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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Can't hold a candle to
What does Can't hold a candle to mean? | To be far less competent or have far less skills than
someone else. | When it comes to performance, Corvette can't hold a candle to Porsche.
Before electric lights, someone performing a task in the dark needed a helper to hold a candle to provide light while the task was performed. Much as a helper might hold a flashlight today.
Holding the candle is of course the less challenging role. Someone who is not even qualified to hold the candle is much less competent than the person performing the actual task. |
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Some Random Idioms
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call (someone) names
What does "call (someone) names" mean? | to call a person unpleasant names | The children began to call the new student names.
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in name only
What does "in name only" mean? | not actual, only by name | The man was an animal doctor in name only and had never once treated a sick or injured animal.
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make the cut
What does "make the cut" mean? | meet or come up to a required standard (from golf where a
player must do equal or better than a certain score to continue) | meet or come up to a required standard (from golf where a player must do equal or better than a certain score to continue)The young player did not make the cut and was unable to join the team that year.
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draw a line betwen two things
What does "draw a line betwen two things" mean? | to separate two things |
We must draw a line between using the Internet for work and using it for personal use.
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gun
What does "gun" mean? | bodyguard; assassin; hired gunman |
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go for the jugular
What does "go for the jugular" mean? | attack someone in a way that you know will harm them most (the jugular is a large vein in the neck) | As soon as the political candidate was having problems the other candidates decided to go for the jugular and attack.
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Ivy League
What does "Ivy League" mean? | a small group of older and famous eastern United States colleges and universities such as Harvard, Yale and Princeton | Several of the company executives had gone to an Ivy League school.
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gut
What does "gut" mean? | abdomen; belly; intestines |
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give and take (give-and-take)
What does "give and take (give-and-take)" mean? | to share, to give up part of what you want in order to make an agreement | After much give and take we reached an agreement regarding the property transfer.
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find one's feet
What does "find one's feet" mean? | to become used to a new situation or experience | My uncle is finally finding his feet in his new job.
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