Valentine’s Day is a special time when people show love and care for each other. On this day, friends, families, and couples give cards, candy, and flowers. It’s not just about gifts—it’s also a time to share kind words and feelings. Over the years, people have made fun and clever ways to talk about love. These are called idioms.
Idioms are phrases that don’t always mean what the words say. For example, if someone says, “head over heels,” they don’t mean their head is really by their feet. They mean they are very much in love! In this article, we will learn 28 idioms that are often used around Valentine’s Day. These will help you talk about feelings in a fun way and understand others better. Let’s explore these lovely phrases together.
Idioms About Valentine’s Day
1. Head over heels
Meaning: Deeply in love
Example Sentence:
• Sarah is head over heels for her new boyfriend.
• My parents are still head over heels for each other.
Other ways to say: Madly in love, crazy about
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from the idea of someone flipping because of strong feelings.
Usage: Used when someone is very much in love.
2. Love at first sight
Meaning: Falling in love the moment you meet someone
Example Sentence:
• It was love at first sight when Jake met Lily.
• My grandparents say they had love at first sight.
Other ways to say: Instant connection, fell fast
Fun Fact/Origin: First used in old poems and plays.
Usage: Used to describe quick and strong romantic feelings.
3. Puppy love
Meaning: Young or early love that is sweet but not serious
Example Sentence:
• Their relationship in middle school was just puppy love.
• He had puppy love for his camp crush.
Other ways to say: Crush, early love
Fun Fact/Origin: The term compares young love to the playful nature of puppies.
Usage: Used to talk about sweet but short-term feelings.
4. Tie the knot
Meaning: To get married
Example Sentence:
• They’re going to tie the knot this summer.
• My cousin tied the knot last weekend.
Other ways to say: Get married, say “I do”
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from a handfasting tradition where couples’ hands were tied.
Usage: Used when people get married.
5. Pop the question
Meaning: To ask someone to marry you
Example Sentence:
• He popped the question at the park.
• She said “yes” when he popped the question during dinner.
Other ways to say: Propose, ask to marry
Fun Fact/Origin: The phrase means asking one big, important question.
Usage: Used during a marriage proposal.
6. Match made in heaven
Meaning: A perfect couple
Example Sentence:
• Everyone says they’re a match made in heaven.
• My aunt and uncle are truly a match made in heaven.
Other ways to say: Perfect pair, great match
Fun Fact/Origin: Suggests the match was created by fate or something special.
Usage: Used to talk about couples that go well together.
7. Break someone’s heart
Meaning: To make someone very sad, usually by ending a relationship
Example Sentence:
• She broke his heart when she moved away.
• He didn’t want to break her heart.
Other ways to say: Hurt feelings, cause sadness
Fun Fact/Origin: The heart is often linked to love and emotion.
Usage: Used when someone feels sad because of love.
8. Wear your heart on your sleeve
Meaning: To show your feelings openly
Example Sentence:
• He wears his heart on his sleeve and tells everyone how he feels.
• She wore her heart on her sleeve after the breakup.
Other ways to say: Show feelings, be open
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from old armor days when knights wore tokens of love.
Usage: Used when people don’t hide emotions.
9. Lovebirds
Meaning: Two people who are in love
Example Sentence:
• The lovebirds couldn’t stop smiling at each other.
• Look at those lovebirds walking in the park!
Other ways to say: Sweethearts, couple
Fun Fact/Origin: Based on birds that stay close to each other all the time.
Usage: Used to describe couples who are very close.
10. Fall for someone
Meaning: Start to love someone
Example Sentence:
• He fell for her in just one week.
• I didn’t mean to fall for my best friend.
Other ways to say: Develop feelings, fall in love
Fun Fact/Origin: The phrase suggests you can’t control when it happens.
Usage: Used when love starts to grow.
11. Heart skips a beat
Meaning: A sudden feeling of excitement or fear
Example Sentence:
• My heart skipped a beat when I saw him smile.
• Her heart skipped a beat when she opened the letter.
