Idioms Flashcards
according to Hoyle
With strict adherence to a set of rules, fairly and honorably
ad absurdum
An argument where one seeks to prove a position by pointing out the absurdity of an opponent’s position, or an argument carried to such lengths that it becomes ridiculous
ad hominem
an argument where one relies on personal attacks rather than reason or substance
alpha and omega
the beginning and the end, (first and last letter in greek alphabet), also God says “I am Alpha and Omega” in Revelations
And thereby hangs a tale
there’s a real story behind this, from “As You Like It”
annus mirabilis; annus horribilus
miraculous year; terrible year
at loggerheads
engaged in a head-on dispute
at sixes and sevens
in a state of confusion or disorder
bee in one’s bonnet
a chronic preoccupation, often fanciful or eccentric (my cousin has a ____ about the rudeness of local cabdrivers)
bete noire
something or someone a person views with particular dislike (the new candidate is the ____ of all liberals in the state)
beyond the pale
totally unacceptable (his business practices have always been questionable, but this was ____)
bit between one’s teeth
to face up resolutely to a hard task (ralph is having a tough time, but once he takes the ___ there’s no stopping him)
busman’s holiday
a vacation where a person engages in an activity that is the same or similar to his job (our Spanish professor had a ____ this year; she spent the whole vacation doing research in Spain)
buy a pig in a poke
to buy something sight unseen (the mail-order offer sounded like a bargain, but I didn’t want to ____)
calls the tune
to be in control (the one who pays the piper ____)
carry coals to Newcastle
to do something that is obviously superfluous (Karen wanted to give Dad a magazine, but I said that would be like _____ since he already has fifteen of them already)
carte blanche
to receive the power and authority to do as one wishes
castles in the air
extravagant hopes and plans that will never be carried out (I told him he should stop building ____ and train for a sensible profession)
catch-as-catch-can
a situation where people must improvise or do what they can with limited means (we don’t have enough textbooks for all students, so it’ll be ____)
cause celebre
A cause or issue, generally political, that arouses public opinion (the draft was a ___ in the 1960s)
cheek by jowl
situated side by side or in close contact (the commuters were packed in the subway ___)
chip on one’s shoulder
a belligerent attitude or grievance (Joe really has a ___; every time I say something he takes it the wrong way)
chutzpah
courage bordering on arrogance, nerve (it took a lot of __ to make such a controversial statement)
cock-and-bull story
a story that is false (when John came home at 3 am, he gave his mother some ___ story about having a flat tire)
cool one’s heels
to wait for a long time (the doctor kept her ___ for almost an hour)
cotton to
to take a liking to someone or something (I was afraid Janet wouldn’t like my brother, but she ___ him immediately)
coup de grace
the final blow (he had been getting deeper and deeper in debt; the fates delivered the ___ when he died), originally referred to the merciful stroke that fatally wounded a person in pain or misery
crocodile tears
an insincere show of sympathy or sadness (don’t shed any __ for Fisher; I know you were responsible for his firing) (crocodiles were once thought to “weep” large tears before they ate their victims)
cruel to be kind
to cause someone pain for his or her own good, from Hamlet after he berated his mother for her infidelity to the memory of her deceased husband
cultivate one’s own garden
to take care of one’s own needs before taking care of others (the mayor ought to ___ before he starts telling the governor what to do), the moral of “Candide” - take care of your own and the world will take care of itself
curry favor
trying to ingratiate oneself by fawning over that person (the ambassador ___ with the dictator by praising his construction projects)
damn with faint praise
to criticize someone indirectly by giving a slight compliment (when the critic said his book was not as bad as some I’ve read, she was ____)
Davy Jones’s Locker
the bottom of the ocean (someone drowned at sea has gone down to ___)
de jure
determined by law, (in the American South, racial segregation was ___, but in the North, it was de facto)
de rigueur
necessary according to convention (formal dress is ___ at weddings)
deep-six
to dispose of, or to kill (the board of directors ___ the proposal without even reading it) (dept of water necessary for a burial at sea, also graves are six feet underground)
dog in the manger
