English-language idioms: Difference between revisions

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A list of idioms can be useful, since the meaning of idioms can not always be deduced by knowing the meaning of the individual words that make them up. For example, someone could know what a bucket is and also know what to kick something means, but they might not know that to "kick the bucket" means to die. Here is a list of idioms with their meanings:

It is better to have a small accomplishment, already performed, instead of a larger, hoped for, but still unattained, achievement.

Giving someone a look of malice; "a dirty look"

A person who does not settle in any place for long enough to develop roots or meaningful connections.

A fuss being made about an insignificant matter.

An extremely high price.

Very good.

(1) Something unhelpful, or an unhelpful situation that cannot be left; (2) husband or wife.

Very quickly (also implies haphazardly, frenetically or in a panic).

To come to profitable conclusion or to produce some worthwhile thing.

Procrastinate or hesitate, mainly when one does not want to say something. (see circumlocution).

Skeptical; requiring proof, (note: the state's unofficial slogan: "Show me" appears on their license plates.

Someone who has no compassion.

An ostracized or ill-fitting member of a family or group. ("Uncle Ned is the black sheep of the family.")

To eject a person from a group or society against their wishes.

Good luck, especially used to wish luck to stage performers before an opening.

(British), "to score for the first time," or more generally to have avoided complete failure. In british slang a "duck's egg" can mean "zero" or "naught" (imagine the slightly oval shape of the printed character). (Similarly "goose eggs" can also mean "00" in American slang.) In the British game of Cricket scoring naught is getting a "duck" and a batter's first run scored is, therefore, "breaking his duck."

A person with no tact who upsets others or upsets plans; a very clumsy person.

someone who has to much going on.

To die (possibly a cynical reference to the effect of a life insurance benefits to the beneficiaries; as in "his demise bought the farm").

A situation that is hard to deal with, especially one that comes about unexpectedly and intractably. To "open a can of worms" is to get involved with something that is unsightly, unpleasant and not easily escaped (closing a container of worms, used as bait by fishermen, generally involves some tricky handling of the wriggling occupants).

Losing sight of the big picture by getting mired down in details.

Being oblivious to something in plain view.

Asked of someone rendered speechless to emphasize their inability to speak.

A short sleep taken during the day. However, this may not necessarily qualify as an "idiom", as the meaning is apparent to some; cats tend to sleep for short intervals (naps) at various times throughout a twenty-four hour period, whereas humans generally sleep for a solid one-third fraction of each day and do not typically "nap" in a catlike manner. Thus, sleeping in this manner is to "nap like a cat", or to take a "cat nap".

Make new plans or choose a new leader in the middle of an important activity.

To take rash or single-minded action that hurts your own cause in the end.

A surprise candidate, or competitor. From the metaphor: "He rode in as if on a dark horse in the night" or "No one saw him coming."

A settled issue. Something no longer needing consideration.

To argue a point of view that is not necessarily one's own, but for the sake of fairness. To play "the devil's advocate" in a debate is to ensure that some attempt was made to hear a side that might otherwise have gone unrepresented.

A presentation which aims to persuade, generally a marketing presentation, especially one with lots of splashy glitz and little or no real informational content.

A lot of money.

Certainly dead. Empathetically dead.

To attempt to get all the positive aspects of something while avoiding any negative but usually occurring aspects.

Feeling sad, down, or depressed.

To take without paying, to steal. (Also known as shoplifting).

To be able to contol the details of a situation by virtue of being the one who bears the cost or provides for others.

Doing something that is very difficult.

carrying out a hazardous/difficult task.

To die.

Completing two tasks with one process or action.

(see Straw that broke the camel's back)

A predatory lender, usually one that charges inordinately high interest.

Someone who is eccentric, mad or wildly unconventional, bordering on crazy.

(1) (adj.) Crazy, insane. (2) Foolhardy, reckless. (3) Used to express displeasure, either as a general interjection ("Nuts!") or directed at a person or thing ("Nuts to you!"). (See: Battle of the Bulge)

(The meaning of this idiom has not yet been provided. If you know what this means, please add it.)

To be past one's prime, old, a senior citizen. A person has reached his/her peak of physical or employment capabilities and is starting the downhill slide.

To be dead. (example: He's pushing up daisies.) This comes from the western cultural practice of burying the deceased in a cemetary or "memorial park" and of growing flowers or grass over their grave.

Inferring information not explicitly stated.

An area of town where one will find a proliferation of prostitutes, strip bars, pornography and sex toy shops, and the like.

Bureaucratic paperwork, usually in large amounts and being difficult to finish yet seemingly pointless in nature.

Something so obvious that it is easily overlooked.

One that has not moved out of the place where the person has been for a long time. Both in physical, and in mental situations.

Two things that are essentially the same and so there is no real choice to be made.

From beginning to end; from raw materials to a completed projects.

To decide that the attainment of something you have been thwarted from getting is not worth it after all and probably inferior in quality anyway. (Aesop's Fables: The Fox and the Grapes)

Quiet people are often thoughtful.

From a proverb about loading up a camel beyond its capacity to move. This is a reference to any process by which cataclysmic failure (a broken back) is achieved by a seemingly inconsequential addition (a single straw). This also gives rise to the phrase "the last straw."

A final appearance; a theatrical or dramatic farewell (from a legendary belief that swan would sing its own dirge as they died)

To die, especially to be murdered and have your body disposed of, often in a body of water. (See also "sleeping with the fish"). It's presumed to be a bit of mob jargon.

Adapt to the group.

A command to sit down

Defrauded, robbed, cheated, conned.

A secret or hidden thing has been discovered.

Someone else's situation appears better than your own because you see the positive in theirs and the negative in yours most clearly.

Generic term for people who are in charge of something. Often used either derisively or when the actual people are not known. Usually capitalized.

To be antagonistic, usually applied to women.

To attempt to steal by slipping something unnoticed into a concealed place (pocket, purse, jacket, etc.).

To capsize.

To follow rules and regulations faithfully. To be careful to never commit any transgressions. To conform, particularly to conform to onerous or odious demands through loyalty.

Not possessing all of one's mental faculties; i.e., crazy or stupid. AKA "two bricks shy of a load". The general form "N Xs short of a Y", where N is a small number and X is an item in a set Y, provides endless recognizable variations. Examples: "two chairs short of a set" (Gilmore Girls, "Emily in Wonderland"); "One Can Short of a 6 Pack" (Da Yoopers album). "To dueces shy of a deck" (playing cards) (see "Not playing with a full deck").

To be in an untennable position. To have no recourse.

Something that has happened in the past and now has little or no importance. A dismissal of prior offenses or transgressions. Generally said after emotional conflicts.

You will eventually have to face the consequences of your actions towards others as people tend to behave toward you as you have behaved toward others.

If something is good for one person, it is good for everyone

Where a leader or delegator performs all the work instead of distributing equally amongst his workers / subordinates.

Don't provide people with something sought after without requiring of them the commitment or responsibility that should go along with getting said benefit -- usually said to women who provide sexual favors in a relationship without being married or requiring commitment.

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