SMARTidioms Flashcards
Bring home the bacon
To earn most, or all, of the money
In Stitches
Laughing uncontrollably.
at the end of one’s rope
to have no more patience or strength
bite the bullet
To commence with something that is unpleasant, but inevitable
bite the dust
to die, to end in failure, to suffer a defeat:
cough up
give something reluctantly, especially money or information that is due or required
different strokes for different folks
Different people do things differently, in ways that suit their personalities
dressed to kill
Dressed in a very impressive way
dressed to the teeth
Very well dressed and fashionable, typically for a formal event.
duck soup
An easily accomplished task or assignment, a cinch to succeed
eating someone
to worry, annoy, or bother.
eyes are bigger than one’s stomach
someone has taken more food than he or she can possibly eat.
face the music
Face the consequences of something you have done
feed someone a line
to tell someone something that is not completely true, often as an excuse:
feel like a million dollars
feel extremely good.
fork over/shell out money
To pay money (often a large or unaffordable amount) for something
get the ax
To be fired
get up on the wrong side of the bed
To wake up in a bad mood or to be in a bad mood first thing in the morning
give someone the slip
To escape or get away from someone.
hot under the collar
Angry.
in the hole
In debt; in trouble, especially financial trouble
jump the gun
To start too quickly
kick up one’s heels
enjoy yourself a lot, in delight. to feel or express joy or triumph
knock someone’s socks off
amaze or impress someone.
mind one’s P’s and Q’s
: to be careful about behaving in a polite or proper way.
on ice
to postpone something.
on one’s last legs
Extremely tired, weak or in very bad condition
on the line
to be at risk
out of the woods
out of danger or difficulty
out on a limb
to do something risky or extreme , which puts you in a position of weakness
paint the town red
to go out and enjoy yourself by drinking alcohol, dancing, laughing with friends
put one’s money where one’s mouth is
to give or spend money or take some action in order to do or support something that one has been talking about
raise a stink
Create a great fuss; complain, criticize, or otherwise make trouble about something.
sell someone down the river
betray someone, especially so as to benefit oneself.
sell someone short
To undervalue someone, something, or oneself; to underestimate or underappreciate the good qualities of someone, something, or oneself.
shape up or ship out
either improve one’s behavior or else be required to leave;
shoot off one’s mouth
to talk foolishly, carelessly, or too much about something
shoot the breeze
have a casual conversation
sitting pretty
well placed or established financially, socially
snow job
An effort to deceive, persuade, or overwhelm with insincere talk
spread, oneself too thin
bite off more than one can chew, keep one’s nose to the grindstone
string someone along
to deceive someone for a long time about what you are really intending to do: to accompany someone
stick out one’s neck
To take a risk
talk through one’s hat
talk foolishly, wildly, or ignorantly.
toot one’s own horn
to talk about oneself or one’s achievements especially in a way that shows pride or too much pride.
up one’s sleeve
you have an idea or plan which you have not told anyone about. You can also say that someone has an ace, card, or trick up their sleeve.
demeanor
outward behavior or bearing.
Cast-iron stomach
A stomach that never seems to get upset, regardless of what one eats
Catch-22
Something that illogically gets in the way of something else, creating a trap. Comes from the title of the novel, Catch-22
Climb the walls
To feel restless.
Cold enough to freeze the ball off a brass monkey
Very cold
Collecting dust
Not being used
Cook someone’s goose
To ruin their plans
Cost me a mint
It cost me a lot of money.
Crack open a cold one
Open a cold can of beer.
Crank out a paper
To write a paper (or essay) in a mechanical sort of way, probably in a rush
Cream of the crop
The best
Crickets
Complete silence or lack of communication about something.
Cross that bridge when you come to it
Deal with the problem when it becomes an obstacle
Crunch time
A time when things need to finally get done.
Cup of Joe
cup of coffee
Curve ball
Something that is deceptive or confusing.
Cut and dried
Unequivocal or clear, or perhaps routine.
Cut someone off at the knees
To humiliate someone or compel them to do something you want
Cut the mustard
Do something well or up to standard.
Cut them some slack
Refrain from being too critical of someone.
Cut to the chase
Get to the point quickly.
Cut to the quick
To deeply wound or hurt someone
Cute as a bug
Endearing and sweet.
Cutting corners
Doing a task inadequately in an effort to save money or time.
Damn someone with faint praise
criticize someone in a way that seems to be praise but actually communicates disapproval or condemnation
Dead from the neck up
Unintelligent or stupid.
Dead in the water
No longer effective
Dead ringer
To look exactly like someone else.
Dead to the world
In a deep sleep.
Dig in your heels
To retain your position on something in spite of what others say
Dish the dirt
Reveal an embarrassing or scandalous secret, probably about someone else; spread gossip
Divide the spoils
To divide the rewards resulting from an endeavor
Do someone a good turn
To do something kind for someone
Do something by the seat of your pants
To tackle something without really knowing what you’re doing at first
Doesn’t hold water
Isn’t credible and cannot withstand scrutiny
Doesn’t know beans about it
Knows very little, or nothing, on a subject
Dog and pony show
A presentation of some kind that has quite a bit of style but lacks real content
Dog days of summer
The hottest summer days
Dog-eat-dog
A ruthless environment.