someone who spitefully refuses to let someone else benefit from something he has no personal use for (we asked our neighbor for the fence posts he had left over, but, like a ___ he threw them out rather than give them to us) (comes from an Aesop fable about a dog lying in a manger full of hay, an ox tries to eat some hay, the dog bites him despite the fact that hay is of no use to the dog)
dyed-in-the-wool
firmly established in one’s beliefs, deeply ingrained in something (the door to door salesmen are wasting their time with Evans, he’s a ___ advocate of shopping online)
eat crow
to suffer a humiliating experience (the organizers had to __ when the fair they had sworn would attract thousands drew scarcely a hundred people) (because crow meat tastes terrible)
eminence grise
a person who wields power behind the scenes (the king’s brother In law is his ___, he has enormous influence, though he is rarely in the public eye)
enfant terrible
a person who stirs things up in an irresponsible or indiscreet way or has unconventional ideas (doctor Hill keeps writing articles critizing his fellow physicians, he is becoming known as the ___ of his profession)
esprit de corps
The feeling of camaraderie among members of a group (the campers have been together for only one week, but they are already bound by a strong ___)
every inch a ___
describes someone whose appearance seems perfectly fitting to his profession or status (the general stood straight and tall at the podium, looking ___ soldier)
ex cathedra
official pronouncement from the Pope, or any authoritative pronouncement
ex post facto
an explanation concocted after the event, sometimes misleading or unjust (your ___ defense won’t stand up in court)
Fabian tactics, or to “win like Fabius”
to wear out an opponent by delay and evasion rather than confrontation
fait accompli
something that has already been done (the company president did not discuss the new hiring policy beforehand, instead she put it into effect and prested the board with a ____)
feather one’s own nest
to look after one’s own interests, especially material (the director was supposed to distribute the money to charity, instead, he used it to ___)
feet of clay
people who have a weakness or flaw that most are unaware of (when the coach was arrested for drunken driving, the students realized that their hero had ___)
fifth wheel
a hanger-on, person who serves no function (the vice president felt like a ___ after his exclusion from the committee)
fine kettle of fish
a troublesomely awkward or embarrassing situation (he usually managed to worm his way out of trouble, but this time he found himself in a ____)
fits and starts
to do something intermittently or sporadically (Martina has been working on her thesis in ___; she needs to work on it consistently)
fly-by-night
shady or untrustworthy (before buying stock, you should do research to make sure it’s not a ___ operation)
footprints on the sands of time
a phrase describing the mark that great individuals leave on history, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
forty winks
a nap (if you’re feeling drowsy, take ___, I’ll you when the guests arrive)
four-letter words
euphemism for the most common verbal obscenities
from pillar to post
from one place or thing to another in rapid succession (she couldn’t stick to one project and was always dashing ___)
get one’s dander up
to lose one’s temper or to become aroused to some form of action (the boxer finally ___ and went after his opponent with a vengeance)
get someone’s goat
to make someone annoyed or angry (he may seem unflappable, but I know a way to ___) (putting goats in the stall of a high-strung thoroughbred was said to calm them, opponents would steal them to upset the horse)
gild the lily
to adorn unnecessarily something that is already beautiful or perfect (he had us all believering his tall tale until he couldn’t resist ___)
a bird in a gilded cage
to live in luxury, but without freedom (because the movie star could not go anywhere without being recognized, she stayed in her penthouse, living like a ____)
glad-hander
an excessively friendly or familiar person (a ___ like Billy offends more people than he charms)
what does AWOL stand for?
absent without leave
hoi polloi (hoy puh-loy)
the masses, the ordinary folk, often used in a derogatory way to refer to a popular preference or incorrect opinion (the hoi polloi may think that Fitzgerald is a great director, but film experts know his work is derivative)
hoist by one’s own petard
to be caught in one’s own trap (the swindler cheated himself out of most of his own money, the victims were satisfied to see him hoisted by his own petard) (a petard was a medieval bomb, to be hoisted by a petard meant to be blown up)
horse of a different color
a different matter entirely (you might convince him, but his mother, that’s a horse of a different color)
how many angels can stand (dance) on the head of a pin?
