Feb 2016 Flashcards
mom and apple pie
an often parodied sentiment expressed about allegedly quintessential elements of American home life.
Fred is so old-fashioned. Everything about old times is good to him. He’s all motherhood and apple pie.
the ball is in your court
(variants: my, their, our, his, or her may replace your)
It is someone’s turn to make the decision
Which direction will you go from here? The ball is in your court.
tar and feather
to punish or humiliate someone by coating them with tar and feathers.
The people of the village tarred and feathered the bank robber and chased him out of town.
ann curry’d
- Fired without merit or reason
- Being let go from a job unexpectedly.
We got Ann Curry’d from our job, but its cool we got that unemployment doe!
you can bet your life/your bottom dollar
if you say you can bet your bottom dollar that something will happen or is true, you mean you are completely certain
You can bet your bottom dollar that she won’t apologize.
case in point
an instance or example that illustrates what is being discussed.
“the “green revolution” in agriculture is a good case in point”
take a load off
to sit down and/or relax
Come on in and take a load off.
white knuckles
To hold somthing with your hand(s) in a constant position so tight and long that blood rushes away from your knuckles and they become pale and sweaty.
He was white knucklin’ the steering wheel.
homestretch
the concluding straight part of a racecourse.
“he drifted in back of the pack halfway down the homestretch”
drive a wedge between somebody
to cause a division between people or groups
Frank had to travel a lot and this finally drove a wedge between him and his wife.
draw a blank
(lottery) to get no response; to find nothing.
I asked him about Tom’s financial problems, and I just drew a blank.
dot the i’s and cross the t’s
finish the details:
The proposal’s almost complete – all we have to do now is dot the i’s and cross the t’s.
appropriation
a sum of money or total of assets devoted to a special purpose.
Frank Underwood: if you don’t approve the BIA (bureau of indian affairs) benefits, we will take away the appropriations for aboriginals
have an axe to grind
to have a strong opinion about something, which you are often trying to persuade other people is correct
As a novelist, he has no political axe to grind.