Other ways to say: Shocked, thrilled
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from how emotions can affect your heartbeat.
Usage: Used when someone feels strong emotion suddenly.
12. Be an item
Meaning: Two people are in a romantic relationship
Example Sentence:
• Are they really an item now?
• They’ve been an item since school.
Other ways to say: A couple, dating
Fun Fact/Origin: The term “item” used to describe a pair of people together.
Usage: Used to describe two people who are dating.
13. The apple of someone’s eye
Meaning: Someone very special and loved
Example Sentence:
• His daughter is the apple of his eye.
• She’s the apple of her grandpa’s eye.
Other ways to say: Favorite, dearest
Fun Fact/Origin: From old English, where “apple” meant something precious.
Usage: Used to describe someone very important to you.
14. Lovey-dovey
Meaning: Acting very affectionate and romantic
Example Sentence:
• They were all lovey-dovey at dinner.
• I don’t like movies that are too lovey-dovey.
Other ways to say: Mushy, overly sweet
Fun Fact/Origin: Doves are symbols of love, often seen in pairs.
Usage: Used when couples are very sweet in public.
15. Have a crush on someone
Meaning: To like someone in a romantic way
Example Sentence:
• I think she has a crush on her science partner.
• He has a crush on the new girl in class.
Other ways to say: Like someone, have feelings for
Fun Fact/Origin: “Crush” shows how emotions can feel strong and sudden.
Usage: Used when someone likes someone else secretly or suddenly.
16. Love is blind
Meaning: When someone ignores faults because they are in love
Example Sentence:
• She didn’t care that he was messy—love is blind.
• He didn’t notice her bad habits—love is blind.
Other ways to say: Can’t see flaws, overlooks everything
Fun Fact/Origin: Used for centuries in plays and books, including Shakespeare.
Usage: Used when love makes people ignore problems.
17. Carry a torch for someone
Meaning: To still love someone who doesn’t love you back
Example Sentence:
• He’s been carrying a torch for his ex for months.
• She still carries a torch for her old crush.
Other ways to say: Still has feelings, not over them
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from holding a flame to show love in old stories.
Usage: Used for unreturned love.
18. Whisper sweet nothings
Meaning: Say soft and loving words
Example Sentence:
• They whispered sweet nothings at the dance.
• He whispered sweet nothings to make her smile.
Other ways to say: Flirt, say loving things
Fun Fact/Origin: Used in poetry to describe romance.
Usage: Used when couples talk sweetly to each other.
19. Love-hate relationship
Meaning: A relationship with both strong love and dislike
Example Sentence:
• They have a love-hate relationship with each other.
• I have a love-hate relationship with Valentine’s Day.
Other ways to say: Mixed feelings, up and down
Fun Fact/Origin: Describes strong and changing emotions.
Usage: Used for things or people you both like and dislike.
20. Sweep someone off their feet
Meaning: To make someone fall in love quickly
Example Sentence:
• He swept her off her feet with his kindness.
• She swept him off his feet on their first date.
Other ways to say: Win over, charm
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from the idea of surprise and excitement knocking you over.
Usage: Used when love starts fast and strong.
21. To have a heart of gold
Meaning: To be very kind and caring
Example Sentence:
• Grandma has a heart of gold.
• He helped everyone—he has a heart of gold.
Other ways to say: Very nice, big-hearted
Fun Fact/Origin: Gold is valuable, like a kind heart.
Usage: Used to describe someone with a good heart.
22. Love triangle
Meaning: A situation where three people are romantically connected
Example Sentence:
• The movie had a love triangle between the main characters.
• A love triangle made things complicated in the story.
Other ways to say: Romantic mix-up, three-way crush
Fun Fact/Origin: It’s called a triangle because three people are involved.
Usage: Used in stories or real life when three people like each other in a circle.
23. To steal someone’s heart
Meaning: To make someone fall in love with you
Example Sentence:
• He stole her heart with just one smile.
• She stole his heart during their first talk.
