All Questions
Tagged with phrases expressions
85 questions
10
votes
4
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Seeking an English Equivalent for the Concept of "Evil Eye"
I'm trying to understand how to express a concept from my culture in English. In my language, we have a term, which roughly translates to casting the evil eye. This term is often used in situations ...
- 655
1
vote
1
answer
69
views
Meaning of the phrase "strike a bonanza"
Just as a tribe might occasionally strike a bonanza in the game of primitive warfare, sometimes a state might do the same, given the opportunities offered an Alexander the Great or a Hernan Cortes.
...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
229
views
Which does the phrase "consider doing something" imply, suggestion or suppression?
When someone says "Consider doing something", which is implied, suggestion or suppression?
For example, "Consider eating more vegetables" sounds like a suggestion for me.
But how ...
- 103
0
votes
1
answer
130
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Can you paraphrase "How long do we give it" in the excerpt below?
I'm still developing my English so it's great if you answer my question in a very short and direct way; the shorter it is, the better.
I don't get the meaning of "HOW LONG DO WE GIVE IT" in ...
- 65
0
votes
2
answers
299
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off to a week's vacation
I just need to get to Boston and then I'm off to a week's vacation.
When would it be natural to use 'off to a week's vacation'? Can it be used if you just have a week off from work or only if you're ...
- 1,279
-1
votes
1
answer
46
views
What is the meaning of the phrase "as it were"? [closed]
In older texts, one can find the phrase "as it were".
Is it similiar in meaning to the contemporary phrase, "as if"?
The little girl placed teacups in front of Mr. Bear and Dolly, ...
- 788
3
votes
6
answers
3k
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Is there a phrase or expression that means "riding a horse with another person"? [duplicate]
Is there a phrase or expression that means "riding a horse with another person"?
I can't think of a shorter more concise way to say it. The best I could manage is "riding a horse as a ...
user88427
0
votes
2
answers
317
views
Isn't "tapping" what you say when you fill up a bath tub with water?
I'm going to tap the tub.
This apparently makes no sense, according to a native English girl.
I was baffled, and made many searches online for "tapping a bath" and "tap a bath", ...
Markie S.
1
vote
3
answers
142
views
What does "Jewish nose" imply? [closed]
In the following link of the youtube video at 1:10, the bride says: "He is an Irishman with a Jewish nose." What does "Jewish nose" imply to make people laugh out loud in the video?...
- 383
0
votes
2
answers
557
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Idiom for "I thought about it a lot"
I am wondering what are the alternatives for "I thought a lot about it" in English using an idiom or fixed expression?
I thought a lot about it, but I couldn't find any answer to it.
I ...
- 14.3k
0
votes
0
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79
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When someone is falling out of favor with someone else (Informal equivalent)
I am intrigued to know how would you normally imply the following notion in everyday speech?
When you do something which makes people stop liking you or admiring you you might fall out of favor with ...
- 14.3k
1
vote
1
answer
128
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When someone suddenly slows down or stops doing what they started passionately and vigorously
When a runner gets exhausted during a competition, they might slow down either:
to save energy to keep back going after a short time (intentionally)
or just due to the lack of adequate and required ...
- 14.3k
1
vote
2
answers
47
views
A verb to imply something has made you feel not tired anymore
Work can wear you out, whether your job requires physical labor or not.
Imagine you feel really tired due to a long time of hard work either (either mentally or physically), or when you are back home ...
- 14.3k
1
vote
1
answer
42
views
The verb for overtaking in a specific way
I am wondering what is the verb, expression or idiom which is used when a car tries to overtake its adjacent car and since there is another car ahead, the driver has to deviate their car and pass ...
- 14.3k
0
votes
2
answers
220
views
Fire away (please)
According to the dictionary definition:
Fire away
is used for giving sb permission to ask a question.
Can I ask you a question? --- Fire away.
I was wondering if a university professor asks me:
...
- 14.3k
0
votes
1
answer
438
views
What is the meaning of "I'm afraid that...."
If said, "I am afraid that Shadow was the thief."
