American Idioms and Expressions

CYA Idiom

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. .

CYA What does CYA mean?	cover your ass.	It's CYA time. We're being investigated.
	Some Random Idioms
get up the nerve to (do something) What does "get up the nerve to (do something)" mean?	to become brave enough to do something	I tried to get up the nerve to ask my friend about his new job.

dig (something) out or dig out (something) What does "dig (something) out or dig out (something)" mean?	to locate something	I dug out last year's income tax forms to look at.
come true What does "come true" mean?	to become reality, to prove to be correct	The young girl is working hard to make her dreams come true.
take (something) with a grain of salt What does "take (something) with a grain of salt" mean?	to accept or believe something with much doubt, to not give much credit or importance to something that was said	"You should take everything that the supervisor says with a grain of salt because he likes to exaggerate things."
gain ground What does "gain ground" mean?	to go forward, to make progress	The toy company is gaining ground in their effort to sell more products.
separate the sheep from the goats What does "separate the sheep from the goats" mean?	to divide people into two groups	We had to separate the sheep from the goats when we began to make selections for the school choir. wolf Idioms
give (someone) the benefit of the doubt What does "give (someone) the benefit of the doubt" mean?	make a judgement in someone's favor when the evidence is neither for nor against the person	The police gave the man the benefit of the doubt and did not arrest him as a suspect for the crime.
glitch What does "glitch" mean?	defect; flaw; bug; problem

at the drop of a hat What does "at the drop of a hat" mean?	without waiting or planning, immediately, promptly	Our boss will stop working and help someone at the drop of a hat.
high five What does "high five" mean?	two people striking the palms of their raised hands together as a form of agreement or greeting
talk a blue streak What does "talk a blue streak" mean?	to talk very much and very rapidly	The woman beside me on the bus talked a blue streak for most of the journey.
go by the book What does "go by the book" mean?	follow the rules exactly	The court clerks always go by the book when they are dealing with court matters.
eyes are bigger than one`s stomach What does "eyes are bigger than one`s stomach" mean?	one takes or wants more food than he or she can eat	The man's eyes are bigger than his stomach. He will never finish the food that he took.
in contempt of court What does "in contempt of court" mean?	disrespect for a judge or for courtroom procedures	The woman was in contempt of court when she refused to sit down quietly during the trial.

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