Describing a person is the most common Part 2 task. Use one idiom for how you met ("we hit it off"), one for the friendship ("through thick and thin") and one for their personality ("down to earth").
The labels tell you how each one lands with a listener. Natural idioms are safe in any Speaking part. Informal ones suit relaxed Part 1 and Part 2 answers. Overused ones are correct but examiners hear them constantly, so use them once at most. Avoid means dated, slang or a cliché that sounds memorised. None of these belong in Writing Task 2.
14 idioms
like each other immediately
We hit it off on the first day of university.
Natural and very useful.
become friends very quickly and easily
My mum and my best friend get on like a house on fire.
Natural British English.
in good times and bad
She's stood by me through thick and thin.
Natural for loyal friends.
a friend who disappears when you need help
When I lost my job, I found out who were fair-weather friends.
Natural and precise.
have known each other for many years
Ahmed and I go back a long way; we were at primary school together.
Natural and warm.
someone who listens when you are upset
My sister has always been a shoulder to cry on.
Natural and kind.
the most lively person at a social event (British)
My cousin is always the life and soul of the party.
Natural British English.
someone who loves meeting lots of people
At school I was a bit of a social butterfly.
Casual and friendly.
someone who enjoys and is good with people
I'm definitely a people person, so I like working in a team.
Natural for personality questions.
practical, sensible and modest
Despite being famous, she's very down to earth.
Very natural and positive.
someone who spoils other people's fun
Don't be a wet blanket; come to the party!
Casual, a little rude about others.
slowly become less close
We drifted apart after she moved to Canada.
A natural, gentle way to describe lost friendships.
a real friend helps when you need it
As they say, a friend in need is a friend indeed.
A proverb that sounds learned for the exam.
similar people spend time together
We all love football; birds of a feather flock together.
Sounds old-fashioned and memorised in an answer.
Part 2
Here is a sample answer we wrote to show how a few of these idioms fit into natural speech. Notice that it uses only a handful, spread out, with plain English around them.
My best friend is Sara, and we go back a long way; we met when we were about eleven. We hit it off because we both loved drawing and hated maths. What I value most is that she's been there through thick and thin. When my grandfather passed away, she was the first person to turn up at our door. She's also very down to earth: even though she now has a great job, she hasn't changed at all.
"Down to earth", "a people person" and "the life and soul of the party" describe personality. "We hit it off" and "we go back a long way" describe the friendship.
It is a proverb, and proverbs often sound memorised. "She's been there through thick and thin" says the same thing more naturally.
No. Idioms belong in Speaking. Writing Task 2 is a formal essay, so idioms and contractions make it sound too casual. Use precise, neutral vocabulary there instead.
One or two, only where they fit what you want to say. Forced idioms sound memorised and can lower your score. On this page, be careful with "a friend in need is a friend indeed", "birds of a feather flock together": examiners hear them often or they sound dated.
Keep going
More idiom themes:
Practise them on real questions:
Written by Fizza Butool Zaidi and Ali Zaidi. Lexical Resource is one of the four Speaking criteria in the public IELTS scoring guide on ielts.org. BandLadder is not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council or IDP, and no list of idioms guarantees a band score.
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