A phrase is a group of words that make a unit of syntax with a single grammatical function.
1
vote
2answers
120 views
What does one's status being “less a blank check than an equation with multiple variables” mean?
There is the following line in a December 8 New York Times article titled “Clinton’s countless choices hinge on one: 2016”:
“But being Hillary Clinton is never a simple matter, and her next few
...
1
vote
2answers
453 views
“Sick and tied” and “sick and tired”
What is the difference between phrases "sick and tied" and "sick and tired"? Is the first phrase correct?
Possibilities (summary from comments):
The standard phrase is definitely “sick and tired” ...
0
votes
1answer
113 views
About two mutually related, future actions [closed]
Is it correct to say: "I will do that thing when I will talk to him."?
14
votes
5answers
1k views
What's the most accurate term for phrases such as “storm in a teacup” and “making mountains out of molehills”?
Are phrases such as "storm in a teacup" and "making mountains out of molehills" best described by one of these terms:
anecdote
proverb
saying
expression
metaphor
If not, which term is the right ...
14
votes
4answers
391 views
“The whole nine yards”
What is the origin of the phrase "the whole nine yards"? Is it a reference to some game of sports I am not familiar with (as a continental European)?
12
votes
5answers
3k views
What does ‘Put one's big boy (girl) pants on’ mean?
I saw the phrase “put somebody's pants on’ in today’s ‘Quote of the Day” of Washington Post (July 17).
It quotes the following remark of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz on Mitt Romney's record at ...
12
votes
6answers
4k views
What is the origin of the phrase “cut the mustard”?
What is the origin of the phrase "cut the mustard"?
11
votes
5answers
1k views
A word like “hundreds” but for multiples of 10 [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How to use “tens of” and “hundreds of”?
Take this example:
Hundreds of pieces were used to create it.
What if the amount were something ...
11
votes
3answers
3k views
10
votes
4answers
625 views
Where does the term “cold calling” originate from?
Did it exist before The Telephone - has it always been associated with 'sales'?
Here is an example.
10
votes
3answers
15k views
What does ‘Brace yourself’ really mean?
I saw an article titled ‘The Rise of Chinese Cheneys’, written by Nicholas Kristof, with a lead copy
China today resembles the Bush era in America: Hard-liners are ascendant. Brace yourself
in ...
9
votes
3answers
385 views
What does “Sleep through the Second Coming” mean?
There is the following statement in Jeffery Archer’s fiction “Kane & Abel,” in which William Kane, one of the two heroes looks at his wife sleeping soundly on bed unaware of his big problem:
...
8
votes
4answers
455 views
“Back up data” or “back data up”?
Which is correct?
To back up data.
To back data up.
The context is the following:
He was careful enough to perform tests and [back up data | back data up] to avoid any problems.
8
votes
2answers
3k views
Why does someone “pull my leg”?
Someone was pulling my leg the other day (meaning, attempting some mild or humourous deception), and I wondered about the etymology of this phrase. Does anyone know when it originated, and why it ...
8
votes
5answers
16k views
What does the phrase “ungodly hour” really mean?
When I hear people speak of "this ungodly hour" they are usually complaining about being awake (or especially working) earlier than they are accustomed.
But why is this called ungodly? It would seem ...
8
votes
6answers
346 views
Is there an aphorism for doing a self-defeating act?
Is there a witty turn of phrase that indicates one's performing an act that, in its doing, undermines, contravenes, or obviates itself?
This question relates to a similar idea, but I have it in my ...
7
votes
3answers
3k views
What is the origin of the phrase “stand on your head and spit wooden nickels?”
Where does this phrase come from? Was there a time in which it was in popular use? Is it an American English phrase?
7
votes
6answers
9k views
Can “Sure thing” mean “You're welcome”?
I'm looking for different ways to say "you're welcome." Is "sure thing" one of those ways?
