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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Living hand to mouth
What does Living hand to mouth mean? | To be poor, to have difficulty supporting yourself. | Most people who marry young start out living hand to mouth.
During the Great Depression and other times of economic scarcity, people often did not know when or where the next meal was coming from. In such a case, when you get something in your hand that can be eaten, it goes into the mouth immediately: ergo "hand to mouth." |
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Some Random Idioms
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bad-mouth (someone or something)
What does "bad-mouth (someone or something)" mean? | to say bad things about someone or something | The football player began to bad-mouth his coach.
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grunt work
What does "grunt work" mean? | hard and thankless work | I am often forced to do the grunt work at my company.
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brew
What does "brew" mean? | coffee; beer |
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klick
What does "klick" mean? | kilometer. | The enemy is about three klicks from here.
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not know where to turn
What does "not know where to turn" mean? | to have no idea what to do (about something) | The young woman did not know where to turn when she lost her job.
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excuse me for living
What does "excuse me for living" mean? |
idiom. no; no way (a strong, sarcastic rebuke) |
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break the law
What does "break the law" mean? | fail to obey the law | The woman was forced to quit her job after it was discovered that she had broken the law.
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Sight to behold
What does "Sight to behold" mean? | If something is a sight to behold, it means that seeing it is in some way special, either spectacularly beautiful or, equally, incredibly ugly or revolting, etc. |
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top banana
What does "top banana" mean? | the person who is the boss or the top person in a group or organization | The famous actor in the movie was the top banana in the story.
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talk (someone) out of (something)
What does "talk (someone) out of (something)" mean? | to persuade someone not to do something | I tried to talk our sales manager out of offering a price that was too low.
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A for effort
What does "A for effort" mean? | recognize that someone tries hard to do something even though they may not be successful | The students received an A for effort for their work on the class project.
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more and more
What does "more and more" mean? | increasingly, an increasing number | More and more people are buying laptop computers.
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negative
What does "negative" mean? | something bad, poor, or flawed |
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see (someone) home
What does "see (someone) home" mean? | to accompany someone home | I saw my cousin home after her visit last evening.
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