Questions tagged [idioms]
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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Meaning of "four into a ten stretch"?
There's a Netflix series called, "The Gentlemen". The following dialogue takes place in it.
Man: "So I hear your dad's caught a nasty cold. How long's he got left?"
Woman: "...
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Idiom/phrase for; something so explosively life changing/profound that it leaves you speechless [duplicate]
I found a few that came kind of close but I'm looking for something tht essentially combines the definitions of Epochal Momentum, Red/Scarlett Letter, & Magnum Opus. But it has a lot more of a ...
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Crust and crumb [closed]
" Crust and crumb " is the title of an 1895 picture " toy " book in the Montgomery Ward catalog. The title feels like an idiom. I welcome input.
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Are idiom expressions and phrasal verbs systematically taught as part of the American/English school curriculum? [migrated]
Some background information: I am an EFL(English as a Foreign Language learner).
I lived for several years abroad and attended English-only schools when I was little but repatriated to find the ...
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What is the origin of "take one's medicine"? [closed]
I would really like to know where the idiom "take one's medicine" comes from. At first l thought it was another version of taste of their own medicine, but I found that these two have ...
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looking for a correct/ idiomatic phrase
Context: A recent meeting between Chinese and American Foreign affairs bosses in Munich.
Original:
双方就开展人文交流,便利人员往来交换了意见。王毅敦促美方停止无端滋扰盘查中国公民,多做有利于增进两国人民相互了解的事情,并送美方一句古话:“勿以恶小而为之,勿以善小而不为。
During their ...
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Idiom for model organism / prototypical example / "MNIST of X"
I'm looking for idioms or phrases conveying something similar to one of the following:
a toy example on which practitioners of X usually test a new method first, as it's expected that if a method ...
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Let's assume X+into is a phrasal verb meaning A. X is also used with into again but with a different meaning (B) Can we count it as a phrasal verb?
Let's assume that we have 2 words: X and into. In dictionary the phrase X+into is accepted as a phrasal verb when it means A. We can also use X with the word into again, but then it literally means ...
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What does this split subject phrase, "it might all have started", imply?
A well-known British writer has this:
[to question] how it might all have started
To my non-native English speaker ear this sounds a bit off; I'd have said
[to question] how it all might have ...
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What is a word/ expression for a cut down said with a grin?
When someone is grinning at you while cutting you down. A snide comment is the best I have found. Or cheshire cat grin. There has to be a better word for this common occurrence.
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Does "breathe in the light" have any colloquial meaning?
I have noticed that the phrase "breathe in the light" is used in several seemingly unrelated pieces of music, for instance, it is the name of a "Stellardrone" track, and in the ...
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Current prevalence of idiom "pulling for you"
A prior question asks about the origin of the phrase "pulling for you," a phrase that conveys well-wishes and support (Merriam-Webster):
US, informal
: to say or show that one hopes (...
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What is the origin of the idiom "get your shorts in a knot"? [duplicate]
I got this idiom from my English homework and still can't wrap my head around why this means "to become over upset over something, especially something unimportant."
Does anyone know where ...
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Another word to substitute "Heck" or "Hell" in these kind of sentences
I have been thinking about sentences like, "That's not impressive; Heck, even I can do that!" and I was wondering if there was another word that I can use in place of "Heck" in ...
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Origin of "cut a voluntary" meaning "to fall from one's horse when hunting"
It is apparently hunting jargon term meaning to fall off of a horse. Definition below from Dictionary of Jargon (Routledge Revivals) By Jonathon Green:
cut a voluntary v. [Hunting] to fall from one's ...
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What is the technique that produces phrases like "Miss Anne Thrope" called and is there a master list of names?
Misanthrope, as a word, can be converted into the pseudonym "Miss Anne Thrope" (bonus points if the meaning reflects the writer's style).
But what is this technique called and is there a ...
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What does "it" refer to in "sweated it out"?
In the following sentence as an example :
"He sweated it out until the lab report was back",
What does "it" refer to in "sweated it out"?
I have just seen the example &...
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What are the rules of inflection in making an idiom?
Although the following expressions may sound local or unnatural to some, these are examples of idiomatic expressions I hear in New York City.
Does putting plural emphasis of a noun or comparative ...
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A man of many talents/ the man of many talents
Can I use the article the with the idiom “man of many talents” if I want to emphasise that it refers to just a specific person and not speaking generally? For instance: “You’re the man of many talents”...
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'My bad' vs 'My bag'
Over the years I've noticed a non-insignificant amount of people use the term 'My bag' to admit guilt when getting something wrong (i.e. 'Mea culpa'). For example:
"Happy Birthday!"
"My ...
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Origin of the idiom "a few trombones short of a marching band"
I've heard the following idiom being used a few times recently but am unsure where it's come from:
He's a few trombones short of a marching band.
I don't know exactly what it means and I can't find ...
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Easier said than done vs. Easier to say than do
As a speaker of English as a second language, I've long been curious to know why English speakers would choose to say "Easier said than done" over "Easier to say than do".
Why ...
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What is a term for the evolution of idioms through error?
At my place of work the idiom bottom-up (as in bottom-up design) is often used and debated as a way of doing things. However over the last year or so it's increasingly being expressed as bottoms-up ...
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Idiomatic word or expression for a lazy and unmoral person who gets paid without working - Translation of Spanish ‘ñoqui’ [duplicate]
I'm not talking about the Italian dish. In Argentina, there's a well known expression for someone who doesn't go to work and only assists the last month's day to get paid: It's called a ñoqui. The ...