scornful description of a tedious concern with irrelevant details, an allusion to religious controversies in the middle ages
hue and cry
any loud clamor or protest intended to incite others to action (in the govmt there was a great hue and cry for educational reform)
in loco parentis
to assume the duties and responsibilities of a parent (because his parents were out of town, his sister acted in loco parentis and punished him for staying out so late)
in situ
in the original place or arrangement (the body was left in situ until the police arrived)
in the pink
in good health (Marsha recovered from the flu and is feeling in the pink again)
in toto
Totally or completely (we reject your demands in toto)
Jack of all trades, master of none
Someone who is good at many things, but excellent at none
je ne sais quoi (zhuh nuh say kwah)
that little something; a quality that eludes description (The Mona Lisa’s smile has a certain je ne sais quoi), means “I don’t know what” in French
joie de vivre
a love of life
keep the wolf from one’s door
to ward off poverty or hunger (the job won’t provide him with any luxuries, but it should keep the wolf from his door)
kingdom come
the next world, the afterlife (the superpowers have enough nukes to blow the world to kingdom come)
the King’s English
correct English usage and diction (with their mixture of jargon and slang, sportscasters are constantly murdering the King’s English)
land of Nod
to nod off, to go to sleep (what a boring speech! Half the listeners are on their way to the land of Nod)
laugh up one’s sleeve
to be secretly amused at something (she acted concerned over out plight, but we knew she was laughing up her sleeve)
left-handed compliment
a compliment with two meanings, one of which is unflattering (the senator said her opponent was quite competent for someone so inexperienced, a left-handed compliment)
life of Riley
a life of luxury (She found herself living the life of Riley after she won the lottery), from a popular song called “Is That Mr. Reilly?” where the title character describes what he would do if he suddenly became wealthy
live in an ivory tower
to lead an impractical existence removed from the pressures and troubles of everyday life (like most college professors, he lives in an ivory tower)
lock, stock, and barrel
the whole of anything (our new manager wants to reorganize the entire operation, lock, stock, and barrel), (lock, stock, and barrel are the 3 parts of a rifle)
lunatic fringe
derogatory name for the extreme radical members of a group, especially politics (the candidate referred to the organization as being on the lunatic fringe of conservatism), coined by Teddy Roosevelt
make a clean breast of it
make a full confession (the judge will give the convict a lighter sentence if he makes a clean breast of his involvement with the crime)
make a virtue of necessity
to pretend that one is freely and happily doing something one has been forced to do (once the mayor was forced by the voters to cut his budget, he made a virtue of necessity and loudly denounced govmt spending)
who said “go ahead, make my day”
Dirty Harry, and Ronald Reagan (threatening to veto any tax increase)
mea culpa
to assign blame to oneself, my fault (from a Catholic ritual) (I gave you the wrong directions to my house - mea culpa)
milk of human kindness
humane feeling, concern for other people (from Macbeth) (Everyone agreed that he was a brilliant thinker and excellent lawyer, but some people worried he lacked the milk of human kindness)
mind your p’s and q’s
pay attention to details (we want this operation to run smoothly, so everyone please mind your p’s and q’s) (children often reverse p’s and q’s when learning to write their letters)
modus vivendi
a compromise between adversaries that allows them to temporarily get along (during the separation, my parents adopted a modus vivendi that enabled them to tolerate each other)
more sinned against than sinning
expression used for those who may be guilty, but think themselves the victim (from King Lear)
most unkindest cut of all
the most painful insult or offense, (From Julius Caesar - Brutus’s wound to Caesar was the most unkindest cut of all)
what does NIMBY stand for
Not In My Back Yard, used when people resist unwanted development such as power plants or prisons in their neighborhood
nine days’ wonder
someone or something that is famous for only a short time (Last year the art critics praised Jonas as if he were a master, but he turned out to be a nine days’ wonder)
nip and tuck
closely contested, neck and neck (it was nip and tuck there for a while, but our team finally pulled through)
noblesse oblige (noh-bles oh-bleezh)
belief that wealthy people are obliged to help those less fortunate
non compos mentis
someone who is out of his mind and therefore not legally responsible for his actions (it was determined by the court that the killer was non compos mentis)
nose out of joint
to be in a bad mood (ever since he got that traffic ticket, he’s had his nose out of joint)
Old Glory
nickname for the US flag
on tenterhooks
to be held in a state of nervous apprehension (we’ve been on tenterhooks since the election results started coming in) (tenterhooks secure newly woven cloth onto a frame)
on the horns of a dilemma
to be divided between two seemingly equal options (when Mary was offered two equally attractive jobs, she found herself on the horns of a dilemma)
paint the town red
to go on a wild spree (Arnie and a few of his buddies drove off in a car Friday night and really painted the town red)
pay the piper
to pay the consequences for self-indulgent behavior (if you stay up late at night to watch TV, in the morning you will have to pay the piper)
pell-mell
