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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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. |
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Some Random Idioms
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bling
What does "bling" mean? | diamonds or other equally shiny, glittering jewelry. | Nice bling. How much did it all cost?
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no go
What does "no go" mean? | not agreed to, no, certainly not | It is no go for our plan to have three games this weekend. We can only have two games.
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give one's eye teeth (to do something)
What does "give one's eye teeth (to do something)" mean? | to want to do something very much | I would give my eye teeth to go to London with my cousin.
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wear sackcloth and ashes
What does "wear sackcloth and ashes" mean? | to behave in a way that shows that you are very sorry for something that you have done wrong - in ancient Biblical times people wore very uncomfortable sackcloth (cloth for sacks) for mourning and al |
The politician was forced to wear sackcloth and ashes as an apology for his wrongdoing.
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count on (someone or something)
What does "count on (someone or something)" mean? | to depend on someone or something |
You can count on our boss to do everything right.
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lay one's cards on the table
What does "lay one's cards on the table" mean? | to be open and honest about one's intentions or resources |
Our manager laid his cards on the table during the meeting.
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in the running
What does "in the running" mean? | to be a candidate (from horse racing when two horses are running evenly) | to be a candidate (from horse racing when two horses are running evenly)The lawyer is in the running for a job on the city school board.
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lower one's voice
What does "lower one's voice" mean? | to speak more softly | The teacher asked the student to lower his voice.
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fall into place
What does "fall into place" mean? | to fit together, to become organized | Everything fell into place and we were able to prepare for our trip to Brazil.
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bitten by (some kind of) bug
What does "bitten by (some kind of) bug" mean? | to become interested and excited about a particular activity and want to start doing it |
The man has been bitten by a gold bug and he only thinks about gold.
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in short supply
What does "in short supply" mean? | not enough, in less than the amount or number needed | Chairs were in short supply so some of the guests had to sit on the floor.
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