Questions tagged [idiom-meaning]

An idiom's figurative meaning is different from the literal meaning.

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What does "I have eaten myself stupid" mean?

Jenson Button has said that he expects the 2016 Abu Dhabi grand prix to be his last, despite him having a contract as a reserve driver in 2017 and potentially full-time driver in 2018. When asked why ...
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Meaning of 'keep one's removed' [closed]

Does it always mean 'keep someone in distance' or there is something else?
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"Easy your uncle Fred"

What does it mean when someone says "take it easy" and another one replies "easy your uncle Fred's ass"? Does it mean " F*ck you"?
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Anything more would be cruelty

What does "Anything more would be cruelty" mean when it is said by a doctor? Does it mean "we can not do anything more for him" or "anything more than this would be illegal"? Context: Doctor: You'd ...
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1 answer
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Usage of 'get going'?

I would like to know more about the idiom "to get going" especially in the meaning "to depart", I mostly use it to mean "get started" but I've heard that it has very many other meanings. Is "get ...
SovereignSun's user avatar
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2 answers
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Can there be a sarcastic meaning to "top gun" in a (non-)linguistic context like this?

In a speaking practice recording, a guy (Person A) is trying to place himself at the center of attention in a conversation about his job. The conversation goes: Lady: Veronica talks about you all ...
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Is it logical - and grammatical - to say "that husband of yours"?

I've heard it many times and I know it's current usage but, when you get right down to it, does it make sense to say "that husband of yours" or "that wife of yours"? Wouldn't that mean "one among ...
Centaurus's user avatar
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The meaning of "is right up there" [closed]

Bob Dylan’s first electric tour, the Velvets’ Exploding Plastic Inevitable, the Pistols and Buzzcocks in Manchester ’76. Some gigs continue to resonate for decades after the band leaves the stage. ...
SovereignSun's user avatar
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What "A small town girl with big city dreams" means? [closed]

Can you please explain to me this sentence? I can't understand it :(
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"Couldn't do" or "could do" in idiomatic context (Christgau review)

Below is a review by music critic Robert Christgau of a Flaming Lips album. I've pasted the entire review, but my focus is on the first two sentences. Primarily, is it idiomatic to use "couldn't" here?...
David Marlowe's user avatar
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Being at the wrong place at the wrong time - is it actually bad?

If you're at the wrong place at the wrong time, is this actually a bad thing? Don't the two negatives words result in a positive meaning? For instance, being at the wrong place at the right time ...
AutoBaker's user avatar
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How is "Let's do halves" used? [duplicate]

I played the game Fantasy Maiden's Odd Hideout. The game has "Let's do halves" as Meaningful Echo. One usage example in the game: Both main characters have a do(ugh)nut. They share it, and say "...
Haha TTpro's user avatar
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Comparative adjectives in general, stand-alone use (meaning slightly)

Can a comparative adjective mean 'slightly', 'kind of', without actually referring to another term? The understanding of longer texts is necessary for an C1 certificate. Meaning that you need to ...
Lara's user avatar
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2 answers
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Is "brings all the boys to the yard" an idiom? How to find out if a phrase is an idiom or not

Recently, I have had a debate with a friend that "brings all the boys to the yard" is an idiom and he refuses to accept it. Since this has been used as a part of a rapper's lyrics, he says ...
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What exactly does "for the love of God" mean?

I know it's used to implore someone, for instance: Please, Microsoft, for the love of God, fix this bug in Windows, so I can get work done on my computer! But what "love of God" is being referred ...
ekolis's user avatar
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What does "get off the treadmill" in the content of this sentence?

“We’re losing a lot of kids and a lot of teachers because we still view challenging kids the wrong way and handle them in ways that don’t address their true difficulties. It’s an exercise in ...
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Meaning and usage of "one and done"

The expression "one and done" is from basketball according to yourdictionary.com and means: (slang, basketball) A basketball player who plays college basketball for a single year and then ...
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What does it mean to be "sixty-fortied"?