If it is, then how? I looked up its meaning and it doesn't seem to make sense as a replacement for "you're ...
7
votes
5answers
1k views
Where does “Going out on a limb” come from?
I know that the phrase, "I'm going out on a limb here" means either to take a risk or hazard a guess, but where does it come from? As in, what did it originally refer to before it became an idiom?
7
votes
3answers
765 views
What's the story with the British use of “miss not having” vs. “miss having?”
This one has bugged me for years.
When an American English speaker wishes to express regret that Joe doesn't come around any more, they would typically say, "I really miss having him around."
It ...
7
votes
3answers
711 views
“Cheese and rice”?
A new girl started at the office, and she's quite a peculiar character. She moved here from Alabama and is definitely the excitable type. Every office has one I guess.
One thing she says every now ...
7
votes
3answers
257 views
Doubt about the subject in this phrase: I, me, or myself?
At the end of the evening, the bar was almost empty, with only [I/?] and a very cheerful and pleasant lady I met in the last minutes of the meeting.
What is the correct form in this case?
My ...
6
votes
2answers
440 views
When a phrase ends with a period, do you put … or .. after it?
I was just reading this question: When "etc." is at the end of a phrase, do you place a period after it?
And it brought to mind something similar. If a phrase ends with a . (such as e.g. or ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
What's the correct term for potato chips?
In school I learned to say crisps but I don't want to mix it with french fries. So what's the correct term to use, and what synonyms are there?
6
votes
3answers
617 views
Who will say “Age before beauty” more often? Man or woman, young or old?
We Japanese don't have the humourous and witty phrase like "Age before beauty," as you have. We only have simple and dry expressions, "Please" or "Please go first."
However, I recently noticed ...
6
votes
2answers
872 views
Why is “stuck in a rut” different from “stuck in a groove” in meaning even though “rut” and “groove” are akin as a line of track?
I found the expression “the economy remains stuck in a rut,” in the article titled ”What would Maynard Keynes tell us to do now – and should we listen?” which appeared in October 10 issue of New ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
Is the expression 'half a percent' acceptable in formal English?
When central banks raise or lower interest rates the radio announcer will say for example:
an increase of one half of one percent
Informally people use half a percent instead, which is less ...
6
votes
6answers
580 views
What does “I’m like, c’mon guys. I’m the president of the United States.” imply?
The Washington Post (April 14) reported President Obama's off-the-cuff remark during a meeting with donors in Chicago held on April 13th under the title: "Obama riffs with donors: Where are the cool ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Does the phrase “pull the chain” have some sort of significance in jails and prisons?
My question comes apropos a comment on an old question's of RegDwight's, "jail" vs. "prison". After many answers established that there was indeed a difference in usage between the two terms, JohnFx ...
6
votes
3answers
619 views
Are there synonyms for “love marriage”?
I was fascinated by an answer to a comment question I asked under Is the term “would-be” just an Indian usage or universal? about a term for a non-arranged marriage in India. Love marriage was the ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
What does “change one's stripes” exactly mean?
I found a phrase in the headline of today’s Washington Post article (Feb. 14) that reads "Mubarak loyalists change stripes to fit into the new Egypt."
Though I interpreted the meaning of change one’s ...
6
votes
3answers
698 views
What is the origin of the phrase “blue moon”? Any alternate phrase for it?
Was just wondering how this phrase came into being? Was it inspired from some natural or astronomical observation? or is it the result of poetic imagination?
6
votes
6answers
768 views
end-to-end alternatives
I just received an email that included the phrase
soup-to-nuts
meaning "end-to-end." Are there any other alternatives to this? eg cradle-to-grave? I want to include some in the reply email.
5
votes
3answers
111 views
Can you buy things “for cheap”?
The first line of this news story says:
Call it space grave robbery for a cause: imagine scavenging defunct communication satellites for their valuable parts and recycling them to build brand new ...