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Origin of "turn the other cheek" [closed]
I’m wondering about the origin of “turn the other cheek”. I have heard it all my life.
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Idioms with prepositions and CMS Capitalization
I am finding the CMS instructions confusing on whether one should capitalize the word under in a title when it is used as an idiom. For example,
A Park under Threat.
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Was “who’s she, the cat’s grandmother” common in Scotland? [duplicate]
My mother’s retired Scottish nanny, who was born in 1888, and grew up near Ullapool, on Loch Broom, would say this. She also took care of me when I was a child. She would correct me when I spoke of ...
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"Out of sight" to refer to something that is very good — could it be based on German?
There is a word in German, ausgezeichnet which vaguely sounds like the English phrase "out of sight" but that is usually translated as "excellent". I could see some non-German ...
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Is it idiomatic to say "call of the blood"?
I've been struggling with this one...
I'm trying to figure out whether it's okay to use the expression "call of the blood" to describe the phenomenon of doing something naturally (or coming ...
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Can I add some words into the idiom "last but not least"?
The phrase 'last but not least' is a well-established one, but I'm wondering whether I can split it and add a parenthetical bit into it:
And finally, the last but definitely not the least geocache I ...
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Idiom for unexpected solution?
Is there an idiom for an unexpected solution?
For more specificity, I want to write about how if you're sincere enough, sometimes you can find a solution in unexpected places.
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Idiomatic expressions for falsity pt. 2: the sophist falsity - Translation of Spanish: ‘versear’ or ‘chamuyar’
Introduction
According to correspondence theory, if you say or think something that does not correspond to reality then you have said something that is false. While this is an obvious concept learned ...
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Idiomatic expressions for falsity: the misconception falsity - Translation of Spanish: ‘la re flasheé’
Introduction
According to correspondence theory, if you say or think something that does not correspond to reality then you have said something that is false. While this is an obvious concept learned ...
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*Why* is "I've been to <place>" grammatically valid only in perfect constructions?
While riding my bike this morning, my mind was wandering. All of a sudden I realized that the phrase "I've been to (place)" is very strange because if you change the aspect of the verb, it ...
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Origin of "home and dry"
Cambridge says that the idiom home and dry is British English, which explains why I hear it used around me. It means:
to have successfully finished something
but I have heard it used also literally. ...
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What is the origin of the expletive "man alive!"?
There are various speculations about its origins: its being a euphemism for 'Good Lord' or a simplification of 'any living man' or again a shortened 'no matter – man alive!' (Thomas Hood 1845)
"...
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Converse phrase for "in writing" [closed]
Is there an converse phrase to "in writing", in the sense of completing a task or a calculation in-writing? This should have the sense of "in explicit thought, but not in physical ...
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What's a phrase that describes a person who keeps making attempts doomed to fail because they don't want their previous work to have been for nothing?
What's a phrase that describes a person who keeps making repeated attempts that they know are doomed to fail because they don't want all of their previous effort to have been for nothing?
They feel ...
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Is there an expression in English for saying "to make your own mistakes"? [duplicate]
In Russian, we say "to have one's bumps" when we mean that someone makes their own mistakes, thus getting experience and learning from their errors. Is there anything similar to that in ...
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Is "and no religion too" grammatically correct?
In the song, "Imagine" by John Lennon, one of the lyrics is, "and no religion too". This is certainly not how most people talk – it would normally be, "and no religion either....
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Is the phrase "put paid to" widely understood outside of the UK?
A comment on this question notes that the phrase "put paid to" (meaning put a stop to) is unlikely to be understood in the US. Another comment indicates that the phrase is widely understood ...
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A "change in scenery" or a "change of scenery"? Are both forms of this sort of expression truly correct? I know the latter one is, but the former? [closed]
As my title says, is a "change in scenery" as correct as a "change of scenery"? I am self-conscious of how a "change in" might sound odd or off or be even absolutely ...
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Is there a phrase for when you "bite the bullet" on a logical consequence but maintain that it's not a "bullet" at all?
Opponents of a view often attempt to draw outrageous logical consequences from the view in order to discredit it: if p leads to something as outrageous as q, then that just shows that p is false. ...
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Irish expression - come with your hands hanging [closed]
South Ireland Cork-Kerry border Shliabh Luachra "don't come with your hands hanging"
“We'll be right over ... Can we bring anything?”
“No thanks. As the Irish say, 'Just come with your ...
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Is "in case of need" idiomatic British English?
I've been shown an Out of Office template, and one of the sentences in it asks the sender to contact someone else within the company "in case of need", as the email will not be forwarded.
I'...
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Equivalent idiom for "When it rains in [a place], it drips in [another place]"
In Dutch we have an expression
Als het regent in Parijs druppelt het in Brussel.
When it rains in Paris it drips in Brussels.
meaning that (political) events in Paris affect Belgian politics.
Is ...
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"Don't rock the boat" attitude [duplicate]
When someone tends to hesitate to acknowledge a problem and avoid involving trouble even if needed, is it ok to say in a negative nuance that
He/She always has a "don't rock the boat" ...
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Looking for idioms [closed]
Is there an idiom for someone who's doing you a favor with someone else’s property or money?
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Proper Usage of "Too" in the Middle of a Sentence
I'm curious about the acceptability of using the adverb "too" in the middle of a sentence right after the contraction "there's." Specifically, I want to know whether "too"...
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Idiom "Catches Me Out"
According to MW "catch me out" means:
caught out; catching out; catches out
transitive verb
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: to detect in error or wrongdoing
caught him out committing perjury
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: to take unawares or ...