against the clock »
In a time-restricted manner, to meet a deadline, hurriedly, timed.
|
all nations »
A composition of all the different spirits sold in a dram-shop, collected in a vessel into which the drainings of the bottles and quartern pots are emptied.
|
all things come to those who wait »
(dated) A patient seeker will be satisfied in due time; patience is a virtue.
|
all-over oneself »
Feeling self-satisfied.
|
as of »
From, on or at a specified time.
|
autem mort »
A married woman; also a female beggar with several children hired or borrowed to excite charity.
|
back-of-the-envelope »
Approximate, rough, simplified.
|
bang straw »
A nick name for a thresher, but applied to all the servants of a farmer.
|
barrel »
A round vessel or cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging in the middle, made of staves bound with hoops, and having flat ends or heads. Sometimes applied to a similar cylindrical container made of metal, usually called a drum.
|
bawl out »
To have a serious argument accompanied with shouting.
|
bent on a splice »
About to be married.
|
borganism »
An organization of autonomous organisms that exhibit collectivism: individual "units" that have merged to yield a unified construct. Such an amalgam may possess a collective consciousness, arguably an emergent phenomenon of social networking.
|
bottom line »
The final balance; the amount of money or profit left after everything has been tallied.
|
bought the farm »
Simple past tense and past participle of buy the farm: died; often refers to death in battle.
|
breakfast of champions »
An ironic appellation for beer, junk food, or other foods implied to be unhealthy.
|
buried treasure »
Something, having been concealed for a long time, which later is found and is profitable.
|
buried treasure »
Treasure stashed underground or underwater.
|
carried away »
Made excessively emotional or excited.
|
cat and dog life »
Unhappy married life.
|
cat that ate the canary »
A person who appears self-satisfied or smug, especially while concealing something mischievous, prohibited, or private.
|
cat's meow »
A self-satisfied person.
|
cookie-cutter »
A solution to a problem that can be applied in many situations without modification.
|
crash course »
A quick, intense course of learning, especially one which is informal or hurried.
|
cut and dried »
Simple, straightforward, clear, or certain.
|
deadstick landing »
When a pilot lands a plane after the engine has died; a landing lacking any propulsion control.
|
divide and conquer »
A combination of political, military and economic strategies that aim to gain and maintain power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy.(computing) Applied to various algorithms, such as quicksort, that solve a problem by splitting it recursively into smaller problems until all of the remaining problems are trivial.(as imperative, proverb) In order to rule securely, don't allow alliances of your enemies.
|
do what%3F »
An intensified version of what or huh.
|
does Macy's tell Gimbel's »
(US, dated, colloquial, rhetorical question) A rhetorical question with the implied answer being that competitors do not share business secrets with one another.
|
empty promise »
A promise that is either not going to be carried out, worthless or meaningless.
|
enough is enough »
One should be satisfied, there should be no more
|
fall into »
To be classified as; to fall under.
|
fill the bill »
To satisfy a need; to serve a purpose; to fulfill specified requirements.
|
fit to be tied »
Very agitated or distressed; enraged.
|
full of oneself »
Egotistical, believing oneself to be superior to others; preoccupied with one's own work, interests, point of view, etc.
|
get carried away »
To become excessively involved, to take something too far.
|
get stuck into »
Get busy with; become occupied with; become immersed in.
|
go blue »
Of states and counties, to be carried by a Democratic candidate in a given U.S. election.
|
go off the boil »
Cease to boil when heat is no longer applied.
|
go red »
Of states or counties, to be carried by a Republican candidate in a given U.S. election.
|
good things come to those who wait »
A patient seeker will be satisfied in due time; patience is a virtue.
|
grass widow »
A married woman whose husband is away.
|
grass widower »
A married man whose wife is away.
|
gratuitous violence »
Violence that is not justified.
|
grin like a Cheshire cat »
To smile broadly, especially in a self-satisfied way.
|
happy camper »
One who is thoroughly content or satisfied.
|
have one's hands full »
To be busy or thoroughly preoccupied.
|
here goes nothing »
Indicates a lack of confidence or certainty about the activity about to be tried.
|
high road »
A course of action which is honorable, dignified, or respectable.
|
hold off »
To delay commencing an action (until some specified time or event has passed).
|
hospital pass »
An unwinnable case, often passed to a newly-qualified member of the firm.
|
hot under the collar »
Worried.
|
in the doghouse »
Unmarried and unlikely to marry.
|
in vain »
19C, Friedrich Nietzsche.
|
it's all Greek to me »
I tried reading the instructions, but it’s all Greek to me..
|
jive turkey »
Someone who is jiving, as in dancing. Often applied to people being funny or showy.