Dollars for doughnuts
A certainty, or a sure bet
Don’t sweat the small stuff
Don’t spend time worrying about insignificant issues and small problems
Done to a turn
Food is cooked perfectly
Don’t give up your day job
You’re not very competent at a task, or you’re not good enough to do it professionally
Don’t hold your breath
Don’t be hopeful or imagine that something will happen.
Don’t know him from Adam
Don’t know a person
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
Don’t find fault with a gift you are given.
Don’t quote me on that
This might be the answer, but I’m not 100 percent sure
Doom and gloom
To talk or dwell on something depressing or gloomy.
Double whammy
To have to deal with two difficult things at the same
Down in the dumps
Down and depressed
Down in the mouth
Sad
Down the tube
For something to go wrong
Down to the wire
The deadline for a project is quickly approaching
Dragging your feet
Putting off doing something
Drastic times call for drastic measures
Difficult circumstances can call for decisive action
Drawing card
A famous individual whose presence draws people to an event.
Drop someone a line
To write to someone, probably just a short letter or message
Dry run
Rehearsal
Dyed-in-the-wool
To have a trait or characteristic that seems basic to the individual’s nature or that is ingrained in some way
Eager beaver
An extremely eager person
Easy does it
Move or act more slowly and carefully.
Eat crow
To admit that you were mistaken about something.
Eat my hat
they think it will not happen
Eat your heart out
To have to deal with hopeless circumstances or suffer without saying anything
Egg on your face
To seem, or be, embarrassed.
Elevator pitch
A very short speech in which you promote your capabilities and discuss how you can benefit an individual or organization; used in job searches.
Elvis has left the building
The show is over now. Everything is over
Every now and then
Occasionally.
Everything but the kitchen sink
Pretty much everything has been included
Exact change
The exact amount of coins needed.
Excuse my French/Pardon my French
Excuse the fact that I used an offensive (swear) word
Fair to middling
Average in quality.
Fair-weather friend
A person who only acts like a friend when things are going well and they can benefit in some way.
Fall by the wayside
Something that comes to be ignored
Fall off the wagon
To fail to stick to a determination to do something,
Familiarity breeds contempt
You begin to like or respect someone less the better you know them.
Fancy pants
Very fancy and maybe ostentatious
Fashion victim
Someone who is obsessed with fashion, probably to the point where they go overboard and end up looking worse
Fat cat
A wealthy, but usually very lazy, person
Feather in one’s cap
Something one is proud of
Feather one’s nest
To gather up resources to ensure future comfort
Feeding frenzy
To eat a large amount of food, probably in a frantic manner
Feel the pinch
To feel the effects of a lack of money or other resources
Feel/look like death warmed over
To feel or look extremely tired and drained
Feeling blue
Feeling sad or depressed
Field day
An enjoyable circumstance or day
Finger lickin’ good
Delicious food (very informal)
Fit as a fiddle
In excellent health
Fit to be tied
Extremely angry
Fits and starts
Very brief bursts of motion.
Five o’clock shadow
The signs of hair starting to grow back on the face of a man who has recently shaved
Fix someone’s wagon
To ruin someone’s chance of success, often in revenge for a grievance
Fixed in your ways
Inflexible in the ways you do things.
Flavor of the month
Something that is trendy or fashionable to care about at the moment
Flea market
market where people buy and sell secondhand and/or inexpensive goods
Fly in the face of something
To act in opposition to something or to show disrespect for someone or something
Fly in the ointment
Something unpleasant in a situation that is otherwise entirely pleasant
Fly off the handle
To suddenly become extremely angry, especially if overreacting to something
Fly the coop
To escape.
Fly-by-night
Markedly untrustworthy or undependable
Foam at the mouth
To show rage.
Follow the money
To follow the direction of people gaining large amounts of money when investigating corruption.
Food for thought
Something that you or others think is worth carefully thinking about
Foot in the door
To find an opportunity to make progress in a desired direction
Footloose and fancy-free
To be free of care and worry, able to have fun all the time.
For crying out loud
Something one says when one is frustrated or at the end of one’s patience
Fortune favors the bold
Taking risks can lead to success
Forty winks
A very short nap, usually during the day
From rags to riches
To go from being poor to wealthy
From the get-go
From the beginning.
From the word go
From the very beginning.
Fuddy-duddy
An excessively old-fashioned person.
Full of hot air
To be a person who talks a lot but has no idea what they are talking about and/or is arrogant
Full steam ahead
Enthusiastically moving forward
Get a second wind
Gain more energy after feeling tired.
Get a word in edgewise
To be able to say something when someone won’t stop talking
Get down to brass tacks
To get down to the basics of a situation
Get off your high horse
Stop imagining that you are superior
Get something for peanuts
To get something for very little money.
Get something out of your system
To do something you have wanted to do so that you can feel relieved and move on.
Get wind of something
To hear news of something that has been kept secret.
Get your dander up
For something to make you upset.
Get your goat
To make someone annoyed or angry.
Getting by
Managing to survive, especially financially.
Give a run for one’s money
to not allow someone to win easily: to be as good at something as someone who is extremely good:
Give props to
To express appreciation for someone.
Give someone a piece of my mind
To tell someone you strongly disagree with them and disapprove of something they’ve done or that they think
Give someone a song and dance
To waste someone’s time instead of giving them an explanation or something else that they require
Give someone short shrift
To give only a very short amount of time to someone
Give them the slip
To escape or get away from someone.
