Idioms are a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words.
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What does ‘a lunch best forgotten’ mean?
There is the following sentence in Jeffery Archer’s fiction, “The Fourth Estate.”:
“Having paid for a lunch best forgotten, Townsend left restaurant
and began to stroll around the town. It was ...
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2answers
67 views
Looking for an idiom
I am trying to find idioms that could express "looking for something" and "trying to find something in a room full of mess". One that I could find was "hunt high and low" but for some reason I don't ...
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1answer
43 views
Origin of the term “eating your own dog food”
I'm trying to find the first usage of the term "eating your own dogfood", as a reference to companies, especially software companies, using their own products in house in order to more effectively ...
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1answer
95 views
“22 Acacia Avenue” British idiom
What is the meaning of this British idiom?
I was watching BBC's Top Gear and the presenters were cracking jokes about people who live in the 22 of the avenues. And that the people who live there like ...
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1answer
38 views
Use of “many good wishes 'to carry with you'”
In "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" there is two times this phrase: "many good wishes to carry with you":
And the Winkies gave them three cheers and many good wishes to carry with them.
But he at once ...
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1answer
92 views
Is ‘on a tear’ unpopular idiom?
I was drawn to the phrase, ‘on a tear’ that I heard in audio in this week’s Barron’s magazine (June 6) reporting the good sales and profit performance of U.S. sneaker chain, Foot Locker:
It says:
...
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2answers
72 views
'too dangerous to let live' or 'too dangerous to be let live'?
I was writing something down that came to me in a passing while I was watching TV, and I found myself discombobulated with the way one should phrase the notion of letting someone do something in the ...
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44 views
Idioms for strongly disagreeing to the point of seeming a lie [closed]
I was thinking today about the term "hogwash", which I would define as an idiomatic term meaning something along the lines of "I disagree so strongly, I suspect you may be lying". This is also the ...
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1answer
77 views
Origin of dead giveaway [duplicate]
I was answering a question at ELL and used the phrase "dead giveaway" and thought that it might not be clear to a non-native speaker. This thought lead me to wonder, where did we get that phrase. I ...
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4answers
668 views
What does it mean - “When X does Y, God kills Z”? [closed]
I've come across many pages, articles and texts which say something like
When X does Y, God kills a kitten
When X happens, God kills an elephant
Like
here - God kills a pigeon
here - God kills ...
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3answers
72 views
What is the origin/meaning of “wheelbarrow full of frogs”
What is the origin/meaning of "wheelbarrow full of frogs"
I've heard this phrase many times but am unsure as to exactly what it means.
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1answer
121 views
Origin of “to have a cow”
The phrase "to have a cow" is defined as "to be very worried, upset, or angry about something" in Free Dictionary Online.
Other sources also define it to mean to react very strongly and emotionally. ...
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3answers
710 views
What does “suck a salt grain off a beach” mean?
In association with my question of the usage of “blood-dimmed (flood /tragedy) in Maureen Dowd’s article in New York Times- ...
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1answer
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“She hasn't said but a few words to me…” or “She has said but a few words to me…”?
"She hasn't said but a few words to me since last winter."
or
"She has said but a few words to me since last winter."
Which of these is right?
I think the latter is heard more often, but ...
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1answer
49 views
What is the meaning of “pull in the channel”? [closed]
Could you tell me the meaning of "pull in the channel" or "bring in the channel"?
I looked up these words in some dictionaries, but I found no suitable meaning.
Do these mean "change the channel"?
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4answers
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Why do we say that an obscene joke is “off-color”?
Why do we say that an obscene joke is "off-color"? Is a G-rated joke "on-color"? What color? When and how did this idiomatic expression come from?
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1answer
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How did “Captain” become a term for a businessman who employed prison labor?
My great grandfather, who owned a small railroad and lumber business in central Georgia after the Civil War, was referred to frequently as "Captain." I learned that that was not a military rank, but ...
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1answer
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“The above technique is a double-edged sword” [duplicate]
In our native language, we say this "The above technique is a double-edged sword".
Is it appropriate to say it in English? If not, what is the nice way to express the same meaning?
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1answer
104 views
Meaning of “watch your six”
What does "watch your six" mean?
Does it mean "watch your back", like in a dangerous area?
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1answer
63 views
Are there other variations of “slow and steady wins the race”? [closed]
We know the hare and tortoise story but are there other variants of "slow and steady wins the race"?
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2answers
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Is it customary to omit or replace ‘head’ with ‘x-year / mile/ pound’ in the idiom “have a head start on sb” when the advantage should be quantified?
There is the following statement in Jeffery Archer’s fiction “The Fourth Estate,” of which I admit I’m a terribly slow reader:
“The tactics made it possible for Armstrong Communication to declare ...
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0answers
34 views
Where did the idiom “cold turkey” originate from? [duplicate]
I was listening to a radio program about addiction and it occurred to me the strangeness of the idiom "cold turkey", what is the etymology of the phrase and where did it originate from?
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2answers
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What is the difference between “each to one’s own,” and “a law unto-oneself”? Are they totally different idioms?
I came across two different idioms, “a law untothemselves” and “each to his own” in the scene then British Army Captain, later a global media tycoon, Dick Armstrong, plotting to rob Julius Hahn, a ...
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1answer
30 views
Meaning of “in a look of a frame of reference” [closed]
Does "in a look of a frame of reference" mean "regarding to sth."? Sorry, unfortunately I couldn't find a simple example.
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1answer
41 views
What does it mean “a piece of schlock”? [closed]
What does a piece of schlock mean in the following phrase?
"You aren't in this game to write a piece of schlock."