I came across this on an episode of Gilmore Girls (2.16 - There's the Rub), where Emily Gilmore says "I can't believe you let me get sixty-fortied!" (60-40d) I can't find much reference to this ...
Aaron Gullison's user avatar
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3 answers
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Do directives to "go jump in the lake" or "off a pier" allude to drowning?

Some expressions of dismissal or insult such as "go jump in a lake" or "take a long walk off a short pier" direct the recipient to fall into a body of water. Is the figurative idea in such ...
zyx's user avatar
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Meaning of "as much to be pitied as ever I see" ("Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens)

I have some questions about a sentence from Chapter 42 of the novel Great Expectations. Here is an excerpt: “So fur as I could find, there warn’t a soul that see young Abel Magwitch, with us little ...
Li Xiaodong's user avatar
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9 answers
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What does "box-ticker" mean when applied to a person?

I've come across this phrase in the following context: ... such cultures bring up people to be box-tickers.
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Why does 'sharpening the saw' and 'has an axe to grind' - mean two completely different things?

When someone is sharpening the saw, they are taking time out, learning and improving so that they can be more effective in their job. When someone has an axe to grind, they are angry, and looking ...
hawkeye's user avatar
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1 vote
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Any English equivalent for Russian idiom "to write for the desk drawer"? [duplicate]

It means "to write literary works, knowing that they will not pass censorship and be published". I am looking for some English equivalents that can be used to describe not only writing but also doing ...
W. Raye's user avatar
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"Left with an 'eight'" meaning of an expression found on a song (by Talk Talk) [closed]

The question: in their song: Such a shame (video), Talk Talk (album It's my life, 1984, remember, old folks), with the voice of Mark Hollis, sings (full lyrics): Such a shame to believe in escape; '...
Laurent Duval's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
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What is "as American as April in Arizona" meant for?

I was reading an article that was telling a story about Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov: Paris Review asked the Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov, "Do you consider yourself an American?" He said, "...
mert's user avatar
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1 answer
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Meaning of "out of an interest"

In the following YouTube video, (4:35) entitled: Master Craftsman, Nathie Katzoff | HUMAN, I heard I didn't get into this out of an interest in capitalism. I got into it out of an interest in ...
sevenOfNine's user avatar
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1 answer
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How to understand "keeping in mind" in these sentences?

What does the keeping in mind in the following sentences mean? I find it hard to understand the whole sentence. A: According to the present needs, a change should be made in laws. For example, in ...
layten's user avatar
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1 answer
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Is it good to leave things out on the pitch?

Started re-watching The West Wing recently, and came across the phrase "leave it all out on the field": Everyone's walking around here like we're finished. We have 365 more days… For both of us, ...
anotherdave's user avatar
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16 votes
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"[Swear word] this for a game of soldiers"

There is an idiom that seems to be distinctly British: "---- this/that for a game of soldiers" where the dashes are replaced with various swear words. For example: "Sod this for a game ...
steveha's user avatar
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1 answer
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What does " we've as much" mean?

"So what we did, we got in touch with a nature reserve out in the country, and asked them what you could see there. And that's when we realised that we've as much, if not more wildlife than they do." ...
Roi An's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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Sleeping with one's eyes open [closed]

I've once heard a person make a reference to another person as sleeping with their eyes open. I wonder if there is another way to take this expression other than literally. Thanks.
Jack Maddington's user avatar
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1 answer
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'work so hard' or 'work too hard'? [closed]

" I know you're having a big test next Monday, but don't work yourself so hard" In this sentence, Can I possibly use "too hard" instead of "so hard"? Thanks in advance.
Roi An's user avatar
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What is the meaning of "Agrift"? [closed]

I saw this word here today. A Party Agrift by Paul Krugman What does "Agrift" here refer to? I tried on Webster. I could find the meaning for "grift", which means "to acquire money or property ...
Naive_Natural2511's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
99 views

Is 'good' a double-entendre in some parts of the US? [closed]

In the movie The Incredibles, the characters have the following dialogue: LUCIUS (FROZONE): Honey? HONEY: What? LUCIUS (FROZONE): Where's my supersuit? HONEY: What? LUCIUS (FROZONE): Where is my ...
hawkeye's user avatar
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-1 votes
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Meaning of "straw beneath my feet" in this context

I was reading 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell, in which, there was a sentence "but I know, as surely as I see this straw beneath my feet, that sooner or later justice will be done." I dont ...
Ehaan's user avatar
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7 votes
3 answers
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Positive connotation of "fluke"?

