This
database is a comprehensive collection of all the American idioms and slang available.
American Idioms are many and varied. We hope you enjoy our collection. We are adding more all the time.
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Armed to the teeth
What does Armed to the teeth mean? | To be heavily armed. | Don't even think about going into Chicago's housing projects unless you are armed to the teeth.
This is a pirate phrase originating in Port Royal Jamaica in the 1600's. Having only single shot black powder weapons and cutlesses, they would carry many of these weapons at once to keep up the fight.
In addition they carried a knife in their teeth for maximum arms capability. |
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Some Random Idioms
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follow up (something)
What does "follow up (something)" mean? | to make (one action) more successful by doing something more | The doctor followed up his phone call in the morning with a visit in the afternoon.
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blue plate special
What does "blue plate special" mean? | daily special meal offered at a low price (usually in diners). | Would you like to hear about our blue plate special?
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scrape (something) together
What does "scrape (something) together" mean? | to gather small amounts of money or something (usually with some difficulty) for some purpose | We managed to scrape together enough money to go on a holiday even though business is very bad at the moment.
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in the near future
What does "in the near future" mean? | in the time immediately ahead | In the near future I plan to move to a smaller apartment and try to save some money.
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jump bail
What does "jump bail" mean? | fail to appear in court and therefore give up the money that you paid for bail | The criminal jumped bail and went to another city to hide.
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jolt to a stop
What does "jolt to a stop" mean? | stop moving suddenly which causes a jolt | The train jolted to a stop when the engineer put the brakes on.
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grasp at straws
What does "grasp at straws" mean? | to try something with little hope of success | The man is grasping at straws with his weak excuse for his bad behavior.
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Watch it!
What does "Watch it!" mean? | be careful (usually used as a command) | "Watch it! That truck is going very fast and may hit you."
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By the by
What does "By the by" mean? | This is used as a way of introducing an incidental topic in a conversation or to say that something is irrelevant. ('By the bye' is also used.) |
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get an eyeful (of someone or something)
What does "get an eyeful (of someone or something)" mean? | to see everything, to see a shocking or surprising sight | We really got an eyeful when we saw the accident on the highway.
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old hat
What does "old hat" mean? | to be old-fashioned, to be not new or different | My job has become old hat and I am becoming tired of it.
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let (someone) off
What does "let (someone) off" mean? | permit someone to leave a car/train/boat/plane or other transportation | The train stopped at a very small town and let the young woman off.
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leave a lot to be desired
What does "leave a lot to be desired" mean? | be inadequate | The job performance of the new employee leaves a lot to be desired.
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at one time
What does "at one time" mean? | at a time in the past | At one time the man had no money but now he is very rich.
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