|
jump rope »
The activity, game or exercise in which a person must jump, bounce or skip repeatedly while a length of rope is swung over and under, both ends held in the hands of the jumper, or alternately, held by two other participants. Often used for athletic training and among schoolchildren. Variations involve speed, chants, varied rope and jumper movement patterns, multiple jumpers and/or multiple ropes.
|
knock up »
To become exhausted or worn out; to fail of strength; to become wearied, as with labor; to give out.
|
lay to rest »
To bury one who has died.
|
live in sin »
To cohabit as if man and wife without being married.
|
low road »
A course of action which is undignified, wrongful, or otherwise unseemly.
|
make quick work of »
To accomplish a specified task easily and quickly.
|
marry in haste, repent at leisure »
Getting married too soon will lead to a bad marriage.
|
memory lane »
A set of recollections available to be reviewed, especially accompanied by a feeling of nostalgia.
|
nut-cutting time »
Time to gather nuts before they are taken by other animals or buried in snow.
|
object lesson »
Anything used an example or lesson which serves to warn others as to the outcomes that result from a particular action or behavior, as exemplified by the fates of those who followed that course.
|
oh dark hundred »
Some unspecified hour in the early morning.
|
oh dark thirty »
Some unspecified hour in the early morning.
|
on the clock »
Working at one's job; occupied in some manner during one's hours of remunerated employment.
|
on top of the world »
Delighted; ecstatic; exceptionally pleased, happy, or satisfied.
|
out of wedlock »
Of parents not legally married.
|
pinch and a punch for the first of the month »
Said the first day of a new month, accompanied by a pinch and a punch to the victim.
|
potter's field »
A public place where strangers, paupers, and criminals are buried.
|
pronunciamiento »
A military uprising or coup in Spain or the Spanish American republics, particularly in the 19th century. They received this designation because coups were usually accompanied by a statement declaring the existing government null and void.
|
red herring »
A clue that is misleading or that has been falsified, intended to divert attention.
|
rivet counter »
A person who has an obsession with the minutae of their particular interest. Anyone preoccupied with small distinguishing features between different items.
|
rocket scientist »
Someone qualified to understand or handle that which is overly complex, detailed or confusing; a genius.
|
run away with »
To leave secretly with another person. Usually with the intention of getting married or of living together against the wishes of the family.
|
sabre-rattling »
A flamboyant display of military power as an implied threat that it might be used.
|
sack out »
To fall asleep, usually from implied exhaustion.
|
scared shitless »
Very scared, terrified.
|
seeing is believing »
You need to see something to believe it; visible facts cannot be denied.
|
shack up »
To live together, especially of an unmarried couple.
|
shut the hell up »
Shut up intensified by "the hell".
|
six feet under »
Buried six feet underground; not alive; dead.
|
slop bowl »
One of the four components of the traditional tea set. Tea drinkers emptied their unwanted, cold tea into the slop bowl before refilling their cups with fresh, hot tea.
|
small arms »
Firearms designed to be carried and fired by a single person; often held in the hand.
|
somewhere along the line »
At some unspecified time; eventually or once; at some point.
|
spare tire »
An extra wheel or tire carried as a replacement in case of a flat.
|
spare tyre »
An extra tyre carried in case one of the vehicle's tyres is damaged or deflated.
|
teething troubles »
Small problems such as are to be expected with some any new and untried system or product.
|
the rabbit died »
A statement spoken to indicate one's own pregnancy, or that someone has found out they are pregnant.
|
the terrorists will have won »
Phrase used following a description of an activity to indicate that if that activity is not continued or carried out, those who seek to disrupt normal activities through terror will have succeeded, an which is an unacceptable result.
|
tie the knot »
To marry, wed, get married.
|
to one's heart's content »
Until satisfied; as much as is wished.
|
tongue-tied »
Unable to speak; at a loss for words.
|
tried and true »
Well-established and tested; known to work or succeed based on extensive experience.
|
two wrongs make a right »
A logical fallacy whereby a wrongful action is justified by the commission of another
|
unwashed masses »
Of people who are considered by someone to be somehow uneducated, uninformed, godless, or in some other way unqualified for inclusion in the speaker's elite circles.
|
up to here »
Overwhelmed, busy, buried or swamped.
|
virgin territory »
By extension, ideas or concepts or activities that have not yet been tried, explored or developed.
|
wash up »
To be carried on to land by water.
|
watered-down »
Weakened or simplified.
|
what for »
An unspecified punishment or rebuke.
|
what's eating somebody »
? Inquired of somebody who is upset, worried, angry, etc.
|
work at »
To make a physical or mental effort to progress some specified task.
|
yellow-bellied »
Pertaining to an animal or reptile that has a yellow belly.
|
yellow-bellied »
Uncourageous.
|
you what%3F »
An intensified version of what or huh.
|
| New: We also know Zip Codes FYI! |
[