Other ways to say: Win over, charm
Fun Fact/Origin: Describes love happening quickly and strongly.
Usage: Used when someone falls in love because of someone else’s actions.
24. Double date
Meaning: When two couples go out together
Example Sentence:
• We went on a double date to the movies.
• A double date makes dinner more fun.
Other ways to say: Group date, couples’ outing
Fun Fact/Origin: “Double” means two couples instead of one.
Usage: Used when two couples plan a date together.
25. Blind date
Meaning: A date between two people who have never met before
Example Sentence:
• He met her on a blind date.
• I was nervous about the blind date, but it went well.
Other ways to say: Set-up date, first meeting
Fun Fact/Origin: “Blind” means they don’t know each other before.
Usage: Used when someone meets a date through someone else.
26. To be lovestruck
Meaning: To feel love very suddenly
Example Sentence:
• She was lovestruck the moment she saw him.
• He looked lovestruck during the whole lunch.
Other ways to say: Love at first sight, smitten
Fun Fact/Origin: “Struck” means hit by love like lightning.
Usage: Used when someone suddenly falls for someone.
27. Give someone your heart
Meaning: To trust someone with your love
Example Sentence:
• I gave her my heart, and she kept it safe.
• He gave his heart to someone who cared.
Other ways to say: Trust in love, give love fully
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from the idea of the heart being the center of love.
Usage: Used when someone fully opens up to another in love.
28. Love you to the moon and back
Meaning: To love someone a lot
Example Sentence:
• I love my mom to the moon and back.
• Dad says he loves us to the moon and back every night.
Other ways to say: Love you tons, love you forever
Fun Fact/Origin: From a children’s book showing deep love.
Usage: Used to show very strong feelings of love.
Quiz: Idioms About Valentine’s Day
Instructions: Read each question and the answer choices carefully. Pick the letter that best matches the meaning of the phrase or expression.
Question Key
1. What does “head over heels” mean?
A) Upside down
B) Deeply in love
C) Very tired
2. If someone says it was “love at first sight,” what do they mean?
A) They didn’t like the person
B) They were best friends
C) They fell in love right away
3. What does “puppy love” describe?
A) Love between dogs
B) A strong and lasting love
C) A young or early love
4. What does it mean to “pop the question”?
A) Ask for homework help
B) Ask someone to marry you
C) Tell someone a secret
5. If two people are called “lovebirds,” what does it mean?
A) They like birds
B) They are a sweet couple
C) They live far away
6. What does “heart skips a beat” mean?
A) Someone is jumping
B) Someone feels strong emotions
C) The person is bored
7. What does it mean when someone “breaks your heart”?
A) They give you a gift
B) They make you very sad
C) They cheer you up
8. What does “fall for someone” mean?
A) To trip near someone
B) To start liking someone
C) To tell someone a joke
9. What is a “blind date”?
A) A surprise meeting with someone you’ve never met
B) A date at night
C) A date where no one talks
10. What does “wear your heart on your sleeve” mean?
A) Hide your feelings
B) Show your feelings openly
C) Wear clothes with hearts
11. What does it mean to “give someone your heart”?
A) Share a drawing
B) Tell someone you love them and trust them
C) Say goodbye
12. If you are “lovestruck,” how do you feel?
A) Scared
B) Sleepy
C) In love suddenly
Answer Key
- B) Deeply in love
- C) They fell in love right away
- C) A young or early love
- B) Ask someone to marry you
- B) They are a sweet couple
- B) Someone feels strong emotions
- B) They make you very sad
- B) To start liking someone
- A) A surprise meeting with someone you’ve never met
- B) Show your feelings openly
- B) Tell someone you love them and trust them
- C) In love suddenly
Wrapping Up
Valentine’s Day idioms make talking about love more fun and interesting. They help us share how we feel in ways that are colorful and clear. From “puppy love” to “tie the knot,” these idioms are used in stories, songs, and real life.
Learning these phrases can help you understand others better and express your own feelings too. So next time you talk about love, try using some of these idioms. They say a lot with just a few words.
