89
votes
Accepted
The meaning of "half woman, half girl"
The text has nothing to do with whether she has a spouse or boyfriend. She's referring to back to a past time when she was a youth, which is a noun meaning "a young person between adolescence and ...
- 12.2k
72
votes
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Meaning of "Sue me"
Actually "sue me" means exactly what your dictionary says. It's kind of "fighting words" that imply the speaker does not apologize for his actions, and the only option the other guy has is to take ...
- 88.4k
69
votes
Accepted
What is the Kool-aid reference?
"Drinking the Kool-Aid" refers to the mass suicide of the "People's Temple" cult at Jonestown, Guyana in 1979. Hundreds of members of the cult are incorrectly believed to have killed themselves by ...
- 2,472
68
votes
What is the meaning of "Dog ate my car"?
So, I heard about Dog ate my homework, but I have never heard about that excuse.
That's the joke exactly. "The dog ate my homework" is an implausible excuse. Everyone knows that it's ...
- 1,362
65
votes
Accepted
"Add-in salt to injury"?
The test's answer “add-in salt to injury” is a mishearing and combination of two idioms: “add insult to injury,” (to mock, ridicule, or worsen something that is already bad) and “rub salt in a wound” ...
- 28.4k
65
votes
Accepted
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is (not?)
I understand your reasoning, but the correct expansion of
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
is
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.
- 6,584
64
votes
Accepted
"Not funny 'ha-ha'", what does Siri mean?
The two meanings of 'funny' when spoken by humans are traditionally summarised as "funny ha ha" - makes you laugh - and "funny peculiar" - as in "the milk tastes funny. You'd better not drink it".
- 5,666
62
votes
What does "call BS" mean in the sentence "We call BS"?
The expression is used to call out (= to draw attention of others upon) a lie or a negligent or deceitful mistake.
As you have found already, BS stands for bullshit, a profanity that basically means "...
- 1,340
59
votes
Accepted
Why are nice picture/gif/video about foo called "foo-porn"?
A definition of porn could be gratuitous images/moving images of naked people and sex acts intended to excite and arouse. The use of foo-porn implies the use of this definition, but replacing "naked ...
- 4,679
56
votes
Accepted
Assigned to a job I know nothing about it - is there an idiom for that idea?
A common metaphor for this is to say you've been "thrown in the deep end", referring to the (supposed) practice of teaching someone to swim by throwing them into a swimming pool at the deep end, where ...
- 175k
56
votes
Accepted
Idiom for "not doing something that makes oneself look more awkward" in an already awkward situation?
The saying "Stop digging yourself into a hole" (or in this case "We should stop digging ourselves into a hole") seems to fit. It refers to someone who is already in a bad or ...
- 21.1k
53
votes
Accepted
Explanation for a joke about a three-legged dog that walks into a bar
The meaning of "paw" is an animal's foot, it sounds like "pa" (an informal word for dad/father).
In cowboy movies, back in the 1940s-50s, there was always the good guy and the bad guy. The bad guy ...
- 28.4k
51
votes
Accepted
Does this make sense to a native speaker? "despite the real Jones is living in a cave!"
Most of the people just wanna keep up with the Joneses, despite the real Jones is living in a cave!
This sentence is understandable to native speakers, but there is a grammar error. You may have ...
- 21.1k
49
votes
"Not funny 'ha-ha'", what does Siri mean?
In context, Siri is saying that you've made a joke but (s)he's not amused by it, in the same general way that a human would respond if you called them by the name of a similar-looking person. It's ...
- 591
49
votes
Accepted
What does "some type of sheep meat" mean
It is a joke
"Lambda cubes" sounds like "lamb cubes" and lamb is the meat of a young sheep. So "Lamb cubes" would be sheep meat cut into blocks.
- 228k
47
votes
What does "call BS" mean in the sentence "We call BS"?
To call is to declare a decision or judgment, especially in a game or contest, but in any context where the participants are expected to abide by certain rules.
For example
The referee called the ...
- 133k
47
votes
Accepted
What does "don't have a baby" imply or mean in this sentence?
I am not familiar with this phrase, so I can't say it's common. It might be an improvisation by the author. Judging from the context, it seems like it means something like "don't get upset", as Lou's ...
- 45.4k
46
votes
Accepted
What does "Rabbit hole" mean?
Rabbit hole commonly refers to either an actual rabbit burrow where rabbits live, or, as an idiomatic phrase used in your Ted-Ed example, the hole Alice went down following the white rabbit in Alice ...
- 2,495
46
votes
Idiom for a student being purposely overly verbose only to make an essay look longer
I would describe the process as inflating or padding my essay.
I might call the extra words and phrases I add fluff.
- 8,730
44
votes
Accepted
Saying for "Bomb proof"
As pointed out in comments, Anglophones use bullet proof as well as bomb proof. Also note that regardless of whether the usage is literal or metaphoric, we usually write the more common bulletproof as ...
- 73.9k
43
votes
Accepted
Is "says you" grammatically correct?
It does not conform to standard grammar, but is fairly common in speech.
Treat it as an idiom. It only works with "says", not other verbs.
- 76.6k
42
votes
Accepted
Why "having something UP one's sleeve," not "having something IN one's sleeve"?
Your arm is in your sleeve, but you put your arm in from the top of the sleeve and that's what the sleeve is for.
But the idiom uses the preposition "up," because something up your sleeve ...
- 793
41
votes
Accepted
Are idioms not recommended in a formal situation?
The guidance in the text is, in my view, oversimplified to the point of being incorrect.
Many idioms and fixed phrases are typically used in informal situations. For example "take a load off your ...
- 41.3k
41
votes
Accepted
How to interpret 'a friend in need is a friend indeed'?
The Collins Dictionary definition you linked is the one to use here:
People in need do not have enough of essential things such as money, food, or good health.
The phrase makes more sense if you ...
- 5,620
40
votes
You can contact me on/over/by Skype
Technically you can use quite a variety of prepositions with the word Skype. For instance on, in, over, by, with, through, and via.
But most people prefer "on Skype" as it is similar to "on the phone"...
- 25.1k
39
votes
What does it mean "to talk over someone"?
When a person is the object of the preposition over, "talking over" is a type of interruption. The policeman was saying something, and the other person started talking before the policeman had ...
- 18.8k
39
votes
Accepted
What's the meaning of "be broker than the Ten Commandments"?
This is an ungrammatical idiom that is also (deliberately) confusing meanings. Broker, in this case, is a construction that is intended to mean more broke, which could be said to be meaningless, as ...
- 4,791
38
votes
Meaning of "Sue me"
Much of the humour of the English language is based in absurdity - we make statements that are extreme to show how absurd a situation is.
"So sue me!" falls into this category, in my opinion at ...
- 9,853
38
votes
Accepted
What does "expensive dinosaur" means?
It's not a set phrase, just a figurative use of the word "dinosaur". Calling someone or something a dinosaur means that their style or methods are old and out-of-date, and do not have a ...
- 5,513
37
votes
Why do we pluralize "congratulations" when we say it?
There is something called a plurale tantum, which is a noun that only ever appears in the plural form.
Some examples are
scissors
trousers
shears
riches
remains
shenanigans
You can't have "a ...
- 41k
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