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Idioms are a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words. Use [idiom-requests] if you are searching for an idiom with a particular meaning.

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According to the Longman Pronunciation Dict. (See Macmillan here too, and the perspective of Multi-word verbs (MWVs)) Like other phases, a phrasal verb (= a verb word and an adverbial particle) is ...
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The phrase "Too Clever by Half" is used to criticize someone for being overconfident in their thinking. What is the origin of this phrase? I read somewhere that it started as a backhanded compliment ...
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Normally I would assume the meaning of you got it were something like: You do understand it right. You’ve achieved your goal. Or even I’ll do it for you very shortly. But from time to time I ...
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There are a few colloquial sayings that have come to mean the opposite of their original intent perhaps due to being used out of context. For example: "Pull yourself up by the bootstraps": ...
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All three words (once, last, first) can be defined as adverbs, adjectives, or nouns with similar definitions for each part of speech for the respective words. I'm trying to figure out if those words ...
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I was watching an episode of Family Guy and came across this expression: Peter Griffin: Now stay tuned for whatever FOX is limpin' to the barn with. (Emphasis added) It was said at the end of the ...
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An article by Mark Leibovich titled "Donald Trump Is a Lamer Duck Than Ever" posted today in The Atlantic, includes the following note on the origin of the term: Senator Lazarus Powell of ...
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The idiom "to double to on sth" in the sense of "continuing to do something in an even more determined way than before" is mentioned in the Cambridge Dictionary. However, personally, I've heard this ...
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Been going to school here for 3 years. The Mission/Beavis H. S3E9 Is coming possible here, or is go to school as strong an idiom as bring to the table?
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I'm looking for a word (or short phrase) with a more positive connotation than "bored", meaning I am actively trying to find something to do. If context helps, I'm thinking of a scenario along the ...
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Like for example is using corporate jargon, like "a low-hanging fruit" or "circle back" comparable (equally acceptable) to using colloquialisms like "ain't it", "...
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I most recently heard this in the context of a business deal: Sorry gents, looks like we'll be taking the piss on that one. I understood that the business had suffered a financial loss, although I ...
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So, I'm reading up on a list of English Idioms and I see two that bear a striking similarity. "Take the biscuit (UK): To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious. "Take the cake (US)": To ...
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I'm trying to describe the school break in my country, which includes New Year's Day and goes into early January. Christmas is celebrated on January 7 here, and schools are typically closed from ...
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Is there an idiom to describe someone who is really skinny whose clothes don't look good on them at all? This should not refer to the person but instead to how the clothes look on the person. In my ...
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Dame Helen Mirren in a recent interview on aging said: “It’s much better to age disgracefully! Take it on the chin, and roll with it. You die young, or you get older. There is nothing in between! You ...
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Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003) has this entry for the term "booby prize": booby prize n (1889) 1 : an award for the poorest performance in a game or competition 2 : ...
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Is it idiomatic to use "like in old times" to mean as we used to? Come round when you have time. It would be great to hang around like in old times.
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Being "in the pudding club" seems to mean "being pregnant" in British English. What is the origin/etymology of this phrase? Where is it used nowadays?
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Background: Native English speaker here. I grew up in India, but have lived most of my life in the United States. My fellow Americans often comment upon "Britishisms" in my usage. For example, I tend ...
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Despite my attempts, I found a pitiful lack of information in dictionaries (e.g. Collins) . I am limited to citing the Wiktionary entry for interesting: (euphemistic) Pregnant. (used with situation ...
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I believe it is primarily an American phrase, used as an exclamation: Heavens to Betsy, no! I would never do such a thing! What is the origin of that phrase? Do we know who Betsy is?
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Christine Ammer, The Facts on File Dictionary of Clichés, second edition (2006) has the following entry for the phrase "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" bright-eyed and bushy tailed Lively and ...
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Is it idiomatic to say "Living long is luck" to mean "longevity is luck" and "living a long life is luck?" Without adding "good" before "luck" does ...
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Google tells me an idiom is "a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words". When I look at the definition of "all/other ...