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2answers
56 views
An idiom for “going with the most likely option”
What's an idiom for the action of going for the most likely / most appropriate option? I had been saying "placing my bets with _" but it turns out that doesn't exist :D Must have got it from "hedge ...
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2answers
527 views
Meaning of “excited much”, “stalker much”
What does 'excited much' or 'stalker much' mean exactly, and which context are they used in? I don't get the usage of much after a noun or adjective. I often see this construction in comments, for ...
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1answer
471 views
What's the origin of the idiom “to cut your teeth on something”?
I understand that it means to acquire a new skill, but what does it refer to? It makes me cringe every time I read it!
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0answers
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What is the meaning of offering banana for lord buddha? [closed]
Every Buddhist day, I always see layman and laywoman go to temple which bring along one hand of banana. I wonder what meaning of offering the banana for lord Buddha is.
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8answers
1k views
Is the phrase “I just sucked it out of my thumb” used in American English?
I was born and raised in South Africa. We frequently used the term "to suck out of one's thumb", implying that an answer was just a wild guess or the notion had no evidence but was rather just ...
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1answer
31 views
Idiomatic expression for “moving away” from a subject [duplicate]
I am in a meeting with a lot of people but the person who is speaking is not focusing on the subject, that person is somehow "moving away" from what is really important.
Is there any expression for ...
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1answer
82 views
Are both ‘Hit a raw nerve’ and ‘Tip sb. the wink” predominantly British English idioms?
I was drawn to both of idioms,‘hit a raw nerve’ and ‘tip sb. the wink” being quoted as British skewed English idioms in the following scenes describing verbal exchanges between Captain Richard ...
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The other norths [closed]
If 'true north' is as Mitch says (and I like his answer best) then what is the metaphorical equivalent of Grid North, and Magnetic North?
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2answers
558 views
Is ‘anything in a skirt” a popular idiom? Does it have special overtones?
I came across the words, ‘anything in a skirt” in the following sentence of Jeffery Archer’s “The Fourth Estate”:- Page 202.
“(Captain Armstrong is entitled to a car and driver) if the brigadier
...
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2answers
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usage of “Made for”
eg. I would've made for a bad lawyer.
conveying the meaning that if I had been a lawyed, I would have been a bad one.
is it correct usage?
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2answers
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Suit Yourself origins?
The young daughter of a friend of mine said, "I think 'suit yourself' comes from a lazy tailor," which cracked us up. It also got me wondering.
I did the obligatory google search and came up with ...
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1answer
154 views
What does ‘play the pill’ mean?
There was the following sentence in Maureen Dowd’s article titled “Taxing Times for Obama” in the New York Times May 18 issue. - ...
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1answer
113 views
Meaning of “as it was” in context
What does it mean "as it was" in this context?
She was awakened by a shock, so sudden and severe that if Dorothy had not been lying on the soft bed she might have been hurt. As it was, the jar ...
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1answer
140 views
What does 'trout-shouldered' mean?
In an episode of the television show Archer one character refers to another as being "trout-shouldered."
“This pathetic, trout-shouldered excuse for a boom operator is Chet Manly."
What might this ...
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2answers
51 views
“best thing since X”
If you were to read some news like “Movie X is the highest-grossing since (earlier) Movie Y” or “Earthquake X is the deadliest since Y” or “Gold prices are highest since the spike in year Y” or ...
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2answers
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How did the term “to favor” come to signify a limp? [closed]
Often in athletics, horse racing and when you encounter a person with an injured limb or other thing it will be said "He seems to be favoring his right leg" by which a person/commentator/etc means "He ...
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1answer
111 views
What does 'What kind of mischief are you up to?' mean?
One of my US users asked the following questions when she got information about my resignation from my manager.
What is this rumor I hear? What kind of mischief are you up to?
I am not sure ...
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1answer
85 views
Can “Call it a career” be applied only to celebrities and successful people?
I saw the idiom, “Call it a career” in the article of New York times (May 12) announcing Barbara Waters’ planned retirement in 2014:
...
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1answer
99 views
Meaning of 'take it to the hoes'
I came across the following sentence:
You can just take it to the hoes on Broadway if you need to get your freak on.
And not only can I not understand the phrase 'take it to the hoes' but I also ...
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1answer
66 views
Beating them “with my gloves on”
This is a comment made on a discussion on a roadrage incident,
Anyone attacks me in traffic while I'm on my bike, I'm beating the f-ck out of them with my gloves on.
What does he mean by "with ...
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1answer
51 views
What are “shrewd turns”?
In John Webster's play, The Duchess of Malfi, Antonio says of the Duke:
He never pays debts unless they be shrewd turns,
And those he will confess that he doth owe.
I really don't understand ...
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2answers
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What's a useful replacement idiom for “money shot?”
I'm afraid I have been somewhat innocently causing offense by using the term "money shot" in its general, non-pornographic sense. My coworkers either have dirty minds or lack awareness of the other ...
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1answer
101 views
Why is one “sent to Coventry”?
I was reading in the paper today of some hapless wight who had been sent to Coventry (meaning ostracised and given the silent treatment) by his colleages. It then occurred to me to wonder why Coventry ...
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2answers
178 views
“it's all in the wrist”
What is the meaning and origin of this idiom?
Internet searches are confounded by the many headlines and jokes that allude to the phrase superficially (e.g., “repetitive strain injury – it's all in ...
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2answers
323 views
What does Pope Francis “called out him (Pope Emeritus Benedict) on it” mean?
There was the following sentence in the article titled “Pope Francis tells Pope Benedict to stop rolling his eyes in meetings” in May 2nd New Yorker magazine - ...