a confused, disorderly manner (after the assembly, the students ran pell-mell from the auditorium)
persona non grata
a person no longer welcome (after my angry words with the manager, I am persona non grata at the video store)
play fast and loose
reckless, to proceed without considering the facts or to behave dishonorably (it sounds like a good deal, but I hope the real estate agent isn’t just playing fast and loose with me)
play to the gallery
to direct a performance toward less sophisticated tastes, or to attempt to gain approval by crude or obvious means (the cast was a collection of method actors who played to the gallery)
pooh-bah
a self-important person of high position and influence (Pooh-Bah, Lord-High-Everything-Else, is a character in “The Mikado” opera by Gilbert and Sullivan)
pound of flesh
Creditors who cruelly demand repayment of debt, no matter how much suffering it will cost the debtor (the bank will have its pound of flesh; it is going to foreclose tomorrow.), from “The Merchant of Venice”
pour oil on troubled waters
to calm a disturbance (his ideas caused a real dissension within the party at first, but he poured oil on troubled waters in last night’s speech), in ancient times oil was poured on ocean waves to calm turbulence (doesn’t actually help)
primrose path
a life of ease and pleasure, the easy way out of a hard situation (to lead people down the primrose path is to deceive them into thinking things are easier than they actually are)
pro forma
satisfying only the minimum requirements of a task (her welcoming address was strictly pro forma: you could tell that her mind was a million miles away)
pro tempore (pro tem) (proh tem-puh-ree)
temporarily (while the president of the company is ill, the VP will act as the leader pro tem)
put on the dog
to make show of wealth or elegance (the annual ball gave everyone a chance to dress up and put on the dog)
Pyrrhic victory (peer-ik)
victory that is accompanied by enormous losses, Pyrrhus was an ancient general who, after defeating the Romans, told those who wished to congratulate him “One more such victory and Pyrrhus is undone”
the quality of mercy is not strained
mercy is something that has to be freely given, it can’t be forced (strained means constrained or forced), from “Merchant of Venice”
raise Cain
to create a disturbance (Alan and his buddies were always raising Cain over at the frat house)
raison d’etre (ray-zohnn det-ruh)
A basic, essential purpose; a reason to exist (Professor argues that in the nuclear age, infantry have lost their raison d’etre”
red-letter day
a special or memorable day, refers to old custom of printing holidays in red on calendars (John got promoted and engaged to be married yesterday; it was truly a red-letter day for him)
rich as Croesus (kree-suhs)
extremely wealthy, Croesus was an ancient Greek king whose wealth was legendary
sacred cow
anything that is beyond criticism (that housing project is a real sacred cow: the city council won’t hear of abandoning it), Hindus consider cows sacred and do not eat them because they believe they contain souls of dead people
sail under false colors
to behave deceptively, the colors of a ship are its identifying flags (it turned out that the door-to-door sales rep was sailing under false colors and was actually a swindler)
salad days
a time of youth and inexperience, often, a better and more innocent time, from “Antony and Cleopatra” where Cleopatra says her early infatuation with Julius Caesar was foolish “My salad days, when I was green in judgment
salt of the Earth
basic, fundamental goodness, a simple good person: “I like Mary, she’s reliable, trustworthy; she’s salt of the Earth”, Jesus tells his followers in the Sermon on the Mount that “Ye are the salt of the Earth”
sanctum sanctorum
a sacred and private place, the place in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant was kept
sangfroid (sahn-fwah)
composure in the face of difficulty or danger (we would all be dead today if our bus driver hadn’t kept his sangfroid when the bus began to skid on the ice)
savoir faire (sav-wahr fair)
ease and dexterity in social and practical affairs (Peter is a friendly person, but he lacks the savoire faire required for a successful career in the foreign service)
sea legs
to become accustomed to a new or strange situation, to be able to walk calmly and steadily on a tossing ship (even though Kim just joined the company, she’s got her sea legs in a hurry)
seamy side
the unattractive aspect of something (lying and stealing are part of the seamy side of life)
see red
to be extremely angry (when Roger realized that he had been duped, he started to see red)
semper fidelis (sem-puhr fi-day-lis)
“always faithful”, motto of the US Marine Corp
set one’s teeth on edge
something that one finds intensely irritating (the mayor’s sexist remark set my teeth on edge)
ships that pass in the night
often said of people who meet for a brief but intense moment and then part, never to see each other again, like two ships that greet each other with flashing lights then sait off into the night, from a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
sine qua non (sin-i kwah nohn)
the essential or crucial ingredient without which something would be impossible (her leadership was the sine qua non of the organization’s success)
soft soap
flattery (Mary asked the boss to stop giving her a loft of soft soap about her performance and to start leveling with her like any other employee)
soup to nuts
to include or cover everything (e.g. a full course meal) (the lecture on weather forecasting covered everything from soup to nuts)
staff of life
a basic staple food such as bread, rice or potatoes (rice is the staff of life in eastern Asia)