Go against the grain
To act in a way that is different from the people around you and to follow your own path
Go belly up
For a business to fail.
Go cold turkey
To suddenly and completely stop a practice, often smoking or drinking
Go down in flames
To fail in a spectacular way
Go fly a kite
To go away; to leave someone alone.
Go fry an egg
To go away; to leave someone alone.
Go haywire
To become erratic and behave very strangely.
Go it alone
To do something alone, with little or no help
Go off half-cocked
To try to do something without being properly prepared for it.
Go off the deep end
- To panic or act irrationally.
Go on a wild goose chase
To undertake a pointless endeavor
Go out of one’s way
To make an extra effort to do something for someone else
Go out on a limb
To put oneself in a difficult position just to help someone else or to assist with something.
Go overboard
To do something in excess
Go postal
To go crazy in an aggressive way
Go the extra mile
To do more than is required.
Go the whole hog
Do the whole thing and go to the fullest extent
Go through it with a fine-tooth comb
To explore a topic, or object, in an extremely thorough way.
Go to hell in a handbasket
Headed for disaster or deteriorating significantly.
Go to pieces/Fall to pieces
To feel frantic and/or not be able to cope with something.
Go to town
To do something very enthusiastically or to get permission to go overboard
Go up in smoke
There’s a possibility of something disappearing or significantly deteriorating
Good egg
Someone who is generally a good and reliable person but who has some peculiarities or eccentricities
Good for you
That’s great and you should be proud of yourself.
Good riddance
To be glad that something or someone one dislikes is gone.
Goody, goody gumdrops
An expression usually used by children. A child (especially a girl) who is very good and never misbehaves
Goof off
To act in a silly way and to take a break from more serious things
Got the third degree
To be questioned intensely and persistently.
Got their hackles up
To make upset or to offend
Go-to-guy
denoting a person or thing that may be relied on or is regularly sought out in a particular situation.
Graveyard shift
A work shift between about midnight and eight in the morning, when most other people are asleep
Gravy train
Something that allows people to make lots of money with hardly any, or no, effort.
Gray area
Something that cannot really be thought of in black-and-white terms. There are both bad and good aspects to the situation.
Greased lightning
Very fast.
Green around the gills
Feeling nauseous or sick to your stomach.
Green room
A room where people wait before they go on a TV or radio show
Green thumb
Talent with gardening.
Grin and bear it
To deal with something and endure it without complaint
Gung ho
Enthusiastic.
Hair of the dog
An alcoholic beverage of some kind taken in an attempt to cure a hangover
Hair’s breadth
A very narrow space.
Half a mind to do something
Thinking about doing something.
Half the battle
Half of the effort or work required
Hammering out a deal
To negotiate and arrive at a deal.
Hand in glove
Very close.
Hand over fist
Very quickly.
Hang in there
Stay determined and persistent.
Happy-go-lucky
Very cheerful and happy
Have an axe to grind
To be upset about something and to perhaps desire revenge of some kind
Have bats in one’s belfry
Eccentric or crazy in a harmless way.
Have hell to pay
To be in severe difficulties
Have something down pat
To thoroughly understand something.
Have the world by the tail
To be doing remarkably well with something; to be in control of one’s life and prospects
Have two left feet
To be clumsy, especially while dancing.
He has bigger fish to fry
He/she has more important issues to deal with than what we are currently discussing.
He who laughs last laughs loudest
I’ll get some kind of revenge for what you have done
Head and shoulders above
far superior to.
Head honcho
Someone in the highest position of power within an organization or company.
Head over heels
To fall, or to be, deeply in love.
Heads-up
An update that provides new knowledge or understanding of something
Hear it on the grapevine
To hear a rumor about someone or something
Heebie-jeebies
A creepy feeling that might make you shudder
He’s a chip off the old block
A son who is similar to his father.
He’s not playing with a full deck
He’s not very smart
High on the hog
To live in a luxurious way
High, wide, and handsome
In a carefree stylish manner, very happy
Hissy fit
To get really upset and to show it.
Hit it on the nose
To have a perfect understanding of something or to do something perfectly
Hit me up
To get in contact with someone. For example to email, text, or call an acquaintance
Hit pay dirt
To come upon something of significant value.
Hit someone below the belt
To insult or otherwise treat a person in an unfair way
Hocus-pocus
Magic of some sort, or perhaps trickery.
Hold the fort
To take responsibility for a place or maintain an activity while someone is away
Holding the bag
Having to be responsible for something.
Hopping mad
Extremely angry.
Hot-button issue
An issue that people tend to have strong opinions on.
Hot under the collar
angry, resentful, or embarrassed.
How do you like them apples
An expression used to boast about/gloat over something to someone. Can also be used to express surprise
Hunky-dory
Happy and comfortable.
don’t have two nickels to rub together
be extremely poor; to have very little or no money to spend.
Icing on the cake
Something extra that is good, that comes along with something else that’s very good, too
I had a nickel for every time something happened
A specific thing happens a lot
Ignorance is bliss
It’s easier not to know
In a bind
To be in a tricky position or situation.
In a pinch
If necessary, for example, in an emergency.
In a rut
Stuck in a mundane routine.
In my element
In an area in which one feels comfortable and/or knowledgeable
In spades
There is a lot of something.
In the bag
Certain to be successful.
In the black
To have more money than you owe.
