Home and housing idioms

Here are 50 home and housing idioms, each with its meaning and an example sentence:

1. **Home is where the heart is**
– *Meaning*: Home is not just a physical place but where you feel emotionally connected and comfortable.
– *Example*: “Even though I travel a lot, I always feel happiest at home. Home is where the heart is.”

2. **Make yourself at home**
– *Meaning*: Feel comfortable and behave as if you are in your own home.
– *Example*: “When you come over, make yourself at home. Feel free to relax and grab anything you need.”

3. **Home away from home**
– *Meaning*: A place where you feel as comfortable and at ease as you do in your own home.
– *Example*: “During my stay at the beach house, it truly felt like a home away from home.”

4. **Bring home the bacon**
– *Meaning*: To earn money to support oneself and one’s family.
– *Example*: “He works hard every day to bring home the bacon and provide for his family.”

5. **Bless this house**
– *Meaning*: A traditional expression asking for divine protection and blessings for a home.
– *Example*: “As they moved into their new house, they said a prayer together, asking for God to bless this house.”

6. **Eat someone out of house and home**
– *Meaning*: To consume large amounts of food, causing the household to spend more money than usual on groceries.
– *Example*: “With three growing teenagers, it feels like they eat us out of house and home!”

7. **A house divided against itself cannot stand**
– *Meaning*: A family or group that is divided by internal conflict is vulnerable to external threats.
– *Example*: “Our team needs to resolve its internal conflicts because, as they say, a house divided against itself cannot stand.”

8. **Home sweet home**
– *Meaning*: An expression of happiness and contentment upon returning to one’s own home.
– *Example*: “After a long trip, stepping back into my cozy apartment was such a relief. Home sweet home!”

9. **Homebody**
– *Meaning*: A person who prefers to stay at home rather than go out frequently.
– *Example*: “My sister has always been a homebody. She’d rather spend the weekend indoors than go out partying.”

10. **Home is where you hang your hat**
– *Meaning*: Home is wherever you are comfortable and have your belongings.
– *Example*: “As a traveling salesperson, he often stays in hotels, but he says ‘home is where you hang your hat.'”

11. **Leave no stone unturned**
– *Meaning*: To search thoroughly and exhaustively.
– *Example*: “When looking for the perfect house, they left no stone unturned, visiting countless properties.”

12. **Safe as houses**
– *Meaning*: Extremely safe and secure.
– *Example*: “With the new security system installed, our home feels as safe as houses.”

13. **Down to earth**
– *Meaning*: Unpretentious and practical; realistic.
– *Example*: “Their home décor is very down to earth, with simple, comfortable furniture and no flashy accessories.”

14. **Make a house a home**
– *Meaning*: To personalize a living space and make it comfortable and welcoming.
– *Example*: “With their personal touches and warm decorations, they managed to make the new house feel like a home.”

15. **Roll out the red carpet**
– *Meaning*: To give someone a very warm or lavish welcome.
– *Example*: “When our guests arrived, we rolled out the red carpet, preparing a delicious meal and offering them our best hospitality.”

16. **Home is where you make it**
– *Meaning*: The idea that home can be created anywhere as long as you feel comfortable and happy.
– *Example*: “Even though we moved to a new city, we quickly settled in and made friends. Home is where you make it.”

17. **Built like a brick house**
– *Meaning*: Physically strong and sturdy.
– *Example*: “Despite his age, he’s still built like a brick house, able to lift heavy objects with ease.”

18. **Empty nest**
– *Meaning*: A home from which the children have grown up and moved out.
– *Example*: “With their youngest child off to college, they’re experiencing the empty nest syndrome.”

19. **Throwing money down the drain**
– *Meaning*: Wasting money on something that provides no benefit.
– *Example*: “Renting an apartment in the city was like throwing money down the drain, so they decided to buy a house instead.”

20. **Settle in**
– *Meaning*: To become accustomed to a new environment.
– *Example*: “It took a few weeks, but they finally settled into their new house and started feeling at home.”

21. **In the same boat**
– *Meaning*: In the same difficult or challenging situation as someone else.
– *Example*: “With the housing market crashing, many homeowners found themselves in the same boat, struggling to sell their properties.”

22. **Nest egg**
– *Meaning*: Savings or investment set aside for the future, especially for retirement.
– *Example*: “They’ve been diligently saving for years, building up a substantial nest egg for their retirement.”

23. **Out in the cold**
– *Meaning*: Excluded or neglected, especially in terms of being left out of a decision or opportunity.
– *Example*: “After the company restructure, many employees found themselves out in the cold, uncertain about their future roles.”

24. **Close-knit community**
– *Meaning*: A community in which the members are tightly bonded and supportive of one another.
– *Example*: “They moved to a small town known for its close-knit community, where neighbors help each other out in times of need.”

25. **Back to square one**
– *Meaning*: To return to the starting point or initial stage of a process after experiencing a setback.
– *Example*: “After the business failed, they had to go back to square one and start over from scratch.”