stool pigeon
an informant, especially for the police (Lefty figured Mugsy was the stool pigeon when he saw him talking to the warden)
strange bedfellows
Unlikely companions or allies (politics makes strange bedfellows)
straw in the wind
a small sign that hints of something that is about to happen (it is difficult to tell whether the new regime will relax censorship, although a recent remark by the minister of culture may be a straw in the wind)
straw man
a made-up version of an opponent’s argument that can easily be defeated, to accuse people of attacking a straw man is to suggest that they are avoiding worthier opponents and more valid criticisms of their own position (his speech had emotional appeal, but it wasn’t really convincing because he attacked a straw man rather than addressing the real issues)
suffer fools gladly
a person who does not “suffer fools gladly” is one who does not tolerate stupidity in others
sui generis (sooh-ee jen-uh-ris)
a person or thing that is unique, in a class by itself (she is an original artist; each of her paintings is sui generis)
sweeten the kitty
to raise the stakes (in poker the pot is called the kitty) (before you decide which job offer to accept, perhaps we can offer you a few added fringe benefits to sweeten the kitty)
take a powder
to make a quick departure (when he saw the police coming, the thief decided to take a powder)
talk turkey
to discuss in a straightforward manner (The time has come to talk turkey about our national debt)
terra firma
dry land, as opposed to the sea (after our stormy voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, we were relieved to set foot on terra firma)
tete-a-tete (tayt-uh-tayt)
an intimate meeting or conversation between two individuals (French for “head-to-head”)
There is no joy in Mudville
a disappointment, from “Casey at the Bat” after he strikes out and loses the game (my father has just lost his job; there’s no joy in Mudville tonight)
three sheets to the wind
drunk (the sheet is the line that controls the sails on a ship, if the line is not secured, the sail flops in the wind and the ship loses headway and control, if all 3 sails are loose, the ships is out of control)
Timbuktu
a faraway and unknown place (a remote town in Mali)
to the manner born
destined to be something by birth (Rachel is charming at dinner parties - as if she were to the manner born), from Hamlet
Tom, Dick, and Harry
randomly chosen people (I asked you to keep my plans secret, but you’ve told them to every Tom, Dick, and Harry)
tongue-in-cheek
joking or said for humorous purposes or ironically (the critic’s remarks of praise were uttered strictly tongue-in-cheek)
too many irons in the fire
to be engaged in too many activities (he turned down the consulting job; he felt that he already had too many irons in the fire)
tour de force
a feat accomplished through great skill and ability (the speech was a tour de force; it swept the audience off its feet)
town and gown
in a college town, the relations between the residents of the town and the students and faculty of the school (who in the past wore academic gowns), (these relations are often not friendly)
trial balloon
a small campaign or test designed to gauge public response (originally referred to a balloon sent up to determine weather conditions)(the speech on free trade he delivered must have been a trial balloon; the audience reacted with hostility, and he has not mentioned the subject since)
two shakes of a lamb’s tail
very quickly (the repairman said he could fix our tire in two shakes of a lamb’s tail; we were back on the road in 10 minutes)
two strings to one’s bow
more than one option or set of resources (she has two strings to her bow; if her career in politics falls through, she can fall back on her law practice)
Typhoid Mary
a person likely to cause a disaster (from Mary Mallen, an Irish woman in the US who was discovered to be a carrier of typhoid fever)
under the wire
just in time (she mailed off her application, and it got in just under the wire), (from horse racing where the wire marks the finish line)
vis-à-vis
relative to, compared with (she performed well vis-à-vis the rest of the competitors)
walking papers
notice of dismissal, to “get one’s walking papers” means to be fired
wanderlust
German word for the irresistibly strong desire to travel or wander
warm the cockles of one’s heart
to cause a feeling of affectionate happiness (the thought of his grandmother was enough to warm the cockles of his heart)
warp and woof
the essential foundation of any structure/organization (from weaving: the warp (threads that run lengthwise, and woof (threads that run across) make up the fabric), (the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are the warp and woof of the American nation)
water off a duck’s back
to fail to catch on or make a mark (the reporter’s snide comments rolled off the candidate like water off a duck’s back)
wet behind the ears
immature, inexperienced, naïve (don’t rely on his advice about girlfriends; he’s still wet behind the ears)
white elephant
a valuable but burdensome possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost of upkeep is out of proportion to its worth (the new office building turned out to be a white elephant once the company decided to move its headquarters), (kings of Siam would present white elephants to those they disliked to ruin the recipient by the cost of its maintenance)
worth one’s salt
worth one’s salary (from the Roman custom of paying soldiers money to buy salt)
Young Turk
an insurgent person trying to take control of a situation or organization by force or political maneuver (from young Turkish officers who overthrew Ottoman rulers after WW I)