In the boondocks
In a very isolated and rural area.
In the chips/money
have (probably unexpectedly) received—or to be about to receive—a large, or relatively large, amount of money
In the doghouse
Someone is mad at you and probably ignoring you.
In the heat of the moment
Feeling negatively overwhelmed by current circumstances
In the least
At all.
In the loop
To be aware of what is going on
In the pink
To be healthy or in excellent condition.
In the red
To be in debt
In the sticks
In a rural area with not much going on.
It ain’t over till the fat lady sings
This has not ended yet.
It is always darkest before the dawn
The most difficult times come before much better ones
It takes one to know one
If you call me a name, you must be what you have called me
It takes two to tango
Both people are responsible; you cannot place the blame on just one person
It’s crunch time
An important project or some other task must be completed very soon
It’s no skin off my nose
Something that doesn’t bother, or negatively affect, me.
Ivory tower
To work and exist in a space that is held above the concerns of the rest of society. This phrase is usually applied to professors in a college or university
Jaywalking
Crossing the street at a place other than the crosswalk
Johnny-come-lately
Someone who is new to a place or situation. Tends to be said with sarcasm
To be in one’s element
in a place or situation where one is comfortable and does well
to fly off the handle
lose one’s temper suddenly and unexpectedly.
A foregone conclusion
Something which is certain to happen/taken for granted
to jump/ climb on the bandwagon
To do or say the same thing as many others, without having thought about it for oneself or just because it is fashionable
To boil/come down to
To be the most important thing, the main point, after considering everything else)
To nip it/something in the bud
To deal with a problem at an early stage before it gets out of hand
A stumbling block
An obstacle, something which/someone who prevents progress
To lay on
to provide something for a group of people
To write off
To accept that a debt/loss is never going to be repaid/recovered), To accept that an idea or plan has to be scrapped, (To decide that someone/something is not worth considering or has little value, to disregard someone. To write a letter with a view to getting some information, goods, application forms etc,.(To damage a motor vehicle beyond repair
To play down
To claim publicly that something is not important, even if in reality it is)
To clutch at straws
to be willing to try anything to improve a difficult or unsatisfactory situation, even if it has little chance of success:.
To stick something out
To continue doing something even though it is unpleasant. To be showing/visible
To stick one’s neck out
Not to be afraid to say what one really thinks will happen, knowing that one may later be proved to be wrong or get into trouble for saying it)
To be lulled into a false sense of security
To be deceived into thinking or to take for granted that, due to recent success, everything is going to be fine, when it isn’t)
To grow out of
to stop having an interest in something or stop doing something as you become older
I wouldn’t put it past him/her
I would not be surprised if someone did something bad
To take the mickey out of someone
To mock/tease/make fun of someone
To skim the surface
To deal with a matter only superficially
To do One’s head in
make somebody feel confused, upset and/or annoyed
To wallow in
To indulge/lose oneself in pleasure, to enjoy one’s own misery or misfortune
To phase in/out
To introduce or get rid of a law/regulation /new system gradually, over a period of time)
To grate on someone
to irritate or annoy someone
To beggar belief/description
to be unbelievable or not deserving to be believed
A sucker/glutton for punishment
masochist, someone who appears to enjoy struggling in life or getting into trouble
Already Spoken for
To have a permanent partner in life, to be married, to be promised to someone else
“If you think…you’ve got another think coming
if you think…you can think again…you’re wrong
To bang one’s head against a brick wall
to try to do something that is very difficult or impossible to achieve and therefore causes you to feel annoyed:
To make a song and dance about something
complain/ make a fuss about something
To lift a finger
To make an effort to help someone
Teething problems
Initial problem
To grow on someone
to become increasingly liked or enjoyed by someone
To sponge off someone
(To keep asking/expecting someone to lend you money/pay for you, to rely on someone’s/the state’s generosity without appreciation/trying to find work)
To flaunt
to show or make obvious something you are proud of in order to get admiration
To leave a lot to be desired
something is not very good at all or is not close to being good enough.
To know/find out what makes someone tick
you understand why that person behaves the way he or she does
o be well up on/with something
to know a lot about something
To be chuffed
delighted; pleased; satisfied:
To be gutted
extremely disappointed and unhappy:
To have a bee in one’s bonnet about somethin
you are obsessed with it and can’t stop thinking about it
To put in a good word for someone
To recommend someone to another person/a group of people
To stave off
To delay something unpleasant happening, to keep something unwanted at a distance
To tar people with the same brush
To claim a group of people have the same faults
To endear oneself to someone
When you’re “endeared” to someone, it means you’ve become dear or cherished by that person. But, when you “endear” yourself to someone, you win their affection or approval through your actions and characteristics.
To ring-fence
To prohibit money intended for a specific purpose being spent on another purpose
To rise to the bait
To get angry with someone who is teasing and provoking you with the sole purpose of getting you annoyed
To take the biscuit
To be the worst or most extreme example
A chip on my shoulder
to seem angry all the time because you think you have been treated unfairly or feel you are not as good as other people:
To sneer at
To look at/speak to someone in a superior manner; to show that one considers an idea below one’s social standing/capabilities
Much of a muchness
Very similar
fob you off
to cheat someone by substituting something spurious or inferior; palm off
left in tatters
badly damaged or completely spoiled, torn in many places; in shreds.
