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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Easy does it!
What does Easy does it! mean? | Be very careful! / Don't do anything too
fast or too hard! | A: "I'm going to move the table just a little furtherfrom the window."B: "Easy does it! If you move too fast, you might knock overthe plant!"
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Some Random Idioms
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run around
What does "run around" mean? | to go to various places to do things | We ran around all day and now we are very tired.
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as hard as nails
What does "as hard as nails" mean? | physically very fit and strong, rough | He is as hard as nails and is not a good person to have an argument with.
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munchies
What does "munchies" mean? | hunger, usually for snack food |
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come to nothing
What does "come to nothing" mean? | to end in failure |
All of my efforts to help my friend find a job came to nothing.
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so soon
What does "so soon" mean? | early, before the regular time | I did not expect the dinner to end so soon after the presentations were finished.
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Rings a Bell
What does "Rings a Bell" mean? | To sound familiar, to spark a memory. | I don't remember meeting him, but the name John Smith rings a bell.
Bells such as the type used in churches are large and loud. Their sound can be heard from a great distance. Bells sound a single, clear note so their sound is distinctive and not easily confused.
Before electric sirens and amplification systems, bells were a valuable means of signaling people and alerting of important events.
Further, accurate timepieces were not always as available as they are today. Bells were used to signal people of the start of events such as a church session, the start of school, or a celebration. The bells acted as a reminder of the start of the event for people who had an out of synch timepiece or no timepiece.
Someone would literally ring a bell as a reminder.
As an aside bells were later used on clocks to mark the hour. A large clock usually in the town square could be heard throughout the town. This clock acted as a master time reference for the town. The hourly bell ringing gave people an opportunity to synchronize their respective timepieces, and early watches required frequent adjustment. |
cheeky
What does "cheeky" mean? | irreverent; impudent |
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come from nowhere
What does "come from nowhere" mean? | to come as a surprise and with no warning | The truck came from nowhere as we were driving along the road.
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Stick in your craw
What does "Stick in your craw" mean? | If someone or something really annoys you, it is said to stick in your craw. |
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add fuel to the fire
What does "add fuel to the fire" mean? | to make a problem worse, to make an angry person angrier | The company added fuel to the fire when they criticized the angry workers.
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over a barrel
What does "over a barrel" mean? | to be in a helpless or trapped position | I think that we have the other company over a barrel and we should be able to win the contract easily.
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cut out the deadwood
What does "cut out the deadwood" mean? | to remove unproductive people from a job | The company began to cut out the deadwood and fired many people.
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