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Download the Clothing Idioms List & PDF Worksheets
View the updated web-version of the clothing idioms list in the table below.
The idiom worksheets and games are also free to download.
- Download and print the PDFs.
- Use the materials for interactive learning activities in class.
- Students can also complete the worksheets to review or for self-study.
Clothing Idiom Worksheets for ESL Students
Worksheet A: Defining Idioms & Writing Sentences with Idioms
Worksheet B: Reading Idioms in Context & Describing Meanings
Fun Clothing Idiom Games for the Classroom
Clothing Idioms Checklist (for BINGO)
31 Idioms and Phrases About Clothing
*Updated: December 2021
| Idiom / Phrase | Meaning | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| ants in your pants | anxious or nervous | Frank had ants in his pants before taking his exam. |
| at the drop of a hat | instantly | At the drop of a hat, I called my sister when I heard she was pregnant! |
| birthday suit | naked | You should try sleeping with your birthday suit on. It's much more comfortable. |
| black tie event | formal event | Most big award's ceremonies are black tie events. |
| blue-collar | manual labor | He got a blue-collar job working as a mechanic. |
| buckle down | work hard | Let's buckle down and finish the assignment. |
| burn a hole in my pocket | spend too much money | I burned a hole in my pocket overpaying on insurance. |
| by the seat of your pants | achieve instinctively or quickly | That was impressive. You did your graduation speech by the seat of your pants without any preparation. |
| caught with your pants down | unprepared | Don't get caught with your pants down at a red light. Be ready to drive when it turns green. |
| dress to kill | dress in glamorous clothes | She is always dressed to kill when she goes to the bar. |
| fit like a glove | fit perfectly | Those jeans fit her like a glove. |
| get the boot | get fired | Bob got the boot last week. He needs to find a new job. |
| handle with kid gloves | handle delicately | Please handle those wine glasses with kid gloves. |
| hat trick | three goals by one player | Ronaldo scored several hat tricks last season. |
| have a card up your sleeve | have a secret plan | You had a card up your sleeve and you won the match by distracting the goalkeeper. |
| keep something zipped up | keep something a secret | He tried to keep the affair zipped up, but his friend told his wife what happened. |
| keep your shirt on | stay calm | Keep your shirt on and try to relax. The plane will land soon. |
| off the cuff | improvised | The groom made did wedding speech off the cuff. |
| pull up your socks | try hard | Good job. You pulled your socks up, studied all day, and aced the test. |
| put a sock in it | stop talking | Put a sock in it and listen to the teacher! |
| put your thinking cap on | concentrate | You put your thinking cap on and created a brilliant ad for the new product. |
| put yourself in my shoes | sympathize | Put yourself in the my shoes, then you will understand why I did it. |
| rags to riches | going from being poor to wealthy | Jake went from rags to riches after he won the lottery. |
| ride my coattails | do nothing and let others do all the work | She has been riding my coattails all year and I don't get any credit for my effort. |
| roll up your sleeves | work hard | You rolled up your sleeves and got the job done. |
| take my hat off to someone | honor someone | I take my hat off to Frank. He was the best singer of the century. |
| wear the pants | be in charge | She wears the pants in the family. Her husband stays home and sleeps all day. |
| wear your heart on your sleeve | show emotions openly | You always wear heart on your sleeve and give annual donations to charity. |
| white collar | office labor | Most white-collar workers don't get much sunshine. |
| the cat's pyjamas | the best person or thing | She's the cat's pyjamas. Everyone loves to watch her perform on the stage. |
| a cat in gloves catches no mice | being too careful can result in failure | You need to tell her how you really feel if you want to marry her. Remember that a cat in gloves catches no mice. |
Extra Examples of Clothing Idioms in Use
Do you want to read more examples and sentences with clothing idioms?
Try entering the expressions in a corpus database or language app.
We highly recommend the following corpus resources and tools: