Questions tagged [idioms]
Use the idiom tag for questions which a dictionary cannot answer about set phrases with unusual meanings that can't be properly understood just from the separate words in them.
1,426
questions
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What is the significance of 1st of October?
In the song Paper Planes, there's a passage as quoted below.
My name is Olushola, I just got off my visa
I live everyday like it's the first of October
I wonder what the significance of the 1st ...
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0answers
13 views
Idiom: It follows that
Since non-count nouns like "sugar" take singular verb agreement it follows that the verb must be the singular "has".
How do you parse the structure of it? Does "it" serve as a dummy subject, with the ...
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1answer
24 views
What's the plural of “that x of a y”?
But that did not solve his problem, his mother's birthday was next
week, he had counted on Arsenal beating Manchester and if that idiot
of a referee had not awarded that idiotic penalty.
I am ...
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2answers
33 views
Can 'get stuffed' be used in a more literal way, instead of 'stuff oneself' (with food, for example)?
'I'm starving! I'm going to go to Chick-fil-A and get stuffed', does it sound okay to a native's ear? British people would use it in a whole different sense but maybe a literal usage of that phrase ...
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0answers
18 views
Why to say “A little bird told me it was the best hotel in this city at that time” and “In a pig's eye”? [duplicate]
what means "A little bird told me it was the best hotel in this city at that time" and "In a pig's eye"?
--A little _____ told me it was the best hotel in this city at that time.
--In a _____ eye. ...
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1answer
38 views
What's the meaning of the phrase “Are you a man or a mouse?” [closed]
Today, my teacher gave me an assignment to write down a conversation using the phrase:
Are you a man or a mouse?
I don't know what that phrase means, can you please help me with this?
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vote
1answer
37 views
are “go or walk barefoot”, “go on foot”, “walk in bare feet” the same? what about “go on bare foot”, “go or walk with your bare feet”?
Ok, in the dictionary, we say
We came on foot (= we walked). Source
walking around the house in bare feet (= not wearing shoes or socks) Source
barefoot: adjective,adverb: not wearing anything on ...
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0answers
22 views
Making one's own word / opinion the one that counts
I am looking for an idiom/expression which implies defeating the opponent in a debate / an argument / a discussion and making one's own word / opinion the one that counts.
I know the idiom "have the ...
2
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4answers
70 views
To beat someone in a competition/debate/etc in a humiliating way
What is the most common informal/casual idiom / expression / verb to imply making someone feel defeated in a humiliating way in AE?
For instance, let's say two youngsters are playing soccer against ...
3
votes
1answer
37 views
Idiom for a doctor telling a patient that he's terminally ill
Suppose a doctor is telling his patient that he is terminally ill and he's got only a few months to live. I assume this kind of situation can be described concisely with this form,
A doctor is X-...
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4answers
52 views
Idiom using the metaphore of “shouting in the dark” & English equivalent
In Czech, we say something is a "shout in the dark" when you do something without expecting it to fulfill the purpose (usually, it's used when someone is pushing for a change and gets no response). Is ...
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0answers
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Can I say “empower toward”?
This is a one line description about how I am trying to describe my work. However afraid the grammar is not correct and can't find anything about it on the web.
"Empowering teams toward efficient &...
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2answers
33 views
“Close/shut one's eyes to sth” VS “Turn a blind eye to sth”
I was wondering what is the difference between these two phrases. For me, they both mean very similar and I cannot differentiate between them.
For more clarification, let me provide you with an ...
0
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1answer
13 views
To think…I think
I am wondering if this is the correct usage
To think I thought I had seen everything when she slipped on her own
spit, I think I cannot be surprised anymore.
I am wondering if this is the only ...
2
votes
1answer
41 views
What does “take a nap between the snoozing lion and lamb” means?
This phrase is from the below paragraph in the book Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert M. Sapolsky.
The book has a number of personal roots. One is that, having had
...
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2answers
41 views
What's the origin of “price of fish”?
I heard an old song by Scooter where he sings "How much is the fish?", realizing that it sounds so irrelevant and stupid that it might be something idiomatic with it.
Turns out it's an expression ...
2
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2answers
40 views
Is “button down” a real idiom?
I was watching a former Watergate prosecutor interview on CNN and heard the following passage:
one of the things that the House Judiciary Committee, the House
Intelligence Committee absolutely ...
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2answers
117 views
“March to the beat of one's own drum” Positive or Negative
In the view of the dictionary definition, the idiom "March to the beat of one's own drum, is more or less something negative which has a connotation of being inattentive, inconsiderate or reckless and ...
2
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1answer
47 views
“Go Back to square one” VS “Go back to the drawing board”
I am going to say:
In spite of all my efforts, I couldn't pass the final exam and I have to attend all these sessions from the beginning again and start everything from the outset! The same old ...
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2answers
35 views
What is the equivalent idiom for the German “Existenzberechtigung”?
"Existenzberechtigung" is a German word used to assert something has a reason/justification to exist, but most often used negated to say something has no reason to exist / should not exist because it ...
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2answers
735 views
What does the phrase “The horse has left the barn” mean?
What does the phrase "The horse has left the barn" mean?
I'm asking this question because I was watching the live testimony of Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire before a ...
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1answer
33 views
“Give someone the cold shoulder” VS “Snub someone”
As The Free Dictionary says:
To give somebody the cold shoulder:
- To intentionally appear disinterested toward one; to snub. This phrase usually refers to the act of ignoring someone.
Example:
...
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1answer
79 views
Why are the poor duck and the goose targetted in a derogatory sense In English?
He is a lame duck
Becoming a doctor is a wild goose chase.
you bloody goose
He was out for a duck or golden duck.
These are some of the terms associated with duck and
geese ...
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3answers
38 views
What is omitted in the idiom “do somebody good”?
An example sentence: "Exercising regularly would do you good."
Is a word such as "things", is omitted in this idiom?
("Exercising regularly would do you good (things).")
I don't get why an adjective(...
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1answer
63 views
What does “racking my sack” mean?
Here is a dialogue from the movie Dumb And Dumber:
1: I wonder what's in this sucker.
2: That thing is worth a fortune! Be careful!
3: It would be nice to know what's in it, though.
...
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1answer
73 views
Why, speaking of a colonoscopy, does it say “they put it up your bottom” and not “they put it up through your bottom”?
This is a piece of dialogue about a colonoscopy from the series "Outnumbered" s03e03:
— Yes, but how does it get inside your insides?
— Well, they put it up your bottom.
Why not "they put it ...
0
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1answer
21 views
Can we use “all manners of” in this particular way?
The definition of the phrase is as follows:
all kinds or sorts of (things or people)
It seems to be used when you have a lot of things or people of different kinds, so can it be used in the ...
2
votes
1answer
69 views
I want to make friendship with you
I know that to make friends with somebody is idiomatic in English.
But in India I hear people saying
I want to make friendship with you
I think native speakers do not accept make friendship with ...
4
votes
4answers
3k views
“Literally” Vs “In the true sense of the word”
The Cambridge and other dictionaries say that "literally" can be used as an emphasis on something. But there is another term: "in the true sense of the word", which to mea has a quite similar meaning ...
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2answers
59 views
What does the phrase 'a punch above your weight' in the sentence ''Get a punch above your weight mug for your mother-in-law Helena''mean?
What does the phrase 'a punch above your weight' in the sentence ''Get a punch above your weight mug for your mother-in-law Helena''mean? I have found in Urban Dictionary that 'to punch above your ...
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1answer
27 views
Does 'getting ages' idiomatically sound natural?
We're usually taught (in Korea) to say getting old to describe that something/someone is aging, but I found out this can sound unnecessarily exaggerated as if it's running out of its lifespan. To tone ...
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2answers
101 views
How to ask someone (e.g. my kid) idiomatically to “hurry up” when he/she is dilatory?
When, for example, your kid is dilatory and we are running out of time, how to express "hurry up"?
I'm not asking how to educate kids, that is another story. I wonder how do Americans or British ...
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1answer
69 views
How to ask someone idiomatically if he/she feels hot or cold?
I'm not a native English user, so when I want to ask someone if he/she feels hot / cold, I will ask the question as per the grammar:
Are you hot?
Are you cold?
But I wonder how do Americans or ...
0
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1answer
43 views
An idiom to mean: to accept / expand someone's statements in formal speech
Let's assume you and someone else (say: Dr. Adam) are giving speech in a meeting. Dr. Adam says something and after his remarks and statements, you'd like to say:
I accept Dr. Adam's statements ...
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1answer
26 views
“Keep track of crime to someone” – meaning
The Bear and the Dragon (a novel by T. Clancy):
“They listened in on them for the occasional traffic accident, perhaps involving a big shot, and mainly to keep a finger on the pulse of Moscow, whose ...
0
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1answer
76 views
“All in all” VS “Altogether” VS “By and large”
Please consider these terms:
a. By and large
b. all in all
c. altogether
I am not quite sure which one of the can be used for which sense below:
A total number / amount
A summary of what you ...
0
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2answers
39 views
American Equivalent for “roll on something”
Roll on something
As you perhaps know, Britons tend to use this term to imply how much they like something happen and when they wish a specific time or event would come more quickly.
Example:
...
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2answers
33 views
“The way I see it”
For example, I'd say
"The way I see it, you catch on quick".
I wondered, "the way" in themselves are Nouns
but then how come do they function as an Adverb in this idiom?
I mean, if it were "In the ...
0
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2answers
54 views
A proverb / saying that says: keep away from people because they have potential to harm you
I am looking for a derogatory proverb including a negative approach toward social associations that conveys the meassage that it would be better to stay away from most of the people! Because many of ...
0
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2answers
42 views
<Go down on bended knee> Vs <Kneel> Vs <Kneel down>
I was wondering what is the difference between the following items:
a. to go down on bended knee
b. to kneel
c. to kneel down
To go down on bended knee
- In a position in which the knee of one ...
1
vote
1answer
18 views
An idiom for “as far as it is related to me,…”
Scenario #1:
Let's suppose a top student is going to give a speech at school and would like to express his gratitude to his teacher for all his efforts in one educational year.
I was wondering how he ...
4
votes
1answer
316 views
An idiom for “Until you punish the offender, they will not give up offenses”
In writing I've come across an idiom of my language that means:
Until you punish the offender, they will not give up offenses.
What is the English idiom for this?
Let me add some explanation to ...
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0answers
40 views
Grate on someone's ears / nerves
What does the sentence below mean?
His voice grates on my ears.
His voice grates on my nerves.
Please have a look on Longman's definition below:
To grate on (to annoy someone):
- Mr ...
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vote
1answer
18 views
“Hoarseness” Vs “frog in one's throat”
Do the two expressions/idioms:
to have a frog in one's throat
to be hoarse
mean the same thing or they have different connotations and usages? If they differ I wonder if you kindly let me know ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
When a youth's voice becomes “manly”
I wonder how would you talk about a voice breaking in young males - around the age of puberty?
This is when they lose their high-pitched voices and start to produce deeper sounds.
What shall I say:
...
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1answer
38 views
What does 'the devil knows what" mean in this sentence?
I am translating a story but I couldn't find the right words for "the devil knows what” in these sentences.
Can anyone explain this a little? Maybe that can give me some ideas. This is the full ...
2
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2answers
359 views
When one problem is added to the previous one
Let's assume has a big problem and is dealing with it. While he has not solved the first problem, another problem comes up and adds to the previous one. I wonder how you would explain this situation ...
3
votes
9answers
942 views
To get so rich that you are not in need of anymore money
I wonder if there is an informal idiom to say that someone made so much money that became needless of any more money and retired themselves (meaning that from then on they work only for fun / pleasure ...
0
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1answer
104 views
at a loss (meaning) [closed]
I would like to know the meaning of "at a loss" in the following context.
I had a friend, a girl. One day I asked her to stop being friends. So she sent me a message saying:
"Only God will know ...
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1answer
28 views
To include something in your daily routine/plans/schedule/timetable
Let's imagine someone is giving some pieces of advice to a person who is looking for some hobbies for their leisure time.
He says:
Have you ever read about the benefits of reading books?! Did ...
