Here is an editors' pick of popular and picturesque idioms in the English language.
Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
| Idiom | Where Used | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| da man | USA | Corruption of "the man" an accomplished, skillful, or clever man (and possibly a woman). Associated with the ritual exchange, "Who da man?" "You/we/he/etc. da man!" and not to be confused with "The Man," which refers to the powers that be. |
| (to) dance with the devil | USA | To do something immoral without question, to willingly take an unnecessary risk, to purposefully act in an evil manner. The usual connotation is one of extreme immoral prejudice within one's self, e.g. "To dance with the devil in the pale moonlight" is a dual idiomatic phrase meaning to be sensationalized by one's own immoral or risky ambitions and/or one's evil tendencies. May also be used religiously as "willingly sinning against God" or to knowingly behave in a manner inconsistent with one's own faith or spiritual philosophy. |
| dark horse | Global | A surprise candidate or competitor; someone who hides their talents or interests. From the metaphor: "He rode in as if on a dark horse in the night" or "No one saw him coming." |
| darken somebody's door(step) | UK | Come unwanted to someone's home. As an imperative, the expression is associated with Victorian melodrama, where someone (usually a young woman or man) is thrown out of the parental home for some misdeed, but it is actually much older. Benjamin Franklin used it in The Busybody (1729): "I am afraid she would resent it so as never to darken my doors again." |
| (a) day late and a dollar short | USA | Too little, too late (i.e. "not enough" and/or "not soon enough") |
| (your) days are numbered | Global | Used to indicate that someone or something will not exist for much longer; also for the purpose of evoking a pessimistic view about the future and/or current state of affairs. Sometimes used as a threat. Originates from the Biblical account of Belshazzar's feast. |
| dead ahead | AUS, UK | Directly in front of the speaker, usually in the context of watercraft e.g. "Look out for the rocks dead ahead!". |
| dead and buried | Global | A settled issue. Something no longer needing consideration. |
| dead as a doornail (or dodo) | Global | Useless, very distinctly dead. A doornail is the strikeplate for most door knockers. To hold it in place, after it was driven through the door, the pointed end was bent over and buried in the door, to prevent movement. This nail was unrecoverable, so was considered dead to future reclamation, which was apparently common before modern times. The dodo was a flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. The dodo has been extinct since the mid-to-late 17th century. |
| dead heat | Global | Two or more competitors finish with the same results; a tie. From racing. |
| dead in the water | Global | Not going anywhere, not making progress, vulnerable to any attack or to be overtaken. |
| dead ringer | AUS, UK | Identical e.g. "He's a dead ringer for his brother. - Didn't you know they were identical twins?" See also: spitting image. |
| dead run | UK | To run as fast as possible e.g. "The sentries came at a dead run when they heard the intruders". |
| dead-shot; dead-eye | AUS, UK | A good marksman; one who has accuracy in hitting chosen targets using firearms or other weapons. |
| (to be) dead to X | Global | To no longer be of consequence to X, to be considered lost to X. e.g. "My father is dead to me". |
| dead to rights | USA | Caught in the act ("The police had the burglars dead to rights when they arrived."), or at the mercy of someone ("The cavalry had the fleeing soldiers dead to rights.") 'Bang to rights' is the UK version. |
| dead to the world | Global | Not in touch, unaware of what is happening; asleep |
| death of (or by) a thousand cuts | Many injuries, none fatal in themselves, which ultimately add up to a slow and painful demise. | |
| (having) deep pockets | AUS, UK, USA | Rich and/or generous |
| devil's advocate | Global | One who argues a point of view that is not necessarily one's own for the sake of fairness. To play "the devil's advocate" in a debate is to ensure that some attempt was made to hear a side that might otherwise have gone unrepresented. |
| (the) devil finds work for idle hands | Global | Someone who cannot be productive in life or work will find crime and trouble instead. |
| (the) devil is in the details | Global | When a task sounds simple in concept, but carrying it out proves much more difficult. |
| (the) die is cast | Global | A decision (i.e., throwing or casting a die) is made, the outcome of which (i.e., which side it will land on) is unknown, and cannot be altered (the die cannot be recalled to the hand that threw it) —often implying that fate will decide the consequences (from alea jacta est, Julius Caesar's supposed words on crossing the Rubicon). |
| different kettle of fish | AUS, UK | Very different from other things referred to in context . |
| (a) dime a dozen | Global (orig. & esp. USA) | Very common and easy to get; very cheap; not special. |
| dirty look | Global | A look of disapproval or malice. Also: A black look. |
| does a bear shit in the woods? | USA | A sarcastic, rhetorical method of responding to a question whose answer is obviously, "yes." See also: Is the Pope Catholic. |
| dog and pony show | USA | A presentation which aims to persuade by overwhelming the senses or appealing to fancy; generally a marketing presentation which offers little or no real informational content. May also refer to anything with more style than substance. |
| dog-eat-dog | Global | Describes intense competition and rivalry |