Am I saying,
(1) I am sorry to say that or I say with regret that Shadow was the thief. So that, I am definitively saying that Shadow was ...
- 25
1
vote
2
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840
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Subject+got+object+past participle
I have always thought it means someone did something for you but recently i came across this structure can mean that you did some thing yourself. What do you reckon
Eg i got the task complete/...
- 581
0
votes
1
answer
106
views
"He gets awake " "He gets waken up"
As with can use "get" with both "an adjective" and 'past participle". SO can i say "He gets awake = he awakes. He gets woken up= he wakes up.
- 581
0
votes
1
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47
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“He keeps me telling a truth” “He keeps me waking up at night”
Instead of saying “He keeps telling me a truth” “He keeps waking me up at night”
Can i say “He keeps me telling a truth” “He keeps me waking up at night”?
- 581
0
votes
2
answers
39
views
In hand and with the other hand, what is correct?
I would like to know which version of this sentence is correct ? I don't know if it's ok to write "with the other" or if it's best to write "in the other" ...
Ben is pasha-style ...
Lou
1
vote
1
answer
447
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"Have a hard time" VS "Barely manage"
I want to indicate that someone has gone through a lot of difficulties to achieve an academic degree because he / she wasn't studious enough or was not smart enough to pass their exams.
I wonder if ...
- 14.3k
1
vote
1
answer
51
views
(Be full of / Have a lot of) (needs / demands)
I was wondering what combination sounds more idiomatic here in my example?
Children .................. So, forward-looking parents would better make sure whether they can fulfill their needs and meet ...
- 14.3k
1
vote
1
answer
92
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I want to say eyeacke like headache
I want to say I have pain in my eyes. I find a word but I am not sure that is correct. this word is eye-sore. Is that correct?
Second, if I say my eyes burn, is that correct? I want to say my eyes ...
- 135
0
votes
1
answer
49
views
What is the meaning of (half a notion for something)?
What is the meaning of (half a notion for ..) in this context?
What is left is attachment to yourself: a recognition of worth and
the wish that it be preserved. Thus, half a notion for
approaching ...
Lili M
0
votes
1
answer
49
views
What does "no more... than it does" mean?
I'm reading a book about the US Constitution and this sentence really throws me off. It says:
[To treat the Constitution] like a statute whose words carried the same meaning they did in 1787 in ...
Alex
0
votes
1
answer
135
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(Feel / send) (shivers / a shiver) down one's spine
According to the Cambridge Dictionary definition the phrase "shiver down your spine means:
a frightened or excited feeling:
At its most terrifying, his writing sends shivers down my spine.
...
- 14.3k
0
votes
2
answers
90
views
Is "it’s like men’s shirts" an idiomatic expression?
I came across the expression on a JapanToday webpage.
Why it's hard to make vaccines and boost supplies
"We think, well, OK, it’s like men’s shirts, right, I’ll just have
another place to make ...
- 997
0
votes
2
answers
1k
views
"Be done with someone" VS "Be through with somebody"
I was wondering whether either one of the sentences below:
a. I'm done with you.
b. I'm through with you.
can be used in AmE to imply: "our relationship is over" for the speaker. If no, ...
- 14.3k
0
votes
1
answer
132
views
When you "love somebody so much"
I am looking for some fixed American expressions / idiom to convey my love to someone in an exaggerated way! I was wondering whether the following structures can be used in this sense:
a. I love you ...
- 14.3k
0
votes
1
answer
3k
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"A hard working day" VS "A hard day's work"
I would be appreciative if anyone could help me with choosing the right answer:
I had a quite ............ and I felt so sleepy. I'm off to bed.
a. hard working day
b. hard day's work
I think &...
- 14.3k
0
votes
1
answer
6k
views
When you "miss someone so much"
I was wondering how to say I miss you so much in an exaggerated way?
I know the following structures:
a. I miss you to pieces.
b. I miss you to the moon and back. (I have my doubts whether this ...
- 14.3k
1
vote
3
answers
192
views
"The breadline" in AmE
As Cambridge dictionary clarifies, the term "the breadline" is a British one that means:
the breadline
The level of income someone has when they are very poor, with only just enough money ...