To sit through
To stay until the end of something very boring or of poor quality
To close ranks
To support colleagues/partners when they come under attack
To humour
To be nice to someone and pretend to take them seriously in order to please them or keep them content; to say “yes” just for peace and quiet
temper tantrums
unpleasant and disruptive behaviors or emotional outbursts.
To have a/the knack for
To have a special skill for doing something
The penny has dropped
situation or concept has been understood only after a long period of not understanding
Mind you
“On the other hand’, but I, must say
To read between the lines
(To understand that there are meanings which don’t appear on the surface/are not explicitly stated
shrewdest of decisions
based on good understanding or judgment:
To pass the buck
refuse to take any responsibility when things go wrong and to blame others for it
Rule of thumb
method of procedure based on experience and common sense.
I may / might as well
One should do something only because there’s nothing better to do, generally used where one has a choices of two or more things which are of similar quality, and because of this, one should choose the most convenient one
To get ones own back on someone /to get someone back
To get one’s revenge
Overdraft / go overdrawn
An agreement with the bank to be able to withdraw money in excess of one’s account, to withdraw more money from the bank that one hasin one’s account
A turn up for the books
something that is very surprising and unexpected
To own up
to admit that one has done a usually bad thing
To work out
To calculate, think of a plan,/ to succeed in understanding something, someone /to be successful / the final cost of something
To go down well to go/come down with to go down as
To be welcomed /to catch an illness /to be remembered
To catch on
Become fashionable, popular, to be able to understand
Stuck up
Snobbish
To be bound to
Very likely
Follow-up
pursue or investigate something further.
When it comes to the crunch
When a vital decision has to be made
To take for granted
To regard something as natural without thinking about it, to presume
To put up
To provide temporary accommodation /to provide money to start a business /to increase the price
To hold up
An armed robbery
On the ball
alert, focused and able to react to something quickly
On the trot
Do something without interruption · consecutively, continually busy
Cross
Angry
Odds
Chance
To rule out
To deny the possibility of something bad
To look up to
To respect admire someone
To rave about / over
To get excited about something
To get on
To achieve a high position, to become late, old
Uncalled for
Unnecessary
To get carried away
To become too enthusiastic, involved, emotional
To stick up for
To defend, support someone
Sought-after
In demand, wanted
To show up
Embarrassed someone in front of other people
To come up with
To think of a new idea, to provide the money for something
To come up against
To come face to face with problems
To cater, catering
To provide food
To cater for
To deal with specific desires needs of particular group or people
To cater to
To make something more accessible to people
It’s just as well
Pleased that, it’s lucky that
To feel, to be harden-by
Un fairly treated, punished, brought up
I could do with
I need
To come to terms with
To accept something negative
On the verge of
About to do something
I might have known
It doesn’t surprise me
To sink in
To be accepted as reality
To be in a rut
To be stuck in a certain position in life and job
To put someone on the spot
To embarrass someone by asking them
To take to
To like someone, to take bad habits
To run up
To accumulate costs
The run-up
Period fixed in times
To make a meal of
To make something look more serious
To slag off
To criticise strongly
To wind up
To twist the screw, to finish, to end up, to fool someone, to become stressed
To take the plunge
To take a big risk
I’ll tell you what
I’ve got a good idea, listen
To pull through
To survive a difficult time
Highly - strung
Very nervous, excitable
Patch
Pewand,, a small area or part of something, a difficult period of time
Patchy
Good in some parts only, patchy fog
To patch up
To repair, to make up’ settlements arguments
To be, come, get up to scratch
To be, make something good enough
To dither
To hesitate
Overheads
The expenses of running a business
To take it out on
To be very unpleasant to someone
To take it /everything /something in one’s stride
To deal with life’s problems without making any fuss
Off the top of one’s head
Without preparing beforehand
To get round
To avoid, to serculate, to persuade, to get your own way with person, to travel around
To get round to
To find the time to do something
To fork out
To spend money reluctantly
To strike someone that
To realise
Not to be sneezed /sniffed at
Something which should not be ignored
To go to one’s head
To get excited, to make someone drunk quickly
Thick - skinned
Not easily offended or upset
To have a lot /much going for it, him
To have many qualities, advantages
In the long run
In the end
To swindle /to con/ to do
A place which changes too much money
To entail
To involve, signify
On the spur of the moments
At the moment
One - off
Unique
To cotton on
To realise being told directly, to catch on
To vouch for
To confirm the truth
Joined at the hip
Always with a certain person
Joshing me
Fooling me
Jump through hoops
To do things that don’t seem to make much sense
Jury is still out
A decision hasn’t been made yet
Keep body and soul together
To earn enough money to stay alive
Keep my nose to the grindstone
To remain focus on hard work
Keep someone at arm’s length
To keep someone at a distance
Keep your nose clean
Behave well and stay out of trouble
Keep your wits about you
Stay aware of the situation you are in
Keeping up with the Joneses
To try to keep up with other people in terms of wealth and material possession
Keyed up
To be tense and anxious
Kick up your heels
Celebrate
Kit and caboodle
Everything
Knee-jerk reaction
Unthinking reaction
Knee-high to a grasshopper
Extremely small and young
Knock into a cocked hat
Something that is made useless or debunked
Knock it off
Stop it
Knock on wood
To tap your knuckle on wood in an effort to avoid bad luck.
Know your onions
To be extremely knowledgeable on a topic
Know zip
To know nothing
Knuckle under
To gave in or be defeated
Labor of love
Something one loves to do
Last-ditch effort
A final, perhaps desperate, effort at something
Laugh all the way to the bank
To gain money, most likely in a dishonest manner, and to feel smug about it.
Lead someone around by the nose
To compel someone to do something, especially through manipulation or bullying
Learn by rote
To memorize something
Leave well enough alone
Don’t involve yourself in a situation that already seems stable and decent enough
Left me in the lurch
To be left in a difficult situation
Left out in the cold
excluded from an opportunity.
Let someone off the hook
- To refrain from holding someone accountable
Let your hair down
Let yourself relax
Letter perfect
Precisely correct
Level playing field
Fair and even circumstances
to bog down/to get bogged down
(To prevent progress, to confuse people by giving them too much work or information, to get stuck/to be slowed down, often because of too much work)
To go in for
To take part in
To get flustered
embarrassed, agitated, or just confused.
By no/any stretch of the imagination
In no way
To dumb down
to lower the level of difficulty and the intellectual content of (something, such as a textbook)
Like nailing jello to the wall
A very difficult or impossible task.
Lock, stock, and barrel
Absolutely everything involved
Long face
Sad facial expressions
Long in the tooth
Older and elderly
Look like a million bucks/dollars
To look very attractive
Look like the cat that swallowed the canary/got the cream
To look smugly pleased or satisfied with oneself.
Lose one’s shirt
To lose a large amount of money
Lost at sea
To feel confused about a situation
Luck out
To be very lucky.
Lucky break
Something lucky has happened
Lucky dog
A lucky person.
Make a big stink
To complain loudly
Make a pit stop
To stop for a short period of time
Make hay while the sun shines
To make full use of a good situation.
Make no bones about
To say something in a very definite way
Make out like a bandit
To have success in a venture
Make tracks
To promptly or quickly leave.
Make waves
To create any controversy or trouble.
Mark time
To wait out the minimum time you need to put in.
Meat and potatoes
The basics of something or a situation.
Midas touch
To be able to make money much more easily
Mind your own beeswax
Mind your own business
A small family-run business
Mom-and-pop
Money to burn
To have large amounts of extra money
More bang for your buck
To get a lot of value for your money.
Mumbo jumbo
Meaningless words or nonsense.
Mum’s the word
Stay quiet and don’t talk about it.
My eyes are bigger than my stomach
I wanted to eat more than my stomach could handle.
My neck of the woods
Where one lives.
Nest egg
Savings that are meant for use in the future.
Nip something in the bud
To prevent something from getting worse by cutting it off at the very beginning.
Nitty-gritty
The most fundamental aspects of something
No dice
It’s not going to happen
No rhyme or reason
Without explanation or logic.
No-brainer
Easy and simple
Not playing with a full deck
Not very intelligent
Not what it’s cracked up to be
Something is not as good or impressive as people have implied
Number cruncher
Someone who works with numbers
Odd man out
Person who doesn’t fit in or who is somehow left out
Off the cuff
To do something spontaneously
Off the wall
Bizarre or crazy
On a treadmill
Stuck in a routine that is boring and dull
On pins and needles
To be nervous or anxious
On the blink
Not working as it should
On the dot
To get somewhere right on time
On the fritz
Something is not working as it should
On the house
Free, at the expense of the restaurant or bar
On the level
Honest.
On the up and up
Fair and ethical
Once bitten twice shy
Something unpleasant has happened
One fell swoop
In one quick and sweeping effort
One-trick pony
Someone who is only really good at one thing.
Out to lunch
absentminded
Paint the town red
To go out and enjoy a city’s nightlife
Par for the course
To be expected
Peg out
To die. Used humorously and never in reference to someone who has actually died,
Peter out
To slowly fade in importance or significance
Pick up the tab
Pay for things (such as meals or drinks
Pie in the sky
An unrealistic dream.
Pigheaded
Ridiculously stubborn
Pipe down
To be more quiet or to stop talking completely
Pitch in
To help with an endeavor.
Play by ear
To deal with things as they come.
Play devil’s advocate
To argue for the opposite side, simply for argument’s sake.
Play second fiddle
To come second to someone
Pound the pavement
To look for a job by walking the pavement, going from place to place
Pull his/her own weight
Do the work needed to support oneself and fulfill one’s needs.
Pull out all the stops
To do everything possible to accomplish a goal
Pull rank
To take advantage of the superior position that one holds
Pull strings
To use one’s influence
Pull the plug
To end something
Pull up stakes
To gather up your household and move somewhere else.
Pull your chain
To annoy you in some way
Pushing your luck
Doing something that could cause you to get into trouble.
Put in their place
To rebuke someone and/or make them feel more humble.
Put it on the back burner
To make something a lower priority for a while.
Put my foot down
To assert one’s authority about something
Put something down in black and white
To put something in writing
Put your finger on it
To properly identify and comprehend something
Put your money where your mouth is
To actually invest in something that you claim to believe in.
Racking my brain
Thinking intensely
Rain on someone’s parade
To ruin someone’s enthusiasm for something, especially with a negative opinion.
Rain or shine
No matter what
Raise Cain
Make a disturbance or a huge public conflict
Real McCoy
A genuine thing
Red letter day
A memorable day
Rest on one’s laurels
To rely on the prestige brought about by previous accomplishments
Rinky-dink
Cheap and low-quality
Rolling in it
Very wealthy
Run amok
To behave in a very disorderly or frenzied manner.