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What does the phrase mean in "He annoys me to no end"? Literally, does it mean that he annoys me forever? Or does it mean that he annoys me to no result?
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I’ve always understood as one man to mean “all acting together, unanimously” (Cambridge: “If a group of people do something as one man, they do it together at exactly the same time.”) Recently I came ...
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So, fine with me is the standard way to say it. But fine by me is ok, and dictionaries confirm that. The only mention that it should not be used is here: https://english.stackexchange.com/a/37205/...
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The expression "on a tangential note" results in not a single hit in a Google search, but from the restrictive search "a tangential note" the very apparent shortcoming of the ...
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Is it true that both the following lines are identical in English? All dogs are animals. All animals are not dogs. All dogs are animals. Not all animals are dogs. In some other languages, (1) and (2) ...
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I've been re-reading 'Treasure Island' by Stevenson, and, at one point a character says, "... my pulse went dot and carry one" meaning, I think, that his pulse started racing. Has anyone heard this ...
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The expressions on a serious note and on a more serious note are used to indicate a change from a lighthearted register to a more serious one. A Google search gives many definitions equivalent to this,...
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I am looking for a common English expression/idiom that defines a situation below: I have done some work for someone, and in return, they are not going to pay me the full payment. Then I will tell ...
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I am looking for an idiom that can be used to refer to: A person who is involved in a discussion that does not concern them A person who goes somewhere they are not supposed to be Example sentences: ...
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In my native language, we have an expression :- sugar to your mouth. It is used to express a wish or hope that what the speaker is saying may come true. Is there a similar expression in either ...
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"Hard of hearing" is a widely recognized and standard phrase in English to describe someone with hearing difficulties. On the other hand, "hard of reading," though grammatically ...
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According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “out of the mouths of babes” is an idiom used when a child says something that is surprisingly wise. So, it is used to compliment the child for saying something ...
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The heading says it all. I have seen the above expression (or a few variants) used to describe something smooth, whether a person, or a literal surface. An example, When it comes to women, Alex is ...
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I have been looking at the origin and definition of “it takes two to tango”, and it seems that the expression is often used with a negative connotation, or at least in neutral contexts. For example, ...
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I was at a retail store buying some stuff. As I was standing at the counter to check out, a foreign military person, whom I suspect was with the U.N., walked in, held up a U.S. dollar bill, and asked ...
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In several languages, there is a positive idiom or expression that is uttered when someone coincidentally walks in while people were talking about them. In some cultures, it is considered to be a good ...
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Ruth Rendell, Adam, Eve and Pinch Me, 2001, p. 274: A solicitor came to live next door to my parents when I was a kid. I’ve always remembered my father saying to my mother, he’s a lawyer, don’t touch ...
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In Greek, there is an expression that translates literally to When Muhammad does not go to the mountain, the mountain goes to Muhammad. The expression is used when the speaker believes they can ...
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While reading the book Introduction to Mathematical Logic by Alonso Church, I have met with the idiom 'so nearly so as to' of which meaning I hardly grasp from context: Again the sentence "Sir ...
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One is a complete failure, either apparent from the beginning or something that appears promising but turns out to be disappointing or worthless. A misfire, on a musket's priming pan. A fool's gold ...
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What does "too on the nose" mean, especially as applied to art? I use the expression but struggle to explicitly articulate what I mean. My best attempt is that I use it to refer to film, music, etc. ...
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What does the phrase "praise from Caesar" mean and where does it come from?
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"Butt naked" or "buck naked" both refer to completely naked, or do they? Where the phrase comes from I have no idea but that would be of interest. This is a phrase I am too afraid to google and ...
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I'm trying to find an idiom or metaphor to describe "everyone takes a small part of something there'll be nothing left". For example everyone taking a grain of sand till there's no beach ...
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From The Wind in the Willows, 1908: ... [they] were finishing breakfast in their little parlour and eagerly discussing their plans for the day, when a heavy knock sounded at the door. 'Bother!' said ...
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