5
votes
1answer
254 views
OED Appeals: Antedatings of “blue-arsed fly”
The OED has made a public appeal for help in tracing the history of some English words, including:
blue-arsed fly
noun earlier than 1970
The first evidence for the metaphorical ...
5
votes
6answers
428 views
Why do people use “bone” in the phrase “bone stock” to emphasize that a car is unmodified?
"Bone stock" or "stock" means that a car is unmodified. Where did "bone" come from? Why does it emphasize the condition of being stock?
5
votes
8answers
739 views
What would you call a person who is not a student, but takes interest in exploring academic topics?
A person who is not formally enrolled as a student, researcher or faculty in some university or college but who takes interest in exploring academic topics/stuff. For e.g. Such a person could be ...
5
votes
3answers
336 views
Can I say “What you are saying is ‘pants on fire,’” when I don’t trust what my elderly friend says?
There was the following sentence in the article titled, “Romney says inaccurate attack ad is fair” on IowaPolitics.com (November 23), which was studded with several expressions I’ve not gotten used ...
5
votes
2answers
216 views
What does “We don’t do anything that’s not completely up and up” mean?
I found an amusing story titled “Lobster salad, but a key ingredient was missing” in today’s (August 11）New York Times NY/Region section.
The article reports that Zabar’s, the famous grocery in Upper ...
5
votes
3answers
5k views
Why do we use the phrase 'Across the pond'?
Why do we use the phrase Across the pond to refer to the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean? Considering the size of the Atlantic Ocean is vast, is it suggesting the ocean is only a small hindrance? ...
5
votes
4answers
2k views
“Out of pocket”?
I'm increasingly hearing the phrase "out of pocket" used in America as a colloquialism to mean "away from the office", "unavailable", or "incommunicado".
I apologize for not replying sooner; I ...
5
votes
3answers
905 views
What does “pull sb. out of the hat” mean?
I found the phrase, “pull her out of the hat” in the following sentence of the quote from Frank Bailey, the most relied-upon former aide of Ms.Sarah Palin, whose memoir, “Blind Allegiance to Sarah ...
5
votes
3answers
635 views
If ______ gets outlawed, only outlaws will ______
What is the common origin of these and similar phrases, and how are they used? I've seen them in both silly and serious contexts.
If guns get outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.
If ...
5
votes
3answers
473 views
Up or down a notch?
(I apologize for the silly question ahead)
I've lost some weight recently, and I was able, for the first time today, to close my belt buckle using a notch higher than usual...
For the life of me I ...
5
votes
1answer
4k views
What is the origin of the phrase “and nothing of value was lost”?
What is the origin of the phrase "and nothing of value was lost"?
Is this from a movie, book, or show, or did it get its start on Slashdot or some other online forum?
4
votes
2answers
879 views
Is “No offense meant (taken)” well-accepted English expression?
I’ve seen the phrase “No offense taken” in the answers to the comments in EL&U site.
None of online Cambridge, Oxford and Merriam-Webster dictionary registers this usage, nor does Google Ngram.
...
4
votes
3answers
335 views
What does “put a floor under the crash” mean?
There were the following lines in former President Bill Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention held on September 5th;
“In Tampa the Republican argument against the President’s ...
4
votes
2answers
432 views
On the brink/verge/edge of
With on the brink/verge/edge of, is there a distinct difference between these, or do they have more or less the same meaning? Which one is the most informal? Is it all about context?
4
votes
2answers
148 views
What does “the details are ‘need to know’” mean here?
Part of Covert Affair Season 2, Episode 9:
Auggie: “When were you gonna tell me about Dr. Scott?”
Annie tilted her head slightly and Auggie heard the smile in her voice as she replied, ...
4
votes
1answer
89 views
“As a(n) X”, followed by a statement not from the perspective of X
Am I correct that the following is an error, and, if so, of what type? (I'm almost positive I once knew the term to describe this increasingly common construction and that it was considered ...
