiercely. The idiom can also be used hen people are doing something energetically.
9	Hand in glove	If people are hand in glove, they have an extremely close relationship.
10	Hand in hand	Hand in hand= work together closely When people in a group, say in an office or in a project, work together with mutual understanding to achieve the target, we say they work hand in hand. There is no lack of co-operation and each synchronizes the activity with that of the other.
11	Hand that rocks the cradle	Women have a great power and influence because they have the greatest influence over the development of children- the hand that rocks the cradle. (‘The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world’ is the full form.)
12	Hand to mouth	Someone who’s living from hand to mouth, is very poor and needs the little money they have coming in to cover their expenses.
13	Hands down	If someone is better hands down than everyone else, they are much better.
14	Handwriting like chicken scratch	If your handwriting is very hard to read, it is like chicken scratch.
15	Hang by a thread	If something hangs by a thread, there is a very small chance indeed of it being successful or surviving.
16	Hang in the balance	If an outcome is hanging in the balance, there are at least two possibilities and it is impossible to predict which will win out.
17	Hang out to dry	If you hang someone out to dry, you abandon them when they are in trouble.
18	Hangdog expression	A hangdog expression is one where the person’s showing their emotions very clearly, maybe a little too clearly for your liking. It’s that mixture of misery and self-pity that is similar to a dog when it’s trying to get something it wants but daren’t take without permission.
19	Hanged for a sheep as a lamb	This is an expression meaning that if you are going to get into trouble for doing something, then you ought to stop worrying and should try to get everything you can before you get caught.
20	Happy medium	If you reach a happy medium, you are making a compromise; reaching a conclusion or decision.

21	Happy-go-lucky	If someone is happy-go-lucky, they don’t worry or plan and accept things as they happen.
22	Hard as nails	A person who is as hard as nails is either physically tough or has little or no respect for other people’s feelings.
23	Hard by	“Hard by” means mean “close to” or “near”.
24	Hard cheese	Hard cheese means hard luck.
25	Hard of hearing	Someone who’s hard of hearing is a bit deaf.
26	Hard on someone’s heels	If you are hard on someone’s heels, you are close to them and trying to catch or overtake them. (‘Hot on someone’s heels’ is also used.)
27	Hard sell	If someone puts a lot of pressure on you to do or buy something, they are hard selling it.
28	Hard to come by	If something is hard to come by, it is difficult to find.
29	Hard up	If you are hard up, you have very little money.
30	Haste makes waste	This idiom means that if you try to do something quickly, without planning it, you’re likely to end up spending more time, money, etc, doing it.
31	Hat trick	Three successes one after the other is a hat trick.
32	Hatchet job	A piece of criticism that destroys someone’s reputation is a hatchet job.
33	Have a ball	If you have a ball, you have a great time, a lot of fun.
34	Have a bash	If you have a bash at something, you try to do it, especially when there isn’t much chance of success.
35	Have a blast	It means “to have a lot of fun”.
36	Have a crack	If you have a crack at something, you try to do it. If someone is attempting to do something and they are unsuccessful, you might say, “Let me have a crack at it” suggesting that you might be successful at performing the task. (‘Take a crack’ is also used.)
37	Have a go	If you have a go, you try to do something, often when you don’t think you have much chance of succeeding.
38	Have a heart	If someone has a heart, they arekind and sympathetic. If you say, ‘Have a heart’ to someone, you are asking them to be understanding and sympathetic.
39	Have a ripper	If you have a ripper of a time, you enjoy yourself.
40	Have a trick up your sleeve	If you have a trick up your sleeve, you have a secret strategy to use when the time is right.