| dog in the hunt | Global | Something to gain depending on the outcome; a position for which to campaign or cheer. |
| dog in the manger | UK | Someone who denies others the use of a resource, even though they cannot possibly use the resource themselves. From Aesop's fable of the same name, The Dog in the Manger, about a dog preventing cows from eating the straw on which it is lying. |
| don't hold your breath | Global | Keep your expectations low. |
| don't judge a book by its cover | Global | Do not rely solely on looks and appearance when estimating the value of a person or thing. |
| don't let the bed bugs bite | USA (possibly Global) | Sleep/Rest well (casual imperitive command). This idiom expresses one's wish for the other person to have a pleasant slumber or restful period. Typically it refers to an actual sleep session rather than a period of wakeful rest. But it can be used for either lengthy sleep periods (such as in an overnight slumber), or breif periods of rest when sleep is probable (such as in an afternoon nap.) This idiomatic expression originates from the "bedbug" insect. The bedbug (or bed bug) is an insect of the family Cimicidae that lives by feeding on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded hosts. Its name comes from its preferred habitat: mattresses, sofas, and other furniture (typically wood surfaces or fabric.) Although not strictly nocturnal, bedbugs are mainly active at night, specifically prior to or during early dawn. Adult bedbugs are reddish-brown, flattened, oval, and wingless, with microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance, and although they are quite small (adult bed bugs grow to about 3/16ths of an inch in length in full maturity) they are visible to the naked eye. Bedbugs can cause a variety of skin irritations and other diseases in humans and animals. Bed bug "bites" aren't really bites, as the species has no teeth (the term "bite" is used rather loosely in the USA when referring to insects). The bed bug "bites" by piercing the skin of its host with two hollow tubes. With one tube it injects its saliva, which contains anticoagulants and anesthetics, while with the other it withdraws the blood of its host. For some people, the "bites" may not be felt until several minutes or hours later. Although the forms of skin irrations or diseases may vary with a bedbug bite, in most observed cases, bedbug bites consist of a raised red bump or flat welt, and are often accompanied by very intense itching (the bite's may become blistered in some people.) Relief of itching can be temporarily obtained through a self administration of hot water applied directly to the bed-bug bite, but this method is not completely safe in the fact that the water must be quite hot (about 50 °C / 120 °F) because if it is not hot enough it may cause aggravation of the symptoms. (Also this level of heat may cause minor burns in people with sensitive skin.) Many doctors recommend against home-therapy for bedbug bites. |
| don't look a gift horse in the mouth | Global | Do not question the value of a gift. The expression comes from the practice of determining the age and health of a horse by looking at its teeth. |
| don't cry over spilled milk | Global | Don't make a big deal over little things. See also: make a mountain out of a molehill |
| (the) door swings both ways | USA | The same principle applies to two or more situations. Typically used to attack hypocritical statements or actions, e.g. "What you do to me, I can do to you." |
| double-edged sword | Global | Something that can be helpful or harmful. |
| down in the dumps (or doldrums) | Global | Sad or regretful. |
| drag one's feet (or heels) | Global | To do something slowly or unwillingly. |
| drain the lizard | AUS, UK, USA | To urinate. Vulgar slang usually used by/applied to men. |
| draw a blank | Global | Unable to come up with a searched-for idea or plan; or unable to remember. |
| (to) draw a long bow | UK | To lie, to exaggerate |
| (to) draw a line (in the sand) | Global | to set a limit or make a stand as if it were an ultimatum. |
| (to) draw a line under | Global | To bring a matter to an end, or to change the subject. |
| drink the Kool-Aid | USA | 1) To follow blindly without thought, often to one's own
demise. Refers to the ritual mass suicide of Jonestown in which
followers of the People's Temple religious cult died from drinking
Kool-Aid (actually 'Flavor
Aid') spiked with cyanide and Valium.
2) To adopt the subjective viewpoint of a group, one in particular that differs from the established norms. Referenced by the Tom Wolfe novel The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test which vividly describes the 60's drug culture and the escapades of the Merry Pranksters, the members of which joined by drinking LSD-laced Kool-aid. |
| drive a wedge (between) | Global | Introduce a contentious issue into a debate so as to cause a united group to split and disagree among themselves. |
| drive someone up the wall | Global | Agitate someone to the point of great frustration. |
| drop the ball | AUS, USA | Make a major mistake; often used when that mistake causes the failure or setback of a larger event. |
| drop a line | AUS, UK, USA | To write a letter; to correspond through writing. |
| dry run | Global | Stepping through a process without actually performing any permanent actions. Used to assess the feasibility and/or impact of a process. |
| Dry as a nun's cunt | AUS | Very dry (vulgar slang). |
| Dutch courage | Global | To drink alcohol to steel oneself for a courageous task. |
| Dutch uncle | UK, USA(rarely) | An unhelpful person who gives unwelcome advice. This expression, often put as "to talk to one like a Dutch uncle", presumably alludes to the sternness and sobriety attributed to the Dutch during the 1800's. |
|
|
Wikis
Search