Run circles around someone
To be more knowledgeable or skilled than someone
Run errands
To go out and do things you need to do.
Run its course
To let something proceed as it would without intervention.
Run-of-the-mill
Common and ordinary
Run one’s mouth off
To speak too much on something that you shouldn’t
Running on fumes
To stay awake even when you’re exhausted
Sales pitch
A presentation or speech made in an attempt to persuade someone to purchase a product
Salt of the earth
To be highly moral and honest.
Say uncle
To admit that you have been defeated
Say your piece
Say what you want to say; give your opinion.
School of thought
A way of thinking,
Sea legs
maintain your balance and not get sea sickness on a ship, but it can also refer to someone becoming good at job
Shoot from the hip
To say something in a very direct and honest way
Shoot hoops
To play basketball, usually in an unstructured way.
Sitting like a bump on a log
Sitting around inactive, especially when other people are busy working.
Sitting pretty
Doing well and feeling content because of it
Skelton crew
The minimum number of people necessary for something to operate.
Snowed under
Busy or overwhelmed with tasks.
So far so good
Things have gone well so far.
Sold me out
To tell someone’s secret without permission or to report something they did.
Something to crow about
An accomplishment that you are proud of and that you can boast about.
Speak of the devil
Someone whom you (or someone else) just spoke about suddenly appears
Spin doctor
Someone who manipulates the communication of information to give a desired impression
Spineless
To lack courage.
Spitting image
To look just like someone else
Splitting hairs
To engage in an argument about an insignificant detail
Spread too thin
To have too many responsibilities or tasks at once
Squeaky clean
Extremely clean.
Steal someone’s thunder
To steal credit for something or to take attention away from someone else.
Step up your game
To start to do better at a task.
Stew in your own juices
To feel annoyed, frustrated, or upset
Sticking points
Areas of contention
Sticky fingers
The propensity to steal.
Stop on a dime
To stop accurately and promptly.
Strike it rich
To suddenly gain a large amount of money and become wealthy.
String someone along
To give someone the false impression that something is going to happen
Stuffed shirt
A person who is pompous and frustrating to deal with
Sweat blood
To work extremely hard.
Sweating bullets
To be extremely anxious
Take a rain check
To postpone something.
Take a shine to something/ someone
To instantly like someone or something.
couldn’t care less
about something, it means you do not care about it at all.
Take the cake
Amazing (probably in a negative way).
Take the wind out of your sails
Feeling of disappointment.
Taken for a ride
Taken advantage of in some way
Talk a blue streak
To talk quickly and for a long time.
Talk someone’s ear off
To talk to someone excessively
Talk to someone like a Dutch uncle
To speak to someone as if they are a close relative,
Talk turkey
To talk in a serious way
Tall order
Something that is difficult to do or achieve
Tall story
An unlikely story.
Tell me about it
I already know and/or agree
Test the waters
To test a situation in some way.
That is to say
What I mean is.
That’s all she wrote
That is all the person in question has to say about something
That’s wicked
That’s cool, neat, trendy, or impressive
The bee’s knees
The best.
The best thing since sliced bread
An excellent invention.
The bottom line
A company or other business’s profit.
The brush-off/brushed me off
To dismiss someone or to be dismissed
The cat’s meow
Very nice and impressive
The devil is in the details
Something might appear good when viewed from a distance. Upon closer inspection, however, problems become apparent.
The elephant in the room
A huge issue that people are trying to ignore and avoid.
The eleventh hour
At a very late moment in some kind of situation or cycle. It happened
The eleventh hour
At a very late moment
The gift of the gab
The talent of speaking and getting people’s attention.
The long and short of it
The point or the outcome.
The munchies
Desire to eat
The patience of job
generally have a lot of patience.
The pits
A negative, disappointing circumstances
The pot calling the kettle black
Someone with the same (or more) faults criticizing someone else
The same wavelength
To think in the same way as someone else
The school of hard knocks
Life experience (especially difficult life experiences).
The shoe is on the other foot
A person is in the same situation as someone else, possibly someone whom they had judged unfairly
The short end of the stick
The lesser amount of benefit or reward
The squeaky wheel gets the grease
You have to try to get attention if you need help
The straight and narrow
A path of good behavior and morality
There’s a method to his madness
It may seem like a person is crazy, but there are actually clever reasons behind his or her actions
They were thrown together
Brought together unexpectedly.
Three sheets to the wind
Extremely drunk
Threw me for a loop
Something catches you off guard and confuses you.
Through thick and thin
In both good and bad times.
Throw a curveball/Throw a curve
To abruptly present something to someone that they will have difficulty dealing with.
Throw a monkey wrench into the works
Doing something that causes problems for an endeavor and can cause it to fail
Throw caution to the wind
Go ahead and take a risk.
Thrown to the wolves
Abandoned to deal with a difficult situation.
Tickled pink
Happy and excited.
Tilt at windmills
To fight in opposition of overwhelming odds
To be a chicken/to chicken out
To be too afraid.
To be out of the question
To be impossible or unacceptable
To beat the band
To do something in an exaggerated or extreme way.
To bend someone’s ear
To speak to someone eagerly, especially in order to ask for a favor
To black out
To lose consciousness.
