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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Queue jumping
What does Queue jumping mean? | Someone who goes to the front of a queue instead of waiting is jumping the queue. |
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Some Random Idioms
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turn one's hand to (something)
What does "turn one's hand to (something)" mean? | to start to do something that is different from what you usually do | After we finished cleaning the kitchen we turned our hand to the other rooms.
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gear up for (something)
What does "gear up for (something)" mean? | to prepare for something | The city is gearing up for the Olympic games.
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hard feelings
What does "hard feelings" mean? | anger; animosity; bitter feelings. | A: "I'm sorry that Jim got the job instead ofyou."B: "I have no hard feelings toward him; I know that he hadstronger qualifications."
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Cherry pick
What does "Cherry pick" mean? | If people cherry pick, they choose things that support their position, while ignoring things that contradict it. |
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neither fish nor fowl
What does "neither fish nor fowl" mean? | something that does not belong to a definite group/category | I do not know what you should call the strange food. It is neither fish nor fowl.
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bite the dust
What does "bite the dust" mean? | to be killed, to break down, to be defeated | I think that my car will bite the dust soon.
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throw the baby out with the bathwater
What does "throw the baby out with the bathwater" mean? | to reject all of something including the good because part of it is bad | When they discarded all of the computers because one was broken it was like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. They only needed one new computer.
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in receipt of (something)
What does "in receipt of (something)" mean? | having received something | I am in receipt of an order from the city to cut down a tree in our backyard.
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lay down the law
What does "lay down the law" mean? | state firmly what the rules or laws are for something | We decided to lay down the law regarding time off from work without pay for our employees.
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hedge one's bets
What does "hedge one's bets" mean? | reduce one's loss on something by counterbalancing the loss in some way | We will hedge our bets and go to a movie if the weather isn't good enough for camping.
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reach a stalemate
What does "reach a stalemate" mean? | to arrive at a position where no progress is being made | The talks to buy the new computers have reached a stalemate and it will be difficult to start them again.
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bad blood (between people)
What does "bad blood (between people)" mean? | unpleasant feelings between people | There was much bad blood between the three brothers.
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card up one`s sleeve
What does "card up one`s sleeve" mean? | a plan or argument that is kept back to be used later if needed | I think that our boss has a card up his sleeve and he will be able to help us later.
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fresh out of (something)
What does "fresh out of (something)" mean? | to have used up all of something, to have sold the last of something | The bakery was fresh out of brown bread so we had to go to the supermarket.
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