English Idioms and Expressions With "Have"

Idioms and Expressions with "Have"

IDIOM	MEANING	EXAMPLE
Have a big mouth	To be a gossiper; to be a person who tells secrets.	She has a big mouth. She told her friends about the meeting.
Have a card up sleeve	To have an advantage that other people do not know about.	Having a card up his sleeve, he remained calm and waited for the right time to speak.
Have a bee in bonnet	To talk a lot about something thought to be important.	Martin has a bee in his bonnet about recycling. She has a bee in her bonnet that a new system must be adopted.
Have a bone to pick with (someone)	To have a disagreement to discuss with someone; to have something to argue about with someone.	I've got a bone to pick with you. Where is the money you owe me?
Have a brush with (something)	To have a brief contact with something; to have an experience with something.	She had a close brush with the law. She was nearly arrested for speeding.
Have a chip on shoulder	To blame other people for something bad and to continue to be angry about it.	Even though he went to university, he's always had a chip on his shoulder about his poor upbringing.
Have a close call (Have a close shave)	To be close to danger; To have a narrow escape from something dangerous.	I almost got struck by a speeding car. It was a close call. He also had a close call yesterday and was almost in a car accident.
Have a familiar ring	[for a story or an explanation] To sound familiar; you've heard it before.	The story has a familiar ring. I've heard it many times before.
Have a tiger (bear) by the tail	To be associated with something powerful and potentially dangerous; to have a very difficult problem to solve.	We've had a tiger by the tail ever since we signed the loan agreement.
Have a good head on shoulders	To have common sense; to be sensible and intelligent.	I always have a good head on my shoulders. Don't worry about me.
Have a green thumb	To be good at gardening; To have the ability to grow plants well.	My daughter has a green thumb. Look at our garden.
Have a heart	To be compassionate or generous and forgiving with people.	Let's hope she has a heart and forgive you.
Have a heart of gold	To be generous, sincere, and friendly.	Many people have a heart of gold. They are always willing to help others.
Have a heart of stone	To be cold, unresponsive, unforgiving, and unfriendly.	Don't annoy her. She has a heart of stone.
Have an ax to grind	To complain about something.	May I talk to you? I have an ax to grind.
Have an in with someone	To have special access to someone ( at work).	He had an in with the manager so he could get a promotion quickly.
Have a one-track mind	To think entirely about one subject.	She has a one-track mind. She can only talk about jewelry.
Have a soft spot in heart	To have a fondness for someone, something, or an animal.	He owns several aquariums. He's got a soft spot in his heart for fish.
Have a sweet tooth	To desire to eat many sweet foods-especially candy and pastries.	You should watch your weight, especially because you have a sweet tooth.
Have clean hands	To be without guilt, guiltless.	The police took him in, but let him go after questioning because he had clean hands.
Have egg on face	To be embarrassed by something one has done. (As if one went out in public with a dirty face.)	I was completely wrong, and now I have egg on my face.
Have eyes in the back of head	To seem to be able to sense what is going on behind or outside of one's field of vision.	The students believed their teacher had eyes in the back his head.
Have mixed feelings	To be both pleased and not pleased about something at the same time.	He seemed to have mixed feelings about leaving. He enjoyed staying with us but he had to go.
Have money to burn	To have a lot of money and spend large amounts on things that are not necessary.	When it comes to Lebaran days, people seem to have money to burn.
Have hands tied	To be prevented from doing something.	He can't help. He has his hands tied by his boss.
Have head in the clouds	To not pay attention, be unaware of what is going on from fantasies or daydreams.	During lessons, you should not have your head in the clouds.
Have tail between legs	To be frightened or afraid of doing something.	He seemed to lack courage. He went away with his tail between his legs and didn't tell her that she'd been wrong.
Have other fish to fry	To have other opportunities; to have more important things to do.	Please make it short. I have other fish to fry.
Have in hands	To have the responsibility for someone or something.	I'm sorry I won't be able to come. I have many things in my hands.
have the Midas touch	To have the ability to be successful, especially the ability to make money easily.	The girl seems to have the Midas touch. She can get new clients easily.
Have the presence of mind to do	To have the calmness and ability to act sensibly in an emergency or difficult situation.	She had the presence of mind to hold on the rope tightly.
Have stardust in eyes	To be uncritically or unrealistically optimistic.	The Commander seemed to have stardust in his eyes and decided to continue the attack.
Have one foot in the grave	To be almost dead.	The Commander seemed to have stardust in his eyes and decided to continue the attack.

Reference: The Free Dictionary: Idioms