To box someone in
To trap someone in a situation
To call someone on the carpet
To confront someone with whom you’re having a conflict
To come out flat-footed
To confront someone with whom you’re having a conflict
To come out swinging
To strongly defend oneself as a confrontation
To get your walking papers
To get fired from your job
To give in
To decide to go along with something, usually as a result of some sort of pressure
To give someone the heads-up
To notify someone of something and to keep them up-to-date.
To go down like a lead balloon
To be terribly received by an audience
To go for broke
To gamble all of your resources.
To go off the deep end
To get extremely upset and/or emotional.
To have another thing coming
To have something else that will happen in the near future that you didn’t expect or think would happen.
To have one’s back to the wall
To feel trapped
To hold your own
To be confident and politely assertive with other people and in various situations
To live beyond your means
To live in a manner that requires more money than you can afford.
To look down one’s nose
To feel superior to someone else
To nix something
To cancel a plan or dismiss an idea, or to forbid something
To paddle your own canoe
To be self-sufficient and think independently
To pony up
To pay money that is owed
To stonewall
To be intentionally vague or to make insignificant statements in response to a question
To the hilt
To do something in an extremely thorough way
Too big for one’s boots
Conceited and arrogant.
Too many irons in the fire
To have an excessive number of activities taking up your time
Top dog
The person in charge
Touch and go
An uncertain or otherwise precarious situation
Touch base
To get in contact with someone
Train of thought
Ideas that come one after the other and are connected
Treat someone to something
- To buy something for someone.
Treat/handle someone with kid gloves
To treat someone or something with extreme gentleness and respect
Troubled waters
A difficult and unstable situation, and/or emotionally difficult times
True blue
Loyal and trustworthy.
Tuckered out
Very tired.
Under the table/counter
Illegally or secretly
Under the wire
To finish something just before it has to be completed.
Until the cows come home
A very long time.
Up a gum tree
In a very difficult situation that might be impossible to extricate oneself from
Up for grabs
Available to obtain
Up to snuff
Meeting the standard of quality required
Upset the apple cart
To disturb the current situation or status quo in some way.
Use your loaf
Use your brain and think
Veg out
To relax and not think about anything that stresses you out
Wallflower
Someone (usually a girl or woman) who is shy and doesn’t receive any attention, especially at a dance
Waste not, want not
If you refrain from wasting things, you won’t have to go without
Watering hole
A bar (where alcohol is served
Wear your heart on your sleeve
To let your emotions be very obvious.
Weasel out of something
To get out of doing something or taking responsibility for something
Weather the storm
Successfully come through some sort of difficulty.
Well-heeled
Wealthy and well-dressed
Wet behind the ears
Inexperienced and probably young.
Wet blanket
An individual who others feel ruins a fun or enjoyable experience
Wet my whistle
Have a drink of something when thirsty
When the chips are down
When things aren’t going well
Where the rubber meets the road
A critical moment or turning point in an endeavor
White elephant
A possession that is costly but fundamentally useless
Whitewash
To try to cover up something bad.
Whole ball of wax
Everything, or all things
Wild and woolly
Untamed and wild
Winging it
Doing something in the absence of preparation, planning, or some special knowledge
With bated breath
To feel a great sense of anticipation or expectation (could be positive or negative
With bells on
With enthusiasm, usually when attending an event.
With flying colors
To do something extremely well
Worth one’s salt
Competent at what one does
Wouldn’t be caught dead
Would never want to do something, probably because it would cause embarrassment.
Wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole
Would never even think about coming anywhere close to it or becoming involved with it.
You bet
That’s right, I will, or I agree
You can bet your boots
I think it’s definitely true.
You can bet your bottom dollar
You can be certain
You can say that again
I agree or that is true.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too
It’s impossible to have everything
Your guess is as good as mine
I don’t have the information needed to know the answer
You’re telling me
That’s obviously true
You’ve sold me
You have convinced me
To go the whole hog
To do something completely and not just partially
A chink in one’s armour
One small weakness in a person or their argument
To work miracles
To do the impossible
To go off the boil
(To lose interest, to become less enthusiastic; to be not quite as good as one used to b
Bottom of the barrel
- The lowest quality option
Boxed in
To feel trapped in some way.
Country mile
A long distance
I don’t have two nickels to rub together
A drastic lack of money
strut one’s stuff (to) She lets it all hang out
to make a terrible mistake
get a kick (to)
to enjoy very much
chow down (to)
to eat
Doubles down
To intensifies efforts or commitment towards a specific goal, idea, or strategy.
censure
condemnation, criticism,
demographics n. (marketing slang)
the characteristics of people in a certain group (such as their age, sex, income, education, location, etc.) used to determine where a product should be advertised.
hook n. Synonym. bait n. Synonym. come-on (marketing slang)
a marketing idea that attracts or “hooks” a potential buyer, an enticement.
hype n. Synonym:. hoopla (marketing slang)
excessive publicity and exaggerated claims about a product.
cave (to) v. Variation: cave in (to) Synonym 1: buckle (to) v. Synonym 2: change one’s tune (to) Synonym 3: come around (to) Synonym 4: cry/say uncle (to) Synonym 5: give in/up (to) Synonym 6: knuckle under (to) Synonym 7: throw in the towel (to)
to surrender all opposition and accept someone’s conditions, to comply.
duly
at the right time; rightfully, properly