41	Have no truck with	If you have no truck with something or someone, you refuse to get involved with it or them.
42	Have the floor	If someone has the floor, it is their turn to speak at a meeting.
43	Have the guts	Someone who has enough courage to do something has the guts to do it.
44	Have your cake and eat it too	If someone wants to have their cake and eat it too, they want everything their way, especially when their wishes are contradictory.
45	Have your collar felt	If someone has their collar felt, they are arrested.
46	Have your fill	If you have had your fill, you are fed up of somebody or something.
47	Have your lunch handed to you	If you have you lunch handed to you, you are outperformed and shown up by someone better.
48	Have your moments	Someone who has his or her moments exhibits a positive behavior pattern on an occasional basis but not generally.
49	Have your tail up	If someone has their tail up, they are optimistic and expect to be successful.
50	Have your work cut out	If you have your work cut out, you are very busy indeed.
51	Having a gas	If you’re having a gas, you are having a laugh and enjoying yourself in company.
52	Hay is for horses	This idiom is used as a way of telling children not to say the word ‘hey’ as in hey you or hey there.
53	He that travels far knows much	People who travel widely have a wide knowledge.
54	He who hesitates is lost	If one waits too long, the opportunity vanishes.
55	Head for the hills	If people head for the hills, they run away from trouble.
56	Head is in the clouds	If a person has their head in the clouds, they have unrealistic, impractical ideas.
57	Head is mince	When someone’s thoughts are in a state of abject confusion, especially when facing a severe dilemma, their head is mince.
58	Head nor tail	If you can’t make head nor tail of something, you cannot understand it at all or make any sense of it.
59	Head on a spike	If someone wants a head on a spike, they want to be able to destroy or really punish a person.
60	Head on the block	If someone’s head is on the block, they are going to be held responsible and suffer the consequences for something that has gone wrong.

61	Head over heels in love	When someone falls passionately in love and is intoxicated by the feeling has fallen head over heels in love.
62	Head south	If something head south, it begins to fail or start going bad.’The project proceeded well for the first two months, but then it headed south.’
63	Heads will roll	If heads will roll, people will be punished or sacked for something that has gone wrong.
64	Headstrong	A headstrong person is obstinate and does not take other people’s advice readily.
65	Healthy as a horse	If you’re as healthy as a horse, you’re very healthy.
66	Heap coals on someone’s head	To do something nice or kind to someone who has been nasty to you. If someone felt bad because they forgot to get you a Christmas gift, for you to buy them a specially nice gift is heaping coals on their head. (‘Heap coals of fire’ is also used.)
67	Hear a pin drop	If there is complete silence in a room, you can hear a pin drop.
68	Hear on the grapevine	To receive information indirectly through a series of third parties, similar to a rumour.
69	Heart in the right place	If someone’s heart is in the right place, they are good and kind, though they might not always appear to be so.
70	Heart in your boots	If you’re heart is in your boots, you are very unhappy.
71	Heart in your mouth	If your heart is in your mouth, then you feel nervous or scared.
72	Heart isn’t in it	If your heart is not in something, then you don’t really believe in it or support it.
73	Heart misses a beat	If your heart misses a beat, you are suddenly shocked or surprised. (‘Heart skips a beat’ is an alternative)
74	Heart of glass	When someone has a heart of glass, they are easily affected emotionally.
75	Heart of gold	Someone with a heart of gold is a genuinely kind and caring person.
76	Heart of steel	When someone has a heart of steel, they do not show emotion or are not affected emotionally.
77	Heart-to-heart	A heart-to-heart is a frank and honest conversation with someone, where you talk honestly and plainly about issues, no matter how painful.
78	Heaven knows	If you ask someone a question and they say this, they have no idea.
79	Heavenly bodies	The heavenly bodies are the stars.
80	Heavy-handed	If someone is heavy-handed, they are insensitive and use excessive force or authority when dealing with a problem.