Many sources (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, for a start) suggest the word "fluke" has mostly positive connotations when used in the sense of "accident." That is, "a fluke" properly describes a lucky accident, not ...
SAH's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
328 views

What does "Lizard in a ruin" mean in this Paragraph?

Paragraph (Taken from here): You can watch Piaf performing ‘La Foule’ on YouTube, in a recording of a concert in the Netherlands in December 1962. It is completely mesmerising. A journalist who ...
Ankur Patel's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
4k views

To whose 'salt' is the idiom, "worth one's salt" referring to?

Worth one's salt- worth one's pay; something or someone that deserves respect and support. Mark: That journalist is biased. I don't like the way she interrogates our mayor. Dale: Every journalist ...
Jaeger Jay's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
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Does the phrase "present company excepted" exclude the speaker as well as the listener?

A common idiom is, when speaking to someone, to raise a general criticism and then amend it by saying "present company excepted". This is taken to mean that the criticism is not intended to apply to ...
Daniel Griscom's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
6k views

Is it clear what the idiom "lit up like a candle" means?

Take this sentence: I gave a beggar all my change, and he lit up like a candle. It's used in Norwegian, but I wonder if it's perfectly clear what it means in English, and are there better idioms to ...
Gelb's user avatar
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1 answer
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lemmings over the cliff

Does the trap of tipping over into a pointless lemmings over the cliff scenario mean losing the control of things so that they take you everywhere they want? or doing exactly what others do (...
user127733's user avatar
7 votes
4 answers
6k views

What does "red chair" imply?

At a meeting in an international corporation, a Canadian speaker mentioned having a "red chair" culture and later continued to talk about their "red chair" learnings. I'm not sure what that implies. ...
Mark Maruska's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

What does "they were taken for being taken in" mean?

I have difficulty interpreting this line: they were taken for being taken in It is from Some by the late Daniel Berrigan. Exerpt: Some stood and stood and stood. They were taken for fools, ...
Jand's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
510 views

What does "Pudding for supper.." mean in this context?

Here's an excerpt from the novel "Moby Dick". Emphasis mine. "‘Look at that chap now,’ philosophically drawled Stubb, who, with his unlighted short pipe, mechanically retained between his teeth, at ...
Mani's user avatar
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1 answer
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Is there another idiom to replace "rolling the dice"?

Does this sentence sound unnatural? The journalist has read the book, written a review and rolled the dice. I know rolling the dice means to "take a chance". But I am not sure if giving ...
Gelb's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
17k views

Why does "keep tabs on" mean what it means

Keep tabs on sth/sb means "to ​watch something or someone ​carefully". Why is that? Can somebody analyze and explain this idiom, please? What does "tabs" mean here, and how does the whole phrase ...
qartal's user avatar
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1 answer
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what does "considers most" mean here?

The United States signed but has not yet ratified the Convention; however, the United States considers most of the Vienna Convention’s rules as representing customary international law. does it mean ...
yorgun's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
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what does "preceding warfare" means? [closed]

Peace treaties concluded after cessation of hostilities were usually considered to be valid because of preceding warfare. preceding means "come before (something) in time" warfare means "engagement ...
yorgun's user avatar
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1 answer
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does "open to charges of" equal to "doing propaganda" here? [closed]

Always open to charges of propaganda and interference in the internal affairs of other nations, public diplomacy challenged both the spirit and letter of the Havana Convention. Book | Diplomacy: A ...
yorgun's user avatar
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1 answer
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What does "then" mean in this context?

In the book Diplomacy: A Very Short Introduction by By Joseph M. Siracusa, we find the following passage: Prior to World War II, then, diplomacy was essentially a government-to-government ...
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