26. **Household name**
– *Meaning*: A well-known or famous person, brand, or entity.
– *Example*: “The company’s CEO became a household name after appearing on several television shows.”

27. **Put down roots**
– *Meaning*: To establish permanent or long-term connections to a particular place.
– *Example*: “After years of moving around, they decided it was time to put down roots and buy a house in their favorite city.”

28. **Under one roof**
– *Meaning*: Living together in the same household.
– *Example*: “After getting married, they decided to live under one roof with their respective families.”

29. **Bite off more than you can chew**
– *Meaning*: To take on a task or responsibility that is too big or difficult to handle.
– *Example*:

“By trying to manage two jobs and go to school full-time, she realized she had bitten off more than she could chew.”

30. **On the house**
– *Meaning*: Provided free of charge, usually as a gesture of goodwill.
– *Example*: “As a thank you for being loyal customers, the restaurant manager offered us dessert on the house.”

31. **Hit the roof**
– *Meaning*: To become very angry or upset.
– *Example*: “When she found out her son had failed his exams again, she hit the roof.”

32. **Paint the town red**
– *Meaning*: To go out and enjoy oneself, often in a lively or extravagant manner.
– *Example*: “After weeks of hard work, they decided to paint the town red and celebrate their success.”

33. **Feather your nest**
– *Meaning*: To accumulate wealth or resources for one’s own benefit or comfort, especially for retirement.
– *Example*: “With retirement approaching, they’ve been feathering their nest by investing in property and stocks.”

34. **Drive someone up the wall**
– *Meaning*: To annoy or irritate someone greatly.
– *Example*: “His constant whistling drives me up the wall!”

35. **Upstairs, downstairs**
– *Meaning*: Referring to the divisions of a household, typically between the wealthier residents (upstairs) and the servants (downstairs).
– *Example*: “In Downton Abbey, the upstairs, downstairs dynamics provide a glimpse into early 20th-century British society.”

36. **Make ends meet**
– *Meaning*: To earn enough money to cover expenses.
– *Example*: “With the rising cost of living, many families struggle to make ends meet on a single income.”

37. **Keep house**
– *Meaning*: To manage the household, including cleaning, cooking, and organizing.
– *Example*: “While her husband worked long hours, she kept house and took care of their children.”

38. **Home truths**
– *Meaning*: Unpleasant or harsh facts or realities, especially about oneself or one’s behavior.
– *Example*: “Sometimes, it takes a friend to tell you some home truths about your habits.”

39. **Backseat driver**
– *Meaning*: Someone who offers unwanted advice or criticism, especially while another person is driving.
– *Example*: “He’s such a backseat driver, always telling me which route to take when I’m driving.”

40. **In the doghouse**
– *Meaning*: In trouble or disfavor with someone, often due to a mistake or wrongdoing.
– *Example*: “After forgetting their anniversary, he found himself in the doghouse with his wife.”

41. **Go the extra mile**
– *Meaning*: To make additional effort or put in extra work beyond what is required.
– *Example*: “She always goes the extra mile at work, staying late to ensure everything is done perfectly.”

42. **Draw a line in the sand**
– *Meaning*: To establish a limit or boundary, especially in terms of what is acceptable.
– *Example*: “After months of arguments, they finally drew a line in the sand and decided to separate.”

43. **Know the ropes**
– *Meaning*: To be familiar with the procedures or skills necessary for a particular task or job.
– *Example*: “It took me a while to know the ropes at my new job, but now I feel confident in my role.”

44. **Come home to roost**
– *Meaning*: To experience the negative consequences of one’s actions or decisions.
– *Example*: “After years of overspending, their financial problems finally came home to roost.”

45. **Fits like a glove**
– *Meaning*: To fit perfectly or suit someone or something perfectly.
– *Example*: “The new sofa fits like a glove in our living room.”

46. **Keep the home fires burning**
– *Meaning*: To maintain the home and family life while a family member is away.
– *Example*: “While her husband was deployed overseas, she kept the home fires burning, taking care of their children and managing the household.”

47. **Home stretch**
– *Meaning*: The final stage or leg of a journey or project.
– *Example*: “With only a few chapters left to write, she’s in the home stretch of finishing her novel.”

48. **Home run**
– *Meaning*: A great success or achievement.
– *Example*: “The product launch was a home run, exceeding sales expectations and receiving rave reviews.”

49. **Out of the frying pan and into the fire**
– *Meaning*: To go from a bad situation to an even worse one.
– *Example*: “After losing his job, he thought things couldn’t get worse, but then his car broke down. It was out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

50. **Wear your heart on your sleeve**
– *Meaning*: To openly and visibly display one’s emotions.
– *Example*: “She’s always worn her heart on her sleeve, never afraid to express her feelings openly.”

These idioms provide colorful and expressive ways to talk about various aspects of home, housing, and domestic life.