81	Hedge your bets	If you hedge your bets, you don’t risk everything on one opportunity, but try more than one thing.
82	Hell for leather	If you do something hell for leather, especially running, you do it as fast as you can.
83	Hell in a handcart	If something is going to hell in a handcart, it is getting worse and worse, with no hope of stopping the decline.
84	Herding cats	If you have to try to co-ordinate a very difficult situation, where people want to do very different things, you are herding cats.
85	Here today, gone tomorrow	Money, happiness and other desirable things are often here today, gone tomorrow, which means that they don’t last for very long.
86	Hide nor hair	When there’s no trace of something or a person, you haven’t seen hide nor hair of it or them.(‘Neither hide nor hair’ is also used.)
87	Hiding to nothing	If people are on a hiding to nothing, their schemes and plans have no chance of succeeding. ‘Hiding to nowhere’ is an alternative.
88	High and dry	If you are left high and dry, you are left alone and given no help at all when you need it.
89	High and low	If you search high and low, you look everywhere for something or someone.
90	High and mighty	The high and mighty are the people with authority and power. If a person is high and mighty, they behave in a superior and condescending way.
91	High as a kite	If someone’s as high as a kite, it means they have had too much to drink or are under the influence of drugs.
92	High on the hog	To live in great comfort with lots of money.
93	High-handed	If someone is high-handed, they behave arrogantly and pompously.
94	High-wire act	A high-wire act is a dangerous or risky strategy, plan, task, etc.
95	Highway robbery	Something that is ridiculously expensive, especially when you have no choice but to pay, is a highway robbery.
96	Himalayan blunder	A Himalayan blunder is a very serious mistake or error.
97	Hindsight is twenty-twenty	After something has gone wrong, it is easy to look back and make criticisms.
98	Hit a nerve	If something hits a nerve, it upsets someone or causes them pain, often when it is something they are trying to hide.
99	Hit and miss	Something that is hit and miss is unpredictable and may produce results or may fail.
100	Hit me with your best shot	If someone tells you to hit them with your best shot, they are telling you that no matter what you do it won’t hurt them or make a difference to them.

Read More – Past Indefinite Tense Examples in Hindi

101	Hit rock bottom	When someone hits rock bottom, they reach a point in life where things could not get any worse.
102	Hit rough weather	If you hit rough weather, you experience difficulties or problems.
103	Hit the airwaves	If someone hits the airwaves, they go on radio and TV to promote something or to tell their side of a story.
104	Hit the books	If you hit the books, you study or read hard.
105	Hit the bull’s-eye	If someone hits the bull’s-eye, they are exactly right about something or achieve the best result possible. “Bulls-eye” and “bullseye” are alternative spellings.
106	Hit the ceiling	If someone hits the ceiling, they lose their temper and become very angry.
107	Hit the fan	When it hits the fan, or, more rudely, the shit hits the fan, serious trouble starts.
108	Hit the ground running	If someone hits the ground running, they start a new job or position in a very dynamic manner.
109	Hit the hay	When you hit the hay, you go to bed.
110	Hit the mark	If someone hits the mark, they are right about something.
111	Hit the nail on the head	If someone hits the nail on the head, they are exactly right about something.
112	Hit the road	When people hit the road, they leave a place to go somewhere else.
113	Hit the roof	If you lose your temper and get very angry, you hit the roof.
114	Hit the sack	When you hit the sack, you go to bed.
115	Hive of worker bees	A hive of worker bees is a group of people working actively and cooperatively. Example: The classroom was a hive of worker bees.
116	Hobson’s choice	A Hobson’s choice is something that appears to be a free choice, but is really no choice as there is no genuine alternative.
117	Hoist with your own petard	If you are hoist with your own petard, you get into trouble or caught in a trap that you had set for someone else.
118	Hold all the aces	If you hold all the aces, you have all the advantages and your opponents or rivals are in a weak position.
119	Hold the baby	If someone is responsible for something, they are holding the baby.
120	Hold the bag	If someone is responsible for something, they are holding the bag.

121	Hold the fort	If you hold the fort, you look after something or assume someone’s responsibilities while they are away.
122	Hold the torch	If you hold the torch for someone, you have an unrequited or unspoken love.
123	Hold water	When you say that something does or does not ‘hold water’, it means that the point of view or argument put forward is or is not sound, strong or logical. For e.g., ‘Saying we should increase our interest rates because everyone else is doing so will not hold water’.
124	Hold your horses	If someone tells you to hold your horses, you are doing something too fast and they would like you to slow down.
125	Hold your own	If you can hold your own, you can compete or perform equally with other people.
126	Hold your tongue	If you hold your tongue, you keep silent even though you want to speak.
127	Holier-than-thou	Someone who is holier-than-thou believes that they are morally superior to other people.
128	Hollow leg	Someone who has a hollow leg eats what seems to be more than his stomach can hold.
129	Hollow victory	A hollow victory is where someone wins something in name, but are seen not to have gained anything by winning.
130	Holy smoke!	This is a way of expressing surprise: “Holy smoke! Look at all of those geese!”
131	Home and hearth	‘Home and hearth’ is an idiom evoking warmth and security.
132	Home is where you lay your hat	Wherever you are comfortable and at ease with yourself is your home, regardless where you were born or brought up.(‘Home is where you lay your head’ and ‘Home is where you hang your hat’ are also used.)
133	Home stretch	The home stretch is the last part of something, like a journey, race or project.
134	Home sweet home	This is said when one is pleased to be back at one’s own home.
135	Home, James	This is a cliched way of telling the driver of a vehicle to start driving. It is supposed to be an order to a chauffeur (a privately employed driver). The full phrase is ‘Home, James, and don’t spare the horses’.
136	Honest truth	If someone claims that something is the honest truth, they wish to sound extra sincere about something.
137	Honor among thieves	If someone says there is honor among thieves, this means that even corrupt or bad people sometimes have a sense of honor or integrity, or justice, even if it is skewed. (‘Honour among thieves’ is the British English version.)
138	Honors are even	If honors are even, then a competition has ended with neither side emerging as a winner.
139	Hook, line, and sinker	If somebody accepts or believes something hook, line, and sinker, they accept it completely.
140	Hop, skip, and a jump	If a place is a hop, skip, and a jump from somewhere, it’s only a short distance away.

141	Hope against hope	If you hope against hope, you hope for something even though there is little or no chance of your wish being fulfilled.
142	Hope in hell	If something hasn’t got a hope in hell, it stands absolutely no chance of succeeding.
143	Hornets’ nest	A hornets’ nest is a violent situation or one with a lot of dispute. (If you create the problem, you ‘stir up a hornets’ nest’.)
144	Horns of a dilemma	If you are on the horns of a dilemma, you are faced with two equally unpleasant options and have to choose one.
145	Horse of a different color	If something is a horse of a different color, it’s a different matter or separate issue altogether.
146	Horse trading	Horse trading is an idiom used to describe negotiations, especially where these are difficult and involve a lot of compromise.
147	Horses for courses	Horses for courses means that what is suitable for one person or situation might be unsuitable for another.
148	Hostile takeover	If a company is bought out when it does not want to be, it is known as a hostile takeover.
149	Hot air	Language that is full of words but means little or nothing is hot air.
150	Hot as blue blazes	If something’s as hot as blue blazes, it’s extremely hot.
151	Hot as Hades	If something’s as hot as Hades, it’s extremely hot.
152	Hot button	A hot button is a topic or issue that people feel very strongly about.
153	Hot foot	If you hot foot it out of a place, you leave very quickly, often running.
154	Hot ticket	A hot ticket is something that is very much in demand at the moment.
155	Hot to trot	If someone is hot to trot, they are sexually aroused or eager to do something.
156	Hot under the collar	If you’re hot under the collar, you’re feeling angry or bothered.
157	Hot water	If you get into hot water, you get into trouble.
158	Hot-blooded	Someone who is hot-blooded is easily excitable or passionate.
159	Hot-headed	A hot-headed person gets angry very easily. (The noun ‘hothead’ can also be used.)
160	Hour of need	A time when someone really needs something, almost a last chance, is their hour of need.

161	House of cards	Something that is poorly thought out and can easily collapse or fail is a house of cards.
162	How come	If you want to show disbelief or surprise about an action, you can ask a question using ‘how come’. How come he got the job? (You can’t believe that they gave the job to somebody like him)
163	How do you like them apples	This idiomatic expression is used to express surprise or shock at something that has happened. It can also be used to boast about something you have done.
164	How long is a piece of string	If someone has no idea of the answer to a question, they can ask ‘How long is a piece of string?’ as a way of indicating their ignorance.
165	How’s tricks?	This is used as a way of asking people how they are and how things have been going in their life.
166	Hue and cry	Hue and cry is an expression that used to mean all the people who joined in chasing a criminal or villain. Nowadays, if you do something without hue and cry, you do it discreetly and without drawing attention.
167	Hung the moon	If you refer to someone as having hung the moon, you think they are extremely wonderful, or amazing, or good.
168	Hungry as a bear	If you are hungry as a bear, it means that you are really hungry.
169	Hunky Dory	If something is hunky dory, it is perfectly satisfactory, fine.