- 14.3k
0
votes
2
answers
306
views
How to evade answering "why" in AmE?
I'm eager to know whether there is any fixed expression in English to refuse answering the WH-question "why" when you are reluctant or somehow have some reasons that prevents you from ...
- 14.3k
0
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4
answers
7k
views
What’s that supposed to mean vs what does that suppose to mean vs what’s that suppose to mean
I, for some reason, can’t figure out the grammar of the following phrase - “What’s that supposed to mean?”...
Why isn’t it “What does that suppose to mean?” or “What’s that suppose to mean?” I know it’...
Eric_D
1
vote
2
answers
146
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You're not gonna get away with this!/You'll not get away with this!/You won't get away with this!/You're not getting away with this!
I'm writing a story. A burglar breaks into a man's home and threatens him with a gun. As the burglar locks the man into a room so that he can rob his things, the man yells at him -
1) You're not ...
- 79
3
votes
1
answer
3k
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Is "good for you" or "good on you" meant as sarcasm in English?
In Swedish, kids (at least a few decades ago, when I was a kid) sarcastically say:
Kul för dig!
This literally means:
Fun for you!
Or, more clearly:
That's good... for you!! (But what's it ...
Jaspal
2
votes
2
answers
80
views
"give something to someone as I had been given"?
Say I received much love from the community as I grow up and now wish to give such love to younglings in the community. Is it correct/natural to say "I give love to them as I had been given"?
What ...
- 23
0
votes
2
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619
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What does "how is that!" mean in this context?
In the 1995 comedy musical movie "Cannibal! The Musical", there is a song called "That's All I'm Askin' For!". Part of the song goes like this:
It ain't a lot to ask.
I'm sure we'll get it fast.
...
Jayro
3
votes
5
answers
3k
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 ...
- 14.3k
0
votes
3
answers
406
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:
...
- 14.3k
0
votes
1
answer
67
views
"The professor does the attendance in his room" is grammatically correct?
I know that attendance for students means "being present in the class".
How can I say that the professor answers the doubts questions in his room, for example Mondays between 4 and 5 pm?
Could it be ...
- 103
1
vote
0
answers
2k
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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 ...
- 14.3k
0
votes
1
answer
57
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:
...
- 14.3k
-1
votes
1
answer
875
views
(As you mentioned / pointed out) and (Thank you for mentioning / pointing out)
I know that when you 'point something out' you have already found something important with that and would like the listener(s) know about it too in order to draw their attention to it.
Now, please ...
- 14.3k
0
votes
1
answer
75
views
When one has a spouse that they do not deserve him / her
There is a hyperbole which says always a best husband/wife belongs to somebody who really doesn't deserve him/her!
For instance, a quite gorgeous girl with a high educational degree and good family, ...
- 14.3k
5
votes
2
answers
13k
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"In charge of" vs "Responsible for"
I would appreciate it if you could let me know what phrase can ne used in the following blanks:
1- Everybody is ................. their own actions. So you cannot blame others for what you did in ...
- 14.3k
3
votes
2
answers
2k
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"Off the top of one's head" or "by heart"
I wonder which expression can be used in my following example?
Our teacher was a really smart person. At the second session, he know everyone's name ................
off the top of his head
from ...
- 14.3k
0
votes
1
answer
2k
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The meaning and the usage of the expression "Dare I say..."
Macmillan dictionary says:
Dare I say:
Used when you are saying something that you think other people may not like:
This famous novel is a little, dare I say it, dull.
Or as Longman says:
...
- 14.3k
0
votes
2
answers
1k
views
The meaning and the usage of the expression "Don't you dare"
To me, "Don't you dare!" is an expression that communicates a warning to someone. For instance:
Don't you dare talk to me like that!
Don't you dare follow me! (ete...)
But I wonder if you ...
- 14.3k
0
votes
1
answer
316
views
The meaning and the usage of the expression: "I dare say"
Some dictionaries have defined the expression "I dare say / daresay" as spoken one and some other ones have defined it as a formal expression!
Meanwhile, some dictionaries consider it to be old-...
- 14.3k