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25+ Common Idioms to Describe People in English

 Sophie  3 Years Ago  10 Comments

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Learn 25+ Common Idioms to Describe People in English.

People come in all shapes and sizes – and with different personalities. Having the right words to describe them is helpful.

In your life, you have met – and will meet – a lot of different types of people. From friendly to rude, sensible to foolish, extroverted to introverted – you will probably encounter them all in your lifetime.

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Idioms to Describe People in English

Here is a list of 14 different English idioms that describe positive personality types:

1. Born optimist

Someone who always thinks positively is a born optimist.

Example: I admire Jamal because he always sees the sunny side of life. He’s a born optimist.

2. Culture vulture

A culture vulture refers to someone who loves culture, i.e. art, theatre, literature, music etc..

Example: John spends most of his weekends reading books or attending art exhibitions. He’s a real culture vulture.

3. Eager beaver

An eager beaver is a (sometimes overly enthusiastic) person who works very hard to get things done or achieve goals.

Example: She always does her English grammar homework and even asks for extra exercises on the weekend. What an eager beaver!

4. Early bird

An early bird is someone who is early, in particular (but not exclusively) someone who gets up early in the morning. Being an early bird can be quite advantageous. As the old proverb states, ❛the early bird gets the worm❜.

Example: In her senior years, when she finally had the luxurious freedom to sleep in, Delores became an early bird and got up every morning at 5:00 am.

5. Earth mother

The term earth mother refers to a woman is very caring and maternal, i.e. who has a natural ability as a mother.

Example: Even as a young girl, Ida showed herself to be an earth mother. She always helped her mother to look after her younger brothers and sisters.

6. Family man

A family man is a man who devoted to his family.

Example: Since the birth of his twins, Harvey has become a family man. He spends all of his spare time with his children.

7. Go-getter

A go-getter is someone who is ambitious and pursues his goals.

Example: It isn’t surprising that Isaac has made it to the top of the corporate world. He was always someone who went after what he wanted, a real go-getter.

8. Good egg

A good egg is a good person.

Example: Marry was the type of person who would have helped anyone – a real good egg.

9. Jack-of-all-trades

A jack-of-all-trades is someone who can do several jobs instead of only being specialized in one.

Example: From auto repair to hairdressing, Frank can do it all. He is a jack-of-all-trades.

10. Man of his word / woman of her word

A man of his word or a woman of her word is someone who always does what he/she promises.

Example: You can trust Samuel. He is a man of his word.

11. Mover and shaker

A mover and shaker is an influential person who makes things happen.

Example: He was a mover and shaker in the world of politics. He accomplished a lot in his 30-year career.

12. Smart cookie

A smart cookie refers to someone who is clever and good at dealing with difficult situations.

Example: Why don’t we ask Miss Chips to help us solve our problem? I’ve been told that she’s a smart cookie.

13. Teacher’s pet

The teacher’s favorite student is the teacher’s pet. Since it is not always nice to be labelled the teacher’s favorite, this English idiom can be used in both a positive as well as a negative sense.

Example: The teacher is never angry when Albert forgets to do his homework. He is the teacher’s pet.

14. Whizz kid

A whizz kid is a young person who is very clever and successful.

Example: I’ve never seen anyone learn English grammar tenses faster than André. In only two weeks, he knew everything about the present perfect simple – what a whizz kid!