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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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
19 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
59 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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0answers
29 views
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
411 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
73 views
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
49 views
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
130 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
72 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 ...
2
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0answers
92 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 ...
3
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2answers
49 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
112 views
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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0answers
61 views
Whose window? - What's the idiom for unpredictable unknown beneficial opportunities that might come up?
I've heard an idiom that contains the word 'window' and I think it is of the form, somebody's window. Pandora's window or something. I don't remember the somebody.
It applies to beneficial unknown ...
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0answers
74 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
77 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
91 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
64 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
50 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
107 views
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 ...
3
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1answer
94 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 ...
2
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2answers
149 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 ...
2
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2answers
238 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 - ...
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1answer
107 views
What is the origin of the idiom “like pulling teeth”?
I would like to know more about the idiom "like pulling teeth". For example, does anyone know its origin and first usage?
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2answers
180 views
Where does the “I brake for” idiom come from? [closed]
I am familiar with how I brake for is being used nowadays, but am puzzled as to where this idiom comes from.
I can imagine a possible origin, say a particularly popular campaign where stickers with a ...
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1answer
51 views
Is “ill at ease” perfectly interchangeable with “uncomfortable”?
There was the following sentence in a series about the art and craft of writing in New York Times (April 29) written by Tim Kreider under the title, “The Power of ‘I Don’t Know’”:
I’m always ill ...
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0answers
41 views
Lying down vs Lying [closed]
John is lying down in a white floor. His eyelids are closed, but his eyes are moving.
It should be lying down or lying? Lying down is like a idiom?
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2answers
63 views
Ambiguous usage of “got”
I read this sentence:
I'm glad I got to know her.
"Got" can be used like permission, like "I was allowed/able to", but it can also be used like the ongoing status of something, as in
When ...
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2answers
64 views
Evolution of “push somebody's buttons” and “know what buttons to push”
Colloquially speaking, "to push somebody's buttons" means to irritate or annoy the person. And, "know what buttons to push" means to know what to do to get people to act the way you want.
I can't ...
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4answers
257 views
Why should “be” come after “neither a borrower nor lender,” not before them?
I came across the maxim, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” in the following sentence of Jeffery Archer’s fiction, “The Fourth Estate” (P.54), and found that the maxim came from Lord Polonius’ ...
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2answers
90 views
Differences between “Pay attention to” and “Keep an eye on”
What is the difference in meaning between "Pay attention to" and "Keep an eye on"? Can I use both in the same way? Or is one of them stronger than the other?
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1answer
169 views
what does the expression “my five cents” mean? [closed]
I saw this in an informal email but I don't understand it.
Can you help me with the meaning and the context in which it is used (if used at all or if it simply a mistake from the sender)
Thank you!
2
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1answer
71 views
Meaning of “leave on a full basis”
When I was reading News of Real Madrid - Di Maria set to be released, I saw following sentence:
Real Madrid management seem to have decided to let Di Maria leave on a full basis.
What does this ...
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1answer
102 views
“She got her first child” vs. “She had her first child”
I am not a native speaker and yesterday someone told me that "She got her first child" would be misunderstood and "She had her first child" is correct. Now I wonder if this is a 'local' thing here in ...
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1answer
72 views
Polish your mug idiom
Recently I've heard couple of interesting idioms one of which was "Make yourself scarce or I'll polish your mug".
So, I was wondering is it really used like that?
I've heard of "Make yourself scarce" ...
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1answer
169 views
Why in a phone call we use “this is” instead of “I am”?
Why is the right form
Hello, this is yzT from english.stackechange.com.
instead of
Hello, I’m yzT from english.stackexchange.com.
I guess non-natives tend to use the latter due to ...
2
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1answer
76 views
Why do we say 'soup up'?
The phrase 'soup up' is slang that basically means 'to increase the power of' something. Why do we use 'soup' here? It seems similar to the phrases 'beef up' and 'pep up', which literally come from ...
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3answers
133 views
Meaning of “I'm a disaster” [closed]
What does disaster mean in the following sentence?
I'm a disaster.
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1answer
156 views
Is “duck and dive” only a British idiom?
I was interested in the phrase “duck and dive,” which is put in parentheses, in the following comment of a video ran by the Guardian with a caption, “Senator Marco Rubio's in-speech water break” - ...
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1answer
97 views
What is meant by the action to ‘curl up your fingers’? Is “Curl up one’s fingers” an English idiom?
I came across the phrase “His cheeks reddened as he curled up his fingers” in the scene, a six-year-old Ruthenian boy, Lubji Hoch, who later becomes one of the world’s most powerful media moguls, ...
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1answer
102 views
“in ages” vs “for ages”
I've always thought I should use "for ages" when, for example, I meet a person who I haven't seen for a long time, but recently I came across another expression, "in ages," as in "I haven't seen you ...
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1answer
124 views
Why is the noun 'sex' uncountable? [closed]
According to the definition of the noun 'sex' in dictionaries, it means 'the PHYSICAL ACTIVITY that two people do together in order to produce babies or for pleasure.' If so, why isn't it countable?
...
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6answers
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Does “salt mines” have any specific meaning?
In the movie Easy A, the character Todd said "See you at salt mines" to Olive when they met at Melody's party. What does salt mines mean? Does it really mean "a mine for salt"?
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2answers
70 views
Implication of “Everything is relative”
Does the phrase “It's all relative” mean that everything is quantifiable in terms of individual perception or opinion?
In other words, we all have different opinions or viewpoints with regard to a ...
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3answers
158 views
“It's all academic”
What exactly does 'It's all academic' mean when referring to the closing moments of a sports game? You'll often hear 'This one's academic!' or 'It's all academic from this point forward' or 'It's all ...
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1answer
73 views
What's the origin of the phrase to “do one”?
The phrase to "do one" — essentially an insult meaning to "do a disappearing act" (if the Urban Dictionary's definitions* are anything to go by) — seems to be a fairly recent phenomenon. Where ...
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1answer
75 views
Meaning of “with a steel ride that sends chills up her back”
I would like to know the meaning of the following phrase: "with a steel ride that sends chills up her back".
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98 views
Expression for “pulling out something from the past”
I am looking for an expression (proverb / idiom) meaning "pulling out something from the past" in disapproval.
An example of this would be: somebody mentioning a thing of the past, which is not ...
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1answer
73 views
Applying the concept of 'trolling' to tall poppy syndrome
In Australia we have a concept of 'tall poppy syndrome' — which comes from a cultural assumption of egalitarianism. If someone puts on airs, or considers themselves more important than others, then it ...
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3answers
109 views
What does “with all the discrimination of a shotgun” mean? [closed]
"If you scatter commas into a sentence with all the discrimination of a shotgun, you might make it to the foyer before we politely escort you from the building." Source: http://goo.gl/ZH6lO
Doesn't a ...
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1answer
88 views
Do you feel any subtle changes in meaning with the addition or omission of article(s) in this sentence? [closed]
I'm translating a short story that is a parody of Kafka's 'Report to an Academy.' A chimp is called to present a report to an academy about the time when he was a chimp. I'm to translate into English ...
