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.
.
Don't Count Your Chickens Before They're Hatched
What does Don't Count Your Chickens Before They're Hatched mean? | Don't be overconfident and assume success before
you know the outcome of a venture. | In the midst of this daydream, she did toss her curls, sending the pail of milk spilling. The moral of the fable is: Such are the disappointments of those who count their chickens before they are hatched.
This proverb's use in English began in the second half of the sixteenth century, but its origins are in Aesop's Fables, written in the sixth century B.C. "The Milkmaid and the Pail" is a fable about a young girl on her way home, carrying her pail of milk on top of her head.
She was daydreaming about what she would do with the milk, starting with making cream and butter to sell. Then, she could buy eggs with that money, and the eggs would hatch into chickens. They would lay more eggs, and the process would continue, growing more and more profitable. Later on, she could sell some of the birds and buy herself a dress, drawing attention of the young men in the town. When they took notice, her plan was to ignore their advances wit a toss of her curls. |
|
Some Random Idioms
| |
smear
What does "smear" mean? | defeat somebody (often in a game or other contest) |
|
wassup
What does "wassup" mean? | 1. Wassup, man? |
|
waste
What does "waste" mean? | kill; murder |
|
check-up
What does "check-up" mean? | an examination of a patient by a doctor | I went to have my annual check-up last week.
|
crack a book
What does "crack a book" mean? | to open a book to study (usually used in the negative) |
I did very well in the course even though I did not crack a book until the last week of classes.
|
buy a lemon
What does "buy a lemon" mean? | to buy something that is worthless or does not work well |
The used car that I bought is not very good. I think that I bought a lemon.
|
|
| |
take a toll on (someone or something)
What does "take a toll on (someone or something)" mean? | to damage/hurt someone or something by using it too much or by hard living | The stress and long hours at work are beginning to take a toll on my friend.
|
lay (something) on the table
What does "lay (something) on the table" mean? | to present a matter for discussion |
I went to the meeting and laid my concerns about the new product on the table.
|
Smokestack industry
What does "Smokestack industry" mean? | Heavy industries like iron and steel production, especially if they produce a lot of pollution, are smokestack industries. |
|